Battery-killing cell phone apps?

Two days ago, I came across an article entitled “Do Android Security Apps Kill Your Batteries?” The article talks about mobile device users avoiding security apps because they think the apps run down their batteries too quickly. A member of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO) is using Agilent’s N6705B DC Power Analyzer to evaluate just how much the security apps affect battery run time. While the results are not yet complete, the researchers are planning to measure power usage with no security app running, with the app running in the background, and with the app actively working. Their full report is due out by the end of July. Here is a link to the article, written by Neil Rubenking in his SecurityWatch blog for PC Magazine Digital Edition:

http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/mobile-security/298170-do-android-security-apps-kill-your-batteries

I was pleased to see the N6705B DC Power Analyzer used in this way – this product has power modules and software that are specifically designed to do exactly this type of evaluation!

If you have to evaluate a mobile device’s battery run time for any reason, here is a link to “10 Tips to Optimize a Mobile Device’s Battery Life” written by our own Ed Brorein (contributor extraordinaire to this blog):

http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5991-0160EN.pdf

And here is a link to Ed’s post from a few months ago on “Using Current Drain Measurements to Optimize Battery Run-time of Mobile Devices”:

http://powersupplyblog.tm.agilent.com/2012/03/using-current-drain-measurements-to.html

When the researchers complete and publish their evaluation on how security apps affect your cell phone battery run time, we’ll be sure to follow-up with another post! In the mean time, protect your phone in whatever way you like, and keep charging ahead by charging your batteries!