Webroot extends security suite to Android smartphones and tablets

Webroot has announced that it is porting its internet security and anti-malware offerings to the Android platform.

The Mobile Security and Tablet Security platforms will combine anti-malware and anti-phishing software with traditional mobile security tools such as remote tracking and stolen device wiping.

Patrick Kennedy, senior director of product marketing for Webroot, argued that recent incidents such as the Android malware outbreak indicated a growing security need for the platform.

"There is a critical mass of Android users now, and it has become interesting to cyber criminals," Kennedy told V3.co.uk.

"Android users are becoming more aware in each passing month of security in a mobile market."

The suite offers tracking and recovery features, and users can remotely trigger software which emits a 'scream' siren noise on the handset and publishes co-ordinates of the device's physical location via Google Maps.

Web-based threats are addressed via browser-based features, such as anti-phishing blacklists and fraud warnings which alert users to possible phishing sites or browser-based attacks.

Kennedy suggested that anti-phishing could be of particular importance for people who often have to use the small touch-screen keyboards used by modern smartphone platforms.

"Many phishing sites take on URLs that are very similar to the site they are spoofing," he said. "A simple typo could lead to a site in which personal information can be gathered and exploited."

Webroot offers the Android Mobile Security and Tablet Security platforms for English-language devices in the US and UK, where the software will be offered through Dixon's retail stores.