Symantec launches latest versions of its Norton Mobile Security

MOUNTAIN VIEW, US: Anti virus house Symantec has released the latest version of Norton Mobile Security, which delivers powerful, effective protection for Android smartphones and tablets, iPhones and iPads¹.

The Android iteration of the software focuses on privacy, which the company claims is a growing area of concern for consumers, with particular reference to rogue apps.

Using a new technology named Norton Mobile Insight, Norton Mobile Security scans users' phones to reveal which apps may be putting their personal information at risk.

The latest updates to Norton Mobile Security also extend enhanced anti-theft capabilities to iPhone and iPad with a "scream" alarm to help users quickly find their missing mobile device.

For mobile device users, maintaining control of their personal information is a major concern. In fact, 57 percent of app users have uninstalled or declined to install an app to protect their personal information². To address this issue, in addition to scanning for security risks, Norton Mobile Security now scans apps for privacy risk-related attributes. For example, Norton Mobile Security will now flag an application and notify a user if a mobile app is found to export information such as a user's contacts, photos or call logs. Because consumers don't have knowledge of how their data may be used, collected or shared, they are not able to maintain control of their personal information. Norton Mobile Security empowers consumers to protect their personal information and make informed decisions about which apps to keep or remove.

"The issue of privacy is a complex and evolving one, for both consumers and developers," said Con Mallon, senior director, product management, Symantec Corp. "Until now, mobile app privacy scanning has been done only at the most superficial level, which doesn't yield truly relevant and actionable information to consumers. With this latest release, we are using a unique combination of static and dynamic analysis to deliver an unprecedented view into app privacy and information leakage. With this information, consumers can actually decide for themselves whether to keep each app."

Pricing and Availability

Norton Mobile Security has an MSRP of $29.99 and is available for purchase via various retailers, the Norton online store or Google Play. In addition, Norton 360 Multi-Device and Norton One will be updated with the features in the latest release of Norton Mobile Security. Norton customers with a valid product subscription are eligible to receive the latest product updates via the subscription service model. For more information, visit the Norton Update center at http://updatecenter.norton.com. Consumers can visit norton.com/nmsprivacy to learn more about Norton Mobile Security.