In the early days, you were pretty safe taking your smartphone online; now you can’t afford to be complacent. As we’ve said before, smartphones are just tiny computers that fit in your hand. And just like any other computer, they’re susceptible to virus attacks and hackers. Here we look at three free Android security apps and other tips.
Stay safe online banking
We’re used to being secure online, particularly when it comes to internet banking. But what about on a smartphone? Most of the major banks now have apps for mobile banking. NAB uses 128-bit data encryption to protect your data, but the bank still recommends you do the following.
- Don’t store banking IDs or passwords on your phone.
- Clear out your browser cache regularly.
- Remember to log out of banking sessions when you’re done.
Most banks will offer to reimburse you for any losses as a result of fraudulent activity. That said, doing things wirelessly is inherently less secure than using a wired network connection, especially if you’re still using a WEP (Wire Equivalent Privacy) protected Wi-Fi link. At the very least, we recommend that any mobile banking should be done over a minimum of a WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) connection to reduce the chances of having your banking link broken into.
At present, NAB, Commonwealth and St. George have native apps for Android. Westpac is still working on its version, while ANZ has an interim Android app that gives you some banking features before it launches its goMoney app later this year. The interim app won’t work for all ANZ customers.
Three free antivirus apps
While the PC is awash with free antivirus software, things are only beginning to take off in this area with Android. At the moment, there are a handful of freeware tools.
- AVG Mobilation Anti-Virus Free. AVG Mobilation’s tool comes courtesy of its purchase of Israeli startup DroidSecurity at the end of 2010. It’s the most advanced freeware option available, although you might find it a little frustrating if you’re a more advanced user. While it works well, it’s designed for unrooted phones running standard ROMs. For example, with LeeDrOiD Gingerbread on our HTC Desire test phone, AVG decided that the SuperUser app was a security threat because it had the USB connection set to debugging mode (required for rooting the phone/installing new ROMs). Like its desktop version, this Android release incorporates live web page scanning to notify you through your device’s default browser if you’re about to go to a dodgy page. One of its potentially more useful features we hope you never have to use is its theft protection. The software lets you remotely control your stolen phone, locate it via built-in GPS, even lock it or wipe its contents. It’s an excellent feature, which you can access via AVG’s web site at www.avgmobilation.com. Given its zero price tag, it’s definitely a must-have for any Android phone or tablet.
- BitDefender Mobile Security Beta. BitDefender’s tool doesn’t have the same level of sophistication as the AVG software, although it seemed to be less interested in the SuperUser app’s presence, not mentioning it as an issue. Like AVG, BitDefender also has integrated notification in the default web browser of dodgy web sites before you access them. It’s also only a third of the size of AVG’s offering (400KB compared to 1.35MB). It provides an on-demand virus scanner as well as a security audit, showing you which apps want web access or access to private data. The scanner also hooks into the operating system, so as soon as you install an app, it gets scanned by the virus scanner, checking for any nasty surprises. It’s not a bad effort given that it’s still in beta. One reason why both of these apps are comparatively small is that they rely on cloud storage for their virus definitions and updates. The positive is that there’s no need to save virus definitions on your phone. The downside is that every time you use the scanner, it grabs those definitions online.
- Creative Apps Antivirus Free. If you don’t want something that integrates quite as much as AVG or BitDefender, Creative Apps Antivirus Free is an option. It’s a simple on-demand scanner that comes with its own built-in nasties database, yet still offers real-time detection, but it doesn’t go into your web browser. It will scan new apps for problems as soon as you install them — like most others, it checks the app against a database of known troublemakers and warns you if you’ve downloaded a dud. You can set it to scan once a day or update its virus signatures; however, it will do this by default once a week. The developers claim it will use less than 0.1% of your battery (we’re not quite sure how they figure that out). Regardless, it’s pretty damn quick on an HTC Desire and didn’t have any problems with SuperUser for those running modded ROMs.
Darren,
Where have you been lately obviously not using google to look for an antivirus solution. The reason I say this is that Lookout Mobile security is the best solution for mobile devices and is free but the premium version is better.
Suggest you have a look. Been around since the gulf war, not that I have any problems with your nominations, I just find it hard that you came to this conclusion - sorry.
Glad you're enjoying Lookout.
Cheers, Darren.