First Anti-Virus App Approved for iPhone, iPad
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Intego's VirusBarrier iOS is the first malware-scanning app for Apple mobile devices. CREDIT: Intego |
The security firm Intego today released the first anti-virus app specifically designed for, and approved for, Apple's iOS mobile devices.
Intego's VirusBarrier iOS allows iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users to manually scan their devices and "detect and eradicate all known malware affecting Windows or Mac OS X," Intego wrote in a press release.
These include "viruses, worms, Trojan horses, fake antiviruses, and other types of malware that might otherwise pass through undetected," Intego said.
Apple has famously refused to authorize any anti-virus software for iOS devices — until today.
VirusBarrier iOS can also be deployed to scan ZIP files, poisoned PDFs, email attachments and files downloaded to IOS devices from remote locations such as Dropbox. It automatically updates malware definitions and keeps logs of scans, and repairs infected files.
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VirusBarrier iOS is not a perfect solution — it does not run automatic or scheduled scans, and cannot scan already installed apps for possible infection. (As part of Apple's own security measures, third-party apps, including VirusBarrier, are not permitted to access the larger iOS file system.)
But it's a start, and a necessary one.
Earlier this month, a security hole was detected in iOS 4 , the latest major version of the mobile operating system.
So far, the hole has been exploited only by Jailbreakme, a free service that lets you install apps unauthorized by Apple. (Ironically, the only way to patch the hole is to first "jailbreak" the device, then install a fix created by the maker of Jailbreakme.)
Intego's VirusBarrier iOS is available as a $2.99 download from Apple's App Store.
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