Microsoft has made available a preview of its Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Microsoft Defender ATP) for Android devices. The company announced the its plans to brings its antivirus and malware protection to Android, iOS, and Linux at the beginning of the year, and now, the first preview of the solution is ready for download as a public preview for the Android platform.
However, this isn’t a solution for consumers, at least not yet, as the company is targeting this antivirus for organizations with Microsoft Defender Security Center.
According to the announcement, the Microsoft Defender Antivirus for Android provides protection from phishing attacks and unsafe network connections from apps, websites, and malicious apps. Also, the solution will be able to detect devices that have been compromised and blocked them from connecting to the organization’s network.
As part of the web protection, the antivirus includes an anti-phishing feature using the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen service to block unsafe websites from SMS/text, WhatsApp, email, browsers, and other apps.
The same SmartScreen technology can also block unsafe network connections from apps trying to connect automatically without the user’s permission. In addition, custom indicators will let administrators decide which sites users are allowed or denied to access from their Android devices.
Microsoft’s malware scanning will use Google’s built-in protections to provide signature-based malware detection, and scans are instantly performed to detect malware and potentially unwanted applications (PUA).
Also, using Microsoft Endpoint Manager, Microsoft Defender ATP will be able to find malicious apps and classify the device as “high risk” in the Microsoft Defender Security Center. Then using Microsoft Intune, the device can be blocked from accessing resources in the corporate network.
In addition, Microsoft is also making available its antivirus solution available as preview for Linux users.
If your organization already uses Microsoft Defender Security Center, you can start testing the antivirus for Android immediately. You can find more details at this Microsoft support page.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.