Mobile phone viruses may not be as common as their big PC-infecting brothers and sisters, but they do exist. The more time we spend online via our handsets, the more viruses will appear.

NetQin Antivirus is a utility that works like a traditional PC antivirus, scanning your phone's directories for malicious files or programs. You can stop or pause scans and select specific places for NetQin Antivirus to scan.

You will need a reasonable internet plan, because NetQin Antivirus updates from the web regularly, to keep up with new threats as they appear. While this is necessary, it can be a relatively lengthy process. Bear in mind too, that after the first free scan, you may need to pay for certain database updates.

Other features

NetQin Antivirus is much more than just an antivirus program. You can also use it as a firewall, to grant or deny internet access to certain application. The software comes with a great System Manager section, which lets you view all processes that are running on your phone, as well as managing installed applications and auto-start programs.

Unlike certain security tools, NetQin Antivirus is fairly lightweight and won’t drain too many system resources. In general the attractive user interface is very easy to get around. However, the constant alerts that pop up when it has blocked an untrusted app do get annoying.

Considering that the current threat level for mobiles is pretty light, NetQin Antivirus is only really worth installation if you download a lot from your phone.

NetQin Antivirus is an effective antivirus app for your phone, but comes with all the irritations of protection that PC users are used to!

Download NetQin Antivirus 3.2 (S60) in Softonic

Mobile security

The jury is still out on the existence of viable virus threats for mobile phones, but no matter where you stand, you're sure to find other, equally useful tools in avast! Mobile Security. The app is relatively lightweight, and easy to use. It starts working as soon as you have installed it and for basic, all round protection, it doesn't even require any additional tweaking.

Bunches of security features

To get the most out of avast! Mobile Security, of course, you need to take a look around the settings. Once in the app, you'll see just how flexible it it. The antivirus is there, of course, as is a firewall, app manager, privacy shield, call filter and anti-theft function, among others.

avast! Mobile Security is a very attractive app, with a clean interface that will make personalizing these features very easy. Simply tap on the area you are interested in, and avast! Mobile Security will show you your options. For example, you'll be able to schedule the virus scanner for automatic scans, view the apps that track your location (as well as other possible privacy invasions), enable and disable various shields and filters and more.

Anti-theft and Firewall

avast! Mobile Security's anti-theft is really something to be reckoned with. It's an app that, obviously enough, needs to be set up before your phone is stolen. Once you configure it correctly, you will, among other features, be able to geo-locate it, wipe your personal details, trigger an alarm, and enable various remote actions. avast! Mobile Security's anti-theft features are also virtually invisible to the thief, and therefore extremely difficult to get rid of.

There are two things to bear in mind when using avast! Mobile Security. For one, if you want to enable the firewall, your phone must be rooted, which not all users will want. Secondly, the anti-theft features are extensive. This is great, but will require a little effort on your part, making it by far the most complicated part of avast! Mobile Security.

Even Android virus skeptics will be amazed by the efficacy and breadth of avast! Mobile Security.

Download avast! Mobile Security 1.0.2129 in Softonic

Vault stores your private files and records so they don't appear anywhere else on your phone. You choose a password for Vault and your private stuff can only be accessed by entering this correctly.

The user interface in Vault is clear and easy to use. You simply choose what you want to hide based on the categories listed. With the free version of Vault you can hide photos, videos, phone numbers and messages.

Upgrade to premium and you'll also get the ability to hide individual contacts, which is very handy if there are people in your contacts you don't want prying eyes to find out about. The premium version has a number of other interesting features. This includes a cool trick in where if someone tries to access your Vault with an incorrect password you'll get an alert and the app will take a photo of who tried to access your private stuff!

Other neat features of the paid version include the ability to hide the Vault icon from your screen. Even more sneaky is a function to create a fake Vault. Using this, if someone finds out you've been hiding stuff and wants you to reveal all, you can use the fake Vault which doesn't show your secret photos, contacts, etc.

It would be great to see a backup feature added to Vault where your hidden data is stored in the cloud, so that even if something happens to your phone - or your Vault someone is on to you and you need to delete your files - you'd still have access to everything.

Overall though, Vault is an excellently conceived application that lets you easily hide those 'sensitive' files, logs and information on your phone.

Download Vault 2.2.16.22 in Softonic

Android security problems get a lot of attention, but whether or not you take them seriously enough to install an security app or antivirus is a decision only you can make. If you do think it is important, you could do much worse than NetQin Security, a slick, comprehensive and very professional-looking security app that runs on Android phones running 2.1 and over.

Virus protection

NetQin Security is divided into 7 main areas. The primary focus on the homescreen is the scan button, which allows you to run 3 types of scan - fast, complete or customized. It's also here that you'll be able to toggle real-time protection and URL scanner, both essential given the fast, multi-functional nature of a mobile device. Moving back to the homescreen, it's also here that you'll be able to update NetQin Security's virus database - to have NetQin Security perform this update automatically, you'll have to pay for the pro version.

Phone protection

NetQin Security also helps keep your phone safe - from both privacy threats that hijack your phone once installed to your physical phone being stolen. Privacy protection gives you a list of apps that can access your contacts, messages, device info and more, and gives you details on each, even allowing you to uninstall them directly if they look suspicious.

NetQin Security's Anti-lost protection is also extensive, allowing you to track your phone, set off alarms and even remotely lock the phone. Just bear in mind, however, that some of these features will require you to either provide a reporting number (the number of a friend or family member to use if your phone is stolen) or to purchase a pro version of NetQin Security.

System optimization

NetQin Security also provides a number of tools that allow you to easily manage apps and contacts. Although this can be done without the help of a separate app, it's nice to be able to do it from the one interface. NetQin Security lets you uninstall apps, terminate resource-hungry programs, back up your contacts and more. Despite its vastness, NetQin Security isn't actually a huge program, and didn't noticeably slow our test phone.

If you feel the need for an Android antivirus, then NetQin Security is a monster of an app.

Download NetQin Security 5.0.02.10 Beta in Softonic

The free anti-malware protection within Norton Mobile Security Lite is designed to help you detect and disinfect viruses before they do damage to your phone. You can scan your device at any time, or set up scheduled scans, though only daily, weekly or monthly scans are programmable. Norton Mobile Security Lite also supports the scanning of your SD card when it's inserted, to protect you this way.

Norton Mobile Security Lite also includes an anti-theft feature that allows you to lock your phone remotely via SMS if it's lost or stolen.

Using Norton Mobile Security Lite is fast and painless. The user interface is very simply laid out, and scans are quick and light on resources, meaning that it doesn't significantly slow down other processes while it's working.

Upgrade to the Norton Mobile Security full version and you'll get a few extra features, such as the ability to locate, lock or wipe your phone via the web, and block calls and SMS messages from certain numbers.

Even with all this, Norton Mobile Security seems a little light on features when compared to other Android security suites. For instance, it doesn't include any system optimization tools or uninstaller tools like you'll find in NetQin Security. Also, it lacks the backup and restore features of McAfee WaveSecure.

As you'd expect from antivirus experts Symantec, Norton Mobile Security offers a fast and reliable way to protect your phone. However, it does miss some features you'll find in other more comprehensive Android security apps.

Download Norton Mobile Security Lite 2.5.0.392 in Softonic