Microsoft is planning to bring its Defender antivirus
software to Android and iOS later this year. The software giant is
developing apps for both mobile operating systems that are designed to
provide antivirus prevention and a “full command line experience.”
Microsoft isn’t revealing exactly what the apps will do just yet, but
the company plans to preview them at the RSA Conference next week.
The mobile apps come just under a year after Microsoft started a public preview for its Defender antivirus on macOS.
Microsoft renamed Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) to
Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) as a result, and the
Mac client provides full virus and threat protection mixed with the
ability to perform quick or full scans.
Microsoft’s mobile Defender clients will likely be very
different to the desktop versions, especially as Apple’s iOS platform
doesn’t allow apps to scan for malware across an iPhone or iPad. There
are a variety of Android antivirus apps available, though. Microsoft
will join this growing market to prevent malware in Android apps that
are sideloaded onto devices.
One of the bigger goals for Defender on iOS and Android
is phishing prevention to stop employees at companies from accidentally
revealing their usernames, passwords, or other account information. How
Microsoft achieves this on iOS isn’t clear just yet, though.
As both of these mobile apps come as part of Microsoft’s
enterprise security platform, it’s unlikely that they will be available
for consumers to use. Alongside the mobile news, Microsoft is also
announcing Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux today. A preview is
available for businesses to test as part of Microsoft’s broader effort
to secure devices beyond Windows and macOS.
