Discussion on:

Five Android antivirus products to add to your mobile arsenal

Android needs antivirus. Is it really worth it to put up with the Antivirus merry-go-round users put up with on Windows? Personally, I'd hate to have to say, "Sorry, I can't use my phone...it has a virus on it."

This really turns me off to the entire Android OS. I will not be purchasing any android powered devices now or in the future. The OS is just not secure enough against security threats.

All devices are subject to being bugged. Even a regular phone could be compromised. The difference is that there would be no way of knowing. On the Android platform it is open enough that the intrusion could be detected.

If you are really paranoid then you wouldn't carry a cellphone at all.

About a year ago, when my old Motorolla flip phone died (literally...one morning, I woke up and the screen decided to stop working), my wife and I took a good look at Android phones. We decided not to purchase one, and thankfully, that was the right decision. With Android being as fragmented as it is, and now with the threat of viruses on the Android OS, we are REALLY glad we did not.

I have as of yet to see benefits of Android outweigh the negatives of the OS. Granted, you can do some pretty nice things with Android (task killer, easily write your own apps, etc.), but those nice things come at a cost...carrier specific crapware that is difficult to uninstall without rooting the phone, a non-unified vendor-specific UI, terrible battery life, and now viruses.

Android just isn't worth it.

It is good to hear that there is a real signature scanner. All of the other "anti-virus" seem to be a blacklist of infected APK files. I would like a scanner that is not fooled by a simple name change.

All of these products are too new and I would like more information about them.

I have Webroot Mobile Security on my tablet and it works well for me (I like the safe browsing feature included in the free version), but I would love to see what others think... I also use Antivirus Free from Creative Apps and like it as well.

NetQin and Dr. Web seem interesting... I'll have to check them out!

I used Lookout on my old WinMo 6 phone and really liked it. I have AVG on my tablet (Pandigital Novel). But I'm using Webroot on my Android phone. In addition to the AV / security features, my favorite thing with Webroot is the ability to block calls and text messages. All for free!

This app is apparently what was causing my phone to burn up. Was actually too hot to hold. Two different devices, same model (Samsung Droid Charge). A long phone call with Verizon tech support isolated this program as possible culprit. Removed it, and voila! Battery lasts MANY more hours, and no overheating, which had also been causing unexpected shut-downs and reboots.

I was about to install it and reading the Terms of Usage, it says that they are Chinese, headquartered in Beijing. With all the espionage sponsored by the Chinese government, how smart would be to give them access to all of your information stored in your phone? It is easy to assume that their ???cloud coverage??? goes through their servers and for anybody accessing email or financial sites through the phone???s web browser, there goes the keys to the castle.