Virus! Virus!! Virus!!! We have all heard of this expression thousands if not millions of times. Both biological and computer viruses are talked about so many times nowadays. However since this is a computer based article we would only be concerning ourselves with the computer “kind of” viruses. Any computer user would readily admit that he or she has had problems with a computer virus and subsequently might have gone through some hurdles just to deal with it. Others have probably had a much more serious experience with the many kinds of viruses, Trojans, worms and the like.

Many of these viruses spread on computers that run on Windows. Other Operating systems like Linux have virtually no problems with viruses. Why? You may ask. Linux is not exactly a very popular operating system even though it is free, as it commands a very low percentage of the market. Windows however is by far the most popular OS there is on the market. This has attracted a lot of people and more important in our case Virus writers’. This means that if people dedicate their time to writing viruses for the Linux distributions it would work.

Enough of the computer viruses. Let us now focus our attention to the main topic of this article, Mobile Phone Viruses. What is a mobile phone virus? Well, like a computer virus a mobile phone virus is a piece of program that is written with the intention of causing harm to a mobile phone. The various ways that a computer virus can cause havoc is just the same over here. Most of you probably know how a computer virus/Trojans causes harm to a computer but I would nevertheless like to enumerate just a few;

1. Damage files such as word docs and executable files rendering them useless.
2. Corrupting windows files: This kind of threat can cause so many problems such as making it impossible to logon or even in extreme case even boot a computer. Others disable task manager, the run command, and the folder options in the Tools option of the Menu bar.
3. Some also cause unnecessary processes to run in turn slowing down the pc.

Mobile phone viruses also work in a similar way but in their own style and remember the prime objective is to cause havoc.

The types of Mobile Phone Viruses
The first mobile phone virus was written as proof of concept i.e. to proof that it was possible for a mobile phone to get infected with a virus and not with any evil intent.

CABIR: The code for Cabir was first released in June 2004 on the internet and was found to have infected mobile phones in 2005. It was really a harmless virus which spreads via Bluetooth.

SKULLS, Trojan Horse: This is another type of virus with a more serious infection problem. When this virus infects a phone it renders the phone completely useless. What it does is to disable every feature on your cell phone other than the ability to dial out and receive calls. The picture below shows how a phone looks like after an infection from skulls. This virus was reported in November 2004 and it spreads via internet downloads.

HOAX: The following is from Symantec.com

All mobile phone in DIGITAL system can be infected by this virus. If you receive a phone call and your phone display "UNAVAILABLE" on the screen (for most of digital mobile phones with a function to display in-coming call telephone number), DON'T ANSWER THE CALL. END THE CALL IMMEDIATELY!!!BECAUSE IF YOU ANSWER THE CALL, YOUR PHONE WILL BE INFECTED BY THIS VIRUS. This virus will erase all IMIE and IMSI information from both your phone and your SIM card which will make your phone unable to connect with the telephone network. You will have to buy a new phone.

COMMONWARRIOR: This virus was first discovered in January 2005. It was able to spread through an entire company via Bluetooth. Once it infects your phone it automatically begins to spread itself via any available Bluetooth within range. It also sends itself via MMS to all available contacts on your mobile phone.

LOCKNUT: First reported in March 2005. It crashes system ROM and disables all phone functions. It spreads via Internet downloads disguising itself as a patch.

FONTAL: First reported in April 2005.It locks up the phone in startup mode hence disabling the phone entirely. It spreads via Internet downloads.

All that we have seen above are proof of the fact that mobile phone viruses are really on the rise. Though I must admit that they are really in low proportions and Virus writers would continue to target Windows OS for a very long time to come.

Who Is At Risk
Are all phones at risk of infection from a mobile phone virus? The answer is a big NO. Only sophisticated phones i.e. Smart phones are at risk. Just like virus writers target Windows OSes so in the mobile phone world, virus writers also target only popular mobile OSes. The Common ones are:

1. Symbian OS
2. Windows Mobile
3. NTT DocoMo OS

Ways A Mobile Phone Can be Infected
There are various ways a Smartphone can be infected with a virus. The Common ways are through:

1. Bluetooth
2. MMS
3. IrDA(Infrared Data Association)
4. Internet downloads

How To Protect Your Cell Phone
1. Be sure to turn your infrared and Bluetooth off in public places. Also be sure you know the source of any data you are receiving by Infrared, Bluetooth and even MMS.
2. Avoid any automatic internet downloads, disable this feature if possible. Be sure you have verified the authenticity of a website before you download any information from it.
3. Use a mobile phone antivirus. You can get a free version of a mobile phone antivirus for symbian and Windows mobile OSes from www.trendmicro.com. Other antivirus companies like Kaspersky Lab, F-secure and Symantec also have mobile phone antiviruses.