McAfee has taken the wraps off of its Mobile Security 2.0 suite, a comprehensive anti-virus and anti-phishing package that protects virtually all Android, BlackBerry and Symbian phones and tablets.
Android phones and tabs running 2.1 Eclair through to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich are covered, as are BlackBerry phones running OS 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0. We’re checking up about support for BlackBerry OS 7.1 – our guess is that as this is rolling out now, support for it will be included eventually.
Symbian phones running S60 from 3rd through to 5th Edition as well as Symbian^3 (which includes Anna, Belle, et al) are also covered by McAfee Mobile Security 2.0.
The main new feature of this package is App Alert for Android phones, which provides information about what your apps are doing with your personal info.
Due to the open nature of the Market and the OS being the most-used mobile platform (in the UK at least) Android phones particularly vulnerable to potential phishing and virus attacks. We’ve heard of and reported on myriad premium rate scams and trojans masquerading as Angry Birds wallpapers and the like.
One service to block them all, one service to find them
Another neat feature, available to all phones, is Call and SMS blocking tools which help to block unwanted numbers, for whatever reason.
There’s also a handy remote track feature that lets you search for your missing phone from your desktop (only via Firefox 3.5+ or IE7+), along with a lock and wipe function if your phone is totally missing.
As well as this, you’ve got the ability to back up and restore contacts and pictures to a new phone.
While we’ve seen similar services on Android phones (namely Lookout and Cerberus) but McAfee’s Mobile Security 2.0 suite is available for practically everyone. Costing £24.99 for a 1-year subscription is seems pricey, but it’s a fraction of the cost of a new phone.
iPhone and iPad owners can still download McAfee’s WaveSecure app for £13.99, whcih gives you a remote tracking and backup/restore functions. We’ve asked about rollout of Mobile Security 2.0 to other platforms including iOS, Windows Phone and PlayBook OS and will update once we hear more.
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