How to Check the Amazon Fire Tablet for Malware

Getting malware on your Kindle Fire can be a real drag, as it may affect the performance of your device, or cause some unnecessary pop-up ads. Certain malware can also steal personal information from your device storage or your linked accounts, even totally stopping your Kindle from functioning. For these reasons, you realize how important it is to have good malware protection on your device. Wonder no more if you were wondering how and with what, we will provide you with some options for antivirus and antimalware software so that you can start protecting your Kindle Fire right away.

Why You Need Malware Protection

While antivirus software is crucial for the well-being of your computer, it may not be as important to have on your Kindle. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have malware protection on your device, and that is because of two reasons:

1. You Connect to the Internet with Kindle

Any device that connects to the internet should have some sort of malware protection to not give away personal information or to prevent damage to the device.

2. Because of the Modified Android OS

Because Android is open source and one of the most popular phone and tablet operating systems, it’s also the biggest target for malicious malware. Kindle Fire does use a modified version of the Android OS so it isn’t as vulnerable to malware. This is because it’s not as targeted as the regular Android OS and also because the Amazon Appstore is very secure (That doesn’t mean that you can’t get any malware from it.). If you use some third-party apps, that adds another layer of vulnerability to your device.

How Does an Antivirus Work

It works by scanning, identifying, and disabling or removing malware from your Kindle device. The targeted malware includes viruses, worms, and the infamous Trojan horses. Antivirus software will also protect you from spyware and adware. There are three stages of the cleaning process:

1. Specific Detection

This part of the process will recognize specific malware from a threat database that the software accesses.

2. General Detection

There is also a database of malware families (groups of similarly coded malware), and this second process uses this information to detect similar viruses.

3. Heuristic Detection

There are also new malware programs that cannot be detected by the first two processes, so this final one takes care of the leftover viruses.

Check for Malware with the Best Software

There are plenty of antivirus software tools out there that will offer you good malware protection, and many are available on the Amazon Store. You should only install these directly from the store as to not get any malicious ware alongside it. These are the best currently available on the store:

1. Dr.WEB Antivirus

It’s not the most well-known, but it does have a large malware database so it offers really great protection. This is how to get it:

1. Go to the Amazon Appstore and search for the app.
2. Download Dr.WEB Antivirus Light.
3. Access the app from My Apps.
4. Launch Dr.WEB Antivirus Light.
5. Read the License Agreement then tap “Accept”.
6. A pop-up will appear asking for access to your device’s storage. Tap on “Allow”.
7. To check for threats, tap “Scanner”.
   Now you can scan only installed apps by choosing “Express Scan”, or you can scan all files on your Kindle device by choosing “Full Scan”. The former one is faster, but it’s highly recommended to do the full scan, as malware can hide in your system files.
8. Tap on “Full Scan”. This will initiate the scanning process. You will see which part of your device is being scanned and how many objects have been scanned. Below you can see a list of threats detected. The scan will last for a couple of minutes, so be patient.
9. If the scan is finished and it doesn’t find any threats, press Finish.
10. If it does find threats, the app will prompt you to quarantine them. Press “Send to quarantine”.
11. Go back and tap on the Quarantine tab. From there you can remove all of the quarantined malware.

2. Norton Kindle Tablet Security

This antivirus software is made specifically for your Kindle device.

1. Find the app on Amazon Appstore, download and launch the app.
2. Read the Norton License Agreement and Terms of Use and the Symantec/Norton Global Privacy Statement.
3. Agree to both and press Continue. This will initiate the setup process. The app will automatically start scanning your device.
4. If you have any threats, the software will automatically remove them for you. The software will also run in the background and do occasional scans.

3. Avast Security & Antivirus

Another really good malware protector.

1. Find the app on Amazons Appstore and download it.
2. Launch Avast Security.
3. Read the policies and press Get Started.
4. Choose either “Continue with Ads” or “Upgrade Now”.
5. Tap on the orange “Scan” Button to start scanning for malware.
6. If it finds any threats, press on resolve issue.

This app also allows you to:

1. Boost RAM. This will make your Kindle Fire run faster.
2. Clean Junk. This will allow you to clean up the unnecessary files in your storage.
3. Scan Wi-Fi. This checks the security of your connection.
4. VPN Protection. Very useful if you are outside the US and need to set your location.

4. AVG AntiVirus

Besides malware detection, it also has other features like app and device lock, battery and storage management, task killer, and others.

1. Get AVG from Amazon App store, install and open it.
2. Make sure to read through the policies then press Get Started.
3. Choose “Continue with Ads” if you don’t mind them or press “Upgrade Now” if you do.
4. Press on the big “Scan” button, and the scanning process will begin.
5. If the app finds any malware you will be prompted to remove them.

5. Malwarebytes

1. Find the app on Amazons Appstore. Download and open it.
2. Press Get Started.
3. The app will ask for storage and files permission. Press Give permission.
4. Press Allow.
5. Press Skip in the top right corner.
6. Press Scan Now in the bottom left corner.
7. Press Fix now to remove the threats.
8. Activate Real-Time Protection.

Your Kindle Is Now Protected

No matter which option you choose for detecting malware, it will detect and remove all the threats that might affect you and your Kindle Fire’s security. All of these will continue scanning in the background if you leave them installed and you can use your device safely without having to worry.

What’s your preferred antivirus? Tell us in the comments below!