Automatic link interception
Acts as your default browser and checks every HTTP/HTTPS link you tap, system-wide — then forwards safe links to the browser you actually use. Chrome, Firefox, anything.
Core Android · On-device AI · by CyberTech Innovators
Stay a step ahead.
ViraShield checks suspicious links, QR codes and messages before you act — and tells you exactly why something looks dangerous, in plain language.
Phishing blockedpaypa1-verify.xyz
Link is safeOpening in Chrome
Scam SMS flaggedAsks for OTP
01
Problem statement
The risk behind an urgent message.
Scam messages pressure people to judge unfamiliar links and requests in seconds, with almost no context. One wrong tap can cost accounts, privacy and money.
₹0 cr
Cyber-fraud amount reported in India during 2025
0 lakh
Financial-fraud complaints on NCRP in 2025
0%
Complaint growth from 2024 to 2025
Source: MHA / PIB, 11 Feb 2026. Reported national figures across cyber fraud — not confirmed losses or Android-specific cases. Growth calculated from 19,18,835 (2024) → 24,02,579 (2025) complaints.
02
Proposed solution
Protection built into the Android workflow.
ViraShield focuses on the one moment that matters — before you click a link or share a code.
01
Choose your sources
Approve ViraShield as the default browser in Android's own role dialog, then opt in to checking new SMS or notifications from apps you pick. Message sources start off.
02
Links & messages get checked
Every link routed through ViraShield is scored before it opens. Message text is analysed on the phone by a local AI model plus safety rules.
03
Read the reasons, then decide
Safe links open in your preferred browser. Risky ones are blocked with plain-language reasons. The final call is always yours.
Tap a link
ViraShield intercepts
Blocklist · Heuristics · Link DNA
Safe → opens in your browser
Risky → blocked with reasons
✦
Features
Everything inside ViraShield.
24 tools in one app — a complete security kit for everyday Android users.
Link DNA analysis
A risk profile built from six independent strands, each with a plain-language reason:
- Domain age
- Redirects
- URL structure
- Certificate
- Look-alike similarity
- Threat history
Heuristic risk score
0–100 on-device scoring: IP hosts, punycode/homographs, excessive subdomains, suspicious TLDs, hyphen-heavy domains.
Fake-site detector
Compares what a page claims to be — title, logo, favicon, login form — with the domain it's really served from.
Local threat blocklist
Background-synced domain database with SHA-256 hashed lookups via WorkManager.
Block screen
Dangerous sites stopped with a clear warning, strong haptic alert and a "continue at your own risk" check.
Protection modes
Strict, Balanced or Lenient — plus custom rules and trusted domains.
Link preview & scan report
A safety badge and page details before opening, and a full breakdown of every check after.
Manual link analysis
Paste or type any URL and inspect it before you open it.
QR scanner
CameraX + ML Kit reveal the real destination behind a QR code and check it first.
Clipboard monitor
Optional background service that auto-scans URLs the moment you copy them.
Safe Browser
Built-in browsing view with an ad and tracker domain blocklist.
Incoming SMS checks
With your permission, new SMS are checked on the phone for scam signs. Your existing inbox is never read.
App notification checks
Checks visible message notifications from apps you choose — WhatsApp, Gmail and more. Duplicates suppressed for 10 minutes.
Check a message
Paste or type any message you received for an instant on-phone check. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Smart safety rules
Catches OTP/secret-code requests, payment pressure, urgency, remote-access apps, impersonation and risky links.
Charging check
Detects a USB data port vs. a pure wall charger and warns you about juice jacking on untrusted PCs.
App Watchdog
Flags risky permission combinations, unusual install sources and changes since the last scan — metadata only.
Threat DNA Network
On-device graph of domains, IPs, redirect hops and imitated brands — revealing connected threat clusters.
Threat radar
Explore a visual threat-intelligence map straight from the dashboard.
Simple interface
One switch: a large-text home with just three actions — Check a link, Message protection, Settings.
Phishing quiz & tips
"Is this URL safe or suspicious?" — learn to spot scams yourself.
Dashboard & reports
Protection score gauge, weekly chart, daily summaries and weekly report notifications.
Themes, haptics & widget
Five colour themes, distinct vibration patterns, a home-screen widget and a floating scanner bubble.
▶
Interactive demo
Scan a link. Right here.
A taste of ViraShield's on-device heuristics, running in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Try:
0/100 risk
—
Website demo of a few URL heuristics only. The ViraShield app also uses its local blocklist, Link DNA, certificate and redirect checks and the fake-site detector. No tool can guarantee a link is safe.
Privacy by design
Your messages never leave your phone.
Local message analysis
All message inference runs on the phone. No message content is uploaded.
Nothing original saved
Message bodies and sender details are processed in memory only.
Minimal history
Max 20 warning summaries, kept 7 days, excluded from backup. Clear anytime.
Permission-based
You pick each source. Revoking access stops checks instantly — even queued ones.
Hands off
Never sends, deletes or marks messages read. Never opens extracted links.
No bypassing
Hidden, muted or redacted notification content is respected, not worked around.
On-device · No cloud
03
Tech stack, AI & tools
A lightweight local AI engine.
~39KB
Bundled English spam classifier
- algorithmMultinomial Naive Bayes
- learned_weights2,400
- exact_size39,484 bytes
- runs_on100% on-device
- window16k chars · 4k overlap
- extra_rulesOTP · payment · urgency · remote-access · impersonation · URL
A text classifier, not a generative chatbot. Trained on the UCI SMS Spam Collection (Almeida & Gómez Hidalgo, CC BY 4.0).
Android app
Kotlin · AndroidX · XML + ViewBinding · Material · Android 11+
Link checks
Heuristic scanner · Link DNA · local blocklist · RDAP · OkHttp · SHA-256
QR & camera
CameraX · Google ML Kit barcode scanning
Background work
WorkManager · coroutines · NotificationListenerService · SMS receiver
Platform APIs
RoleManager · foreground services · app widget · haptics
Model training
Python training & evaluation pipeline
04
Prototype demo
The working prototype.
Real screenshots from the ViraShield Android app. Drag to explore.
0%Spam precision
0%Spam recall
0Held-out messages evaluated · 31 abstentions
0Automated tests passing (17 JVM + 14 Android)
106True positive
3False positive
901True negative
18False negative
Historical English SMS dataset results — not real-world scam accuracy. Real-device Gmail/WhatsApp delivery and modern scam patterns still need validation. Debug build and lint pass with zero errors.
05
Audience & impact
Everyday users, meaningful reach.
0B
Internet subscriptions in India, March 2026 (TRAI)
Everyday Android users
People who need clear guidance before trusting a link or message.
Families helping relatives
Simple interface and large text for seniors and first-time smartphone users.
Campus pilot communities
Students and schools where we can run opt-in pilots.
Intended impact
Help people pause and understand warnings. We'll measure comprehension, false alerts, setup completion and repeat use — before claiming any financial outcomes.
06
Future plans & scalability
Where we go next.
Go-to-market
01
Pilot
Recruit opt-in campus and community groups.
02
Refine
Use consented feedback to improve onboarding and warnings.
03
Distribute
Test consumer channels and institutional sponsorship.
Business hypothesis: free core checks, with paid convenience or sponsored access.
Roadmap
Near term
Real-device pilots
Evaluation against current English scam patterns.
Next
Regional languages
Testing in Indian languages and more accessible onboarding.
Later
Wider distribution
Vetted threat-intelligence updates at scale.
On-device inference keeps per-message cloud cost near zero — ViraShield scales with users, not servers.
The team
CyberTech Innovators.
Two student builders on a mission to help people make a safer decision before they act online.
MP
Mukhil Pranesh K
Co-founder · Developer
CA
Chanjiv A
Co-founder · Developer
?
FAQ
Good questions.
Why does ViraShield need to be my default browser?
That's how Android lets an app see links before they open. ViraShield checks the link, then hands safe ones to the browser you prefer — you keep browsing with Chrome, Firefox or anything else. You approve it in Android's own dialog.
Does ViraShield read all my messages?
No. It only checks new SMS (after you allow it) and visible notification text from apps you select. It can't read full chat or email histories, attachments or hidden content, and it never stores original messages.
Is my data uploaded to the cloud?
Message analysis happens entirely on your phone. Some link features (like domain registry lookups or blocklist sync) use the network, but message content is never uploaded.
Can ViraShield guarantee a link or message is safe?
No security tool can. ViraShield flags suspicious patterns and explains why — it can miss scams or flag genuine messages, and it can't verify who a sender really is. When unsure, call someone you trust.
Which Android versions and languages are supported?
Android 11 and above. The message model currently supports English; regional-language testing is on the roadmap.