Security Featured Article

DroidSecurity, the pioneer in cloud-based mobile security and the only company exclusively focused on protecting smartphones, netbooks and other devices running on the Android (News - Alert) operating system, has surpassed the 2.5 million-user threshold for its mobile security app, antivirus free.

This milestone reflects some important trends taking place in the mobile security arena, including the security consciousness of Android users, the explosive growth of the Android marketplace, and an exceptionally strong user demand for security to help mitigate risks associated with mobile device usage.

"Passing the 2.5 million mark for users was an important milestone for us, but we still feel that there is a green field of opportunity when it comes to making sure mobile devices are protected," Dror Shalev, CTO and co-founder, DroidSecurity said. "This means educating mobile users on the best practices that will allow them to leverage the power of their mobile devices without compromising security for them or their organizations."

Android smartphone devices and applications continue to proliferate. According to one recent study by research firm NPD Group, the Android operating system continued to shake up the U.S. mobile phone market as Android OS edged out Apple's (News - Alert) OS during the first quarter 2010. The number of applications on the Android market also is expected to see massive growth as Google facilitates the development of mobile programs for Android with do-it-yourself programs such as its recently-launched App Inventor, making it simple to create programs with little to no experience.

This strong momentum for Android is being witnessed directly by DroidSecurity and is evidenced in the company's recent user stats. For June 2010 (the most recent figures available), DroidSecurity reports it had over 500,000 new downloads of its antivirus free app. Of the 70,000+ apps currently available on the Android market, DroidSecurity antivirus free consistently ranks in the top 50 of most popular apps.

According to company estimates, over 10 percent of all Android mobile devices today use DroidSecurity, making it the largest provider of anti-virus apps for the Android market and among the fastest growing apps today. In March 2010, DroidSecurity claimed that around 10,500 new users downloaded their mobile device security solution within 24 hours of the discovery of the Conficker and Mariposa viruses on new Vodafone (News - Alert) HTC Magic smartphones.

Shalev adds that many problems from the PC world transfer into the mobile space, but there are certain best practices mobile users should proactively exercise.

DroidSecurity offers a "watch list" of known problems with Android apps: Conducting online banking activities via unofficial apps, downloading apps from untrustworthy sources, using third party open source libraries, apps and components that may harbor bugs and malicious code, clicking on suspicious content coming through text messages, which might ask for your personal information, and passwords, and installing apps that do not come with positive user feedback or ratings.