Tag Archives: G Data

G Data Mobile Security for Android

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G Data’s Mobile Security provides anti-virus and security monitoring for Android smartphones and tablets. Is this really necessary, you might ask, but I think after some of the recent malware removals by Google, there’s sufficient evidence that Android will increasingly be a target for malware and virus writers. Such is life.

Mobile Security provides three main functions, on-demand scans, blacklist control and authorisation checks for installed apps, all controlled from a main home screen.

G Data Mobile Security Main Screen

Tapping on any of the four areas will show the next screen for that function. Here’s the on-demand virus scanning – no surprises there – but Mobile Security also scans apps as they are installed from the Android Market (or elsewhere presumably) which gives additional protection against malicious software.

G Data Mobile Security Virus Scanning

The Permissions area shows a set of controlled features such as calls and internet access, and by selecting a particular feature Mobile Security shows the apps that have permissions for that feature. I thought that you might be able to then select an application and revoke its permissions to, say, access the internet, but the only option is to uninstall the app.

G Data Mobile Security Permissions    G Data Mobile Detailed Security Permissions

A settings screen is accessible from the menu key which provides greater control over the behaviour of Mobile Security’s activities. Usual stuff about scan intervals and automatic scans but all good stuff.

G Data Mobile Security Settings

The Logs area shows what Mobile Security has been doing and Update simply checks that the virus signatures are current and up-to-date. Nothing unexpected here.

G Data Mobile Security Logs

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any malware to hand so I wasn’t able to test out Mobile Security’s detection and disinfecting abilities but I would imagine that G Data’s got that covered.

It’s a free download from the Android Market to try it out, but it’s £9.99 per year to get updates for new malware and viruses. Alternatively, purchases of other G Data security products such as  G Data AntiVirus include a Mobile Security licence as part of the package.

The licence for this review was provided free of charge by G Data. Thanks.

 

Competition Time – G Data AntiVirus 2012

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G Data have kindly supplied a copy of their AntiVirus 2012 to give away to Geek News Central’s loyal UK members. I reviewed the next product up in the range, InternetSecurity 2012, a couple of weeks ago and was quietly impressed. AntiVirus 2012 comes with antivirus (obviously) plus phishing, spyware and rootkit protection for a year on the PC and on Android smartphones or tablets.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply leave a comment below saying how you think GNC could be more relevant to a British audience. Don’t forget to leave your email address and I’ll draw at random from the comments in a week’s time. Remember, this is only for people with a UK postal address.

G Data MobileSecurity for Android

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Continuing the battle with the bad guys, G Data has released its MobileSecurity product for Android smartphones and tablets. MobileSecurity is designed to protect the data on phone from viruses, malware and spyware. Apps have to gain authorisation from the user before the app can make calls, send text messages or transfer data. Other features include app blacklisting and app checking during installation. Of course, there are regular updates to the software to keep the protection up-to-date.

Eddy Willems, Security Evangelist at G Data commented: “Malware writers are entrepreneurs: always looking for the best return on investment. According to analysts, Gartner and IDC, Android seems to be the market leader in mobile operating systems, so it is logical that cyber criminals will target the platform. Android malware can be easily spread through apps, which is another reason the platform is targeted. Not only did the beginning of 2011 see the emergence of this trend, but it also saw Android take the lead as the most targeted mobile operating systems in terms of malware. So it is the perfect time to introduce a solution for the protection of Android devices, as we expect a large increase in this area.”

Marketing puff aside, as we’ve seen in the past few weeks with the Mac malware and the Gmail spearphishing, there are criminals out there working out how to attack every major platform. And f they can’t beat the platform directly, they’ll go after the user, which is often the weakest link.

G Data’s MobileSecurity is available for £9.99 from a range of Android app stores or is free with G Data’s 2012 range of security products.

G Data Offers Free Fake Antivirus Removal Tool

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If you or a friend have been conned into installing one of the fake anti-virus tools that has been doing the round recently, you’ll be delighted to hear that G Data are offering a free tool to remove the most prevalent type of scareware, “System Tool”.

Many of us will have seen those pop-ups claiming that our PCs have been infected and most of us will have dismissed them for the scams that they are. However, some people are taken in and G Data has seen an increase of 35% over the past 15 months in this type of fake AV. And if you are taken in, it’s a double whammy, with the criminals getting your credit card details while your PC remains under their control for further malicious activity.

“The development and deployment of scareware has become a highly profitable business. Fake antivirus programs have a double benefit for cyber criminals: they receive money from users who purchased a ‘full version’ of their useless tools and they get hold of the victims’ credit card data. To make matters worse: the fake AV programs often also put online criminals in a position that allows them to download additional malware onto their victims’ computers”, explains Eddy Willems, Security Evangelist at G Data.

The instructions for running the cleaner program is:
1. Download G Data FakeAV Cleaner from the G Data website: http://www.gdatasoftware.co.uk/support/downloads/tools.html. It’s down at the bottom of the page.
2. Run the G Data FakeAV Cleaner setup file. The G Data FakeAVCleaner “System Tool” has to be executed with the Windows user account that is infected. As the FakeAV “System Tool” shuts down all user initiated programs which do not have any kind of reserved name, like explorer.exe, winlogon.exe or svchost.exe and many more, the file name for the G Data FakeAVCleaner is svchost.exe
3. Reboot the computer to finalise the installation.

If you are interested in the background to this kind of threat, G Data have a complementary blog post discussing some of the issues and demonstrates a scareware infection.

G Data Offers Malware and Virus Protection for Android

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The Android OS has already attracted the attention of malware and virus writers looking for new ways to extort money from unsuspecting victims. The BBC reported back in August of 2010 on a Russian media player that sent premium rate text messages, thus earning the virus writer hefty referral fees. More recently, the Geinimi trojan had been collecting personal info and passing it on to some Chinese remote servers.

G Data Software today announced their MobileSecurity solution for Android 2.0 and above to guard against malware and other fraudulent programs. By monitoring activity on the phone or tablet, it can detect unwanted sending of SMS text messages or web browsing in the background.

Using the security app on the smartphone, the user can authorise the activity of known apps but block those apps which start acting in an unexpected fashion. The security app will also maintain a blacklist of Android malware which is regularly updated with downloads from G Data.

Available from April 2011 for £9.99 from the Google Market Place or free to existing G Data customers from G Data’s website.