AT&T Active Armor Mobile Security App

AT&T Active Armor Mobile Security App

AT&T Active Armore Mobile Security is a mobile app that, according to AT&T, “helps block spam calls, secure your data, and more”. In a world where everyone is constantly being hounded by spam calls and identity thieves, the app is a welcome sight.

How to Download the App

You can download the app from any major app store such as Apple and Google Play. In the Apple Store, the rating was 4.5 out of 5 stars with more than 46,000 ratings. In the Google Play store, there are more than 10 million downloads. In addition, there is a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars with more than 49,000 ratings.

The Setup Process

After you download, install, and open the AT&T Active Armor mobile security app, you’ll be prompted to select the level of protection you desire. Of course, AT&T markets the app as “free”, but that only gets you a basic level of protection. Here’s an overview of the options:

• Advanced Protection – This option gives you the benefit of all of the mobile security app features. These include caller ID and reverse number lookup, so you can see who’s calling. Also, you get public wi-fi protection to help protect your data. Plus, the advanced package includes ID monitoring and alerts. In addition, you’ll get warnings about unsafe websites as you browse the internet. The Advanced Protection package is available for $3.99 per month. Note: If you sign up for this option, you can cancel at any time.
• Free – The Free package provides you with call blocking, to help you screen out unwanted calls. Also, it includes enhanced device security to help protect your phone from mobile threats. Also, the Free option includes an app monitor, to help protect your phone from unsafe apps and files. When I signed up, I selected the Free option. As far as I can tell, it doesn’t automatically convert to a paid option in the future.

How to Use the App

After completing the initial setup process, a simple home screen will load. On the home screen, you’ll see four options:

My Identity

The My Identity section provides details on data breaches. When your personal identity information is leaked, you’ll receive an alert on your home screen. Then, you can view a list of data breaches that contain your personal info. Select the “View Details” link to see an overview of the data breach including:

• Date of the data breach
• The name of the company
• Date of the data breach
• Scope of the breach (e.g. 5 million users)
• An explanation of the risks, such as stolen phone numbers, email addresses, credit card numbers, etc.
• Tips on how you can protect yourself from identity theft associated with the breach

My Device

The “My Device” section of the AT&T Active Armor mobile security app aims to protect your physical mobile phone. In this section, you can:

• See if malware was detected on your device (you’ll see a note about the number of unsafe items, as well as the number of safe apps)
• Run a scan to see if there are any unsafe items on your phone.
• Set screen lock detection
• Set root access detection
• A threat dictionary to help you learn the meaning of related terms
• Network spam text protection
• With the Advanced Plan, you’ll receive email alerts when multiple wrong PIN entries occur on your phone.

Calls

In the “Calls” section, you’ll see details on Network Call Protection. To summarize, this feature analyzes incoming calls to flag callers for you. For example, the app checks to see if a caller is a spammer, telemarketer, political caller, or other annoyance. Conversely, AT&T checks to see if it is a known caller or a verified caller. In addition, you’ll see such information as:

• Total number of calls analyzed
• Number of calls blocked
• Number of callers flagged
• Number identified
• List of calls with an icon identifying its type
• Network call preferences allow you to determine if you want to block or allow certain types of calls automatically. For example, you can set it to block fraud calls, nuisance calls, and unknown callers. Also, you can set it to send callers who aren’t in your contacts list directly to voice mail.
• The Advanced plan provides better caller ID, plus the ability to do a reverse phone number lookup. Plus, you’ll get public Wi-Fi protection to help keep your personal info safe.

Network

The Network section provides:

• Mobile data encryption when connected to AT&T wireless networks
• The Advanced plan provides dark web monitoring to see if your personal data is exposed

App Performance

For the most part, the AT&T Active Armor mobile security app performed well. To begin with, it was easy to download and install. Also, I did not experience any crashes. Apparently, this was an issue with earlier releases. However, it seems those bugs were fixed and it is much more stable.

Second, I didn’t notice any speed issues with the application itself. Generally, the menus and functions were easy to access and loaded quickly.

Unfortunately, after installing the app, I did notice a decline in my mobile phone performance. For instance, it began to take longer to open my phone to answer a call. In addition, I noticed a slowdown in the performance of other applications. Therefore, despite all of the positive benefits and protections, I decided to delete the app.

Questions and Comments

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