As mobile phones get more powerful, and generally more like computers, the issues of security and how to combat viruses become more and more important. But it remains a moot point as to whether antivirus software is still really necessary for a mobile phone: how many people have you met whose phone has yet been troubled by a virus, even if they own the Android devices that are universally acknowledged to be more vulnerable than iOS. Obviously, it’s better not to wait for the worst, but there’s still debate as to how closely consumers should listen to antivirus companies saying that antivisrus software is essential for every mobile.
Of much more pressing concern is physical security: phones get lost or stolen every day, and theft of Apple products now account for 14 per cent of all crime in New York, according to NYPD. With the release of the new iPhone 5, it surged 40 per cent.
Little wonder, then that Kaspersky’s latest security software was trending on Twitter recently after it released details of its new facility to take photographs remotely: log on to your stolen phone and, ideally, take pictures of who is now using it and where they are. You can additionally even check whether the sim card has been replaced, as well as remotely wipe the device. It’s a major extension of the kind of ‘Find my iPhone’ technology that locates that popular device on a map.
In the UK the latest Kasperky Mobile is £8.95, but rival app Cerberus delivers much of its functions, minus the antivirus, for a lifetime cost of €2.99 and offers a free trial for a week. It offers remote control of your lost phone either via the web or text messages and means you can remote sound an alarm, lock the device, get a list of recent calls and record audio. Some may worry that this sounds like a tracking device for suspicious spouses, but it has already been responsible for countless recovered phones. If antivirus is a priority for you, it won’t be a solution, of course, but it’s certainly an impressive product in its own right.
