Best free antivirus for android download

Read this ultimate guide to find out what malware is, how it works, how it spreads and what you should do to protect yourself. From Cyber Police to Article , Android devices have been hit by several major ransomware attacks. Learn how to remove ransomware from Android here. Trojan horse malware disguises itself as harmless to trick you into installing it. Learn how Trojans work and how to prevent attacks.

Find out how to check for and detect keyloggers. Then learn how to remove them to protect your personal information and sensitive data.

Ransomware is a serious threat to individuals, businesses, and even hospitals. Learn how ransomware works and block hackers from holding your files hostage. Doxing, or doxxing, is the release of someone's personal info without their consent.

Find out how doxing works and how you can prevent it. The best passwords are strong enough to thwart a brute force or dictionary attack. Find out how to create good, easy-to-remember passwords.

United States English. Note : If your download did not start automatically, please click here. If you need to install Avast on a PC without an internet connection, you can download the offline installer here. In order to view this page correctly, you must have a JavaScript-enabled browser and have JavaScript turned on. We apologize for any inconvenience. Learn how to enable it. Block all potential threats. Prevent viruses and other malware from infecting your Android device.

The most common threats we detect and protect you from:. Trojan downloader Downloads malicious programs onto your device without you knowing. Locker ransomware Locks and prevents you from accessing your device.

Banking trojan Steals your banking credentials to gain access to your account. Rooter Acquires privileged access to take over and control your device. This generates strong passwords on demand, stores and fills them locally, and syncs them with free iOS and Android apps.

A solid antivirus engine with a good range of features, made even better by the new password manager. Avast Free Antivirus protects your computer from viruses, spyware, ransomware, and other kinds of malware in real-time. Avast Antivirus protects your computer from viruses, spyware, ransomware, and other kinds of malware programs and Internet threats. The network security scanner detects more router vulnerabilities and displays extra details.

The interface has been optimised and improved. But while Avast's malware protection is good, it's far from perfect. Some of Avast's anti-theft functions didn't work for us, and its call-blocking feature didn't work at all. It's since been removed. And the free version's ads and constant nags to upgrade are annoying and intrusive.

Users of either paid plan also get additional anti-theft features, an app locker and tech support. Read our full Avast Mobile Security review. Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus, also known as Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, offers nearly-perfect malware protection, a small system impact and a call blocker that actually works. There are no ads in the free version, and not much nagging to upgrade to the paid plan.

Free users get call filtering, Android Wear support and a strong set of anti-theft functions, but you have to scan each new app manually. Paying users get automatic scans of new apps, an app lock and blocking of known phishing websites. And that's about it. There's no Wi-Fi network scanner and none of the privacy tools that other Android antivirus apps now offer. If you're just looking for malware protection, you can't really go wrong with Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus's free tier.

Read our full Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus review. Lookout Mobile Security, now rebranded as Lookout Security and Antivirus or Lookout Personal, was one of the first Android antivirus apps, and for a long time the best. Its ease of use, clean interface and lack of ads explain its continued popularity.

But Lookout's costs can rack up quickly. The free tier is bare-bones; it just scans for malware and locates lost phones. An unlimited VPN and a data-breach notification service make the premium price worthwhile. It might well be worth the expense. The trouble is that Lookout doesn't often submit its app to third-partly lab evaluations, so we don't really know how well Lookout protects against malware.

Its active scans are also slow and heavy. Like Avast, McAfee offers or used to offer a ton of useful features, but its free version is also full of ads and upsell suggestions. The malware protection is decent, if not fantastic. It's not really clear why this was done, other than to "adjust our product portfolio. You'll get some good stuff with the free version of McAfee Mobile Security, such as a way to track each app's data usage and a Wi-Fi security scanner.

You can get one of the best VPN services to cover all your devices for less. Read our full McAfee Mobile Security review. Google Play Protect comes built into every Android device that runs Google Play, and it would be great if it worked well. Unfortunately, Google Play Protect's dismal malware detection makes the strongest possible argument for using a third-party Android antivirus app.

We did like that Google Play Protect's interface is minimal, there are no ads and the system impact is light. Some of Android's other built-in features, including Find My Device and Chrome Safe Browsing, mirror what third-party antivirus apps do on the side.

Google Play Protect's best feature is that Google can use it to remotely disable dangerous apps. This stays the case whether you're running third-party antivirus software or not. We recommend you not disable Google Play Protect. But overall, Google Play Protect is awful at protecting you from malicious apps. For your own sake, please use something else. Read our full Google Play Protect review.

Ideally, to keep your Android device safe, you should keep its software updated. Each new version of Android is more secure than the one before, and each monthly Android security update fixes newly found flaws. But unless you've got a Google Pixel or Android One phone, you won't get those updates and upgrades right away. Most device makers need time to make sure changes to Android don't break their devices or software.

That lag time can be a couple of weeks, or it can be many months. Worse, some Android phone models stop getting Android OS upgrades after two years, and a few never get monthly security patches at all. That's where the best Android antivirus apps come in.