Sophos Security Apps Can Improve Android Security For Free

The following is a guest post by Beth Janick an Android tech expert at http://www.android-spy-apps.com/. Whether it's the latest tweaks or the most important updates on the best Android software Beth has the Android OS at the tip of her fingers. Her work as has brought her a flock of dedicated readers and today she shares some insight into Android Security Software.

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In 2011, security firms identified nearly 3000 different kinds of Android spyware threats, including mobile spy software programs specifically designed to target Android handsets. Today, in the final quarter of 2012, the number has increased to over 13,000 different kinds of Android spyware problems. This radical increase in mobile spy software threats, and the many ways in which they can harm the average user is something the users are unaware of.
According to market surveys it has been found that Android devices account to 69 percent of the smartphone industry. To counter this issue there has been an increase in security app development. However, the increase in security apps is not even close to being that large. It can barely be called a proportionate increase, but since there are so many free security solutions which users can adopt, it is something everyone can benefit from.

Security firms at work

The security firm Sophos has launched two new security apps that users can download for free. The first is the most up to date version of Sophos Mobile Security and alongside it is the new Sophos Mobile Encryption app. Both the applications can be downloaded from Google Play free of cost. The first, Sophos Mobile Security app is designed to perform the functions of a good quality security application. It safe guards users’ devices from security threats, privacy invading malware and data thieves.

More so this app also works hand in hand with another one of Sophos security apps’, Sophos Safeguard Enterprise. With the mobile security app from Sophos it is possible for employees of an organization to access corporate data and company files stored on the cloud in a safer manner. Not only can employees trying to access company data benefit from this, but this can be beneficial for other users too. Cloud based storage services such as Drop Box are growing in popularity as small scale businesses can also make use of them. For these enterprises it is even more important to make sure that the place where their data is stored and the path which someone takes to access it is safe.

The security apps developed by Sophos have one main benefit to the user and that is their lightweight nature. These security apps will not drain the devices’ battery nor do they hinder the phones’ performance as much as other security apps. However, the new updated version also offers some additional features which are generally only found on more expensive, subscription based security apps. These include scheduling the app for automatic scans and most importantly anti theft features.

Also these are not standard anti theft tools, but offer some very interesting features. For instance you can preset a list or number of contacts in to the app, so in the case that your phone goes missing you can send remote commands to the device from these associated devices. If you have misplaced your phone somewhere around the house or left it at work, you can send a command to the phone to make it sound a loud alarm, making it much easier to find. Or you could send a message to the device to inform who ever finds it about how to return it, and if you think there is no chance of recovery you can simply wipe all data on the phone so that none of your information can be misused or accessed by someone else.