Security & Antivirus Apps - Necessary?

[anon(8312128)]

Just got my T-Mobile Note 8, and my device came with McAfee app. In the past, my devices had Lookout installed, which did it's magic in the background -- never paid too much attention to it and I never created an account -- just let it do it's thing in the background.

Should I be running this McAfee app? Should I download Lookout and get it going? Is one app better than the other? Is it really critical to use ANY of these antivirus/security apps? If they really aren't necessary, I just assume delete this McAfee app.

Thanks!

 

[jsk0703]

I don't bother but that is me. I just don't install many apps. Had lookout in the past and it was decent.

 

[anon(8312128)]

I don't bother but that is me. I just don't install many apps. Had lookout in the past and it was decent.

Thanks

 

[Note8uzer]

I use Lookout on occassion, but I don't keep it running in the background.

 

[Amele]

I have Avast because I've had it on every phone for years but I was just wondering if I really needed it. On the other hand I am one of those who has a lot of apps, not all of which I use all the time but I don't want to uninstall them.

 

[Awhispersecho]

I tried to optimize my Note last night and it would not allow me to go above 90% unless I activated Mcafee. It literally showed me at 90% and then showed Mcafee with a +10% next to it. So I did it because the phone felt a little sluggish already, however this really pissed me off and I might return the phone because of this. Coming from Windows Phone, I am disgusted at how much Samsung and Android shoves down your throat. It's worse than it used to be.

My question is this, has anyone else had that happen to them? Also, where is the Mcafee pp, I can't find it anywhere on my phone. It's not listed in the app drawer, it's not in the settings under apps, it doesn't even show up in security under device maintenance. Some help would be greatly appreciated or I may be done with this phone real quick.

 

[Amele]

I don't have and never had Mcafee on my Verizon note 8. Can you disable it?

 

[Jewels81]

I have Avast because I've had it on every phone for years but I was just wondering if I really needed it. On the other hand I am one of those who has a lot of apps, not all of which I use all the time but I don't want to uninstall them.

I have avast as well.

 

[Awhispersecho]

That's the thing, I never installed it. Just after having the phone a week all of a sudden it wouldn;t let me optomize more than 90% unless I clicked on Mcafee. Now it says my phone is protected under security even though it does't show as installed. I can't find it anywhere and if I go to the Play store or Galaxy Apps it does not show it as installed. And yet, it made me click on it and click allow for permissions to optimize my phone. It's nowhere to be found. I have no idea at this point.

 

[Forgewizard]

I use Lookout pro version that came with my Note3 and simply transferred to this Note8; didn't know Macafee was on the T-Mobile Note8. Hope it does not interfere with Lookout. I am not a fan of Macafee. They are horrible memory hogs on a PC, and not that secure either.

Lookout offers great security and easy on the cpu.

 

[anon(5719825)]

I tried to optimize my Note last night and it would not allow me to go above 90% unless I activated Mcafee. It literally showed me at 90% and then showed Mcafee with a +10% next to it. So I did it because the phone felt a little sluggish already, however this really pissed me off and I might return the phone because of this. Coming from Windows Phone, I am disgusted at how much Samsung and Android shoves down your throat. It's worse than it used to be.

My question is this, has anyone else had that happen to them? Also, where is the Mcafee pp, I can't find it anywhere on my phone. It's not listed in the app drawer, it's not in the settings under apps, it doesn't even show up in security under device maintenance. Some help would be greatly appreciated or I may be done with this phone real quick.

I have found that the MCafee app is only on the unlocked models and so the device maintenance graph will only show 90% until you enable the MCafee app. On my unlocked S8+ and S7 Edge, I have disabled the maintenance app altogether because I really think it's just a waste of time.

On my T-Mobile Note 8 and S7 Edge, the maintenance graph goes up to 100% and there is none of the Mcafee garbage installed. It will only appear on your phone once you accept the Mcafee TOS and then it's part of the maintenance app.

I don't think most people need an antivirus app installed unless you have a habit of downloading torrents or installing pirated apps.

 

[o4liberty]

I have used Norton for this last three years and very happy with all the features that have.

 

[Awhispersecho]

I should have mentioned that this
is an unlocked Note 8. It made me allow permissions for McAfee in order to go above 90% on the maintenance graph. However, Mcafee does not show up anywhere I'm my phone. It is not in the maintenance app, it's not in the app drawer and it's not in the app list in settings. So now I have no idea of it's even on my phone or not. I don't want it or any antivirus running on my phone.

 

[B. Diddy]

My thoughts on antivirus apps:

For the most part, it's still quite difficult to get an actual virus on your phone, because malware requires you to manually accept the installation (which is why they try to fool you into thinking you're installing something legitimate). Use common sense:

1. Avoid shady websites that deal with things like porn, gambling, and "free" (aka pirated) apps/music/movies.

2. Never ever tap on a link that appears in a popup while browsing, especially if they're warning you that your phone is infected -- they're just trying to scare you into installing some bogus "antivirus" app that is probably malicious itself

3. Only install apps from well-established app sources like Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore. Read a bunch of app reviews before installing an app to look for any complaints about adware or suspected malware.

4. Turn on Google Play Protect features in Settings>Google>Security. This allows Google to periodically scan your phone's apps to look for malware.

5. Turn off "Unknown Sources" in Settings>Security. This prevents any app that wasn't obtained from Google Play Store from being installed (which could include malicious apps that are inadvertently downloaded).

 

[ajb1965]

What Diddy said ^^^^

I never use AV on Android. Wastes resources.

 

[chanchan05]

The only thing AV on Android is good for is the anti theft features. If you're already paying for AV on a computer, they often include licenses for the Android app so you can get it for the antitheft. AV antitheft is able to use SMS commands, unlike Google (AFAIK), do that's an advantage. Even if data is off, you can sms it and it will reply with coordinates you can enter on Google Maps to locate the device.
But if you're not already paying for an AV on a PC, it would be cheaper to get a dedicated anti theft like Cerberus.

 

[gyounk]

I have found that the MCafee app is only on the unlocked models and so the device maintenance graph will only show 90% until you enable the MCafee app. On my unlocked S8+ and S7 Edge, I have disabled the maintenance app altogether because I really think it's just a waste of time.

On my T-Mobile Note 8 and S7 Edge, the maintenance graph goes up to 100% and there is none of the Mcafee garbage installed. It will only appear on your phone once you accept the Mcafee TOS and then it's part of the maintenance app.

I don't think most people need an antivirus app installed unless you have a habit of downloading torrents or installing pirated apps.

I have the unlocked model. I do see McAfee as a optional install, but Iget 100 device optimaztion wihtout it installed. I did install Malwarebytes so maybe that is why I can still get 100?

 

[Awhispersecho]

Where do you see McAfee? I can't find it anywhere and it made me install it. at least I think it did. But like I said, I have no idea because i t doesn't show up as installed, optional or anything anywhere. I just want to find it so if it is installed, I can uninstall it.

 

[chanchan05]

Where do you see McAfee? I can't find it anywhere and it made me install it. at least I think it did. But like I said, I have no idea because i t doesn't show up as installed, optional or anything anywhere. I just want to find it so if it is installed, I can uninstall it.

In some devices it's built into the firmware in Device Manager, so it cannot be uninstalled. McAfee provided the anti malware part. Would have preferred they went Bitdefender or Malwarebytes. Not sure if it's the same on all devices.

 

[anon(8312128)]

My thoughts on antivirus apps:

For the most part, it's still quite difficult to get an actual virus on your phone, because malware requires you to manually accept the installation (which is why they try to fool you into thinking you're installing something legitimate). Use common sense:

1. Avoid shady websites that deal with things like porn, gambling, and "free" (aka pirated) apps/music/movies.

2. Never ever tap on a link that appears in a popup while browsing, especially if they're warning you that your phone is infected -- they're just trying to scare you into installing some bogus "antivirus" app that is probably malicious itself

3. Only install apps from well-established app sources like Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore. Read a bunch of app reviews before installing an app to look for any complaints about adware or suspected malware.

4. Turn on Google Play Protect features in Settings>Google>Security. This allows Google to periodically scan your phone's apps to look for malware.

5. Turn off "Unknown Sources" in Settings>Security. This prevents any app that wasn't obtained from Google Play Store from being installed (which could include malicious apps that are inadvertently downloaded).

Thank you for this - pretty much sums it up. Like you said, pretty much common sense.