• So if you have a minimal use of anti-virus scan, then the best option is to go with an online virus scanner, though it has an extra layer of security. Some of the antivirus scans the listed below are completely free, and a good option too. Related Resources. Best Free Online Virus Scanners for 2019.
• A free online virus scan sounds rather appealing. First of all, it means that you don’t have to download anything to check files for viruses. Besides, it is totally free – and that’s the best part. However, we all know that free stuff is rarely high-quality. That’s why naturally the question “Can I trust it?” pops up.
• Avira Free Antivirus was the best free antivirus option just a few years ago, before Bitdefender and Kaspersky jumped into the ring and Avast, AVG and Windows Defender raised their game.

Best Virus Scanner For Android Free

An antivirus app for your Android device can clean up viruses, Trojans, malicious URLs, infected SD cards, and other kinds of mobile malware, as well as protect your privacy from other threats like spyware or improper app permissions.

Aug 30, 2019  Just as Avira, this provider offers a free online virus scanner both for uploaded files and suspicious websites. VirusTotal can check all kinds of files under 256 MB, even ZIP and RAR archives. But you can’t scan several files simultaneously, and it can be inconvenient sometimes. Even if you're running Windows 10, you shouldn't rely on Microsoft's security tools. Many free third-party security apps are more effective at keeping you safe. We've tested 17 no-cost services to. For the review we chose 5 reliable, free and effective malware scanners for Android. They will help you to figure out whether there is a virus on your phone without downloading third party programs and also they will help you to search for the spyware or malware and delete it (put in quarantine).

Fortunately, a really great free antivirus app doesn't also have to hit you with performance issues you might expect from tools like these, like bloated RAM usage, excess bandwidth, etc. We've selected these particular antivirus apps because they excel with respect to usability, system resource requirements, user reviews, and feature set.

Need antivirus protection on your other devices? Check out our free Windows antivirus programs and best free Mac antivirus lists, too!

Here are the four best antivirus apps for Android, each of which has its own unique advantages:

Avira Antivirus Security

Avira’s Antivirus Security app for Android does what all antivirus apps should do: Automatically scans apps for malware, checks for threats in external storage devices, shows which apps have access to your private information, and is extremely easy to use.

Avira can scan each time you disconnect from a computer as well as start scheduled scans once a day, every day. If that isn't enough for you, you can always start a manual scan whenever you want to check for malware like adware, riskware, ransomware, and potentially unwanted programs.

When threats are found, you'll be alerted of the threat type (riskware, PUP, etc.) and will have the option to ignore them or delete them on the spot.

Here are some other things the Avira Antivirus Security app is capable of:

• Updated apps are re-scanned when they're finished updating, to ensure that any new files aren't infected
• You get to define whether files and/or apps are scanned
• The app can be set up to only show notifications when threats are found, which is really handy so you aren't bombarded with messages each time Avira finds your mobile device clean
• There's also an anti-theft tool that lets you find your device remotely, or even lock it or wipe it, via your Avira Connect account
• When checking which apps have privileged access to your information (as well as what access they have), they are categorized as being high risk, medium risk, or low risk but you can always 'trust' any of them to remove them from being labeled as a risk
• An Activity section shows a history of what Avira has been doing and what it finds; it's easy to sift through since threats are marked in red
• Overcharging Protection can remind you to unplug the device when it’s fully charged
• The Identity Safeguard function checks company breaches to see if your email was included in any of them

This free version of Avira Antivirus Security is very much like the professional edition you can buy except that the pro version doesn’t contain ads, will update its definitions every hour, includes an app locker, and supports the secure browsing feature that helps your device stay clean when browsing the web, downloading files, and shopping online.

Free Virus Scanner Windows

Security Master

Security Master (previously known as CM Security) is an incredibly popular app that integrates an antivirus scanner with a suite of other tools.

This app checks for viruses, malicious ads, Trojans, vulnerabilities, hacking tools, and more.

It not only makes checking for all sorts of malware just one tap away, but also provides various privacy, security, and performance related tools to keep your phone in tip-top shape.

Here's a list of other features found in Security Master:

• Auto-scans for malware as apps are installing, and automatically blocks any threats
• Lets you perform a malware scan at any time and schedule scans to perform on a regular basis
• Can connect you to the internet through a VPN that provides 200 MB of free data every day; it can even be set up to only turn on when you're using apps with security risks
• A cleaner helps restore storage used by unnecessary things like caches and junk files
• Includes various privacy protection tools like a password to open any or all of your apps
• An intruder selfie option takes a photo of anyone who incorrectly enters a password
• Push notifications can be censored for specific apps to provide privacy on incoming alerts
• A safe browsing tool makes it simple to delete your browsing history after using the browser built-in to Security Master
• The app can identify the phone's temperature and report if it's normal or not; it gives a list of apps that are currently using system resources and lets you shut them down to cool off the phone
• A power usage analyzer shows which apps can be hibernated to save battery, and even estimates how much battery life you'll save by shutting those apps down (which you can do with one tap)
• The Wi-Fi Security tool easily shuts down apps that are using the most bandwidth; it also tests the internet speed and the security of the network you're on as well as has an option to remove the ability for your phone to access insecure networks (there's also a way to find public hotspots with this app)
• Real-time protection can be enabled or disabled at any time

Security Master is clearly a... master of security. If that's what you're after, then great. If not, you might find all these extra tools to just be in the way, especially the entire section dedicated to gaming.

However, it's important to note that regardless of all these options and capabilities in Security Master, nearly everything is accessible with a large button, so most things are just one or two taps away and are categorized in their own areas.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free

Best Free Android Virus Protection App

The two antivirus apps listed above are clearly stuffed with features, and that's where Bitdefender's AV app differs: it's completely free from clutter and includes only an antivirus tool.

The only manual thing you can do with Bitdefender is to start with a scan and choose whether or not to include an SD card in the check against viruses and other threats.

Once the full scan has completed, you'll be protected against any new app installs and updates automatically so that they're blocked before they can do any damage.

If a threat is found, you'll be taken into the results screen where you can easily uninstall the culprits.

Bitdefender is said to be super light on resources since it doesn't download and store virus signatures on the device, but instead uses cloud-based protection to check for the latest safeguards against outbreaks.

The only drawback to Bitdefender Antivirus Free is when you compare it to Bitdefender's not-free Mobile Security & Antivirus app, which checks your browsing habits in real-time and can lock down or wipe your phone if it's stolen, which are pretty handy features.

AVG AntiVirus Free

The AVG AntiVirus app for Android was the very first antivirus app on Google Play that reached 100 million downloads. It protects you from spyware, unsafe apps and settings, viruses, and other malware and threats.

AVG supports scheduled scans, protects against malicious apps, can scan the files stored on the internal storage device, warns you about apps that other AVG users have reported as a threat, and can treat potentially unwanted programs as malware.

Also, AVG AntiVirus Free protects you while browsing the internet in Chrome, too.

Much like some of the other Android AV apps in this list, AVG doesn't include just a virus scanner:

• If you have root access, you can also enable the AVG firewall
• An internal photo vault can hide select images within the app, protected behind a custom passcode
• AVG can clean some junk files and caches that you don't need anymore, to free up disk space
• An internet speed test is built-in to find your upload and download speed
• Security threats can be found by scanning the network you're connected to; it checks the encryption level and password strength
• You can improve the performance of your device with AVG by shutting down things that are running in memory
• A warning can be given when you reach 10% or 30% battery life. You can also configure a power save feature that will shut down things like Bluetooth, auto-sync, automatic brightness, and Wi-Fi when the battery gets too low
• Find the permissions all your apps have, categorized into high, average, and low permissions; for example, you might find that one app has access to your payment information
• View and monitor data usage to avoid overage charges
• Virus definitions can be configured to only download when you're connected over Wi-Fi
• Free users can remotely lock their device through a web browser that communicates with the AVG app; also supported are SMS commands that are used to trigger a call from your device, a data wipe, a siren or lock request, and more

The biggest downfall with this Android antivirus tool from AVG is that it's littered with advertisements; they're on almost every single screen. Plus, you're always just one tap away from upgrading to the pro version from every area of the app, which is frustrating if you accidentally tap it.

It's also annoying when AVG finds risks that aren't actually malicious. However, if you do like to have those kinds of alerts, even if no files or apps are found to be harmful, then you won't have a problem with that.

For example, after a scan, you might be told that the 'unknown sources' option is disabled on your phone that would normally tell you when you've installed an unofficial app that could contain threats.

While that feature should probably always be enabled, disabling it doesn't necessarily mean you are currently under attack or have infected files.

App backup, camera trap, device lock, VPN protection, app lock, and no ads, are are a few of the unsupported features in the free edition. There are also various links to features that you can only get in other apps, so you might find yourself leaving AVG for the Play Store when you try tapping those options.