AV Comparatives Annual Mobile Security Review is a PSA for Android Security Software

AV Comparatives has been releasing annual mobile security review reports since 2010. In each report they give a sort of state of the union for the current mobile security landscape. For this year's report (released on August 26^th, 2013), AV Comparatives has tailored the entire 53-page document to security software designed explicitly to protect mobile devices running the Android operating system.

In the past, users dismissed needing to install and use security software on mobile devices, but the rash of Android security difficulties has made the apps a requirement. A few years ago, the first Android security apps were performance hogs, sucking battery life like a starved milkshake addict. But, after testing, AV Comparatives indicates that the apps have improved and battery consumption is better.

The report compares the following products:

AV Comparatives concludes that, due to ever-rising market share and the disadvantages of using an open operating system (rooted devices, non-official app stores, lack of standards, etc.), security software is a necessity for devices running Android.

You can download the 2013 report (PDF) here:  Mobile Security Review August 2013

If you'd like to compare previous years' reports, they are all available from this page: Mobile Security Reviews