You might think that downloading apps from the Google Play Store will keep you safe with a device Android. On the other hand, security experts recommend using a reliable application that can detect malicious applications.
Antivirus testing lab AV-TEST conducted a six-month test to determine how advanced current Android security products are, all compared to Google Play Protect, Google's solution for malicioussoftware in the Google Play store applications.
The research was conducted on Android 8.0 and applications from the following companies were tested:
- Ahnlab
- Avast
- AVG
- Avira
- Bitdefender
- F-Secure
- G Data
- Ikarus
- Kaspersky
- McAfee
- Norton LifeLock
- securiON
- Trend Micro
AV-TEST tests protection applications in three different categories: protection, performance, and usability. The maximum score for each product was six points per test, and the maximum was 18 points.
From 18 points they got:
- Avira Antivirus Security
- Bitdefender Mobile Security
- G Data Internet Security
- Norton LifeLock Norton 360
- Trend Micro Mobile Security
The worst rating was given to Google Play Protect, as it received only 6 points for performance.
However, for the products Avast Mobile Security and AVG Antivirus Free had the lowest score (final 15,4). This makes sense because both apps use the same engine, so they offer similar performance on Android devices.
As for Google Play Protect, AV-TEST clearly shows that you should not rely on it if you want to be safe on an Android device.
The tests checked 10.000 new applications that were infected, and Google Play Protect could not detect even the threats that were already known.
“Google's result is disappointing: throughout duration των δοκιμών, το Google Play Protect είχε ένα μέσο ποσοστό ανίχνευσης 64,6 τοις εκατό στις δοκιμές σε πραγματικό χρόνο. Το σύνολο των εφαρμογών που εντόπισε έφτασε μόνο το 45,4 τοις εκατό. Σε στρογγυλεμένους αριθμούς, αυτό σημαίνει ότι στις δοκιμές, το Google Play Protect χάνει περίπου 3.500 έως 5.500 εφαρμογές που περιέχουν κρυφό κακόβουλο λογισμικό, “ he says the AV-TEST.
Google Play Protect presented users with false positives for applications installed from the Google Play Store.
"In tests, Play Protect displayed false alarms on harmless applications from the Google Play Store! Add to this the false alarms for applications from other sources. That is why Google Play Protect was not awarded points in the usability category ", reports AV-TEST.
