The shift away from traditional workplace settings is pushing organizations to develop new protocols and invest in the safety of mobile workers. Over the last years, the personal devices of employees have become a very attractive target for hackers. While proper training in safety procedures remains crucial, providing your workers with the right tools is more and more important as a way of avoiding potential data breaches and the loss of sensitive information. Having the best antivirus app installed on your workforce’s smartphones or tablets is essential. Here’s a list of the best ones out there, in no particular order.
Much More than Virus and Malware Protection
The best mobile security products offer a plethora of bonus features on top of their core function. All top solutions include not only cutting edge malware detection and prevention, but also check all installed apps for potential privacy problems and prevent your employees from accessing harmful URLs.
One useful feature is anti-theft protection for lost or stolen devices. Since mobile device use in the workplace has become the norm, this feature is a must in order to keep any company safe from data theft. Phones can and should be locked to prevent thieves from accessing apps and data. Also, if it becomes apparent that recovering a lost or stolen device is impossible, then the device can be wiped remotely.
Other common bonus features include backup for contacts and photos, a task killer, a battery monitor, and Wi-Fi security that alerts you when the device tries to connect to an unsecured wireless network. A couple of solutions offer some form of iOS protection, though with a limited feature set because of the closed nature of Apple’s operating system.
Best Mobile Antivirus Apps in 2020
Mobile Security from Bitdefender offers nearly flawless malware protection, with a wide range of features. It gives your mobile workforce real-time protection for most Android browsers and a feature called „autopilot”, capable of recommending security actions based on each user’s typical pattern.
The app has a very light performance impact and it comes with Wi-Fi scanner, anti-theft features, data-breach notifications, Android Wear integration, a VPN client, and robust privacy-protection tools, including an app lock. Bitdefender Mobile Security scored an impressive 100% protection rate in the latest AV-Comparatives test.
Kasperky’s mobile antivirus offers top-notch virus and malware detection and excellent anti-theft features. Corporate or personal devices containing sensitive data can be remotely locked, or wiped. Your employees can even snap photos of the person currently using the device, a useful feature when dealing with theft. Quite impressive for a FREE app.
Users who want to unlock other important tools can get the paid version. Features reserved for the premium version include automatic virus scans, phishing protection (sites and SMS), and other useful privacy tools, such as locking key apps with a secret code or hiding calls, texts, and logs. Unfortunately, there is no bundled VPN or Wi-Fi network scanner.
Norton Mobile Security (for Android and iOS)
Norton claims that its Mobile Security for Android is powered by a „cyber intelligence network system. This includes Norton Mobile Insight, a proprietary app analysis system that crawls app stores, analyzes running apps, and uses machine learning to understand Android app behaviors”. Apart from its app checker, this mobile security solution offers a strong antivirus engine, call blocking (protection against spam phone calls), Wi-Fi security, and anti-theft features.
Norton Security is also available for iOS and the vendor’s website stresses the need for security and virus protection for Apple’s operating system. The iOS version offers Wi-Fi security, web protection, as well as protection against operating system exploits.
Trend Micro Mobile Security & Antivirus
Trend Micro’s mobile security solution is currently one of the best malware protection solutions. In the aforementioned AV-Comparatives test, this antivirus app scored a 100% protection rate, being the only one on the list that matched Bitdefender’s score.
Trend Micro Mobile Security & Antivirus is stuffed with bonus features, including system tuning utilities, Pay Guard banking and shopping protection, app-scanning, web protection, anti-theft, Wi-Fi checker, and a built-in privacy scanner for Facebook. Important to know before you give it a try: this app is available for both Android and iOS, but is quite pricey.
This hugely popular Android antivirus app is also available for PC, Mac, and iPhone. The free version offers strong virus and malware protection (it uses Avast antivirus engine) and impressive anti-theft features. The paid version comes with a whole load of extra features, including an app lock, extended anti-theft capabilities (Device Lock protection), a photo vault to secure photos, and Wi-Fi security scanner.
Other bonus features include device performance enhancement measures and additional privacy settings, such as blocking callers.
Spending long office hours in front of a 19-inch monitor is now a thing of the past. Many important tasks are now handled by employees working from smartphones and tablets. Although Windows and Android make excellent targets for hackers, attacks on iOS powered devices are on the rise. Installing top-notch antivirus apps on corporate devices is a simple and effective way of keeping that sensitive information secure.
