Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware, Anti-Theft

Do you really need an AV app on Android? Let's see. There's an interesting graph at phandroid.com, and also a collection of relevant apps at AndroidAuthority. But there's also the conclusion that "many av scanners are useless" (Viele Android-Virenscanner sind nutzlos), or even a security risk themselves (Android-Virenscanner bringen schwere Sicherheitslücken mit). And one should also pay attention to "false security apps": some Trojans pose as security suite (ZitMo Trojaner tarnt sich als Android Security Suite Premium, 6/2012). And what seems "safe and secure" by rating and "big names" might turn out being nothing but a placebo.

Another interesting article is titled Android users give malware apps permission to rob them, express shock at the results. That probably fits about 95% of all real-world cases …

Here in Germany, the publisher Heise is counted a big authority in IT and security. Their article FAQ: Android und Sicherheit, dated December 2012 (c't 17/12) deals with this en detail, and sums it up, it's easily managable. Let me translate rawly: "Vendors of anti-virus software like to peddle with exaggerated horror statistics", and, "Currently almost all smartphone infections are caused by software the users installed actively themselves". They conclude: "The best protection is to use your common sense when installing new apps". I've said that already before they did … One last quote: "Do I need anti-virus software to be safe? – No. According to our assessment, the security gain by installing anti-virus software is too small to make up for the negative side-effects and the added nagging-factor, reduced battery runtime, and possible false-alerts."

And besides: The big-players in the AV business explicitly warn to install apps which ask for too many permissions – so especially pay attention to their numbers in below listings: Why such an anti-malware app needs to check for running apps (and might need to kill them) is quite clear (to find and get rid of the "bad guys"). Accessing the Internet for signature updates, check. Read SMS/MMS: yeah, for bad content, OK. Delete it as well if found, check. But what for does it have to send SMS, make phone calls, access the camera, read my bookmarks, read/write my contacts, call logs, calendars, access my precise location, and more? If you'd expect an explanation with the apps' descriptions: nope. Seeing those permissions (and their counts per app), according to the bold text above and even just to common sense, rather makes the impression of some malware camouflaging as security suite. That's like casting out the demons with the ruler of the demons. No, thanks: not on my devices. By the way: the "average Android App" requests about 7 Permissions. Less than 4% of the apps want more than 20. Just to give you a measurement what "too many permissions" could mean.

I don't think 99% plus users even get a benefit from [anti-virus]. There’s certainly no reason that they need to install something in addition to [the security we provide].
If I were to be in a line of work where I need that type of protection it would make sense for me to do that. [But] do I think the average user on Android needs to install [anti-virus]? Absolutely not.

Source: Adrian Ludwig, Google´s chief security engineer for Android

„Anti-Virus for Android“ is like wearing the helmet of a medieval knight to play „Russian Roulette“. You wouldn’t need that helmet if you wouldn’t willingly put yourself at risk (using some common sense is more effective). As you do both, some bullets still penetrate the helmet. And what’s more, the helmet has spikes. Inside. Think of all those „false positives“ causing unnecessary panic, plus vulnerabilities introduced by their often massively high demand on powerful permissions, as well as the again risky modules they usually contain (see here). Remember who wants to tell you that you need that kind of software: its makers. And if you now ask the common question what good it does them if they give it away for free: they don’t. You pay with your data, with your privacy.

For those who still insist, here we go. Try to find one that doesn’t come with malware (in form of trackers) itself:

Anti-Malware

2023-05-17

Though many of these apps call themselves „Anti-Virus“, that's rather to „raise their importance“ and make you feel you really need their protection. So I've included them into „Anti-Malware“ instead. (Basically, any app calling itself „Anti-Virus“ or even „Best Anti-Virus“ sounds very suspicious to me ) That said: Use at your own risk!

AMC Security- Antivirus, Clean (5@32) Ǥ 47 13 Swiss army-knife: Anti-Malware, Anti-Theft, System-Tuner, Call-Blocker & more
Lookout Security and Antivirus (4.8@1,143,336) Ǥ 40 7
Avira Security Antivirus & VPN (4.8@666,787) Ǥ 38 8 Privatsphäre-Check 11/2021 ("Risiko für Sicherheit und Datenschutz")
AVG AntiVirus & Security (4.7@7,684,363) Ǥ 38 11
Avast Antivirus & Security (4.7@7,116,466) Ǥ 55 11 verkauft Surf-Daten seiner User | Wie Avast die Daten seiner Kunden verkaufte (2/2020)
Kaspersky Security & VPN (4.7@4,019,932) Ǥ 52 9 / Kaspersky Endpoint Security (3.9@16,061) Ǥ 48 5
ESET Mobile Security Antivirus (4.7@992,710) Ǥ 50 2 Video Review & Tutorial 2/2017
Bitdefender Mobile Security (4.7@372,264) Ǥ 36 4
360 Security - Antivirus Free (4.7@338) Ǥ 45 15 LastUpdate: 2020-06-18 "Chuck Norris on Steroids": Task-Killer, "Virus" killer… Yo.
Norton360 Antivirus & Security (4.6@79,267) Ǥ 39 6
Mobile Security & Antivirus (4.5@439,004) Ǥ 41 11 Abo: ~EUR 2/month (Geld-wech)
Mobile Security & Antivirus (4.5@111,183) Ǥ 51 6
Anti-virus Dr.Web Light (4.3@1,157,903) Ǥ 24 2 / Dr.Web Security Space Life (4.7@5,709; ~EUR 67.00) Ǥ 29 2
Malwarebytes Mobile Security (4.3@391,492) Ǥ 24 5
Sophos Intercept X for Mobile (4.3@45,882) Ǥ 36 2
McAfee Security: Virus Scanner (4.3@24,407) Ǥ 62 5
Webroot Mobile Security & AV (4.2@17,369) Ǥ 32 3 comprehensive care-free package: AntiVirus, WebThreats, AntiTheft
Anti Spy Mobile Basic (4.1@21,274) $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ / Anti Spy Mobile PRO (4.2@1,649; ~EUR 5.00) Ǥ 3 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ AppThread@XDA-Forum
Emsisoft Mobile Security (4.1@2,053) Ǥ 28 4 LastUpdate: 2021-05-20
VirIT Mobile Security (4@2,131) 15 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2021-04-26
LibreAV (4@12) 6 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github
G DATA Mobile Security Light (3.9@10,806) Ǥ 28 3 / G DATA Mobile Security (3.9@781; ~EUR 10.00) Ǥ 21 1 ~EUR 20/year
Zoner AntiVirus (3.8@50,493) Ǥ 19 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$
IKARUS mobile.security (3.7@3,292) Ǥ 25 2
Hypatia (0@0) 5 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ GitLab

Exploit Detection/Protection

2023-05-17

Fake ID fix (4.4@371) $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2014-08-10 XDA incl. instructions; Video Demo 8/2014; Security against installation of certain malicious apps
Stagefright Detector (4@11,359) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-10-04
ReKey (for rooted phones) (4@528) 2 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2016-09-13
Heartbleed Security Scanner (3.8@19,251) 1 1 LastUpdate: 2014-04-10 Kurzvorstellung 4/2014; Intro 4/2014
Stagefright Detector (3.8@7,535) 1 1 LastUpdate: 2015-08-19 Vorstellung 8/2015 | 8/2015; Intro 8/2015
Heartbleed Detector (3.6@384) 0 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2014-08-06
VTS for Android (0@0) 3 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2015-12-14 Github; Vulnerability Test Suite. Check your device!
StartFlagExploit (0@0) 0 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-06-09 Github; affects Android 10+11

Anti-Theft

2023-05-17

An overlap with the anti-malware section is unavoidable: full-fledged security suites try to cover (almost) everything …

AMC Security- Antivirus, Clean (5@32) Ǥ 47 13 Swiss army-knife: Anti-Malware, Anti-Theft, System-Tuner, Call-Blocker & more
Avira Security Antivirus & VPN (4.8@666,787) Ǥ 38 8 Privatsphäre-Check 11/2021 ("Risiko für Sicherheit und Datenschutz")
Avast Antivirus & Security (4.7@7,116,466) Ǥ 55 11 verkauft Surf-Daten seiner User | Wie Avast die Daten seiner Kunden verkaufte (2/2020)
Kaspersky Security & VPN (4.7@4,019,932) Ǥ 52 9 / Kaspersky Endpoint Security (3.9@16,061) Ǥ 48 5
Norton360 Antivirus & Security (4.6@79,267) Ǥ 39 6
Mobile Security & Antivirus (4.5@439,004) Ǥ 41 11 Abo: ~EUR 2/month (Geld-wech)
McAfee Security: Virus Scanner (4.3@24,407) Ǥ 62 5
Webroot Mobile Security & AV (4.2@17,369) Ǥ 32 3 comprehensive care-free package: AntiVirus, WebThreats, AntiTheft
Lockwatch - Thief Catcher (4.1@70,824) Ǥ 16 3 Video Intro 8/2016; mails you w/ photo of unsuccessful unlock attempters, SIM changes etc.
CrookCatcher — Anti-Theft (4@63,609) Ǥ 26 3
Antitheft Droid WEB - Security (3.7@8,260) Ǥ 23 3
Anti Theft Mobile Tracker (3.4@2,199) Ǥ 18 2 LastUpdate: 2020-02-26
Prey: Find My Phone & Security (2.9@62,874) Ǥ 22 2
SmSimApp Anti Theft (1@717) Ǥ 14 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-12-16 remote lock/wipe, find device, remotely take photos, have it call you (hidden to thief) so you can listen in, forward all incloming messages

Theft-Alert: Make noise when device is moved

2023-05-17

Anti Theft Alert - Phone alarm (4.6@15,227) 15 3
Anti Theft Phone Alarm (4.5@34,266) 19 1
alarMob - Anti-theft alarm (4.5@1,641) Ǥ 13 6 LastUpdate: 2019-04-02
Anti Theft Alarm (4.4@73,672) Ǥ 10 12 LastUpdate: 2017-12-08
Don’t touch my phone ™ (4.3@205,096) Ǥ 15 7 touches your data, oops…
Anti-theft alarm (4.3@113,791) Ǥ 22 5 LastUpdate: 2020-02-02
Phone Anti-Theft Alarm (4.3@909) Ǥ 19 4
Alarm Anti Theft Screen Lock (4.2@35,601) Ǥ 13 2 LastUpdate: 2016-08-07
Intruder Selfie™ (4.2@31,760) Ǥ 9 2 LastUpdate: 2018-01-21
Don’t Touch My Phone Antitheft (4.1@28,411) Ǥ 13 5
Emsisoft Mobile Security (4.1@2,053) Ǥ 28 4 LastUpdate: 2021-05-20
CrookCatcher — Anti-Theft (4@63,609) Ǥ 26 3
Don’t Touch My Phone (4@8,726) 5 2 LastUpdate: 2021-02-23
globio Alarm System (3.4@7,006) 17 3 LastUpdate: 2020-04-10 / Mobile Alarm System (3.5@1,820; ~EUR 1.00) Ǥ 10 2 LastUpdate: 2019-03-09
Fall (0@0) 0 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; lets your phone scream if it moves to fast

Find my device

2023-05-16

Apps dedicated to find lost devices. Certainly overlaps with anti-theft and anti-malware sections, where some apps might include this feature.

Google Find My Device (4.3@1,208,010) Ǥ 17 1
Find My Phone Whistle: finder (4.2@370,049) Ǥ 15 19
Find My Phone: Find Lost Phone (4.2@67,260) Ǥ 19 3
Find Phone by Whistling 2 (4.2@11,460) Ǥ 18 6
Find my phone - whistle PRO (4.1@56,361) 13 17 / Find my phone: clap finder (3.9@23,539) Ǥ 14 17 / Find my phone by Voice (3.4@2,526) 13 17
Find My Phone (4@309,186) Ǥ 27 17 LastUpdate: 2021-03-19
Lost Android (4@76,267) Ǥ 35 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$
Wheres My Droid (3.9@113,401) Ǥ 31 7
Find iPhone, Android, Xfi Loc (3.5@40,634) Ǥ 10 9
Whistle Phone Finder PRO (3.2@19,877) 5 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2021-08-03
Seguime (3@1) 13 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2021-10-13 GitLab; Find-my-Phone with your own server
Clap to Find (2.8@50,503) Ǥ 17 4
Device Locator (0@0) 6 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2018-08-15 GitLab
Locate my device (0@0) 10 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; query (and control) via SMS
FindMyDevice (0@0) 22 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ GitLab
Monitor Internetless (0@0) Ǥ 21 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; locate and control your phone via SMS
Finder (0@0) 15 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2020-09-18 Github

Anti-Others

2023-05-17

What didn't fit elsewhere

NoPhish (4.6@97) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2017-07-13 Vorstellung 6/2017; Lernen, Phishing-Attacken zu erkennen
Third Eye - Intruder Detection (4.4@66,314) Ǥ 15 7
Intruder Selfie Alert (4.3@10,478) Ǥ 15 2
Who Tried To Unlock - Don’t To (4.2@13,631) Ǥ 10 2 LastUpdate: 2020-07-10 wrong password photo capture
Who Touched My Phone (3.9@16,279) 9 2 LastUpdate: 2020-10-23 logs every unlock with a photo
PilferShush Jammer (3.8@344) 3 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; blocks your mike so other apps cannot use it; shall protect against NUHF signals (ad trackers)
PluckLockEx (3.7@18) 2 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2018-07-19 Github; locks your device when „snatched“ (fast acceleration)
SnoopSnitch (3.5@3,957) 16 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Intro 7/2019; Vorstellung 4/2018 | 1/2020; Video Demo 11/2016; Mike’s favorite; detect Stingray Cell Phone Trackers and missing security patches
SMS Predator Scan (0@0) 1 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; scan your device for SMS containing predator links
Privacy Cell (0@0) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ verify that a phone is using the most secure cell protocols
AirGuard - AirTag protection (0@0) 13 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; Vorstellung 9/2021; protect yourself from Apple's Find My Tracking
LockUp (0@0) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2021-05-12 Github; Cellebrite UFED self-defense app

Further Readings:

Category Ad-Modules and Privacy Checker
General
- 5 Ways to Check If Your Android Device Is Hacked (2/2022)
- Trügerische Sicherheit: Virenscanner-Apps sind schlichtweg überflüssig (11/2021)
- Why You Should Uninstall Your Android Antivirus Software (10/2021)
- Closely check BEFORE you install: Warnung vor „Fleeceware“ (8/2020)
- Schadprogramme: Was tun bei Infektionen? (11/2018 - 2/2022)
- Umfrage Bitkom: Panikmache? (12/2017)
- Dauerbrenner Phishing (9/2015 - 11/2019)
- Vault7: CIA und Anti-Virus-Software: Was sagt die CIA über Anti-Virus-Produkte? (3/2017)
- Sicherheitsapps für Android-Geräte (8/2015 - 11/2018)
- Android-Virenscanner bringen schwere Sicherheitslücken mit (6/2016)
- Clickjacking: Der Trick mit dem überdeckten Bildschirm (4/2016)
- Android-Virenscanner greifen private Daten ab (2/2014)
Malware
- Play Protect: Virenschutz von Google (1/2022)
- Brauche ich einen Virenscanner? (6/2015 - 11/2021)
- Google Play Protect Sucks at Detecting Malware (7/2021)
- Populärer Gratis-Virenscanner verkauft Surf-Daten seiner User (1/2020)
- How effective is the antivirus app on your smartphone? (4/2019)
- Schadsoftware auf dem Handy? (6/2015 - 11/2022)
- Malware-Angriffe auf Smartphones – die unterschätzte Gefahr (7/2018; mit Tipps für Vorsichtsmaßnahmen)
- Play Protect: Virenschutz made by Google (9/2017 - 1/2022)
- Antiviren-Scanner: Mehr Risiko als Schutz? – Snakeoil Teil1 (4/2017) | Teil 2 (4/2017) | Teil 3 (5/2017)
- Is there really such a thing as an Android virus?
  technically there are no Android viruses. […] Most people think of any malicious software as a virus, even though it is technically inaccurate.
- Schadprogramme: Was tun bei Infektionen? (1/2017 - 2/2022) / Schadprogramme auf Mobilgeräten (6/2015 - 11/2021)
- McAfee VirusScan Enterprise gefährdet Linux-Systeme (12/2016)
  in other words: don´t use such stuff where it´s not even needed
- Wenn sich Apps zum Angriff verbünden (7/2016)
- Virenscanner für Android-Geräte: was sie leisten können und wo sie an ihre Grenzen stoßen (8/2015 - 11/2018)
- Android antivirus apps are useless — here’s what to do instead (4/2015 - 6/2022)
- Malware is an exaggerated issue (4/2015)
- Android Malware-Gefahr stark übertrieben: Google veröffentlicht Android-Sicherheitsbericht für 2014 (4/2015)
- Even „Google Play“ isn't spared: Malicious Android apps spamming users with adware have reportedly made their way into the Google Play Store (2/2015)
- Android Sicherheitschef: Anti-Malware-Apps sind überbewertet (7/2014)
- Must read: Android Antivirus: 6 truths about smartphone malware (5/2014)
- Android-Virenscanner schnüffeln Surf-Verhalten aus (2/2014)
- 2013: Zielgruppenspezifische Malware und der Aufstieg (und Niedergang) von Adware (2/2014)
- Antivirus-Apps im Test (2/2013 - 4/2019)
Theft/Loss
- How to find a lost or stolen phone (5/2020)
- Handy orten – wie geht das? (8/2015 - 5/2022)
- How to find a lost or stolen Android phone (7/2017)
- Checkliste: Handy geklaut oder verloren? So sorgen Sie vor (5/2017 - 4/2022)
- Wo ist mein Smartphone? Verlorene oder geklaute Handys orten (3/2013 - 12/2019)
Misc
- The 3 Best Android Apps to Catch Someone Unlocking Your Phone (7/2021 - 5/2022)

Possibilities to check apps for security issues

Some websites offer such services:

Android & iOS: Gratis-Werkzeuge zur Malware-Analyse (2/2014: ViaForensic's Santoku Linux)
Exodus Privacy for trackers in apps
MobilSicher.DE AppChecker
VirusTotal: more than just malware inside

2023-05-21

IzzyOnDroid