Beware of free antiviruses available on Android! Instead of protecting you, some apps spy on you by tracking you and collecting confidential data by installing malware.
Since all devices connected to the Internet are potential targets for hackers, wanting to protect your Android smartphone against viruses in the same way as you ensure the security of your PC remains a good reflex. You still have to find the right app and not rush to the first free program that comes along, even if it has millions of downloads to its credit on the Google PlayStore. This is what the team of researchers from the site has just demonstrated. CyberNews. They screened around 40 free antivirus apps for Android. And the result is sometimes as distressing as it is disturbing. Among these apps which, alone, have 918 million downloads, some like Nova Security Virus Cleaner, contain up to 30 trackers to monitor mobile activity.
Worse still, six of the apps tested contained “probable malicious links” allowing hackers to hack into the smartphone. In the dock are Dr. Capsule Antivirus, GO Security, Virus Hunter, AVC Antivirus, Fancy Booster and Phone Junk. And if only these apps were effective… But not even! According to the CyberNews team, the best (or least worst) of these antivirus apps, Keep Clean Cleaner Antivirus, has a protection score of only 54%. Safe Security Antivirus – Antivirus, Booster, Phone Cleaner, closed this ranking with a miserable score of 9%. A real sieve that does not prevent it from pointing more than 100 million downloads on the PlayStore.
Caution is therefore still in order. And if you have installed any of these apps on your mobile, we strongly recommend that you uninstall it. Here is the list of affected apps:
- Antivirus – Cleaner + VPN
- Antivirus – Virus Cleaner
- Antivirus And Virus Cleaner Lock
- Antivirus One – Virus Cleaner
- Antivirus, Virus Cleaner, Booster – Fancy Security
- APUS Security Antivirus Master
- AVC Antivirus & Virus Cleaner
- Clean Guard Phone Cleaner
- CPU Cooler – Antivirus, Clean
- Dr.Capsule Antivirus, Cleaner
- Fancv Booster – Cleaner, Antivirus & Speed Up
- Fancy Battery – Battery Saver, Booster, Cleaner
- Fancy Cleaner – Boost, Cleaner
- FileMaster Manage & Power Clean
- GO Security – AntiVirus, AppLock, Booster
- JioSecuritv Mobile Security & Antivirus
- Keep Clean Cleaner, Antivirus
- Memory cleaner Speed booster and junk removal
- Nova Security – Virus Cleaner
- One Booster Antivirus and Cleaner
- One Security Antivirus, Clean
- Phone Cleaner – Virus cleaner
- Phone Cleaner, Booster, Master
- Phone Junk – Clean Master
- Phone Security – Antivirus, Cleaner, Booster
- PoMelo File Explorer & Cleaner
- Powerful Phone Cleaner – Cleaner & Booster
- Safe Security – Antivirus, Booster, Phone Cleaner
- Security Antivirus – Max Cleaner
- SHAREit Lite – Share and File Transfer, File Manage
- Smart Clean-Booster, Cleaner
- Smart Cleaner
- SmartSecurity
- Super Antivirus – Clean Virus
- Super Clean-Master of Cleaner
- VG Kè°M-.MA© Web SDK
- Virus Hunter 2021 Virus Scanner and Phone Cleaner
- Virus Remover – Security apps, Booster, Cooler