Create Smartphone Amnesia with Avira Antivirus App

Past blog posts highlight the rising prevalence in mobile malware. As people continue to use mobile devices (tablets, smartphones) we cannot overlook the importance of protection. Data breaches continue to pile up, people grow concerned, but they must not take the lazy route by simply ignoring cyber security.

Download and install the Avira Antivirus for Android or Apple devices. The app is free and easy to use with multiple convenient security features. 

You may hesitate to install this app if you shy away from most applications that prompt you for access to multiple services and information available through smartphones.

The app does require you to create an account. Once you complete this step, you’ll have access to several useful remote features.

Beyond virus scans with location, remote locking, and alarm features

I go through the rounds of checking my car, pants/shorts, or pack for wallet, phone and keys whenever outside of the home. I’m diligent in this way, but this discipline is not bulletproof. As you hear constantly, people lose their smartphones or become victims of theft while out with friends drinking. The same tends to occur for individuals who utilize public transportation.

Why are you always yelling at me?

Avira’s nifty remote services save the negligent lost or kidnapped smartphone. Can’t find your brand new $600.00 Samsung Galaxy S5? Access the Avira Online Essentials Dashboard and activate the “yell” feature to make your smartphone scream in fear because it may never come home again. Unless you didn’t charge that humongous phablet, your smartphone is easily found. We played a game of hide and seek with my Galaxy S5.  

GPS tracking the kids

Let’s face the inevitable, yet horrible truth. You might have a more intimate relationship with the fancy smartphone than with the kids. Would you freak out over not knowing where your iPhone or child is at the local park? That’s a different debate, but with Avira you can forgo the anxiety of “not knowing where you put it” by going back to that super special online dashboard.

With the amazing power of GPS, locating devices with the app installed and activated takes little to no effort. This comes in handy when the phone conveniently slipped out of your pants pocket or purse on the Uber or Lyft ride home from the bar. Did a night jogger snatch your Nokia 5 right out of your hands? Google may replace the broken device, but you can immediately locate and even lock the device remotely.

As you may guess, there are loopholes in the location features. If a criminal turns the phone off or it loses power, it fails to locate the device. What do you take from this? Charge your phones and conserve battery life with power saving modes such as Ultra Power Saving Mode for the Galaxy S5.

Back that mobile data up and wipe it

In addition to the location and remote lock features, you have the power to erase mobile data. You may say, “well heck I don’t have anything valuable on the device in the first place.” Statement = false. I make it a point not to use banking apps, avoid accessing work email, and other practices to limit what sensitive info is accessible through my device. Simple security awareness is not enough. It’s surprising what kind of useful and critical data an intelligent criminal can harvest.

Back that data up through Google Drive, an external hard drive, a laptop, other cloud services, but maybe iPhone and iPad people should avoid the iCloud for now. As you can see, the options for erasing data remotely are plentiful. Choose wisely and don’t fret if you properly prepared for a the preposterous likelihood of losing the device to criminals. This practice proves extremely vital for individuals with work phones and tablets.

Where’s the malware?

After the extensive exploration and tests, I failed to even address the main focus of the application. How strong is Avira against protecting mobile malware? Avira applications and products are proven and rated highly, but nothing remains impenetrable.

Remember that according to McAfee, mobile malware increased over “167 percent in the past year alone.” This problem isn’t going away. As people use their devices more often than desktops or laptops, they will become a bigger target for malicious hackers to exploit security vulnerabilities.

I’m no security expert, but I would at least try out the Avira Antivirus app or explore other possibilities. You never know where your info or smartphone could end up? Even if you’re no Target or Home Depot, we’re all open books and often unaware of social engineering, emailing phishing schemes and other terrible plots to hack into our worlds.