One drawback of certain free Android antivirus apps is a lack of real-time monitoring. The same differences apply: free apps don’t include all the features you get in paid-apps. In many cases they’ll help protect your identity as well.Īs with Windows, there’s a choice of completely free antivirus apps for Android as well as those you need to subscribe to (even though the app itself is free to download and install). The good news is that running a top-notch antivirus app on your Android phone (or tablet) will help to prevent these nasties from getting anywhere near your device. In some instances Defender may need you to take some actions such as quarantining or removing the dangerous file or process.And viruses aren’t simply an annoyance, displaying unwanted adverts: the people – the criminals – who make this malware are coming up with ever-more inventive ways to hack your phone and – ultimately – steal your identify, money and more.

If Defender finds malware on your device it'll block it, notify you, and try to remove the malware if it can. For more information see How to start a scan for malware in Microsoft Defender What if Defender finds malware?

If you're concerned and want to have Microsoft Defender run a scan right now, you can do that by going to the Device protection page from the Microsoft Defender dashboard. If it spots something it will attempt to block it, and alert you so that you can take action if necessary. Microsoft Defender will also run quick scans of your device on a daily basis, in case anything manages to elude the real-time protection. Microsoft Defender's real-time anti-malware protection runs whenever your device is on, keeping an eye out for malicious activity. When you first set-up Microsoft Defender on your device we'll run an initial scan to make sure you're starting off clean. Note: Microsoft Defender currently offers anti-malware only on Windows, Mac, and Android.

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