INSTALLING AN APK FILE? HOW TO CHECK IF IT'S SAFE

One of the best thing in Android is the amount of control that the operating system gives users. For instances, with an iPhone, if you want to install apps you have to either use App Store or jailbreak the phone.

With Android, you can use Google Play or side load the app using an APK file. To do this, all you need to do is copy the APK on your phone, enable Unknown Sources in the privacy settings and launch the APK, and you'll install the app that's been packaged in the file. Here the level of simplicity also means that there is a little risk.

For this you have a few simple checks to try and verify that it is really what it claim to be. Luckily there are few simple ways to do this.

Scanning the APK

1. VirusTotal

The VirusTotal website lets you upload your APK files to check for viruses and other issues. Android files are the fifth most popular files to be checked on the website. The one caveat is that file size has to be under 128MB, so some games in particular might be too big for this tool.

To use do the following:

1. Open the site VirusTotal.

2. Click on Choose file, and in the browser dialogue box, select your file.

3. Click on  Scan it! to get your result.

This will help you to quickly check if an APK is safe or not. In general, we've seen a lot of comments online praising VirusTotal effectiveness. It was acquired by Google in 2012 and is non-commercial entity.

2. NViso ApkScan

Another tool that's similar to VirusTool is NViso ApkScan. It also provides a detailed reort on the APK file you have,, and there's no file size limit. This tool was recommended on the most number of forums.

To use NViso, do the following:

1. Open NViso  Site

2. Drag and drop the APK file onto the site.

3. Click on Scan package.

You can also tick the E-mail box, enter email ID, and leave the site if you like. You will then get the result in your mail. The results are detailed, Starting with a risk rating, and then showing you the permission that the app asks for, general information such as MD5 and SHA256 hashes, and file size, and including a virus scan.

That's it - with this two methods, you can be have a greater degree of security when using apps downloaded from third party sources. However, it''s worth nothing that these methods are never 100 percent secure, and if you're worried about malware, then stick to the PlayStore.