You may think that if you download applications from Google Play Store you will be safe with an Android device. On the other hand, security experts recommend using a reliable application that can detect malicious applications.
The AV-TEST antivirus testing lab conducted a six-month test to determine how advanced the current security products for Android are, all compared to Google Play Protect, Google's malware detection solution in the Google Play store applications.
The survey was conducted in Android 8.0 and tested apps from the following companies:
- 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.
But when it comes to Avast Mobile Security and AVG Antivirus Free products they had the lowest score, (final 15,4). It makes sense because both apps use the same engine, so they offer similar performance in Appliances Android.
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 carried out controln on 10.000 new apps that were infected and Google Play Protect couldn't detect even the threats that were already known.
"Το αποτέλεσμα της Google είναι απογοητευτικό: καθ 'όλη τη διάρκεια 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.
"Στις δοκιμές, το Play Protect εμφάνιζε false alarms σε αβλαβείς εφαρμογές που προέρχονταν από το Google Play Store! Προσθέστε σε αυτό και τα false alarms για εφαρμογές από άλλες πηγές. Αυτός είναι ο λόγος για τον οποίο δεν απονεμήθηκαν πόντοι στο Google Play Protect στην κατηγορία χρηστικότητας", αναφέρει το AV-TEST.
