Android is a great operating system for any purpose, and there are a lot of powerful and stylish devices running on it available at a fraction of the price for their competitors, iPhone, Windows 7 Phone, Palm WebOS and Blackberry. The main reason for this is that Android is completely free (for the user, at least) and is largely maintained by a big network of developers and a huge user community.
But as with any other complex operating system that is being used for sensitive business purposes and to store important and often times, secret, information, there are a lot of users that are concerned about the data security that Android provides.
Just a decade ago, there was no way for mobile devices to get infected by a virus or some sort of malware, but nowadays, with the powerful processors, large amounts of memory and the constant connection to the Internet that are most often integrated into all smart phones, infecting a phone with a Trojan, virus, bot or anything else is not only possible, but also beneficial for the attacker.
The hackers that do this can benefit from stealing personal information over an active or easily enable-able 3G Internet connection or use the phone as a proxy device for any of their purposes, which could cost quite a lot of money for the phone’s owner.
That is exactly the reason why various security companies and individuals are developing and selling antivirus, antispyware, antimalware, and data encryption tools for Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile and other mobile operating systems.
Here are a few of the best security applications for Android that will keep your phone and your information safe from any possible intrusion.
B-Folders.
This application is currently the best secure file storage for the Android operating system. It allows you to store any kind of files and information, from trade secrets to credit card numbers and passwords and usernames in a secure, literally unbreakable environment which uses the AES 256 bit encryption (it would take 40 years to break one by brute force!). The application also supports syncing with your desktop, has folders, search, backup and auto-lock features, all of which will help you in your quest for data security. Also, the app is completely free, which can only be a good thing!
B-Folders-Android Apps
eWallet Viewer.
eWallet is the best secure file storage tool for Windows, Windows Mobile and iPhone OS powered devices, but it is still unavailable for Android. This is completely unforgivable, and they are certainly losing money, as there are over 20,000 users for the B-Folders app (which is a direct competitor), but at least they have released a free viewer app that only lets you view any files and information you have stored on your desktop eWallet and synced with your Android device. This app is great if you are already using eWallet and have a big amount of data stored in it, otherwise you’d be better off choosing B-Folders.
eWallet Viewer-Android Apps
Security Safe.
Security Safe is a simple, yet useful Android app that lets you store usernames and passwords in a secure environment. It’s very much like B-Folders, but it can only store a few fields of text, and not files. Still, it’s pretty useful to have, especially when you want to keep your low-priority usernames and passwords separate from the most important ones.
Security Safe-Android Apps
Security Pro.
This application protects your phone against various viruses, Trojans, exploits and other malware and also includes the “FindR” online service that helps you find your phone anywhere in the world using its integrated GPS and the ID of the cell tower from which its receiving the signal. This is a great tool to own if you want to be completely insured for cases when you may lose your device and want to be sure you can retrieve it later.
Security Pro-Android Apps
WaveSecure Mobile Security.
This application is practically a must have if you own an Android phone and are concerned about the information you store on it. It has a wide range of features to protect your phone and help you find it in case you lose it (or it gets stolen). It will automatically lock your phone when the old SIM card is taken out, send an SMS or email to any number/address you specify in case the person who found your phone inserts a new SIM card and powers the phone on, enable the GPS and send you the coordinates so you can track and find the device. In a worst case scenario when none of these features work, you can trigger a remote wipe of all the data on the phone, effectively leaving it blank and protecting any information you had on the phone from falling into the wrong (or any other) hands.
WaveSecure Mobile Security-Android Apps
Lookout Mobile Security.
This is another tool very similar to Security Pro. If you can’t use Security Pro because of an incompatibility, you can try this application. It allows you to protect your phone against viruses, backup all of your data to a removable card and find your phone if you lost it using the integrated GPS receiver.
Lookout Mobile Security-Android Apps
The list of such security applications is growing every month. The above apps are just the beginning, and for now, they are the best solutions available. If you are really concerned about the integrity of the information you store on your Android device, you should definitely check them out and choose one (or even more) apps that you’ll constantly use to protect yourself and your data.
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