You might think that the minute you land at JFK from a trip overseas that your rights are immediately protected under the U.S. In March, researchers at Northwestern University and the University of North Carolina showed that they were able to build a piece of malware that Android security apps couldn’t detect, Network World reported. Security apps for Android may have come a long way in the past couple of years, but they still have room to improve. The lowest score in that group went to Lookout, which still earned an impressive 98.6 percent detection rating. During its most recent look at Android security apps in July, well-known security apps for Android, including those from Avast, F-Secure, Kaspersky, Lookout, and TrustGo all earned high marks from AV-Test. Nearly two years later, however, the usefulness of many free solutions has improved dramatically. “Only a few malware existed but there were already several apps pretending to be an essential utility on each Android device.” (Full disclosure: PCWorld regularly teams up with AV-Test to examine security software for PCs and mobile devices). “When our report was published in 2011 the AV industry and the threat landscape was in a very early stage on Android,” says Hendrik Pilz, director of AV-Test’s technical lab. Lookout’s Android security app consistently gets high marks from industry analysts, though it’s not the best you can get. Even paid solutions weren’t doing that great at the time of the 2011 tests, with the top paid apps detecting only around 50 percent of malicious code. The firm tested seven of the top free apps at the time and said that the best free solution detected only one-third of any malware present on a device. But how good are these apps, really? Back in late 2011, results from the AV-Test lab found that the free solutions were nearly useless. That’s why security vendors such as Avast, Kaspersky, and Lookout offer antivirus and security apps for Android to help keep you secure online. Malware-laden apps range from those offering free device wallpaper to games, and even to impostors that try to look like popular apps. This has proven an easy way for malware creators to sneak malicious apps onto Google’s app store. Google, unlike Apple, doesn’t vet applications before they go live on Google Play. Once you’re okay with that, tap Encrypt phone.Īndroid users are particularly vulnerable to malware. The screen at left shows paragraphs explaining exactly what Android app encryption involves. Second, encryption is irreversible-short of a factory reset.Īll that said, if you want to encrypt an Android phone, here’s how I did it on a device running the latest version of Android (4.3 Jelly Bean). Two more things to keep in mind: First, some users report that encryption on Android caused a performance hit on their devices during everyday use. Otherwise, the encryption process could fail, and you could lose some or all of your data. During the process, you need to have the device plugged in at all times, and the battery must be charged. Depending on the size of your device, encryption could take up to an hour or more. Android devices have to go through a lengthy disk-encryption process, just as your PC or external hard drive does. The process is really pretty easy, but the one thing you need is time. Android users face a slightly more complex, more traditional encryption procedure.
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