Kaspersky Mobile Security (for Android)

By Neil J. Rubenking, Max Eddy

Kaspersky Labs has made a name for themselves not only for supplying consumer-grade antivirus and security software, but for breaking huge security stories like Red October and Stuxnet. With Kaspersky Mobile Security ($14.99, free "lite" version), the company brings a full-featured security suite to Android that provides all-around protection in an unobtrusive package with a strong pedigree.

The first time you fire up Kaspersky Mobile Security, the app walks you through a brief set-up interrupted only by an enormous (and unsurprising) EULA. The app will confirm that it was legitimately purchased, walk you through the creation of a Kaspersky account to access the online features, and prompt you to create a 4-16 digit numeric passcode.

This is an unfortunate necessity, but you'll need some way of proving that you're the authorized user of the device. Otherwise a thief could simply deactivate Kaspersky's host of features. Unfortunately, most users will probably create a very short passcode, which could be easily compromised. I highly recommend using a code you'll remember, but one that is fairly long. In my tests, I used a password manager to store and generate a 12-digit passcode.

Don't worry if you forget your passcode. You can generate a recovery passcode from Kaspersky's anti-theft webportal.

The app's interface is straightforward, with large buttons that open at a tap to reveal controls. These include Anti-Virus, Privacy Protection, Anti-Theft, Call&SMS Filter, Web Protection, and Additional, which functions as a settings menu. Each of the buttons displays whether or not that aspect of the app is running, giving users a quick overview of their protection.

Readers should note that while I installed Mobile Security just fine on the Samsung Galaxy S III, the Samsung Galaxy Note II, and the Nexus 7

, Kaspersky sells a (pricier, at $19.95) "Tablet Edition." According to the developers, the tablet edition is designed to take full advantage of the increased screen real estate with improved graphics, and does not have the SMS or phone filtering options. Because you can install the app as many times as you like, I would not recommend buying the Tablet Edition; instead secure all your Android devices with the plain ol' Mobile Security version.

Malware Protection and Performance
The greatest sin of security software is that it sometimes forces users to choose between performance and protection. On a mobile platform, that's not really an option since these devices tend to be used for short bursts but need to perform well each time.

When it came to boot times, my Samsung Galaxy S III?took an average of 30.73 seconds to boot up with Kaspersky Mobile Security installed. That's only 2.17 seconds longer than normal; minimal interference.

Scans are another story, but even here Kaspersky manages to keep interruptions to a minimum. With a scan running in the background, I did experience some subtle slowdown with applications on the Galaxy S III. These were far more noticeable when running Minecraft?Pocket Edition. Thankfully, a full scan of the phone took only about twenty minutes, meaning at its most disruptive Kaspersky managed to keep the interruptions to a minimum. The app will also allow you to select memory, SD card, or specific folder scans, putting fine-grain scan control in your hands.

In the version I reviewed, I noticed some issues with the notification center. Occasionally, it would not advance as the scan moved forward?a minor, but irritating issue. Distressingly, tapping the notification would actually pull the app's scan progress window to the front, making it difficult to return to what I was doing. Kaspersky has told me that this issue will be addressed in a future update, scheduled for March 18, 2013.

Scheduled malware scans, the bane of the late 1990s computer user, are turned off by default in Kaspersky Mobile Security. Presumably this is to minimize the impact on the user, requiring users to start scans at their convenience or set up their own schedule in the Anti-Virus settings menu. (The app does, however, perform an automatic Anti-Virus definitions update the first time you start up.) In addition to known malware, the app also scans for dangerous adware, auto-dialers, and other intrusive features that might expose your personal information.

Impressively, the app automatically scans and audits every downloaded app by default through its "Kaspersky Security Cloud Network," further minimizing the chances of infection. This is a fairly unobtrusive process which you'd likely only notice if the app caught something it didn't like or if you were paying very close attention to your notifications. Kaspersky does not, however, scan every single file you download. Email attachment and files obtained from file-hosting services will go unobserved by Kaspersky until you perform you next scan.

The suite also provides some protection against malicious websites, but only in the default Android browser. While it was irritating to have to use the default browser instead of Chrome or something speedier, I didn't observe any increase in website loading time while using Kaspersky.

For the time being, PC Magazine relies on third-party testing to gauge the quality of malware protection. In this area, Kaspersky Mobile Security performs among the best, taking an A ranking from AV-Test (March 2012, previous version). In their tests, AV-Comparatives found (Sept 2012, previous version) that Kaspersky performed in the top tier of apps at discovering malware, but only detected a fraction of adware. However, I did notice that Kaspersky generated a false-positive result on a non-malicious pentesting app. While it was easily dismissed, there was no way to white-list the app and it prolonged every scan I performed.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/NsQh7cuFCgY/0,2817,2385941,00.asp

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