Android and BlackBerry get Kaspersky support

Kaspersky Labs has recently announced that its mobile security application is now available for Android and BlackBerry platforms. Besides protecting smartphones from malicious content, users can now also hide contacts, keep track of their children’s Internet usage and even locate the phone should it go missing.

Kaspersky Lab has announced the release of Kaspersky Mobile Security 9, an updated version of the product designed to provide smartphone. The new version now supports the Android and BlackBerry platforms alongside Symbian and Windows Mobile.

Whether you use your smartphone for work, keeping in touch with your friends and family, or messaging on the move, with Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 you can be sure your mobile device is securely protected from all types of threats, and your personal data will not end up in the hands of cybercriminals. Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 has been designed to protect your smartphone from malware and spam, block unwanted calls, hide chosen contacts and files from prying eyes, locate your device if it goes missing, monitor your children’s mobile activities and even find out exactly where they are.

Says Stephan van der Merwe, Regional Head of Operations for Kaspersky Lab Sub-Saharan Africa: ‚The growth in use of smartphones or other mobile devices has, and continues to grow significantly locally, whereby such technological devices are becoming the main source of not only communicating, but running our lives – especially if we consider all the functions one can do with a mobile device (use of internet, mobile banking, ect). In fact, First National Bank locally reported that their cellphone banking processed more than 15 million transactions in December 2010, showing a transaction value of R1.7 billion worth of mobile banking. Considering this, it is clear that such devices need effective security, to ensure complete protection.‚

With privacy protection technologies, you just need to push one button to hide selected contacts and their contact data, including call histories, contact list entries and SMSs, and mute their calls. Contacts can also be hidden automatically after a preset idle period or remotely by sending a predefined SMS. You can also filter out unwanted calls and SMSs by creating a white list and a black list of contacts.

Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 will help you keep your data confidential should your smartphone be lost or stolen, and can help locate a missing device too. The solution allows you to wipe confidential files or block them remotely by sending a special SMS: locate your lost device with the help of the GPS Find tool: or block your phone and be notified of its new number if the SIM card is replaced.

Mobile users running Symbian or Windows Mobile operating systems can password protect and encrypt their files with a strong encryption algorithm.

The GPS Find feature will help you pinpoint your smartphone’s current location, and if Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 is installed on your child’s device, you can always locate them quickly and easily. The Parental Control module in Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 lets you restrict which numbers your children and other vulnerable individuals can call, such as premium-rate numbers, and allows you to control who calls them.

‚Users are well aware that mobile threats are now a reality rather than science fiction. These days, smartphones are a very attractive target for cybercriminals due to the increasing amounts of valuable data that their owners store on them,‚ said Sergey Nevstruyev, Vice President of Mobile Solutions at Kaspersky Lab. ‚Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 is more than just an antivirus program for your mobile phone ‚ it’s a comprehensive mobile security suite. No matter what type of malware attacks your phone, or whether it is lost, stolen or used by others without your consent, Kaspersky Lab’s solution has got it covered, so your valuable information remains intact and your privacy guarded.‚