Dr.Web Light: Free Anti-Virus for Android

Over the last couple of months I have checked out several of the lighter, anti-virus only apps for Android that are available free of charge. Among the best in terms of functionality, speed and footprint - in other words truly light applications - were BitDefender and Dr. Web Light. These will be good enough for something like an Android TV box, where one doesn't need features like anti-theft, spam call or MMS protection, and arguably other devices too. Unfortunately, BitDefender does all it's malware signature checking in the cloud so in the end did not qualify for my purposes as this requires a stable connection every time running a scan. YMMV.

Block This: An Ad-Blocker for Android Without Requiring Root

Recently I discovered Block This in my long search for an ad-blocker for Android worth the name. There are of course several products around, first and foremost perhaps the venerable AdblockPlus, but they all have the problem that they require root access, i.e. the phone to be rooted. I have no intention of doing this as I simply can't be bothered enough to mess around with a smart phone and security-wise it's a much better idea to keep it locked down. If you don't know what I'm talking about don't worry, you don't need to.

News from the Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona

Normally I'm not too keen on all the latest gadgets. I still don't even own a smart phone and am using a 'traditional' LG mobile I bought for £9.95 instead. It does all I need, so I'm certainly not an early adopter. However, this years Mobile World Congress brings some interesting developments, and as somebody interested in computing and related technology in general it's hard not to get excited.