Anti Virus Apps

[Chillout80s]

How important are Anti Virus scans for Android? To that, does anyone have any input on which ones work best?

I downloaded Lookout a couple weeks and it seems to work well, doesn't bog down my droid at all and it scans every app as I download it. All in all no problems with it and I guess I feel a bit safer having one installed, but Im just wondering mainly, Are they worth it, necessary?

 

[88 FLUX]

IMHO, AV for your Android phone is as useful as a wallpaper that is all black and says "I serve no purpose".

 

[didiwags]

Yeah I have heard that they cause more problems and are not actually needed!!!

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Has anyone actually seen an Android virus in the wild?

 

[melwan]

I think the concern here is not to protect Android from being infected. The real concern is that when people connect their Android devices to infected PCs, copy files over to the SD card (including an infected file), and then paste it on a second PC. This will get the 2nd PC infected.

The counter argument to the above though is that both PCs (even one) should have been running good AVs since resources are not scarce in such machines. It's not a smartphone's job to stop a virus from spreading between PCs. Therefore, yep, they are useless

On the other hand though, if you disable the AV feature in Lookout, you can use the locate feature in case your phone gets lost or stolen. Mobile Defense (google it) is another superior app with only this feature.

 

[Chillout80s]

On the other hand though, if you disable the AV feature in Lookout, you can use the locate feature in case your phone gets lost or stolen. Mobile Defense (google it) is another superior app with only this feature.

I actually decided to just turn off the AV for Lookout and right now I just have the backup feature and the locate feature active. Good call, thanks!

I'll check out that Mobile Defense app that you mentioned as well.

 

[anon(2909270)]

There is a waiting list for Mobile Defense at the moment. It does look very good and i will give it a go once its available for download again. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[melwan]

You are welcome. I'm waiting for it too. According to them, they will open it to international users soon as well. lol it feels weird to use the word "international" when I'm in Canada

 

[Chillout80s]

I signed up on the waiting list now as well, looks very cool and they seem to be on top of their game with their security measures for their servers.

 

[melwan]

Yea, all the reviews about them are great.

 

[D Evo]

Do any of these let you remotely turn on the phones GPS? IMO the locate function is useless without GPS. And which one is best?

Wavesecure
Lookout
Mobile Defense

I had a previous phone (iPhone) stolen and I've had a program like this on my to do list for awhile.

 

[Chillout80s]

Has anyone had to actually use one of these services to locate a phone using the GPS? Just wondering what your experience is and which one works the best.

 

[melwan]

@D Evo: I think this is the whole idea behind these apps. They allow you to turn GPS on and show you where the phone is on a map.

@Chillout80s: I tried Lookout and my phone was sleeping. It pinpointed the location to as close as ~30 feet (10 meters). I also replaced the Sim card for testing purposes and I received an email informing me that the Sim card was replaced and it still tracked the phone. I can't speak for Mobile Defense since it's not available in Canada yet, but I heard that it's even better than the competition.

 

[Chillout80s]

Thanks a bunch for the info melwan, I appreciate it. I was thinking of testing this out as well and seeing how accurate it was. The reviews I've read seem to indicate this is a pretty solid app, plus the online backup is nice too. I signed up for the waiting list for mobile defense since that one seems to be even more epic but for now this one will do nicely..hopefully I never have to use it..LOL

 

[D Evo]

@D Evo: I think this is the whole idea behind these apps. They allow you to turn GPS on and show you where the phone is on a map.

Have you tried it after turning GPS off on your phone?

I installed lookout. Tried locating with GPS on, very accurate. I then turned GPS off on my phone. I only turn GPS on when I need it same goes for 4G and WIFI. I can't find an option to turn GPS on remotely from the site. So I just hit find phone, accuracy is horrible it gives me a 1000 - 1700 meter range. Thats like 10-17 football fields. This can't be cell tower triangulation accuracy.

Am I missing this remote GPS function/option?

 

[D Evo]

Emailed lookout. See response below:

________________________________________________________________
Yvette Kay, Jul 08 12:21 pm (PDT):
Hi ______,

No, there is no way to remotely activate your GPS with Lookout.

Thanks for using Lookout!

--------------------
Make sure to submit Feature Requests, Suggestions, and other thoughts and ideas to https://lookout.zendesk.com/forums
and feel free to check us out on Twitter at: Lookout (Lookout) on Twitter

Yvette Kay,
The Lookout Team
Lookout (Lookout) on Twitter
http://www.mylookout.com
________________________________________________________________

Uninstalled.....

 

[melwan]

I apologize for misunderstanding your question few posts up. Good to know that though; I never turn off my GPS anyway.