For this review I installed BullGuard Mobile Security 10 on an Android smartphone. Setting up the app is easy: You just enter your license key, email address, and create a password for use on BullGuard's online control panel. Once you've set the app up, it will automatically begin updating its virus definitions and take you to the main screen.
The app's main screen is very simple and straight-forward. Here, you can view the app's main three components (Antivirus, Parental Control, and Basic Backup), and clicking on one of these components will give you access to their features and settings. The main screen is certainly simple enough, but it would be nice if you could tap their checkboxes (at least for the Antivirus and Basic Backup) to quickly turn the features on or off.From the Antivirus screen you can initiate a scan of your device and also manually update the app's virus definitions to the most current version. When performing a virus scan, you can choose whether to scan the entire phone or just individual folders and files. You can also view a scan log and a list of any detected threats.
When I performed a full device scan it took long time compared to most other mobile antivirus apps I've reviewed, but BullGuard scans all files and not just the installed apps like some other antivirus apps do. It took about 25 minutes to scan 3,813 files and 58 apps, adding up to about 2GB of data. Once you initiate the scan you can still use your phone and view the scan status via the Android notification menu.
On the Parental Controls screen you can view the current parental controls in place, but if you want to make any changes to them you'll have to do so through the web-based control panel. There you can enable SMS, MMS, and voice monitoring so you can view and search through the history of SMS and MMS messages (including the actual text or pictures) and the log of ingoing and outgoing voice calls. You can enable image monitoring to capture and log any images taken by the phone's camera and any images downloaded from the web. You can even enable GPS update so you can track and see the phone's location on a map. If you're using the web-based control panel, you can also view a list of installed apps and remotely uninstall those you wish to remove.
One of the more useful Parental Control features is the ability to alert you if certain words or phrases are used in text messages or emails. From the online control panel you can set which words or phrases you'd like to monitor for, and the service will notify you via email if your chosen words or phrases are detected. Perfect for making sure your kids (or employees) aren't saying things that they shouldn't.