Mobile virus

A mobile virus is an electronic virus that targets mobile phones or wireless-enabled PDAs.

As wireless phone and PDA networks become more numerous and more complex, it has become more difficult to secure them against electronic attacks in the form of viruses or other malicious software (also known as malware).

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History

The first instance of a mobile virus occurred in June 2004 when it was discovered that a company called Ojam had engineered an anti-piracy Trojan virus in older versions of their mobile phone game Mosquito. This virus sent SMS text messages to the company without the user's knowledge. This virus was removed from more recent versions of the game; however it still exists on older, unlicensed versions. These older versions may still be distributed on file-sharing networks and free software download web sites.

In July 2004, computer hobbyists released a proof-of-concept mobile virus named Cabir. This virus replicates itself on Bluetooth wireless networks.[1]

In March 2005 it was reported that a computer worm called Commwarrior-A has been infecting Symbian series 60 mobile phones. This worm replicates itself through the phone's Multimedia Messaging System (MMS). It sends copies of itself to other phone owners listed in the phone user's address book. Although the worm is not considered harmful, experts agree that it heralds a new age of electronic attacks on mobile phones.

In August 2010, Kaspersky Lab reported the first malicious program named Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a classified as a Trojan-SMS has been detected for smartphones running on Google’s Android operating system. It has already infected a number of mobile devices.[2] It sends SMS messages to premium rate numbers without the owner’s knowledge or consent which can rake up huge bills. For a security concern, Android users are advised to download from a trusted source.

Notable mobile viruses

References

  1. ^ Malware Goes Mobile, Mikko Hypponen, Scientific American, November 2006, pp. 70-77.
  2. ^ "First SMS Trojan detected for smartphones running Android". Kaspersky Lab. http://www.kaspersky.com/about/news/virus/2010/First_SMS_Trojan_detected_for_smartphones_running_Android. Retrieved 2010-10-18. 

External links