By AVG’s looking to take on stiff competition in the Android market, it seems, as they’ve announced their acquisition of DroidSecurity – the makers behind the app “Antivirus” in the Android market. For those who don’t know, AVG provides an antivirus solution of their own for the desktop market and has been held in high regards by customers and businesses. Whether or not you agree isn’t the story here, though. They’re a major name and they just made a major move to Android with this acquisition.
This follows perhaps the most well-known player in the game today – Symantec – who brought their Norton brand over to Android not too long ago. OS wars? Check. Office Suite wars? Double check. Browser wars? You bet. And now we have antivirus wars. I believe the smartphone market is finally starting to look exactly how personal computing did as we jumped into the beginning of this decade. Read on for full press details.
[via EuroDroid]
AVG Technologies to Acquire DroidSecurity
World’s Leading Provider of Free Consumer Security Software Expands Solutions to Mobile Devices, Establishes Leadership Position in Delivering Mobile Security Software
AMSTERDAM, Nov. 9, 2010 —AVG Technologies, the world’s leading provider of free Consumer security solutions, today announced the acquisition of Tel Aviv-based DroidSecurity, a pioneer in cloud-based mobile security, from its founders and investors. DroidSecurity is the only company of its scale exclusively focused on protecting smartphones, tablets and other devices running on the Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android™ operating system.
The acquisition enables AVG’s Mobile Solutions Team (MST) to extend its security offerings for its more than 110 million consumers and small businesses in 170 countries to include the rapidly expanding mobile security arena. In October 2010, DroidSecurity’s mobile security app, antivirus free, surpassed the 4.5 million download milestone, making it one the most popular security applications on the Android platform. This milestone reflects 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 mobile security.
“The potential that exists within the mobile space is extraordinary, and we predict that devices like smart phones will overtake PCs in 2012,” said J.R. Smith, chief executive officer, AVG. “AVG acquired DroidSecurity to accelerate our delivery of sophisticated mobile security and provide users around the world with the reliable and secure technology they need to confidently mitigate the risks associated with using mobile devices.”
“DroidSecurity and AVG share a common vision of securing consumers, small businesses and enterprises, and we believe there is a green field of opportunity when it comes to making sure mobile devices are protected,” said Eran Pfeffer, CEO and co-founder, DroidSecurity. “Integrating our security technologies will allow mobile users to leverage the power of their mobile devices without compromising their personal security or that of their organizations.”
Android smartphone devices and applications continue to proliferate at an astonishing pace, making it the world’s fastest-growing mobile platform. According to one recent study by research firm NPD Group, the Android operating system continued to shake up the U.S. mobile phone market during the first quarter of 2010, edging out Apple’s (NASDAQ: APPL) OS for the #1 spot. The number of applications on the Android market is also expected to see massive growth as Google facilitates the development of mobile programs for the platform with do-it-yourself programs such as its recently-launched App Inventor, which make it simple for users of any experience level to create programs.
This strong momentum for Android is being witnessed directly by DroidSecurity and is evidenced in the company’s user stats. Of the 100,000+ 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 4.5 million Android mobile devices have downloaded DroidSecurity, making DroidSecurity among the largest and fastest growing providers of anti-virus apps for the Android market and among the fastest growing apps today.
Upon completion of the transaction, DroidSecurity will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of AVG and will continue to be headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. CEO and co-founder, Eran Pfeffer, will become the general manager of AVG’s Mobile Solutions Team (MST).
The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Keep in touch with AVG
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· Join our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/avgfreeAbout DroidSecurity
DroidSecurity™, makers of the first full-featured Android anti-malware application DroidSecurity mobile Security Suite, was founded in 2009 by Dror Shalev, Omri Sigelman and Eran Pfeffer, and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. DroidSecurity Internet Security Suite is the first Android application to leverage the Dalvik Virtual Machine technology. This cloud-based antivirus solution is automatically updated and can be downloaded directly from the Android Market, or at http://www.droidsecurity.com. This powerful application provides a wide-range of protection against viruses/malware and SMS/text spam, plus enables users to track lost smartphones and remotely wipe data for enhanced security and control. More information is available at www.droidsecurity.com.About AVG Technologies
AVG is a global security software maker protecting more than 110 million consumers and small businesses in 170 countries from the ever-growing incidence of web threats, viruses, spam, cyber-scams and hackers on the Internet. AVG has nearly two decades of experience in combating cyber crime and one of the most advanced laboratories for detecting, pre-empting and combating Web-borne threats from around the world. Its free, downloadable software allows novice users to have basic anti-virus protection and then easily upgrade to greater levels of safety and defense when they are ready. AVG has nearly 6,000 resellers, partners and distributors globally including Amazon.com, CNET, Cisco, Ingram Micro, Play.com, Wal-Mart, and Yahoo!. To learn more about AVG, visit www.AVG.comSource: http://www.AVG.com/press-releases-news
Scam artists. You don’t need antivirus on Android. This will be advertised with their typical scare tactics to fool ppl who don’t know better.
No doubt. There is no such thing as a virus in Android land, nor can there be. Its a bunch of BS. And DroidSecurity probably got a hefty payout too!
-B
I got wavesecure for free whcih was then bought by McAfee. Sweet deal!!!!
I get all updates and everything for absolutely free. Dont think I need this. But AVG is very reputable and I run their desktop antivirus client.
Trust these guys with an awesome product.
AVG is the Symantec of the free antivirus world. Used to produce a decent product, nowdays probably does more harm than good.
AVG was once a great antivirus option, but lately their updates have been lackluster and haven’t been catching the bad stuff as well as they used to. I wouldn’t trust them on my phone, even if I thought Antivirus software was needed on android phones
There is a sucker born every minute!
AVG has been my antivirus program on my home pc for years and it’s worked great.
Why people think you don’t need antivirus for today’s mobile devices is beyond me. You’re naive’ if you think mobile web access will be virus free forever. Developers have already had to patch a number of security issues regarding iOS, Froyo, Flash 10.1 just to name a few. Do you even bother to look at the amount of “access” you allow certain apps before downloading them to your phone?
Amen, ToastnJam, I recently got rid of Norton on my primary laptop and went to free AVG, which I also use on my older machines. More granular, less nanny state.
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So, the more the merrier for antivirus in Android OS land. Up to now, Android devices have apparently been virus free, more because of their relatively small slice of the mobile OS pie. Well, that’s all changed now, because Android has hit the bigtime.
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Being in the bigtime means the black hats out there will be paying lots of attention now. And like ToastnJam says, have you noticed all the access permissions you give to the various app you download. It’s a veritable access orgy. Can I say “access orgy” on these posts? Because that’s what it is, whether I can say it or not.
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