Web Filtering? McAfee Has An iPad App For That

McAfee has launched their own protection and filtering application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Geared mostly towards keeping kids safe, the App also doubles for traditional security. How does it work? And are there broader implications for mobile VARs? Read on for the details.

There’s no magic trick to McAfee Family Protection. It’s simply a web browser with filters and robust features built in. It allows for the tracking and monitoring of sites visited, and the location of the device when it was visiting the sites, too.

The press release cites a bunch of surveys on child safety and teen surfing, noting that 13% of iPhone users are under 17. As a result, McAfee pulled out all the stops, allowing parents to view their child’s usage statistics, including the time of day sites were accessed, as well as add and remove custom websites or remotely disable all web browsing. Parents can also lock the device out of web browsing during specific hours, like “school time.”

It’s in the App Store right now at $19.99, but McAfee says you install it on up to 5 devices. The only trick? You have to disable use of Mobile Safari on the device via iOS’s parental controls. Otherwise, any tech savvy kid can easily just use Safari for web browsing, instead of McAfee’s solution.

We’re not suggesting that McAfee Family Protection is designed for the channel. But it could be a sign of things to come. We’ve noted that the iPad has caught on with many MSPs. And a growing list of MSP-centric applications are now available on the iPad. So we think it’s only a matter of time before consumer-centric security and privacy applications for the iPad begin to evolve into business applications.

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