Guide to choosing the best antivirus for your cell phone

Smartphone attacks are becoming more and more common, and here we tell you what you should take into account when choosing the best protection.

For many people, their cell phone is a fundamental part of their life. Many of their memories and valuable information are stored there. That is why these devices must also be taken care of as if they were a bank account, and an antivirus is one of the most important and recommended elements.

According to data from the Annual Threat Panorama for Latin America 2024 study, prepared by Kaspersky, attempted attacks against mobile devices in the region totaled 3.9 million between August 2023 and July 2024, which represented an increase of 70% compared to the same period between 2022 and 2023.

What should you consider when choosing an antivirus?

One of the most common data users store on their devices is digital banking. That is why a secure option is needed, adapted to your phone and accessible to users whenever they want, says Judith Tapia, consumer product manager for Mexico at Kaspersky.

According to the specialist from the cybersecurity firm, a good antivirus must take into account a series of points. One of them is trust, that is, it must not generate conflicts with other programs or applications, since this could increase the risk for the user, especially in the case of banking applications, sofipos or cryptocurrencies.

Tapia points out that to determine how reliable an antivirus is, a common recommendation is to check third-party evaluations and ratings that certify the quality of the products. “Make sure the lock works well with all your other tools,” he advises.

On the other hand, he points out that options that require certain skills and prior knowledge to understand them should be discarded, since the solution must be intuitive and easy to use.

There are also solutions on the market that integrate various tools to further strengthen users' browsing, says Tapia. An example of this is VPNs, which allow browsing with encrypted data, which increases the protection of personal payment data, as well as shielding against threats targeting cryptocurrencies.

When it comes to cybersecurity, the premise that “cheap is expensive” is an issue to take into consideration, since it is not advisable to opt for free security applications or solutions, since, in most cases, these do not provide complete or comprehensive protection.

“These types of tools tend to have significant limitations in terms of their defense capabilities, which can leave the user exposed to multiple cyber threats,” explains the specialist.

Finally, he points out that cybersecurity solutions must adapt to new threats that are constantly changing, that is, the effectiveness of protection depends on several factors, such as: frequency of updates, detection and elimination of threats, as well as performance on devices.

Tapia acknowledges that cybercriminals are expert thieves who are constantly looking for new ways to steal people's money, so with a comprehensive cybersecurity solution, users will be able to "browse the Internet with peace of mind, make online purchases without worries and protect their identity."