F-Secure brings antivirus support to Windows Mobile users

Oct 10, 2005:

Symbian device protection gets stronger with mobile firewall

F-Secure Corporation today announced that it is to extend the support for its award-winning F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system. The solution brings new levels of protection for Windows Mobile users. Symbian Series 80 users will also get a new product called F-Secure Mobile Security, which contains a mobile firewall alongside antivirus-functionality.
 
F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus is the most comprehensive solution in the market for protecting mobile devices against viruses, worms and trojans. It provides real-time on-device protection with automatic over-the-air antivirus updates.
 
F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus is also designed to be as easy to use as possible; to prevent infections, all files are automatically intercepted and scanned when they are saved, copied, downloaded, synchronized or otherwise modified meaning that there is no need for user intervention. The software automatically scans all files on memory cards and when an infected file is detected, it is immediately quarantined in order to protect all other data in the system.
 
Speaking about the new products, Antti Vihavainen, Vice President, Mobile Security at F-Secure said: ”We have been the market leader in the field of mobile antivirus-solutions for years. It is natural for us to support any major mobile operating system and Microsoft Windows Mobile definitely belongs to this group. Even if the situation with mobile malware is not yet critical, experience shows that virus writers target any popular and widespread open operating system. It is still quite a clean field compared to the PC world and we want keep it that way. So it is better to be ready now and offer device-resident protection to all major platforms right from the start.”

With this latest release now in place, F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus is available for Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003/2003SE Pocket PCs Phone Edition, meaning devices such as Qtek9090, MDA III, Qtek2020, Qtek S100 and MDA Compact as well as T-Mobile branded devices MDA II, MDA III and MDA Compact. F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus supporting Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003/2003SE for Smartphones Edition covers such devices as Motorola MPX220, Qtek8200, Qtek8010, Qtek8020, SDA, Qtek8100 and SDA Music as well as T-Mobile branded devices MDA II, MDA III and MDA Compact.

The list of supported devices is constantly expanding and the most up-to-date information can be seen in the mobile-device optimized F-Secure Mobile Portal under http://mobile.f-secure.com
 
F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus has been available for most Symbian Series 60, Symbian Series 80 and Symbian Series 90 devices since the introduction of the first Symbian-operating devices. The latest Symbian additions also support Nokia N70, N90 as well as Panasonic X700 and X800 smartphones.
 
F-Secure Mobile Security is a new product in the F-Secure mobile product line. The solution enables secure mobile computing by combining integrated antivirus functionality and a firewall. A firewall is especially useful in devices that use WLAN or other public networks for Internet access, as is the case with the Nokia Communicators. Device-resident protection safeguards the mobile device from various types of attack, from intrusion attempts to malware exploits. F-Secure Mobile Security is immediately available for Nokia’s Communicator 9500 and 9300 devices. The solution will be made available later for other devices as device vendors start offering more terminals with access to public networks.

Brian Burke, research manager for IDC's Security Products program said: "Compared to a year ago, current malware trends show that mobile viruses have matured rapidly. With the growing popularity of smartphones, widespread mobile malware propagation is closer than ever before," adding: "F-Secure is a pioneer and among the leaders in this market because of its long relationships with device vendors and carriers."

“An integrated firewall is the next step in content security for mobile devices. Pure antivirus solutions are not sufficient in devices that access open public networks such as WLAN. You wouldn’t think of using your laptop PC for Internet access without the protection of a firewall. The same rule applies with the new generation of mobile devices that are in many ways like portable PC's,” continues Vihavainen.

F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus and F-Secure Mobile Security can be purchased from selected mobile operators or directly from the F-Secure eStore at: http://www.f-secure.com/estore/ . A free 30-day trial is also available in the mobile-device optimized F-Secure Mobile Portal: http://mobile.f-secure.com .

For more information, please contact:
 
F-Secure Corporation
Antti Vihavainen, Vice President, Mobile Security
PL 24
FIN-00181 Helsinki
Tel +358 (0)40 523