McAfee Provides Parental Controls Including a Locate Feature to Safeguard Children on Apple’s Mobile Devices
MARKHAM, ON – June 22, 2010 – McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE), the world’s largest dedicated security company, today announced McAfee(R) Family Protection iPhone, iPod touch and iPad Edition. McAfee now provides strong parental controls to keep children safe when they are browsing the Internet on an Apple mobile device. McAfee released McAfee(R) Family Protection for the PC in June 2009.
According to data released by Admob in 2010, 65 percent of iPod touch users and 13 percent of iPhone users are below the age of 17. Furthermore, twice as many kids own an Internet-enabled mobile device versus a computer1.
Today McAfee also released results from its Secret Life of Teens survey which provides a detailed snapshot of online teen behavior. It reveals that 85 percent of teens go online somewhere other than at home and under the supervision of their parents, nearly a third (32 percent) of teens say they don’t tell their parents what they do while they are online, and 28 percent engage with strangers online. The survey can be viewed at http://us.mcafee.com/en-us/local/docs/lives_of_teens.pdf.
“Kids today are using mobile devices more than ever to get connected, which means increased opportunities for unsupervised usage,” said Todd Gebhart, McAfee executive vice president of consumer, mobile and small business. “It takes both education and technology to keep children protected. McAfee helps parents gain control of what their children may access online, informs them where their kids go online and gives them peace of mind that their kids are safe.”
McAfee(R) Family Protection iPhone, iPod touch and iPad Edition offers Web site and search filtering. The program will automatically block age-inappropriate sites, such as known pornography web sites. It also includes location tracking for Apple devices that are equipped with GPS.
Parents can also view usage statistics, including visited websites and access times, as well as add and remove custom websites while having the option to remotely disable all Web browsing.
In the latest Secret Life of Teens survey, 65 percent of students revealed that they use their mobile devices at their school. Parents can now block mobile Internet usage during hours they deem inappropriate.
“Parents want their kids to enjoy their mobile online experience and also want them to be aware of how to be safe when on line,” said Tracy Mooney, McAfee chief cyber security mom. “I’ve tried to be vigilant about checking in from time to time to see what my kids are doing online, but I know that my kids have more access now than ever with their mobile device. This product will help parents be at ease when they are equipping their kids with the latest technology.”
McAfee Family Protection iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad Edition is available for download now at the iTunes App Store and McAfee.com for $19.99. For more information about McAfee mobile products please visit the McAfee mobile site at http://m.mcafee.com.
1 Internet Safety Technical Task Force, December 2008
