NetQin Reveals Mainland China's Top Mobile Security Threats and Virus Prevention Tips

BEIJING, Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- NetQin Mobile Inc. ("NetQin"), a global leader in mobile security services, today released findings on the top mobile security threats that plagued Mainland China mobile device users in 2010. In its analysis of attacks and mobile security threats from the past year, NetQin found 2010 to be the most treacherous year on record, with almost triple the number of viruses specifically targeting mobile devices compared to the previous year.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100215/CNM002LOGO )

NetQin indicated that, as of November 2010, the company had identified over 2,000 mobile viruses and approximately 1,500 new viruses for the year 2010, representing a 193 percent increase compared to the same period the year before - or almost triple the number of threats from 2009. Research by NetQin also indicated that the total number of mobile viruses captured in 2010 is expected to exceed 2,500 and a total of more than 800 million mobile phones are estimated to have been infected by viruses in 2010.

The most widespread virus identified by NetQin in 2010 was called the "Zombie Virus", infecting more than approximately 150 million mobile phones. Zombie Virus variants also infected approximately 400,000 mobile phones in 2010. NetQin's Cloud-Security Data Center also indicated four additional key findings from its analysis:

1. Virus type: The main security threats to mobile phone users in 2010 were "fee consumption" viruses, malware that withdraws monetary credit on a phone once the virus has been contracted and enabled. This kind of virus increased in 2010 by a factor of more than five, growing from 171 in 2009 to 968 in 2010. This type of virus represented 32 percent of mobile viruses, inflecting more than 250 million mobile phones in 2010.
2. Type of devices: Smartphones are expected to become a growing target in 2011, as hackers increasingly view smartphones as well as tablet PCs as a new attack platform. The increasing number of applications that can be downloaded on mobile devices is a contributing factor to this trend.
3. Mobile platforms: Symbian was the most-targeted mobile platform, with 64 percent of all viruses targeting the platform. Android users were affected by approximately 7 percent of the virus attacks and the Android platform is expected to suffer from and increased number of attacks in 2011.
4. Inflection methods: an estimated 75 percent of mobile device users were infected by visiting the Internet or via WAP-enabled mobile phones.

NetQin's recommends the following tips to help end-users of mobile devices to avoid virus infections:

1. Avoid opening SMS, MMS, pictures and hyperlinks from unknown sources, even if the name contains words like "security".
2. Keep the SIM card of your device when you have your smartphone repaired.
3. Close the Bluetooth function of your device when it is not being used.
4. Check your phone bill on a regular basis and in detail to spot any strange occurrences.
5. Use mobile security software, such as NetQin's solutions, to protect your device.

About NetQin

Founded in 2005, backed by Sequoia, Mayfield, Fidelity and Ceyuan VC, NetQin Mobile Inc. (referred to as "NetQin" hereafter) is a global leader in mobile security services, delivers proven mobile security solutions based on a cloud-computing model, including anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spam, privacy protection, data backup and recovery, as well as data management - to more than 60 million users in more than 200 countries and regions worldwide - to protect them against mobile security threats.  As the market leader in mobile security, NetQin holds 64.8% market share of China mobile security market (2010 H1 Whitepaper on China Mobile Security Market by Frost & Sullivan, August 2010), and has received multiple industry awards and honors, including Technology Pioneer 2011 by the World Economic Forum, and the 2009 China Frost & Sullivan Award for Mobile Security Market Leadership.

For more information, please visit http://www.netqin.com/en.

SOURCE NetQin Mobile Inc.