Trend Micro Mobile Security App for Android Wipes Out Data on Lost Phones

With smartphones and tablets being carried around in users’ pockets, bags and purses all day, there is no knowing when you might leave, lose or drop your device — or worse, have it stolen. A new app from Trend Micro will let you easily wipe out the contents of a lost device.
Apple already offers remote wipeout for iOS devices –the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch — through MobileMe. Remote wipeout features will often comes in handy when you misplace your device. In most cases, this kind of feature is very important to the enterprise and business setting, since mobile professionals’ data might get into the wrong hands, thereby delivering trade secrets and confidential information to unintended viewers.

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Android devices don’t have a remote lock or wipe feature by default, but Trend Micro’s Mobile Security app will help secure Android phones, whether it’s in your hands or out there in the wild. The application scanner will prevent the installation of infected applications, which have the potential to track your location, retrieve information or run up your bill. The app also comes with add-ons to the phone’s browser, text messaging and call interfaces for better security.

But perhaps the most important tool here will be security during losses. Trend Micro will let you locate your smartphone remotely by sending its position via GPS and networks. You can also remotely lock the device or completely wipe out the data remotely if retrieval is no longer an option.

Announced at CES earlier this year, the Trend Micro app comes with a 30-day free trial, and costs $29.99 per year to subscribe to the remote tracking features. The app scanning feature is actually free, although remote tracking, lock and wipeout will no longer work past the free trial.