Norton was presented with the Innovation Award for Norton Mobile Security’s App Advisor for Google Play from AV-TEST during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, because of the unique innovation that has helped provide the next level of mobile protection for the changing digital security landscape.
As smartphones continue to evolve into being used as personal computers, more and more sensitive information gets stored on the device. We shop, we do our finances, we connect to other devices, communicate, and even entertain ourselves.. What mobile users should be more aware of is that security for these devices is just as vital as it is to our computers. The mobile threat landscape is rapidly evolving due to the fact that mobile phones are increasingly becoming an attractive and abundant target to cybercriminals. It seems that there are new threats evolving on a daily basis, and it is vital to keep up-to-date in our defenses against them.
Recently, a new form of mobile malware dubbed “Gazon” was discovered, which disguises itself as an Amazon Voucher application. Once installed, it will then SMS spam all of the contacts in the users’ address book to try to further spread the malware. Within the first 24 hours of its discovery, detection for the malware was added to Norton Mobile Security.
Norton Mobile Security App Advisor for the Google Play Store provides comprehensive, proactive protection from the threats on today’s mobile Internet landscape. The App Advisor allows users to examine the behaviors of an app before actually downloading it to the device. App Advisor scans apps in the Google Play Store looking for features that can invade privacy, display annoying/intrusive behaviors such as pop up ads or excessive battery usage, and unnecessary data usage. It will also detect if an app contains malware or is malicious in nature.
“We chose the App Advisor technology, powered by Norton Mobile Insight, because we wanted to reward innovation instead of run-of-the-mill technology and features,” said Andreas Marx, CEO, AV-TEST. "There are a large number of manufacturers of security solutions, but when we see one that has gone beyond the basics of product development to introduce innovations to the market that solve for global challenges, we are compelled to reward and recognize the tremendous work.”
App Advisor powered by Norton Mobile Insight brings information directly to the users’ fingertips before there is any risk involved. It provides powerful information to the user, allowing them to make an educated choice about what apps to download, and what users are willing to trade for downloading the app. Learn how to be App Happy by checking out our App risks e-book.