Anti-Virus Protection For Your Cell Phone

spect3r writes "BBC Tech reports that F-Secure, a Finnish security firm has created a software program to combat the increasing number of viruses that manage their way into cell phones. Although not as robust as your mainstream virus scanners for the PC, the software promises to protect bluetooth enabled handsets (the most vulnerable type) from most of the current types of virus software, such as Cabir or Commwarrior. F-Secure said that it's boxed anti-virus software for mobiles will be in the shops and available online from 5 September." From the article: "Mobile viruses such as Cabir and Commwarrior can spread via the Bluetooth short range radio system found on many smart phones. Commwarrior can also spread via multimedia messaging systems. Most of the mobile phone viruses target handsets that use the Symbian operating system. Infection can be avoided by turning off Bluetooth on smart phones. "

Comments

Just one question:

[ScrewMaster]

Is there anything wrong with a cell phone that's just a phone? All I want to do is make calls.

Re:Just one question:

[Tackhead]

> Is there anything wrong with a cell phone that's just a phone? All I want to do is make calls.

We're in the business of selling you stuff you don't need. If we actually sold you what you wanted, you'd have stopped buying stuff from us in 1990, and we... umm... well, that wouldn't be good for us, you see?

If you don't like your phone because the UI was designed by a crazy frog hopped up on ecstasy and crystal meth, give it back to us, along with a $200 termination fee. We'll send you our latest phone. (We fired the crazy frog earlier this year and replaced him with a three-toed sloth, who we doped up on valium. Better buy your new phone now, because we had a guy with five cocks in our UI focus group this quarter, and he wants to be sure that when the phone's in his pocket, his pants fit like a glove!)

Re:Just one question:

[EvilNTUser]

"Is there anything wrong with a cell phone that's just a phone? All I want to do is make calls."

For fuck's sake, when will these trolls not be modded up anymore? If you want to make calls only, then get a simple phone, retard. And no, I refuse to be civil towards these posters anymore. Their arguments are refuted every single time, and they keep being modded up.

You are no better than the idiot teenagers who think stupid ringtones are the shit. You're just at the other end of the spectrum. You're trying to sound cool by putting down something you don't understand. Luddites of the worst kind. What the hell are you doing on slashdot?

Now that I'm done ranting, I'd just like to note that I, for one, *would* like a phone that can do SSH, thank you very much.

Re:Just one question:

[MightyMartian]

I'd like a phone than atomized self-important pricks that have theirs going off in restaurants and movie theaters.

Re:Just one question:

[moo083]

I think having a phone with all the neat features on it is really cool, but I don't see this as a troll post.

I would probably rate your post as flamebait. I don't think this post has anything wrong with it. It is relevant, has an opinion, and is written out in proper English.

I think a phone that is just a phone is a very important thing to be able to buy and be something most people know about, however it isn't advertised by any phone service, nor do most people know about them. Just us folks here on /. While I think that the neat features on new phones are cool, they need to advertise both or at least have it out on their website as an option and have a display model in shops. Unfortunately, this is not how it currently works, so I think this guy's post is relevant.

Another thing: Don't you think its kind of crazy that a simple device such as a phone is getting a virus? I mean, these devices used to be really simple, and now they have all these features. Sure, a lot of people, such as myself, are willing to take that risk to get viruses, to have cool features on a phone, but many people are, understandably, against that.

I think this guy was perfectly valid in his statement, even if it has been said many times before. I'm sure there are angry rebutals to most of them too!

Re:Just one question:

[EvilNTUser]

"I don't think this post has anything wrong with it. It is relevant, has an opinion, and is written out in proper English."

It is not relevant. Would you tell Windows-users to switch to MS-DOS if a vulnerability is discovered in the IP-stack?

"Another thing: Don't you think its kind of crazy that a simple device such as a phone is getting a virus?"

It is not a "phone". It is a mobile computing device. Don't you think it's kind of crazy that a simple device such as a calculator is getting a virus?

"I think this guy was perfectly valid in his statement, even if it has been said many times before."

No, he wasn't. It does matter that it's been said many times before. The same comment pops up in every submission that even mentions mobile phones. At this point it and the resulting argument are nothing but line noise.

As for your point about marketing practices, they vary a lot from area to area. These problems could be discussed separately and intelligently, but they were most certainly not what he was referring to. Sorry, but he is a troll. The style of my post may have been flamebait, but I am nevertheless correct.

Re:Just one question:

[Anonymous Coward]

And this is exactly why I still have my Nokia 5150. It makes calls. Has caller-ID. Has a phone-book. Has a couple tiny, worthless games.

No camera.
No MP3 player.
No polyphonic ringtones.
No walkie-talkie functionality.
No multiplayer games.
No E-Mail.
No real-time AIM chat.
No bluetooth.
No IR connectivity.

NO VIRUSES.

It makes phone calls. That's it.

Sure, I get funny looks when it shifts the wrong way in my pocket, but what do you expect from a phone that was free in 2000?

Re:Just one question:

[wknoxwalker]

I hate this kind of comment. I'm the owner of a smartphone/PDA doohickie, and I use it for many things other than making calls, on daily basis. I'm moving back to uni soon, and I've got a big list of all the things I need to do, outlook synced meetings and class times, emails saved and documents all ready to be used on the 1 piece of electronica I carry with me always. I also have pictures of friends, thousands of messages, annoying games and a few MP3s, just in case. I've a putty client which I can use via a USB cable, and I am working on being able to MSN via wifi, just for the hell of it. I do this because I enjoy it, and because it makes my life more oganised. I don't mind if you like a simple phone. But stop being so smug about the fact. Please?

Re:Just one question:

[utnow]

I wish mine had a 150 decibel ringer

Re:Just one question:

[ScrewMaster]

Yeah ... I had the same model until the battery pack finally died and I found out that a new one cost more than a new phone. Now I have a Panasonic model that's about three years old and with the same problem, so I guess I'll have to replace it even though it, too, has all the advantages that you mentioned in your post.

Funny, people will keep their landline phones for years until they finally stop working, but they're easily convinced to "upgrade" their cell phone every six months just to have a new toy and get locked into another year-long contract. Another poster called me a Luddite, but so far as I'm concerned he's probably a sheep. Personally, I believe that if the cellular outfits (and I'm speaking of U.S. companies, so no comments from the European peanut gallery, please) would focus on providing truly reliable cellular phone service rather than trying to continually sell us features and functions of marginal value, we'd all be a lot better off.

I guess I just prefer my technology to serve a real purpose and be worth what I pay for it, since for the most part, the modern cell phone is a solution desperately looking for a problem to solve. How many of you people have bought the latest, greatest camera phone, sent a few pictures of your dick to your girlfriend in the vain hope that you would impress her with your "high-techness", and then never used that feature again? How many of you have cursed your nifty little toy when the connection dropped out in the middle of an important conversation? Probably most of you.

Re:Just one question:

[ScrewMaster]

Seems to me you're the smug one, dude.

Re:Just one question:

[ScrewMaster]

Just FYI I'm an engineer who's been developing real-time industrial applications for twenty years. Probably I know more about wireless technology than you do and hardly qualify as a Luddite, but in any event I look at the cell phone market as being driven largely by creeping featuritis, much like Microsoft Office. Features and functions that have little to do with what the majority of users (obviously, such a suave, sophisticated, downright impolite citizen such as yourself wouldn't quality) really need or want, but can be used to convince the more sheeplike (or small-penised) among them to plunk down real money.

I like gadgets as much as the next American, but when I do buy something along those lines I simply like to make sure it's worth what I'm paying. Gratuitiously buying high-tech toys simply makes landfills bigger and shrinks your wallet, and I got news for you, technology-boy ... there are millions of sophisticated cell phones out there being used by people that haven't the slightest idea how to do anything more with them than press Send.

Re:Just one question:

[Nossie]

I kinda agree with you Screwmaster... but if people want small computers rather than just a phone then why wont you give it up and admit that?

I have a XDAII phone... prolly one of the most powerful 'phones' on the market..

People say to me 'hey your phone is huge' But I look at it from another perspective... A mobile phone does one main thing -- make calls (one they play a few games of Bejeweled 2 their minds change)

My PDA does one main thing -- works as a generic pda... The plus side to this and many other particular pda's is that it makes calls and includes the majority (if not all) of the features expected in a phone.

The truth is.... I dont want to carry a phone, pda, GBA and ipod around with me at all times (I dont see the point 'yet' of cameras in phones)

I have an Ixus 700 for photos... and a NDS for games... but unless I want to do one of those things specifically -- my phone does all I need. (being a huge Zelda fan doesn't help my Nintendo addiction)

I have a 1GB SD card I use to store my games, apps and music.. not quite ipod size but I dont need to carry my cd/mp3 collection around with me at all times... to me, the size of your ipod HD is the size you wish your penis was... unless that is, you do a hell of a lot of travelling or *insert some other very good reason for carrying 40GB of music around with you*

You want to know the main reason why I love my phone? I'm lazy with contacts... plain and simple, whither its (e-)mail addresses, birthdays, phone numbers etc etc I scribble them down then lose the scrap bit of paper... Now? I just fill a contact in on my phone... then sync it to outlook when I get home (I hate MS OS's but love Outlook) and I can keep a lovely formated database of my friends and family.

I'm kinda thinking that a pda/phone is a 'supercar' of the 'phonr' world... yes my ass was raped on royalties, technology and current components... but overtime those things will be comoditized and brought into the consumer market (whither we like it or not) viruses and all... air conditioning will become standard and the world will be a happy place *coff*

I dont feel very smug about what I have.... I work in a stupid fricking bakery 10 hours a day to meet UK minimum wage -- so I EARNED what I've bought... yes I live with my parents, yes I dont have children to pay for but I do love my technology and it shows.

The point I'm trying make here, is that I dont have a huge brick of a phone..

I have a small computer with all the features of the common phone.. I *expect* it to get viruses.. I expect it to crash (no MS comments here please!) and I expect it to do what I bought it for.

I use my phone for most of the features that I daily use my computer for.. I just don't need to carry around a 'heavy' laptop to do them..

OTOH this virii crap is all FUD FUD and more FUD... The reason is that the majority of phones all run different firmware and roms catered for that particular phone.. and if I remember rightly, that bluetooth virus requires someone to accept it to actually work!

I feel that ALL the antivirus corporations are just waiting for everyone to catch the virus buzzword and jump on the bandwagon (they will be there to 'help' of course) but I've never heard of one major virus outbreak that wasnt down to the operators stupidity (corporate or otherwise) to justify installing it on mine.

Just my 2 cents.... I hated mobiles and never had one before I bought my pda... but since I have and use 90% of the features... I dont think I'd want to ever go back.

Ian.

Re:Just one question:

[EvilNTUser]

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the tone of my post. It was supposed to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. Something Awful has been down for a few days...

Even so, I stand by my argument. Your post was without value, for the following reasons:

1) It is repeated in every single discussion about cell phones, and nothing new ever comes out of it.
2) You didn't defend your position at all, and the remark by itself is meaningless, as simple cell phones are available.
3) This is not a discussion forum for people who don't understand technology. If you think it's a problem that high tech toys are bought by people who don't know how to use them, we can certainly discuss that, but it wasn't mentioned in the post I objected to.
4) Your post suggested that advanced phones are worthless in general, and you're now trying to back away from that position to sound more reasonable. Your post was as much a troll as mine was flamebait.

Certainly you must understand that comments like yours are quite annoying and counterproductive. Like I said in my other reply, would you recommend MS-DOS to someone who's having problems with windows? It may be enough to fill your needs, but someone needing Windows will have to deal with the viruses, and will not want to hear about how someone else would love to buy a computer without an IP-stack*.

Landfills are a very good topic, though...

"Gratuitiously buying high-tech toys simply makes landfills bigger and shrinks your wallet"

I agree completely. I even make a point of never using CD:s, DVD:s or paper unless outside circumstances force me to. All I need is stored and backed up on my hard drives, which have a much higher data density. Everything I need to transfer is moved over the network.

But that said, someone buying a phone too advanced for them will only be hurting their wallet, not the environment. The advanced phones aren't significantly larger than the lesser ones. It's the engineering that is expensive, not the materials.

*Taking the analogy further, this doesn't, of course, mean that you shouldn't recommend Linux, if it can do the particular task as well as Windows. Current phone operating systems are a complete joke, and disparaging them without belittling the features is perfectly ok. They should definitely not be getting viruses.

Re:Just one question:

[TheRaven64]

While I don't see a problem with adding features to mobile 'phones, I do feel that the wrong features are being added at the expense of genuinely useful ones. For example, my telephone has 1.5MB of flash memory in it. This can be used to store images and midi ring tones (and any arbitrary files I drop in it, although these aren't accessed by the 'phone's software). The SMS storage, however, is hard limited at 10KB. Even though I don't use the camera, and don't put idiotic ring-tones on it, I still can't use any of this spare 1.5MB of space to store text messages. The built-in address book is similarly hard-limited, but since this limit is around 500 contacts I haven't run into it yet.

Re:Just one question:

[myov]

My favorite these days... Bell mobility has started offering caller ring tunes. Even worse, it's now a free service on some plans.

(one of the many reasons I love my SE T616. The default ring sound is called "Old Phone")

How many are there?

[Xampper]

There aren't that many phone viruses out there, are there? How perfectly useless!

Re:How many are there?

[FyRE666]

It is useless - more to the point, the only thing you need to do to avoid any chance of downloading a virus via bluetooth is to... disable bluetooth when you're not using it! This also extends battery life. In fact, I'd image just about any phone would have BT disabled by default to help conserve power, and any that didn't would certainly have it set to not advertise the phones presence.

Sounds to me like a company trying to scam the technically ignorant average phone user...

Re:How many are there?

[Anonymous Coward]

with a virus named metalgear running amok, i think the protection is needed, unless you want your cellphone screaming "TURN OFF THE PHONE, RAIDEN, ITS ONLY A GAME"

yeah, i know thats not how that virus works, but it should.

Too many features.

[failure-man]

If my phone is smart enough to get hit with worms it's really smarter than it needs to be. I want my phone to be able to make phone calls and basically nothing else. It should "just work," be durable, be cheap, and should not require me to pay for antivirus software to keep it functional.
 
If I want a PDA and an iPod I'll carry a PDA and an iPod.

Re:Too many features.

[robertjw]

I agree, especially since I went to my cell being my only phone. Last thing I need is to be unable to communicate with anyone because my fancy phone contracted a virus. As long as there are vulnerabilities, I would rather have multiple devices.

Re:Too many features.

[DrEldarion]

So... don't get a feature-filled phone? Last time I checked, there were plenty of base-model phones out there that only send and receive calls, and maybe have a calculator as well.

You may not want a camera, bluetooth, web browsing, MP3 ringtones, etc, but there are lots of people out there that want and use these features.

Re:Too many features.

[JonasH]

If my PDA is smart enough to get hit with worms it's really smarter than it needs to be. I want my PDA to be able to keep a calendar, addressbook and basically nothing else. It should "just work," be durable, be cheap, and it should not require me to pay for antivirus software to keep it functional.

If I want a calculator and a PSP I'll carry a calculator and a PSP.

...

If my calculator is smart enough to get hit with worms it's really smarter than it needs to be. I want my calculator to be able to do basic operations and basically nothing else. It should "just work," be durable, be cheap, and it should not require me to pay for antivirus software to keep it functional.

If I want a graphs and programability I'll graphing paper and a portable personal computer.

...

Etc. Sometimes it's easier to keep a lot of gadgets stuffed into a little box unless you want the full package. If all I want is to be reminded of a few birthdays, why should I buy a PDA when it fits fine in my phone?

Now about the virus thing, that's just stupid, but why the semi-ludites come crawling out of the woodwork every time something involves phones that do other things than place phonecalls, is beyond me. It's practical. Carrying 15 gadgets does not get you all the chicks (I think) - and if you can put most of the functions into your phone, why not?

I don't hear anyone complaining about PCs doing more than just regular Office work (yet!).

There, vented. You may go about your business now.

Re:Too many features.

[mdman]

I agree, There are way too many features on todays phones.. I dont want my phone to email, or use bluetooth. I also dont want my fridge emailing me!

Re:Too many features.

[MightyMartian]

You may not want a camera, bluetooth, web browsing, MP3 ringtones, etc, but there are lots of people out there that want and use these features.

Yeah, how else is a voyeur going to get upskirt shots on to his perv web site in a hurry?

Re:Too many features.

[Tim C]

If I want a PDA and an iPod I'll carry a PDA and an iPod.

And a phone and a camera and a calculator and...

Me, I like having a single device do everything for me, kind of like I have a single, multi-purpose PC rather than a compilation machine, a word processor, an accountancy machine, a console per game, etc.

Re:Too many features.

[MerlinTheWizard]

If it "just works" like MS claims Windows does, then it's perfectly normal that it gets viruses.

Re:Too many features.

[hackstraw]

I want my phone to be able to make phone calls and basically nothing else.

When I was a child in the '70s, we had those kinds of phones.

You would pick up the phone, listen for the dialtone, dial the number, the other person's phone would ring. If they were home, the two of you could talk until one or both of you hung up the phone.

Now, it is common to use two phones in order to complete a conversation. Phrases like:

"Can you call me back on a land line?" (or vice versa).

"Can you hear me now?"

"Our connection got dropped?!?"

"I'm running low on minutes"

"I washed/dropped my phone, and it does not work anymore"

And so on, are new phone phrases. Sure it adds quality of life to be able to drive down the interstate while talking on the phone, and to have your phone ring in your pocket while your on the toilet, and all of those other places you simply could not make a phone call before, but is this really progress?

I will jump at the chance that Apple, or somebody reinvents the phone that "just works". I don't use anti-virus crap on my computers, why would I want it on my phone?

Re:Too many features.

[DJCF]

Yes, I remember those. You couldn't...

• Use them from nearby a river which has overflown its banks in order to call in an ambulance when your friend is washed away by the force of the flood
• Use it from the middle of a playground where you and your mates have just been attacked by yobs
• Use them to arrange a meeting in a place you've never been too before or with a person you've never met or both
• Take pictures with it.
• Read books on it

(All of those I have had to do in the past month).

It's not hard, mate. If one or both of you is in a noisy room, go somewhere quiet (bet you can't do that with a "regular phone"!). If your connection keeps getting dropped, switch to a provider with more coverage. If you keep running low on minutes, get a contract phone (though I dont, for privacy reasons). As for washing or dropping... well try doing it to your landline, I doubt it will work after that either.

Any questions? Just hit reply...

Re:Too many features.

[glesga_kiss]

, but there are lots of people out there that want and use these features.

Hell yeah. I'm lying in bed right, chilling on my day off, surfing the net & sending the odd email over a wifi pda/cell. It's the dogs nuts, full html browser, ssh, vnc, email, streaming media, mp3 player. I could go on for ages about the shit it could do. My laptop is now gathering dust.

The advantange of having all this in a phone is that I have all these capabilities 24/7 whereever I am. Walking home from the pub, just whip out the headphones and I have tunes to see me home. No need to remember to bring an mp3 for the off chance that I might want to listen to something. I can also drop the sd-card into a PC and transfer data. Or remote control the phone to send text messages etc while it's still in my pocket.

This is a tech site; I simply do not understand the ludite attitude to mobile phones. People get woodies over toasters running linux but balk at the idea of having a gcc port sitting on a phone? Fine, if you want to continue living like it's 80's, be my guest. But don't stand there and bitch about phones when there are hacks on the same page to get you PSP running a web browser. WTF? Just buy a fucking pda! Can do all that plus more & no need hack the firnware to do so. Christ, the developer kit for most smart phones is freely (beerly) available for download. Wanna roll your own? Fine, go ahead.

Back to the subject at hand, phone viruses. I looked into this a while back; for most systems it's snake oil. The number of viruses out there is very small and only affects a few devices. Even the Microshaft one doesn't have any yet, which is sort-of surprising: you aren't locked out in anyway, there is no user account management nor protected install utilities. Anyone can install anything they want, which sadly is exactly what a virus writer is looking for.

It will become a larger problem over time, that much is sure. Virus populations are directly proportional to the target host numbers. What I also see as a future risk is embedded software. Imagine embedded linux (etc) running on a device with network support. Undoubtedly that device will have daemon services; services that will have vunerabilities over time. When was the last time you 'apt-get upgrade'ed your TIVO?

Re:Too many features.

[Anonymous Coward]

So, I should carry 10 different boxes in my pockets, each one with its own battery I have not to forget to re-charge, several pairs of headphones and a hands-free? Why willing to have a mobile, a PDA, an MP3-player, a radio, packed nicely in one box that can do all the operations and pass results from one device to another, is something so revolting? I see no reason why I should open a PDA, look up somebody's phone number, then pull out the phone that "just calls", type that number and call, if I can do it all in one device - just select the name and call.

Oh, you want a phone that has a list of people's phone numbers, too, right? Then, why not also their addresses? Or an MP3-player?..

Besides, there are still a lot phones that "just call" on the market.

My phone?

[Valiss]

I'm not sure what OS my phone runs. Is there a list of phone make/models that are effected by these worms? Or is it just any phone that has bluetooth on it? How could one even tell if there was a virus on the phone?

Re:My phone?

[slavemowgli]

Not all phones have Bluetooth and other such gimmicks. If you want to find some which don't, just look at what models you can get for a relatively cheap price even if you don't enter a contract - those that still only cost 50 bucks are the ones that don't have all the bells and whistles.

Re:My phone?

[Valiss]

Well, I know mine has bluetooth, but it's 'off' by default. I guess I'm just not sure how a virus would get on my phone to begin with. Like a PC, do you have to actively install it (i.e. detach a view a 'photo') or is it passive and self-propagating?

Re:My phone?

[slavemowgli]

TFA says:

"None of them have been truly autonomous like worms on PCs," [Whitehouse] said. "They always require a certain degree of user interaction."

So it seems like you can't catch them by simply being near others with infected phones when you have Bluetooth enabled; you still have to do something. But it's not clear to me what amount of user interaction is required - i.e., whether it's enough to accidentally select the default "yes" answer in a dialog or something similar, or whether you have to go to lengths to catch it.

I don't have a mobile phone at all, so I don't know that much about these things. :) Maybe check F-Secure's website for more information.

Why, In my day...

[doxology]

We had to walk 15 miles in the snow to get a virus.

Re:Why, In my day...

[PunkOfLinux]

Hey, now, unless we take precautions, we can get viruses from just sitting here...

Re:Why, In my day...

[robertjw]

Well, in my day, we had to walk uphill in the snow just to use the phone.

Of course we also had to live in a lake.

Bluetooth should be off anyway

[Limburgher]

unless you're using it. Same logic that applies to services and TCP/IP ports applies to all communications devices.

Unless, of course, you're going "toothing". In which cas, you might catch altogether another kind of virus. :)

Re:Bluetooth should be off anyway

[failure-man]

Except that nobody actually goes toothing. It's an urban ledgend that was probably created to see if it would become reality if you got enough people to believe it.

Re:Bluetooth should be off anyway

[WillAffleckUW]

unless you're using it. Same logic that applies to services and TCP/IP ports applies to all communications devices.

Except some of the more modern devices are designed to broadcast even when you "turn them off".

Re:Bluetooth should be off anyway

[jacksonj04]

Trouble is, I use Bluetooth on a couple of devices as a base state of being ie I walk around with it turned on. Why? Because then my PDA and phone can keep in sync with various PCs without me needing to muck around with cables or even turning bluetooth on explicitly. I just walk past the general area.

Is there any way of having selective bluetooth, so it waits for a trusted device (say a PC broadcasting a ping every 5 secs) before fully turning on bluetooth?

Re:Bluetooth should be off anyway

[TheRaven64]

Why? A BT device will only communicate with devices it's paired with. I leave mine turned on so that when I'm using my computer SMS messages will pop up on my screen, rather than on my 'phone, and so I can get an on-screen alert when someone calls me, and not have to find my 'phone to send them to voicemail if I'm busy. Oh yes, and it auto-syncs when it enters range.

Well, I guess

[scenestar]

its time top switch to Linux

Re:Well, I guess

[usv]

There have actually been some rumours about Nokia (the market leader in cell phone industry) switching their smartphone OS'es to Linux in favour of easier and faster developement of 3rd party applications. A nice move, I'd say.

Re:Just one question: What will Gandhi....

[CDMA_Demo]

What will Gandhi say about Telecom?
http://www.badmash.org/videos/videos.php?v=gandhi. mov&t=Gandhi%20Loves%20Him%20Some%20Telecom

No Worries ...

[b3x]

I soak my in a powerful anticeptic every night while it is charging!

I though these things went after market share

[varmittang]

Not after nitch OSs and stuff. Shouldn't the iPod then have the most viruses. =) I mean really, there has to be a million or so iPods connected to PCs out there running Windows, that would be the potable market that you would want to infect. Destroying all the digital music out there and all. =) But, I guess market share doesn't mean much.

(I know, there is no real way for one iPod to infect the next, I'm doing a funny rant on market share is why windows is attacted)

Re:I though these things went after market share

[failure-man]

(I know, there is no real way for one iPod to infect the next, I'm doing a funny rant on market share is why windows is attacted)

Ahem . . .

Re:I though these things went after market share

[maotx]

And if you notice, it is just an April Fools joke.

Just try to purchase it.

Re:I though these things went after market share

[nefar]

And there must be something like 25 million Series 60 devices. I wouldn't consider that a niche market, but hey you were being funny, weren't you?

Other reasons for mobile security

[itr2401]

There are other reasons for mobile security out there - especially in the corporate arena:
* Centralized Management and Provisioning
* Easy to Use
* Anti-Spam for SMS Text Messages (this is an emerging problem)
* Flexible Virus Scanning
* Rapid Virus Pattern Updates

Trend Micro has a solution for this already(Trend Micro Mobile Security), and supports the following Mobile Devices:
* Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003/2003SE for Smartphone
* Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003/2003SE for Pocket PC Phone Edition
* Symbian(TM) OS v7.0 with UIQ 2.0/2.1 User Interface
* Symbian OS v7.0s with Series 60 Platform User Interface

McAfee offers VirusScan Mobile

[Anonymous Coward]

http://us.mcafee.com/root/landingpages/afflandpage .asp?lpname=vs_mobile

McAfee has had a similar product on the market for a few months now.

Putting your requirements on other people

[hellfire]

Damnit why do /.ers continue to think their requirements match everyone elses? This kind of thinking shows that you think what's good enough for you is good enough for everyone else. That's bullshit.

I personally want an all in one PDA that has MP3s and a phone. Why? I do not want to be carrying around three devices all the time. I'm a man so I don't carry a pocket book, and I don't want to be carrying around a briefcase or anything like that. I want one device on my hip that does it all.

The iPod is the king of MP3 players right now there's no disputing that. But a phone that has a pared down mp3 player is just fine by me, I don't want to load 1000 songs, maybe just 50.

I continue to insist that the Treo 600 and 650 is the device that hits this market perfectly. Great phone, Great PDA, simple MP3 player. This is my dream phone right now and it's all I need.

And it's immune to these worms. Maybe the problem is Symbian is a vulnerable OS, like Windows, and people are so used to viruses on on Windows that they think it's just something all electronic equipment suffers from. In that case, replace your Symbian phone with a Palm or Blackberry or Linux phone and your in good shape.

Re:Putting your requirements on other people

[bhtooefr]

Symbian's actually not that vulnerable, it's just a bigger target than Palm OS when it comes to smartphones... Bluetooth, OTOH...

These viruses require active participation to get the thing going. Therefore, saying NO to an unsolicited BT DL will fix it.

Re:Putting your requirements on other people

[bhtooefr]

And, something else to add:

I don't know about Palm OS 5, which is probably more common on Palm OS smartphones (Treo 600 and 650 are the main (and, in the case of the 600, the first) "OMGIHAVETOHAVEONE!!!1111oneoneone!" Palm OS smartphones, and they run Palm OS 5), but a program could be written to crash Palm OS 4 to the point that a hard reset (the Palm OS equivalent of a reformat, except it's done by pushing three buttons, and is over in 5 seconds) would be necessary.

Nightmare Scenario #14

[lateralus_1024]

Me:Hey what the hell is this $5.99 NAV fee in this months bill?

TMobile guy(via Mumbai): Good day sir, this is Trevor, please hold for a minute while I look up your account. By the way, how is the surf in Sunny San Diego California?

Me:(shooting up heroin to ease tension)

TMobile: That charge is for your monthly Norton Antivirus protection service. It protects you from malicious network activity.

Me:I would like to unsubscribe.

TMobile: Sir, you do understand that by removing the NAV protection, you risk data loss, loss of connection quality in case of emergency, and penal infection?

Me:I want it removed, and I want you to unsubscribe me from the NAV protection.

TMobile: Very well my homie. While I process your request, I will read you some T-Mobile special promotions regarding our new Universal Power Supply service for your mobile phone? Purchase now and receive any three Ashlee Simpson ring to...

Me:(hang up abruptly and curls into fetal position).

Re:Well....

[Anonymous Coward]

Off topic? The lame story about a virus on a cell should be off topic.

She's HOT!!! What the fuck?

MOD LUDDITE UP +++7!!!! Insightful

[Anonymous Coward]

black and white TV is fine, why would anyone need color ? i just want to watch moving pictures

Re:MOD LUDDITE UP +++7!!!! Insightful

[Anonymous Coward]

Now that's some fine humour right there.

Kudos.

(also, nice one to whoever modded that post insightful)

Re:MOD LUDDITE UP +++7!!!! Insightful

[stevey]

Upside down.

In a mirror.

After warming up.

Isn't progress great?

I love my phone. It only has one "needless addon", the camera.

Sure the quality of the camera isn't great, but what makes it useful is that I suddenly have the ability to take pictures everywhere.

Re:MOD LUDDITE UP +++7!!!! Insightful

[Overly Critical Guy]

Improving the picture quality of a television is logical for a television. The point was that phones are adding so many non-phone features that the features are poor quality crap, instead of focusing on and improving the features of a phone. Color is an obvious television feature.

Market share is what you make it.

[amcdiarmid]

Making an investment to get 100% of a small, but growing, market is a potential goldmine. Fighting to get 2% of a bit market with the same investment is not.

F-Secure allready has stuff for windows, but that market is really held by Symanted/Norton, McAffe, Trend; CA. Everyone else is fighting over something like 10% of the market. (Trend claimes something like 30% of the server and gateway market, Symantec has something like 50% of the desktop market (and a big server presence), and McAffe has a fairly big chunk of both the desktop; Server; gateway markets.)

Making a virus scanner for a unserved market has a potentially big payoff. It probably takes minimal investment to make a scanner for the few (what ten) cellphone viruses that exist. Scare everyone with a virus infection in a few sports stadiums & you could get big share - not to mention market mover lead for when the market grows.

Kudos to the guys (dorks) who came up with this. F-Secure may get on the map for something other that virus-scare press-releases now.

--all opinions are usually someone elses', and copyrighted. Pay up now...

Re:Well....

[Anonymous Coward]

that bitch is so ugly you would have to be an american to like her

i mean she really just couldnt fit ONE MORE LAYER of makeup on her could she? small lips, no ass and a face full of restaline... /shudder

id still hit it, dont get me wrong. i think i would probably beat her first though

finnish?

[b100dian]

...F-Secure, a Finnish security firm ...

Slahsdot - news for newbies..

Come on, it's only a security firm? What's this, Fashion TV News?!?!

It's the security firm which makes F-Prot since Granny was a kid.. du-uh

Re:finnish?

[slavemowgli]

On a side note... are they actually Finnish? I was always under the impression that they're an Icelandic company (http://www.frisk.is/ is still up and still seems to talk about F-Prot, but I don't speak Icelandic...)

Or am I wrong? I'm genuinely confused now; I'm not even sure anymore whether F-Prot and F-Secure have much to do with each other, although the "F-" would certainly seem to suggest so.

Any enlightening replies will be greatly appreciated. :)

Re:finnish?

[b100dian]

..hmm.. good question
Among other 'proofs' I found this: http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/cc/viruses.htm

...All PCs should have this virus protection software. It used to be called F-Prot but has recently become known as F-Secure. It is essential that you keep your version up to date...

Re:finnish?

[slavemowgli]

*nods* On the other hand, I just visited http://www.f-prot.com/ and http://www.f-secure.com/ and they mention that the companies were founded in 1993 and 1988, respectively - so that would suggest that they're not the same. But then, the F-Secure website *does* mention F-Prot, talking about "F-Secure Anti-Virus for DOS (F-Prot)". Could it be that they were different companies initially that merged at a later point? I seem to recall that F-Secure was formerly Datafellows, too...

Re:finnish?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes F-Secure is based in Finland. At least wikipedia says so:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-secure

mod parent ++7!!!! security expert !!

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah cos Linux is perfectly safe

Re:mod parent ++7!!!! security expert !!

[WilliamSChips]

You do realize that Linux security holes are usually caught before they're exploited, right?

Re:mod parent ++7!!!! security expert !!

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize that Linux security holes are usually caught before they're exploited, right?

Since there are and have been a number of live exploits what you are saing with "usually" is that there are far more Linux security holes that one manages to keep patching before they are exploited - But how can you be so sure that they haven't been exploited? By someone, against someone, without making an announcement or high visibility worm/network out of it.

(not going into the whole "frequent Linux/OSX patches good, frequent MS patches bad" debate, but "usually" patches also exists for the MS exploits doing the rounds out there.)

Old news...

[Anonymous Coward]

Good Lord... This is old news. There are plenty of alternative antivirus for smart devices, like Simworks for Symbian or Airscanner for Windows Mobile. Or Symantec Antivirus for Palm. All these have been out for a while already...

MOD PARENT UP!

[RedNovember]

Great Monty Python, what can I say...

A couple hundred . . . .

[Anonymous Coward]

Check it out:

EPOC OS
Symbian OS
WinCE

Re:A couple hundred . . . .

[Anonymous Coward]

All of them are NOT in the wild. Often this kind of threats have been hypened by media and AV vendors.

--
gera

Anti-Virus protection?

[MavEtJu]

I would prefer virus protection over anti-virus protection...

BREW safer than J2ME?

[Anonymous Coward]

According to this wikipedia article, handsets that run BREW applications must be digitally signed vs. J2ME apps which anyone can create and upload to a phone. Does this make BREW based phones more secure than J2ME?

Is this really news?

[DiogoFerreira]

Guess what,Symantec has been offering this for a while now, and there are others, even some free ones. Just Google for them and you'll see what i'm talking about.

The Dark Side

[iamlucky13]

I've always planned to, when it becomes cheaper to get a mobile phone than maintain my "Hidden Fees Plus" account with Qwest, get a barebones cellular phone to replace the house phone. That time hasn't quite come, but I just moved and everyone who calls (ie, my parents) complains that I never answer the phone (sitting by the phone waiting for a call hardly qualifies as life), so I guess I might as well go for it.

I've found, however, that because of the constant special deals for buying a phone and rate plan together, it generally ends up being the same price for 12 buttons, speaker, mic, and antenna as it is to toss in CID, color display, data, and Java support. The plans make the choice even more frustrating, because the lowest you can possibly get is 300 minutes a month, which is a little excessive for someone who once had a 10 minute phone card expire (after 3 years) before using all the minutes.

Then again, there are prepaid options like the Tracfone, but an unfortunate bug bit me when I pondered the capabilities of GPS, data transfer, and J2ME application support on a portable device. Suddenly I find myself wanting to create an application that would allow me to track my travels via my webserver (linked to google maps??? Ooh the possibilities).

Of course, such schemes are never as straight-forward as they seem. The features it requires aren't available on Tracfones. Furthermore, manufacturer's are seldom clear on which phones do or don't support J2ME, and there's the question of how much effort am I getting into, especially with some phones having different levels of GPS support, and AGPS thrown in to confuse the issue.

So I guess I've strayed a little bit from talking about viruses, but the point is that there are reasons to want those potentially exploitable features on phones, even for minimalists like the parent poster and myself.

no fucking way

[yagu]

The day I have to start paying for anti-virus software to protect my fucking phone is the day I stop using cell phones... PERIOD.

Re:no fucking way

[glesga_kiss]

The day I have to start paying for anti-virus software to protect my fucking phone is the day I stop using cell phones... PERIOD.

You'd better get used to walking then. Cars will be getting virii within 5 years; the systems to enable this are already coming to market. Built in BT or USB keys, pick your infection mechanism.

As devices get more capable, there will always be someone wanting to upset the apple cart. Get used to it or become a Mormon...your choice. Would have said the same about email five years ago; before it became a virus writers wet dream? Did you say, 'the day http can deliver mallware, I'm going to stop using it?'

MOD UP! Re:Just one question: What will Gandhi....

[CDMA_Demo]

LOL, mod parent up!!!!! This is hilarious.

Re:Other reasons for mobile security

[pfefferle6]

We looked at the Trend beta for Windows Mobile in my office. They had to release an update just so you could install it. They then had to release a second update so that you could uninstall it when it when it completely screwed up your handset.

Viruses?

[a_greer2005]

Do the 2 big AV companies have NOTHING better to do than to churn out viruses for EVERYTHING with an IP number??

Honestly, what would a hacker want with a phone, oyu cant spam, spim, or send junk texts nearly as rapidly as an own3d windows XP Pre-sp1 box (and there are still TONS floating arround)

Who else would want to make a virus for phones, phones are too weak to do anything and the script kiddies dont have the resorces to learn/code/hack in any of the moble OSes other than maybe Windows Moble/Smartphone/PocketPC/Embedded so...who else has the resourses and profit motive...

I am not acusing, just asking, who the fuck makes cell viruses and why?

Re:Viruses?

[cowboy76Spain]

One of the possibilities would be to make a dialer, as for the modems. For example, making your phone call from 2am to 6am, while it is charging...

ENOUGH ALREADY!

[lidocaineus]

What a frickin' karma whore. ANYTIME there is a post about a phone, someone will pipe up and say, "But all **I** want is a phone that does one thing and does it right!"

WE GET IT ALREADY. FROM NOW ON, JUST SAY, "Standard /. feature-creep phone post." We'll understand what you mean.

End of bluetooth?

[gbajramo]

Now that bluetooth is finally taking off, the best way to kill it is spreading viruses over it. What amazes me is that there is no protection built into the devices. Security is always afterthought unfortunately.

Re:End of bluetooth?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait for Symbian 9. It'll have security. And these silly attempts at mobile viruses will be laughed at.

Been Around for a While

[courtarro]

Cell phone virus scanners have been around for a while, as often seen on Engadget when they cover a new virus. Here's a screenshot from February: http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000310032479/

It would be worthy of advertising for a cell phone company to include virus scanning software like this on their phones from the start. Though people have grown used to computers being unreliable, cell phones are becoming more and more the same, and people are soon going to stop putting up with it. A friend has replaced her Motorola twice already this year due to software failure.

What's new ?

[freaker_TuC]

F-secure is doing this for years ... The wayback machine for f-secure starting from 2002...

No, too many offered services

[Animats]

The real trouble here seems to be that the cell phone people now have the Microsoft Disease - systems that ship with a huge range of little-used but externally accessable services turned on. The number of people with PCs attacked via Universal Plug and Play or Windows Messenger service is bigger than the number of people who actually use those services for anything. Microsoft also likes to put auto-launch into everything, from CD drivers to IE to Outlook to Word to Excel, thus providing a virus-friendly environment.

Now the phone people are doing this. Which they shouldn't. Why should a phone be offering services over Bluetooth? So it can receive spam?. Yes, there's now Bluetooth spam, and with a high-powered transmitter the spam station can achieve a 100 meter range.

Re:Other reasons for mobile security

[S3D]

F-Secure, a Finnish security firm has created a software program to combat the increasing number of viruses that manage their way into cell phones.

Trend Micro has a solution for this already(Trend Micro Mobile Security), and supports the following Mobile Devices:

I have a feelnig that /. turning into advertisng forum for av manufacturers.

Anything wrong with PC without Internet?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there anything wrong with a cell phone that's just a phone? All I want to do is make calls.

For me (ymmw) that is like going back to PCs without Internet connection, and use them like basic PCs once where and "meant to be".

My phone has (just like the PC did) become a communication device. Always on, getting me my mail, news, contacts, calendar, IM, looking up addresses map and directions, checking in for flights, checking what movies/entertainment on and ordering tickets, searching the net for info, playing games, playing my music when I wants without carrying additional devices, etc. etc.

And no, it is not huge and hasn't got poor battery life. I actually don't see any real drawbacks, but a lot of advantages I wouldn't be without.

Re:Other reasons for mobile security

[glesga_kiss]

Trend Micro has a solution for this already(Trend Micro Mobile Security), and supports the following Mobile Devices:

* Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003/2003SE for Smartphone

* Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003/2003SE for Pocket PC Phone Edition

Then they are a bunch of scam artists. None of there platforms have any viruses. The Pocket PC one has a 'proof of concept' one that asks permissing before it 'spreads'. It's a traditional virus, not a worm, so it would need to be executed via a trojan for example. I'd quite like to see the so-called virus-signatures that this 'solution' to a non-existing problem provides.

Also, if you don't want to come across as an astroturfer, try not to make your post look like a marketing piece. Not that I'm accusing you of working for them...well actually, I am. Take your rip-off software shrilling elsewhere. Come back when there are actually real viruses out there, and maybe we'll be interested. But I for one will be remembering Tennd Micro as being a company to avoid in future, much like the 'your computer is broadcasting an IP' guys. If you were trading 100 years ago, you'd undoubtably be in the 'miracle cure' industry.

I'm selling bear repelant rocks on eBay if anyone is interested. Offer on available to coutries that don't have native bear populations...

A girlfriend? That's just unrealistic...

[Behrooz]

How many of you people have bought the latest, greatest camera phone, sent a few pictures of your dick to your girlfriend in the vain hope that you would impress her with your "high-techness", and then never used that feature again?

This is Slashdot, so... very few of us? A phone and a girlfriend? That's just unrealistic!

I don't even have a phone, so the closest I can get is having a girlfriend. I wonder if the real reason she's been bugging me to get a phone is so I can take pictures of my dick and send them to her...

If you're bothered by BlueTooth viruses...

[tkinnun0]

Just do what I do: find the infected phone somewhere near you and then smash it into the ground until it's dead. Afterwards you can also educate the owner not to install viruses in the future.

Virus Danger!

[CFMLSpecialist]

The two biggest most widespread and dangerous viruses have already found their way into 99% of the phones created within the last 3 years. Experts are calling these viruses 'Microsoft' and 'Google'.