avast! Mobile Security: Free App to Secure and Track Android Device
On iOS, Apple has done an excellent job of providing the ‘Find your iPhone‘ feature which is lacking on Android. However, you have several applications including AVG and Lookout that provide you this feature. They both provide you with free and paid versions. The free versions give you good antivirus security and basic anti-theft features. But, my search for something better ended when I came across avast!! Mobile Security.
When Rohit wrote about mSpy a few days back, I suggested that he should check out avast!’s offering since it’s a great free alternative.
Key features
- Antivirus: Scans installed apps and memory card content on demand and new apps upon first use.
- Privacy Report: Scans and displays access rights and intents of installed apps.
- Anti-Theft (hidden component): Gives you remote control via SMS or Web (cell phone tracking, activate siren, memory wipe, etc.).
- Network Meter: Measures incoming/outgoing data transfers.
- Web Shield: Scans each URL that loads and warns you if it’s malware-infected. Includes USSD blocker.
- Widget: Gives you control of the app from your Android desktop.
- Web Interface: Provides remote control of anti-theft features (cell phone lock, GPS tracking, memory wipe, etc.).
- SiteCorrect: Automatically fixes mistyped URLs.
- Shield Control: Advanced settings for app, web, and messages scanning.
- SMS/Call Filtering: Filters out particular contacts that you select.
- App Manager: Lists apps and their sizes (MB), CPU load, memory used, etc.
- Battery Save: Runs only when performing tasks.
- Firewall (works on rooted phones only): Serves as gatekeeper for network traffic.
Installation and Configuration
The fastest way to install the app is to head over to its page on Google Play and hit Install. Once you’ve installed the app on your phone or tablet (I have a Nexus 7), you can just open the app and follow the configuration wizard.
If you’re activating avast! Anti-Theft, user can choose a custom name that disguises the app (e.g. call it “Cow game”) so that it is even harder for thieves to find and remove. Once you’re up and running you’ll be greeted with the home screen similar to this on your mobile phone which gives you one click access to all that the app has to offer.
I especially liked the Privacy Advisor feature which tells you exactly what apps have access to which settings. It’s great to keep track of the level of access each app has on your phone or tablet.
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Tracking your phone
The app would be useless without the Remote Control feature. You can remotely control your phone after install at https://my.avast.com. You will need to login with your avast! username and password which will give you access to all the devices linked to the account.
You can view basic information about the device or the activity log as below.
However, the real power that avast! Mobile security gives you is the anti-theft features. You can choose to remotely lock your device and activating a remote siren. It’s loud and I could hear it in the other room when I was testing the same.
[alert-success] Locate Lost Android Phone, Tablet if Stolen even when no App Pre-installed [/alert-success]
Additionally, it allows you to remotely locate the phone via GPS, WiFi or mobile network. The WiFi feature is definitely more useful for tablets since you might not have the mobile network option or choose to disable GPS to save battery.
Conclusion
avast! Mobile Security is definitely one of the most feature rich apps I have seen that is available completely free. The tracking features are really good and will help you track your phone or tablet if you lose it or if it gets stolen. The remote erase feature is definitely a much needed option if you’re sure you’re not going to get the device back and want to securely erase its contents.
Do download and give it a test run. I bet you won’t switch back to your old security software.
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About Author: Ajay is an investment banker by profession and a die-hard blogger by passion. He is the owner and chief editor of Techtites. When he is not blogging about technology, he authors a few WordPress plugins at AjayDSouza.com.
