Samsung is one of the most internationally used devices in the world. However, like all Android operating systems, Samsung mobiles are at risk of becoming infected with malware and viruses.
Since Samsung users use their phones for everything from checking their social media accounts to online banking, malware poses a large threat to the safety of your device and the privacy of your data.
At VPNSurfers, we recommend using an Android antivirus solution to protect your Samsung and sensitive data. The best Android antivirus apps come from McAfee, Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, and Avira. Keep reading to find out more about these antivirus apps these companies offer and how they can protect your Samsung.
We’ve compiled a list of the best antivirus apps for Samsung. The list consists of a mix of both free and paid-for Android antivirus apps, and all solutions include excellent features to protect your device from malware and keep you safe online.
McAfee Mobile Security tops our list due to the excellent antivirus protection it provides. If you purchase one of McAfee’s LiveSafe or Total Protection, you can enjoy the mobile security included in your plan or purchase it separately.
McAfee is world-renowned for its antivirus solutions, and its Android antivirus app is no exception. If you’re a Samsung user, then you can take advantage of three McAfee Mobile Security tiers: a free version, the Standard plan (which comes built-in with regular subscriptions), and the Plus plan.
On all plans is malware protection. McAfee will protect your device from viruses as well as malware, spyware, and phishing scams online. Whether you download an email attachment or install a new app, McAfee can detect any malware that may be present. McAfee will also seek out and remove malware on your device through regular device scans.
When using your Samsung device out and about, you can ensure that you don’t expose yourself to any dangers by connecting to an unsafe wi-fi hotspot. McAfee scans all new wi-fi networks, both public and private. This wi-fi network scanning ensures that cybercriminals don’t access your data or infect your Samsung Android device with malware.
As well as the above, you can find out which Android apps could put your privacy at risk with McAfee. McAfee can tell you how much information third-party apps installed on your mobile phone have access to so that you can ensure your photos and other data aren’t shared without your knowledge.
The features available on the free McAfee mobile antivirus don’t stop there. There are extra tools to improve your device’s overall performance, such as a battery booster to increase your phone’s battery life. You can also clean your phone, removing unwanted files, and freeing up memory space. McAfee can even help you set data and usage limits to restrict screen time and internet use.
If your Samsung phone is stolen, then you can do a number of things to secure your data and locate your Android device, thanks to McAfee’s anti-theft tools. You can lock your device after three failed password attempts and take a picture of the thief. As well as this, you can set up commands to ensure thieves can’t uninstall apps from your phone if it is stolen.
In the event that your phone is stolen or gets lost, you can also recover contacts. McAfee will automatically backup your phone contacts to the cloud to ensure you don’t lose these if you misplace your Samsung.
On the paid plans, you can enjoy extra features. With the Standard plan, there is web protection for secure browsing, including malicious website alerts. You can also enable an app lock feature to protect your data on certain apps and stop others from opening them. There is also media backup to ensure you don’t lose your important photos.
With the Plus plan, there are even more features. You can enjoy an unlimited VPN on your Samsung that encrypts your data, hides your physical location, and lets you bypass geo-restrictions to access content worldwide. There is also an ad and tracker blocker, which ensures third parties don’t follow your online footprint, resulting in targeted ads.
Overall, it is extremely hard to fault McAfee’s malware protection for Samsung devices, which is why it tops our list. However, if we had one issue, it is the price points of the paid plans. So, what is the McAfee mobile security price? The free plan is obviously, free, the Standard plan costs $29.99 a year, and the Plus plan is $79.99 per year. Remember that the mobile security is included in general subscriptions but can also be purchased separately.
Bitdefender Mobile Security has over 200,000 reviews in the Google Play Store, with an average rating of 4.7 stars. Its impressive service can be purchased separately or as part of the Total Security plan.
Unlike many of the other providers on this list, Bitdefender does not offer a free version of its Android antivirus for Samsung. However, it ranks highly on our list due to the excellent features in its antivirus app for Android phone users.
Firstly, there is constant web protection. Whenever you use your Samsung to browse the internet, Bitdefender will be running in the background, notifying you of any malicious websites that contain malware or phishing links.
With Bitdefender, you can carry out as many antivirus scans as you like on your Samsung device. Bitdefender will check all of your installed apps to ensure no malware or odd behavior is lurking in them. As well as this, Bitdefender automatically scans new apps as you install them and will ensure that you don’t download anything dangerous.
The above is how Bitdefender protects your Samsung device from viruses and malware. However, the Bitdefender antivirus app is so much more, offering a lot of great features to protect your data and privacy.
Firstly there are powerful anti-theft features. Should you lose your Samsung phone, or worse, have it stolen, you can remotely wipe and lock it to prevent any damage to your privacy. Moreover, you can locate it using a smart GPS tracking tool and even send a message so that if someone finds it, you can retrieve it.
There is also an app lock feature, which will come in useful if you lose your phone. You can add a PIN or fingerprint unlocking method to social media, photo, or messaging apps to ensure that no one using your phone can see your private data.
Aside from app privacy features, users can also enjoy other privacy tools. These include Account Privacy, which is a feature that alerts you if any of your accounts have been involved in security breaches. Given the increase in data breaches and leaks, this is an essential tool that we are glad to see.
As well as the above, there is a VPN service. However, this falls short of offering much internet privacy protection since there is a measly data limit of just 200Mb per day, not enough for many data-heavy tasks.
A reason why many users don’t install antivirus software on their Samsung or other Android devices is that they fear it will slow down their device. However, Bitdefender’s Android security app will actually speed up your device and have no effect on your device’s battery life.
Finally, if you have a smartwatch, you can enjoy Bitdefender’s antivirus on this as well, thanks to the provider’s Android Wear feature, WearOn.
Bitdefender Mobile Security costs $14.99 to just protect your Samsung device. Otherwise, you can purchase the Total Security plan for $44.99 and protect your Samsung as well as four other devices.
Samsung users enjoy Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus, known as Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, free of charge. However, you can get more features and privileges by updating to the Premium plan.
Kaspersky offers one of the best Android antivirus solutions for Samsung users, given the fact that both its free and premium version are packed full of impressive features.
Firstly, like most Antivirus apps, Kaspersky employs the latest technology to block malware and viruses from infecting your device. As well as this, you can enable manual scans whenever you wish to ensure there is no spyware or Trojans hiding in your software.
On the free version, you can also enjoy excellent anti-theft tools. If you lose or have your phone stolen, you can remotely wipe all of your data from the device, protecting your privacy. As well as this, you can locate your device to find it or lock it. This is an extremely useful feature given the high rate of users losing phones or being victims of theft.
Kaspersky’s premium version consists of additional security features. Instead of having to rely on manual scans, which is the only option in the free plan, there is automatic scanning running in the background. The automatic scans check your apps as well as the general health of your device, meaning that you’ll be alerted if anything malicious is found.
You can also find out which apps know too much about you and deleted them. As well as this, the free plan allows users to block calls from contacts, meaning you’ll never have to see contacts or numbers pop up on your screen.
You’ll also enjoy anti-phishing protection with Kaspersky. The provider will scan texts for any phishing links and also alert you to any websites that may expose you to phishing scams. This ensures that you don’t accidentally expose your data, including your credit card details, by falling victim to a phishing website.
There are many privacy features with Kaspersky’s antivirus. As well as app lock features that secure chosen apps with a PIN code, you can also hide calls, messages, and other logs from third parties. If others have access to your Samsung phone, then this is a great feature to activate.
We’re slightly disappointed that Kaspersky lacks some of the features that other Samsung mobile antivirus apps have, such as wi-fi security and a VPN. However, we really like its free version. Moreover, its premium plan only costs $11.99 per year, which is excellent value for money.
Norton Mobile Security is the world-famous cybersecurity company’s standalone Android antivirus app. It offers real-time protection for your Samsung to ensure you stay safe at all times.
With Norton, you can enjoy some of the best antivirus protection available on your Samsung operating system. If you purchase the standalone Android antivirus, you’ll enjoy advanced web protection. Norton will constantly protect you from online dangers, including phishing websites and malicious links on search engines and in emails or SMS messages.
As well as the above, Norton is always on to ensure that your device blocks malware, including spyware, adware, and viruses. It will scan downloads to ensure that they don’t contain any malicious software, expertly thwarting any attempts by viruses to make changes to your device’s software or files.
If you frequently download apps onto your Samsung device, then you’ll make use of Norton’s app advisor tool, which is powered by Norton Mobile Insight. Since many third-party apps can behave strangely and include malicious software, Norton will scan apps before they are downloaded to make sure this isn’t the case. This will ensure that you don’t unknowingly install an app that installs spyware onto your phone, putting your personal data at risk.
As well as scanning newly installed apps, Norton also includes wi-fi network scanning. This ensures that should the wi-fi network you’re connected to suffer an attack, you’ll be alerted. We think this feature is extremely useful for Samsung users who may use public wi-fi networks that cybercriminals are well-known to use.
There are additional features available on the Android app if you purchase the Norton 360 subscription. These include an unlimited VPN to encrypt your web browsing as well as dark web monitoring, which alerts you should your email address be included in a security breach.
If you don’t want to purchase a full Norton subscription, you can buy the Norton antivirus app for just $14.99 for the first year. After this, the price increases to $29.99 a year. We think this is relatively good value for money, although it is a shame that Norton doesn’t offer anti-theft features or free antivirus.
Another one of the best Android antivirus app options for Samsung is Avast Mobile Security. Avast offers a free version as well as a premium version that includes a Camera Trap feature to catch thieves on your phone.
It’s no surprise that Avast has one of the best Android antivirus apps for Samsung devices, given that the company is a titan in the cybersecurity industry. It offers free antivirus that Samsung users can enjoy, which automatically scans your device for spyware, adware, Trojans, Bots, and more.
Antivirus scanning is active at all times when you’re using the internet or downloading a new app, and Avast will also keep your Samsung Android device safe from phishing links on the web or in emails, thanks to its real-time protection.
Avast will also keep you safe on public wi-fi networks. It checks how safe public wi-fi hotspots are so you don’t accidentally connect to an unsafe network when using your Samsung phone outside of your house.
There are other ways in which Avast can keep you safe, which don’t have anything to do with malware protection. For example, you can run a scan to see if any of your account credentials have been leaked in a security breach. The Photo Vault feature is also a great privacy tool to keep your most sensitive photos protected by a PIN code or fingerprint password.
Anti-theft features are also available with Avast; one of the most advanced features is the Camera Trap, which takes photos of thieves if your phone gets stolen. Avast can also record audio as well and provide you with the last known location if your phone dies.
To keep your device running properly, there is a junk cleaning feature. This tool removes unnecessary files, gallery thumbnails, and more to free up storage space. As well as this, a RAM boost tool can also improve performance and make your Samsung device run faster.
Finally, Avast can help you take back control of your life if you feel that you spend too much time on your Samsung phone. The app insights tool shows you just how much time you spend on each app and can hopefully shock you into using your phone a lot less.
Depending on whether you use Avast’s paid or free antivirus apps, some of the features on offer above will differ. However, overall either option is great for Samsung users. We recommend installing the free version first before upgrading to the premium security directly via the free app.
Avira offers a comprehensive free Android antivirus app for Samsung users and a Pro version that comes with a couple of additional security features for your online safety.
On the free Avira Android antivirus apps for Samsung, users can enjoy many exciting and useful features. First of all, there is virus, spyware, and malware scanning and blocking as well as a wi-fi scanner to alert you to malicious internet networks, which could put your privacy at risk.
Not only does Avira protect your Samsung device from malware, but it also safeguards your privacy and sensitive data. You can input your email addresses into Avira’s identity protection feature to find out whether or not your online accounts have been involved in data breaches.
As well as the above, Avira lets you know which apps on your Samsung infringe upon your privacy and have access to many sensitive details. There is also an app lock to protect apps that contain sensitive data, such as messaging apps.
There are additional extra as well with Avira; if you lose your Samsung phone, you can track it and easily locate it. Your device will also run smoother with Avira since the app will clean device storage to ensure that your operating system is always fast.
Avira also brags about its recently updated, built-in VPN. However, this VPN service only offers 100Mb of data per day which is not much at all.
If you upgrade to Avira’s Pro antivirus, you can enjoy webcam and microphone protection to stop third parties from listening in to your conversations or privately watching you. Signing up for the paid version will cost you $4.99 per month.
If you have a Samsung device, then you definitely need antivirus software installed on your phone. Like any other Android device, your Samsung phone is susceptible to malicious apps and websites. You could accidentally install malware onto your system or download a file containing a virus.
Anti-malware apps don’t just detect malware and viruses and also protect your Samsung from these dangers with real-time protection. With antivirus, you can also protect your privacy thanks to anti-theft features and app analytic tools. As well as this, you can receive updates if your email address is found in a data leak and apply passwords to your most important Samsung apps.
Samsung Galaxy users can enjoy built-in security software in the form of Samsung Knox. This antivirus software is designed mainly for enterprise users and can protect data while making it easier for users to utilize their Samsung devices. Samsung Knox can be incorporated into smartphones, tablets, and even smartwatches.
So, would we recommend Samsung Knox for a regular internet user? In that case, it may be easier to download one of the recommended antivirus apps from the list above. Make sure always to download an app from the Google Play Store to ensure that it isn’t malicious and something that will contain spyware or worse.
I’m Madeleine, and I'm a writer that specializes in cybersecurity, tech products, and all things related to the internet.
I have a keen interest in VPNs and believe that everyone deserves internet freedom and security. I wr...
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