Intel-owned online security business McAfee has made its Mobile Security product available free to Android and iOS users.

It follows an announcement made earlier this year by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich.

Elements of McAfee mobile security products will become free for Apple iOS and Android devices, according to a statement made by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich at International CES 2014.

In addition, the McAfee name will be dropped as an online security brand, with future products becoming part of the new ‘Intel Security’ family.

Intel-owned online security company McAfee Labs has published its Predictions Report for 2014, using trends from 2013 to forecast the type of online threats anticipated next year.

The company says it expects the mobile platform to “draw the lion’s share of threat innovation” in 2014. Ransomware - taking control of a user’s device and asking for payment - is expected to become an increasing threat to mobile users, as are sophisticated attacks that can bypass some security measures.

Online security company McAfee has just published its Threats Report for the first quarter of 2012, which was a record quarter for mobile and PC-based malware.

However, the company notes that its ability to detect and collect mobile malware has also improved significantly.

Intel-owned McAfee Labs has just published the McAfee Threats Report for the third quarter of 2011.

At the end of 2010, the security technology company anticipated there’d be 70 million unique mobile malware samples by the end of 2011… and it’s recently increased its prediction to 75 million unique malware samples, which would make 2011 the busiest year in mobile malware history.

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile World Congress is just a week away, with lovers of mobile technology preparing to be wooed by manufacturers, networks and developers. But if MWC is like St Valentine’s Day, then LG has been behaving rather like the world’s worst boyfriend.

Mark Bridge writes:

Mobile phones have been hitting the mainstream news over the past few days. There was Channel 4’s report about data on second-hand phones not being properly deleted before the handsets were re-sold, there was the latest round of the Smart UK Project and there was Tim Muffett’s story about the mobile-enabled high street on BBC Breakfast this morning.

Mark Bridge writes:

Patents were a very popular topic of conversation last week. Google sold its Motorola Mobility smartphone business to Lenovo but hung on to most of the patents. Does this mean the patents were the most valuable part of the business? Well, when you look at the difference between the original purchase price and the sale price, it seems a reasonable conclusion.

Mark Bridge writes:

Sometimes I worry that I’m turning into a grumpy old man. That I’ll follow the path of Rick Wakeman and become better known for my views on body piercing than for playing ‘The Six Wives of Henry VIII’ on eleven keyboards simultaneously.

Mark Bridge writes:

There was great news for some BlackBerry owners this week. The new 10.2.1 update to the BlackBerry 10 OS was released, offering a new incoming call screen, SMS and email groups, more options for locking and unlocking, extra battery usage information, enterprise features and - for customers with a BlackBerry Z30, BlackBerry Q10 or BlackBerry Q5 smartphone - an FM radio.

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.