AV-Test reviews anti-malware apps: avast! on top

There have been several malware scares in Android in the past, with Google even resorting to remove some of them directly from the users devices. Google has been trying through various ways like Bouncer, testing apps in emulators and increasing app sizes, but these methods are only good as a first-line of defence. Another good way to protect from rogue apps would be to use anti-virus or, in Android’s case, anti-malware apps.

AV-TEST, an IT Security Institute, has come out with a detailed report on the anti-malware apps available for the market. According to the report malware are on the rise, which contrasts with what Google has claimed. AV-TEST has also tested various anti-malware products and its no surprise that avast! has come on top.

Malware on the rise
According to AV-TEST Android malwares have been rising significantly on the Android platform, after a dip in Dec 2011.

Test conditions

AV-TEST has used an emulator for testing the apps, wherever possible. In cases where it was not possible to do so, a real device was used. AV-TEST also says that the emulator results were cross-checked by using a real device, but I think that the real device tests will not be exhaustive as it defeats the purpose of using the emulator in the first place.

The emulated environment was based on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), while the non-emulated environment testing was done on a Galaxy Tab (Android 2.2, Froyo), Galaxy Nexus (Android 4, ICS).

Final results
In the final results, avast! has clearly come on top, and remains one of the best product on the market. We will write another blog post detailing about the major anti-malware products.