• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Darknet
  • Hacking Tools
  • Popular Posts
  • Darknet Archives
  • Contact Darknet
    • Advertise
    • Submit a Tool
Darknet – Hacking Tools, Hacker News & Cyber Security

Darknet - Hacking Tools, Hacker News & Cyber Security

Darknet is your best source for the latest hacking tools, hacker news, cyber security best practices, ethical hacking & pen-testing.

Sophos Offers Free Android Antivirus App

July 31, 2012

Views: 1,411

Sophos seems to be a lot more aggressive recently when it comes to the consumer market, they used to be a hardcore enterprise only solution when they first started out. I guess they’ve realized where the money is.

Back in 2010 they one of the first to come out with a free Antivirus solution for Apple (Sophos Launches FREE Anti-Virus Software For Mac), and now they are coming out with a free AV solution for Android devices.

Sophos has crafted a freebie antivirus app dubbed Sophos Mobile Security for Android-powered devices.

The software tries to protect smartphones against malware, warns fandroids of privacy-invading programs and can lock down a gadget if it’s lost or stolen, ideally without taxing either performance or battery life. The software, released on Monday, can be downloaded from Google Play.

Several free-of-charge security scanners already exist for the Android platform, but the performance of some in recent tests has been mediocre. Paid-for products from the likes of Kaspersky and F-Secure tend to perform better. Sophos is positioning its product against the more capable freebie Android scanners from the likes of Lookout and AVG (Droid Security), but with the additional benefit of offering hardware loss and privacy dashboard features more associated with paid-for products.

Sophos Mobile Security is designed to automatically scan apps as users install them, thus blocking undesirable software. The technology also locates lost or stolen Android devices as well as shielding personal information from thieves.

It is something that’s definitely required as there has been an extremely worrying and rather dangerous trend of Android malware emerging lately:

– Android Malware App Covertly Makes Purchases On China Mobile Market
– Android Trojan Targets Japanese Market – Steals Personal Data
– China Facing Problems With Android Handsets & Pre-installed Trojans

They definitely aren’t the first either, back in 2010 Symantec had already expanded their range to cover Android – Symantec Expands Security Products To Cover Android & iOS.

Sophos has entered the mobile security zone a few years late, but rather than corner the freebie Android scanner market, its new software will be used to market a managed Enterprise version, due to be released this year.

The strategy makes sense because it dovetails neatly with the bring-your-own-device craze that’s allowing consumers’ technology choices shape corporate IT, including the mobile security products that are used.

Android malware last year increased 155 percent from 2010, according to Juniper Networks.

“We’re seeing no slowdown in the number of malicious apps, as more smartphone owners use their devices to not only store personal data, but also access social networks and the internet,” said Matthias Pankert, vice president of product management, Sophos. “This usage, coupled with the increase in Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) activity, is making Android devices a compelling target for cybercriminals and malware.”

Sophos released a freebie security scanner for Macs two years ago. The plan in that case was more about improving home punters’ cyber-hygiene than pushing licences, but mobile security is much more integral to the corporate plans of the UK-based security software firm, so Sophos Mobile Security is not a philanthropic gesture

It seems to be more of a marketing play than anything else though, with them introducing this free version to hook people into a commercial enterprise solution later. We’ll start seeing this in employment contracts in the future I guess:

“If you use your own device with the company e-mail/fileshare/wifi etc you need to have the corporate mobile security solution XXX installed”

We will see more people entering this arena too, with Android having a more open ecosystem than iOS – it’s also a lot more open to malware and spurious apps.

Source: The Register

Share
Tweet
Share3
Buffer
WhatsApp
Email
3 Shares

Filed Under: Countermeasures, Malware, Security Software Tagged With: android, android malware, android security, sophos



Primary Sidebar

Search Darknet

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Advertise on Darknet

Latest Posts

SUDO_KILLER - Auditing Sudo Configurations for Privilege Escalation Paths

SUDO_KILLER – Auditing Sudo Configurations for Privilege Escalation Paths

Views: 122

sudo is a powerful utility in Unix-like systems that allows permitted users to execute commands with … ...More about SUDO_KILLER – Auditing Sudo Configurations for Privilege Escalation Paths

Bantam - Advanced PHP Backdoor Management Tool For Post Exploitation

Bantam – Advanced PHP Backdoor Management Tool For Post Exploitation

Views: 321

Bantam is a lightweight post-exploitation utility written in C# that includes advanced payload … ...More about Bantam – Advanced PHP Backdoor Management Tool For Post Exploitation

AI-Powered Cybercrime in 2025 - The Dark Web’s New Arms Race

AI-Powered Cybercrime in 2025 – The Dark Web’s New Arms Race

Views: 516

In 2025, the dark web isn't just a marketplace for illicit goods—it's a development lab. … ...More about AI-Powered Cybercrime in 2025 – The Dark Web’s New Arms Race

Upload_Bypass - Bypass Upload Restrictions During Penetration Testing

Upload_Bypass – Bypass Upload Restrictions During Penetration Testing

Views: 506

Upload_Bypass is a command-line tool that automates discovering and exploiting weak file upload … ...More about Upload_Bypass – Bypass Upload Restrictions During Penetration Testing

Shell3r - Powerful Shellcode Obfuscator for Offensive Security

Shell3r – Powerful Shellcode Obfuscator for Offensive Security

Views: 698

If antivirus and EDR vendors are getting smarter, so are the tools that red teamers and penetration … ...More about Shell3r – Powerful Shellcode Obfuscator for Offensive Security

Understanding the Deep Web, Dark Web, and Darknet (2025 Guide)

Understanding the Deep Web, Dark Web, and Darknet (2025 Guide)

Views: 8,726

Introduction: How Much of the Internet Can You See? You're only scratching the surface when you … ...More about Understanding the Deep Web, Dark Web, and Darknet (2025 Guide)

Topics

  • Advertorial (28)
  • Apple (46)
  • Countermeasures (227)
  • Cryptography (82)
  • Database Hacking (89)
  • Events/Cons (7)
  • Exploits/Vulnerabilities (431)
  • Forensics (65)
  • GenAI (3)
  • Hacker Culture (8)
  • Hacking News (229)
  • Hacking Tools (684)
  • Hardware Hacking (82)
  • Legal Issues (179)
  • Linux Hacking (74)
  • Malware (238)
  • Networking Hacking Tools (352)
  • Password Cracking Tools (104)
  • Phishing (41)
  • Privacy (219)
  • Secure Coding (118)
  • Security Software (233)
  • Site News (51)
    • Authors (6)
  • Social Engineering (37)
  • Spammers & Scammers (76)
  • Stupid E-mails (6)
  • Telecomms Hacking (6)
  • UNIX Hacking (6)
  • Virology (6)
  • Web Hacking (384)
  • Windows Hacking (169)
  • Wireless Hacking (45)

Security Blogs

  • Dancho Danchev
  • F-Secure Weblog
  • Google Online Security
  • Graham Cluley
  • Internet Storm Center
  • Krebs on Security
  • Schneier on Security
  • TaoSecurity
  • Troy Hunt

Security Links

  • Exploits Database
  • Linux Security
  • Register – Security
  • SANS
  • Sec Lists
  • US CERT

Footer

Most Viewed Posts

  • Brutus Password Cracker – Download brutus-aet2.zip AET2 (2,291,998)
  • Darknet – Hacking Tools, Hacker News & Cyber Security (2,173,071)
  • Top 15 Security Utilities & Download Hacking Tools (2,096,614)
  • 10 Best Security Live CD Distros (Pen-Test, Forensics & Recovery) (1,199,675)
  • Password List Download Best Word List – Most Common Passwords (933,464)
  • wwwhack 1.9 – wwwhack19.zip Web Hacking Software Free Download (776,130)
  • Hack Tools/Exploits (673,287)
  • Wep0ff – Wireless WEP Key Cracker Tool (530,144)

Search

Recent Posts

  • SUDO_KILLER – Auditing Sudo Configurations for Privilege Escalation Paths May 12, 2025
  • Bantam – Advanced PHP Backdoor Management Tool For Post Exploitation May 9, 2025
  • AI-Powered Cybercrime in 2025 – The Dark Web’s New Arms Race May 7, 2025
  • Upload_Bypass – Bypass Upload Restrictions During Penetration Testing May 5, 2025
  • Shell3r – Powerful Shellcode Obfuscator for Offensive Security May 2, 2025
  • Understanding the Deep Web, Dark Web, and Darknet (2025 Guide) April 30, 2025

Tags

apple botnets computer-security darknet Database Hacking ddos dos exploits fuzzing google hacking-networks hacking-websites hacking-windows hacking tool Information-Security information gathering Legal Issues malware microsoft network-security Network Hacking Password Cracking pen-testing penetration-testing Phishing Privacy Python scammers Security Security Software spam spammers sql-injection trojan trojans virus viruses vulnerabilities web-application-security web-security windows windows-security Windows Hacking worms XSS

Copyright © 1999–2025 Darknet All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy