So I bought a cheap no brand Android 10 tablet shipped from China and I am looking for an antivirus that could help me protect some important files which has identity details etc. that I’ll have in the tablet.
Can anymore recommend me a good free or non-free antivirus for Android tablets?
Thanks!
If you suspect that the Android ROM loaded in your China-droid tab has some malware the only way to clean it is to actually re-image the OS and replace it with a clean ROM. Any one of the 'safe looking' apps that are preinstalled on your device may actually be a trojan or spyware.
Most (or even all) Android Antivirus apps that you download from the Play store don't run with elevated or SU privileges , meaning that they don't actually have access to system apps and can't actually touch (or even see) the /system or /boot partitions (where your unwanted payloads may actually be hiding).
They can be used to detect and find suspicious apps but keep in mind they can't do anything about it. And at worst they detect nothing and give you a false sense of security (making you think your device is clean when it's actually not).
Just simplifying for some people:
Antivirus apps only work on the surface. The deeper issues (if any) are not affected/identified by an antivirus app.
As scrimshaw wrote, you have to do a clean install of everything.
If there's anything important, you shouldn't cheapen out tbh
Thanks for the extra tips.
I guess it’s too late as have got that cheap tablet now. Best is to get an AV solution that I can find.
Thanks!
I have just received the Android tablet and haven’t set it up yet, so I don’t suspect that it has any malware. I just wanted to set up an antivirus first before using the tablet.
If I don’t suspect if there is any malware, is there any Android tablet antivirus software that you could recommend for me to look at?
malware is typically loaded onto the device by the manufacturer
Unlike personal computers, where malware is unwittingly installed by the person using the device, some Android malware already comes with your device. So it's a good idea to assume that your chinese tablet is unsafe from the get-go.
Don't know much about AV's on Android but it doesn't hurt to try as many as you can, since most of them are free (with some caveats, like having a certain trial period or requiring to you provide some personal details for data collection)
Ok thanks heaps for your tips and advice!
MS, apple, android (g00gle) - they all have their own malware at the very least to serve their interests. MS and android updates will nearly always undo security (privacy) changes that you've made, and install newer ways of getting around privacy / security / access to data, location etc. After I clean a system and set it up I disable system updates. I do run AV and keep a good firewall, and images, but basically everything runs for at least 10 years until I have to update again for some reason or another. Usually editing more hardware intensive video etc, otherwise speed is equivalent to anything new with later OS and more overhead.
@poohduck: Yes, for people who really want privacy one option is to de-googlify everything and go full full-FOSS (no Play Store, no Youtube, no Gmail, nothing by Google) and only install apps that you know are open source (e.g https://github.com/offa/android-foss)
The problem though is without google ecosystem your device is basically kind of gimped in terms of usefulness. You won't be able to use common shopping apps like Uber / Ubereats either because the app relies on the Google maps API to function, and pretty much every app out there that hooks into Google API's are related to shopping (e.g ridesharing, food ordering, banking)
@scrimshaw: yeah, I never understood the reliance on those aps; different lifestyles I suppose. I'm more of a utilities person and mostly off line (no data) with my phone. I do use gps, but real gps (along with installed mapping), not towers, so again no data.
I recommend that you install an antivirus on your Android tablet and do a scan to see if it finds anything. I've had success finding malware infected ROMs using Sophos, though you could use any number of others just to be safe.
Following that if it finds something malicious and it can't pinpoint the exact app or remove it, you can use NoRoot Firewall to find what's causing it and potentially block it temporarily. I had a Chinese phone that had an "OTA Update" system app that would display full screen ads on the phone. Sophos and other apps weren't able to remove it, however NoRoot firewall was able to block it from running until I could flash a new ROM.
Feel free to link what you purchased here as I'd be curious to see what it is.
Many thanks for the above advice and links!
The tablet is this:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/144033120572?var=443329467668&ha…
If this tablet is really not that safe, I might just need to get another one. If you have a recommendation, do let me know. Will only be using some light surfing, emails, documentation stuff, no games.
Memory: 10GB
ROM: 512GB
I can tell you now that those numbers are fake and you might be looking at 1GB/2GB RAM and 16GB/32GB storage in reality. The CPU is a lot slower than what it shows too.
Brands like CHUWI, Teclast and Alldocube are far more reputable for Chinese tablets. Techtablets is a good source for video reviews and he's completely honest about what he reviews too.
@Clear: Ok thanks heaps for your insights!
If it’s ok, can I ask which brand did you had problems with on the "OTA Update" malware?
@Clear: Hi Clear, if it’s cool with you, can I ask if you know which of the 2 android tablets below is more bang for buck?
https://m.banggood.com/Wholesale-Warehouse-Teclast-P20HD-SC9…
https://m.banggood.com/Wholesale-Warehouse-BMAX-MaxPad-I10-U…
Thanks heaps!
@ilovefullprice: BMAX has a better CPU but the Teclast is much cheaper so it's certainly good value. Rest of the specs between them is basically the same.
They can be used to detect and find suspicious apps but keep in mind they can't do anything about it. And at worst they detect nothing and give you a false sense of security
This.
Save even more money and don't get anything. Don't be silly online and it's not needed. I'll probably get negged but meh.
So I bought a cheap no brand Android 10 tablet shipped from China
username doesn't check out?
Astrazeneca
Usually you buy the cheap no-name chinese android tablets as a throw away. Theres no way I'd use anything cash or credit card related on these machines.
Ok many thanks for your advice on this.
Certified pre-pwned.