Attacks from more than 18,000 infected apps

In the protection category of the endurance test, the experts check all the apps using different sets of malware consisting of recently infected apps. That is the so-called real-time test where the sets are always kept up to date. In addition, there is a reference set with dangerous apps that have been around for up to 4 weeks already. Likewise, this set of malware is updated regularly in the endurance test. This means that each security app needs to detect and ward off a total of more than 18,000 malware samples.

Several of the security apps demonstrated a detection rate of 100 percent in the test, that is an absolutely error-free performance over the entire course of testing for all test sets. They were the apps from Avast, AVG, Avira, Bitdefender, Kaspersky and Norton. All of them received the full total of 6 points for their protection score.

The packages from McAfee, Sophos and TotalAV made a few minor errors, scoring a hit rate of 99.8 and 99.9 percent, respectively, in the real-time test. For the reference sets, McAfee performed flawlessly, with the other packages managing 99.9 percent of the malware. Google Play Protect detected 99.6 percent of the malware in the real-time tests and 99.7 percent in the reference sets.

Tremendous performance – but at what cost to the battery?

We can assume that an app will tax the CPU while drawing a lot of power when scanning countless programs in order to protect the device. To this end, the lab checks how much battery power each app consumes. But not to worry, the experts pointed out that all of the apps feature decent technology and do not strain the CPU or battery unnecessarily. Which is why all of the tested security apps for Android received the full 6 points for this feat.

What happens when a security app loses focus?

We’ve all been there: The security app raises the alarm for a popular app – once harmless, it has suddenly become a menace. A recent update that had been infiltrated by a malware might be the reason. But what happens if the Android protection gets it wrong? In order to test this scenario, the lab experts installed a multitude of harmless apps on the test devices. Some 7,000 apps originated from the Google Play Store and just under 4,000 apps came from other trustworthy app stores.

Many of the system watchdog apps detected the nearly 11,000 harmless apps as friendly, earning them the full 6 points for this test category: Bitdefender, F-Secure, Google, Kaspersky, McAfee, Sophos and TotalAV.

However, Avast, AVG, Avira and Norton mistakenly identified several apps as malicious and placed them in quarantine. For this reason, the lab only awarded them with 5.7 out of 6 points.

Small apps offering great protection

Even cyberattackers know that there are nearly 4 billion active Android devices around the world – a fact that they can then exploit for their purposes when an attack is successful. After all, they are always looking for new resources, for example, for their botnets or for cryptojacking which involves turning devices into cryptocurrency mining slaves. Google Play Protect, which is nearly always preinstalled on Android devices, provides a fair amount of protection. However, it could be better, as the latest test shows. Play Protect achieved a score of 17.5 out of 18 points, but those lost points were carved out of a very important category: protection.

Five apps performed without error in the endurance test and are highly recommended for use. Several require a license to use, but they are also often included in computer protection packages as an add-on or even for free. It makes sense to check out the licensed package you may already have for your PC! Otherwise, there is always the Sophos app, which not only scored among the elite performers, but also is available for fr