Bitdefender’s Mobile Security Now Has App Anomaly Detection, a Mobile Industry-First

Bitdefender’s Mobile Security for Android has a new technology called App Anomaly Detection that keeps users safe by analyzing applications’ behavior. Working alongside the other powerful tools in Mobile Security, any app’s malicious intent can be easily identified, even if it’s not yet categorized as malware.

One crucial piece of advice we always offer is to never use third-party websites when installing Android applications. It’s true that Google might limit the use of a particular app in a specific region or on a particular device, which drives people to look for alternative sources. That’s largely why the Internet is full of third-party repositories replete with older versions of pretty much any app found in the Google Play Store.

Installing apps from outside the ecosystem is a dangerous gamble, but people often have a legitimate need to do so. Protecting the Android device with a security solution is imperative when dealing with unknown sources, but that’s not the only place to find malicious software.

Google Play is safer, but not 100% risk-free

You might be inclined to think that if you only install apps from official stores like Google Play, you are much safer. The reality is that Google often removes malicious apps from its store only after security researchers have discovered them. This means people had already downloaded them without even conceiving they might be exposing their devices to malware.

The types of threats lurking in official stores vary from aggressive adware that might simply annoy you with a bombardment of ads to severely damaging malware designed to deploy trojan bankers or worse.

And here’s the kicker. Sometimes, the apps you install from unknown sources and official stores might not be malicious initially. But either through updates or delayed mechanisms, they can become dangerous.

App Anomaly Detection looks at how the application behaves in the background, even if it’s not categorized as malware yet. Users will receive a notification immediately advising them to uninstall the app. Of course, in the unlikely event that the user might want to keep the apps, the option to add it to a list of exceptions is also provided.

Scanning the apps during installation is an excellent way to protect users, but it shouldn’t stop there. Using machine learning-based models, we can identify a threat even if it’s unknown until that very moment.

App Anomaly Detection brings yet another critical feature to the already impressive collection of technologies available in Bitdefender’s Mobile Security, such as Scam Alert and Chat Protection. Besides looking out for Android users after they’ve installed the app, the security solution now also scans files downloaded on devices, significantly bolstering protection.

Of course, the new App Anomaly Detection is directly integrated into Mobile Security for Android at no extra cost. The new technology is now available to new and current users free of charge.