Avast now protects your Android booty

A few months after it bought the Android security firm ITAgents, makers of Theft Aware, Avast releases a rebranded app with some cool new features. It won't cost you a cent in gold, though: It's 100 percent free.

Seth Rosenblatt

Dec. 23, 2011 9:52 a.m. PT

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Avast on Android

Avast on Android brings the skin of the Windows program to the mobile device, and includes a combination of traditional security features with mobile-specific options.

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Mobile malware scan

Like many competitors, Avast scans new apps on the fly to make sure that they're safe for your Android.

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Android in trouble?

Avast provides one-tap fixes for any detected malware threats.

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Permissions advice

The Avast Privacy Advisor lets you know which apps are giving permission to do what with your data and your connection, and it keeps it all organized.

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Managing unruly apps

The app manager shows a list of running apps, their size, CPU load, used memory, number of services and threads, and an option to kill the app or uninstall it.

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Firewall for root

Restricted to people with rooted devices is the firewall, which can disable Internet access on a per-app basis, just like a desktop firewall. You can customize the firewall's settings for each app to work with Wi-Fi, 3G, or data roaming.

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Privacy in-depth

Text message and call filtering are both available, along with a series of in-depth options. These include redirecting blocked calls to voice mail, or filtering based on a start and end time, or the day of the week. Outgoing calls can also be blocked, a clever tool so you can hand the phone over to a toddler without having to worry about annoying your contact list.