České zastoupení AVG nám v reakci na naši bleskovku zaslalo email s vyjádřením CTO společnosti AVG Technologies. Yuval Ben-Itzhak v něm píše, že sledování pomocí GPS je v aplikaci použito výhradně k účelu nalezení telefonu v případě ztráty. Prý se jedná o často vyžadovanou funkci. Toto vysvětlení však povážlivě skřípe, obzvlášť s přihlédnutím k faktu, že je tato služba poskytována všem uživatelům přímo Microsoftem. Na otázku, zda je tato aplikace vůbec potřeba, odpovídá autor, že aplikace nemá chránit jen před viry a dalším malwarem, které se můžou časem objevit, tak jak se tomu stalo u Androidu, ale i před ostatními hrozbami přicházejícími z internetu, jako je například phishing. Celé znění prohlášení si můžete přečíst níže.
Statement from Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CTO, AVG Technologies regarding AVG Mobilation for Windows Phone 7
AMSTERDAM – Sept. 9, 2011 – “There has been some speculation over the last few days around the AVG Mobilation™ product for Windows Phone 7 since its release to market earlier this week. While we never like to see our products pulled from app stores, we understand that Microsoft is simply following its established process for reviewing products once questions have been raised by individuals in the marketplace. We look forward to the product’s quick return to the digital shelves of the Windows Phone 7 app store.
Two questions were raised. The first had to do with geo tracking. AVG Mobilation™ does include a feature that enables a user to easily locate a phone should it ever be lost or stolen. This feature was a response to requests by many mobile users and is a functionality that exists in many other mobile products. To do this effectively, AVG Mobilation™ is enabled to uniquely identify a device and read its geo location by utilizing the built-in GPS system. This information would only be used to further secure our customer by enabling the user to quickly access and locate a lost or stolen phone. In addition, users can make a choice whether they want to keep the geo tracking functionality enabled and they are separately asked if they would like to input their email address. The end user therefore is both free to decide whether to keep geo tracking enabled or to opt-out, and whether to voluntarily input their email address, which is not a condition to activate the geo tracking or any other feature.
The second question concerns the need for this type of application in the Windows Phone 7 mobile space. However, protecting valuable personal information on mobile devices is not just about scanning for viruses and other malware. It is also about protecting against outside threats that are using the Internet as an attack vector, threats such as phishing attacks for instance. Today, the incursions to the Windows Phone 7 mobile OS remain relatively few; however, that is not unusual. Three years ago, when we were first to market with a security solution for Android®, the conditions on that OS were very similar. However, as the OS’s popularity has grown, so has the threat base. Today, AVG security software scans 594 million SMS’s a month, finding 783,963 of them to be bad/spam. We also scan over 157 million App packages a month and find 225,034 infected/malware packages.
Like Android, AVG believes that the Windows Phone OS will continue to increase in popularity and that as it does it will become a high value target for thieves and hackers. We believe strongly in the AVG Mobilation™ product we have put into the market place and will continue to encourage and educate our consumers to understand and be prepared for the emerging threats in the mobile space.”
