SA-based RND Labs has launched ‘Guardian’ to safeguard local mobile user’s hard-earned airtime from primarily overseas-based mobile fraudsters.

Described by its developers as an ‘anti-virus app for airtime’; Guardian’s ability to scan, notify, detect and remove malicious apps that deliberately set out to deplete a user’s airtime and data has seen it achieve three-figure installs on the Google Play Store.

“We hope Guardian will emerge as the leading locally-developed Android app aimed at protecting mobile users from inadvertently downloaded malware. Airtime is a de facto currency today and its theft has a real adverse financial impact on millions of people,”  said Laurence Seberini, director of RND Labs.

Guardian is available free for an unspecified limited time on the Google Play Store to the first 1 000 users. It will soon be charged at R9.99 per month with the first 30 days free.

“This is the only locally-developed anti-malware app that notifies the user of potential threats in real-time while offering the fastest way to neutralise them,” says Seberini. He adds that Guardian is available to users of all South African mobile networks.

“The growing challenge of malware and ransomware inadvertently downloaded from app stores by unsuspecting mobile users requires effective responses from the local mobile content and applications industry. We believe Guardian is a great example of what can be achieved by local development talent in the face of virtual threats,” concludes Seberini.

RND Labs is the bespoke development arm of mobile content and applications firm, Rate ‘n Date Mobile. The latter is Johannesburg-based with a Cape Town presence and a longtime member of South Africa’s Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association (WASPA), a recognised self-regulating industry body.

Please visit www.theguardianapp.co.za for further information.