SlashNext Mobile Security Review | PCMag

You can install and maintain the best Antivirus tool In the world, one that fends off every possible attack by stealing Trojans and other types of malware. However, this malware protection will not help when it is the target of an attack You are, the user. If scammers can trick you into entering your username and password on a fake site, they take possession of your account, with much less effort than obtaining the same information with malware. SlashNext Mobile Security is there to protect you from making this kind of mistake and help you understand what happened. It has proven effective in testing, but its price is too high unless your employer pays for it. Bitdefender AntiVirus Plus It is the top choice for antivirus software, for which we have an excellent five-star rating.

The story of SlashNext Mobile

SlashNext is primarily geared towards the needs of enterprise customers, with company-wide protection against phishing, phishing, and other exploits. The IT department can push SlashNext Business to every company-owned phone, without requiring anything from the user. If employees accidentally breach security by replying to a malicious text message or visiting a fraudulent site, the app gets involved. And management can accurately track application activity on each company’s phone.

But that level of control isn’t right for every company, according to Jamie Lin, senior director of product management at SlashNext. In most companies, company phones are a thing of the past. Instead, they rely on BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), and allowing employees to use their personal phones on the company network. Management may take precautions such as requesting the use of the company VPN access to sensitive data, but they also have to deal with employee opposition due to very strict rules and excessive supervision.

Employees particularly don’t want IT to accidentally log every fake website they try to visit. To address this issue, Lin explained, the company developed a personal version, still somewhat company-run, but without the incident logging.

Even this level of Big Brother oversight proved too much in some cases, so SlashNext took it a step further into customization, creating SlashNext Mobile Security. This application is fully controlled by the user and downloaded directly from the App Store or Google Play. All analysis happens on the local machine, and nothing is reported to IT management. The company’s only intervention is the voucher that obviates the need for payment. This completely individual style means that, unlike other SlashNext offerings, anyone can download and use SlashNext Mobile.

How much does SlashNext Mobile security cost?

So, how much would you save if your employer footed the bill? SlashNext Mobile lists a subscription as $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. This allows you to install the app on up to five devices, either by registering your own devices directly or by extending a sub-subscription to a family member. A two-month free trial lets you kick the tires before you commit to paying.

Bixm Antiphishing is another consumer anti-phishing solution available that flows from a broad business product line. Unlike SlashNext, it is free and works on any platform as a browser extension for Chrome or Firefox. Unfortunately, my hands-on testing revealed several issues with it.

It is surprisingly safer to be online

SlashNext falls in the middle of the antivirus subscription range with five licenses. K7 Antivirus Premium It costs only $34 at this level, and Safe pulse capture Go for a little less. ESET and Malwarebytes each cost $79.99 for five licenses, while Panda costs a little more. Note, however, that these are all broad-spectrum antivirus tools. They include phishing detection but also scanning for malware on demand and in real time.

Getting Started with SlashNext Mobile Security

You can download and install this app just like any other app. On startup, you sign in with your Apple, Google or Facebook account. My company contact indicated that the designers deliberately avoided creating another product-specific account, since each user would already have at least one Google or Apple account.

(credit: SlashNext)

Then the app goes through a simple installation process. To enable web protection, it needs permission to install a local filter using VPN technology. You must also give it permission to filter incoming SMS messages. That’s it; You are protected.

(credit: SlashNext)

The app also encourages you to extend protection to family members, something you can do at any time. The process is simple. Enter the family member’s name and email address and check a box if you’d like a notification when SlashNext blocks an attack on that person. The app sends a text with links for family members to install and activate protection within your account.

(credit: SlashNext)

SlashNext behaves almost identically on a family account. The only significant difference is that you, the original account holder, are the only person who can create additional family accounts.

SlashNext Mobile Security Management

Once installed and configured, the application opens to a simple dashboard with an overview of your protection. Simple status flags at the top show that Web Protection and SMS Protection are enabled. Most of the page displays statistics about your protection for today, this month or all time. A menu at the bottom slides up to reveal recently blocked threats. You can use the simple menu on the left to select Control Panel, Blocked Web Threats, Insecure SMS, System, or just swipe left and right to navigate those pages.

(credit: SlashNext)

On the Blocked Web Threats page, you can see a breakdown of application activity by type (I’ll discuss types below) or by time. Clicking on any type brings you a full list of blocked sites, pressing on any shows the details. The Insecure SMS page shows blocked text attacks in a similar way, and the System page simply allows you to turn Web Protection and SMS Protection on or off.

Comprehensive informational and phishing protection

SlashNext’s phishing protection couldn’t be simpler. Whatever browser you use, it scans pages before you see them. If it detects danger, it slips into a warning, leaving the browser to display an error message. Clicking on the notification will give you details about what happened.

My contact at SlashNext noted that users sometimes want to argue when a page they tried to visit is blocked by firewall. They are not convinced it was a problem. In a feature I haven’t seen anywhere else, SlashNext provides a thumbnail of what the problem site will look like. Seeing the Netflix login page under a URL like realestate.codecs.com.br verifies the fact that this really is a scam.

(credit: SlashNext)

SlashNext also identifies only the type of threat the page poses. During testing, I only saw credential theft and fraudulent site. However, it also refers to malware, rogue software, malware, and data exfiltration sites. For each type of threat, it provides a detailed explanation.

Hands-on with SlashNext Mobile Security

For testing purposes, I installed SlashNext Mobile Security on an iPad and on a Google Pixel 6. I used an iPad to run my main phishing test, checking the location on Android to check for matching behavior.

As always, I start testing my phishing protection by scraping hundreds of verified scams and alleged yet unverified phishing from sites that track such things. In addition to the product under test, I set up instances of Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, relying on each browser’s built-in detection of dangerous pages. I go through a list of URLs, firing each of them simultaneously in all 4 browsers. If any of them display an error message, I ignore the item. And if the resulting page isn’t an obvious attempt to capture login credentials for a sensitive site, I ignore it again.

SlashNext did great in this test, detecting 98% of verified phishing URLs, such as F-Secure and Total Defense. It easily beat all three browsers. Firefox was clearly having a bad day for detection, trailing 48 percentage points behind SlashNext.

On the other hand, quite a few standard antivirus tools outperform SlashNext, if only slightly. Bitdefender, Kaspersky, and Webroot all have up to 99% protection. On the top , avast oneAnd Trend Micro Antivirus + Securityand ZoneAlarm hit 100% in their recent tests.

SMS protection in SlashNext Mobile Security

I have a well-established system for testing how well the product detects phishing URLs, but nothing similar for dangerous SMS messages. My test iPad, like most iPads, does not receive SMS, and my test Android is not provisioned for receiving text messages. However, I can report what the sms filter is supposed to do.

A type of SMS phishing aims to get victims to click on a dangerous link. Your Facebook has been suspended for inappropriate posts; Click here to solve the problem. DHL could not deliver a package and needs you to reschedule delivery. They are easy to evaluate simply by checking the linked page.

Another kind avoids linking in favor of asking you to call a private phone number or perform some other link-free action. It’s hard to catch hold of, though it shares a similar sense of urgency. SlashNext uses machine learning algorithms to identify such texts based on their language and style.

(credit: SlashNext)

Either way, if SlashNext filters a message you won’t see it in your texts and you won’t get an annoying notification. You can check the SlashNext folder in your Messages app if you really want to see those useless smileys.

What is not in SlashNext Mobile Security

At the company level, SlashNext offers Browser Protection, a browser extension for desktop computers that performs the same function as SlashNext Mobile Security. Why is it not available to individuals? My company contact explained that there is a big push for a single mobile security app, but not a similar push for browser-based protection.

Also, as mentioned, SlashNext Mobile Security is only intended for mobile phishing and SMS protection. It does not scan for malware or check for spam and phishing emails.

If the president pays for it…

While SlashNext Mobile Security is available to anyone with an Android or iOS device, its main use case is still the company. If you get a coupon from the company to pay for it, the price doesn’t matter. But if you’re paying out of pocket, it costs a lot. And for the same price, you can get a full-featured antivirus tool, one that works as well as SlashNext against phishing attacks and does so on both desktop and mobile devices.

Bitdefender AntiVirus Plus And Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus Both score slightly better than SlashNext in our hands-on tests. Bitdefender packs more features than some security suites, while Webroot remains the smallest antivirus around. McAfee Antivirus Plus Not only does SlashNext outperform SlashNext in our phishing test, but for just a few dollars, it extends complete antivirus protection to every device in your home, and works on virtually any platform. Depending on your needs, these are the three winners of our Editors’ Choice for antivirus tools.