F-secure: Virus protection on mobile phones

F-secure held a press breakfast today on the topic of mobile phone viruses today - and where we were.

First of all, it is important to note that the most affected platform is Symbian as the most common smartphone system, including the Series 60. So far, there are only 2 viruses for Windows CE, and they are not widespread either: Duts and Brador. So the real danger is on the other main platform.

Viruses can be divided into 3 main groups. The first one that spreads but doesn't infect. It does nothing but broadcast itself to other mobile devices via bluetooth. A perfect example of this is the Proof-of-concept virus, Cabir. The only downside is that Bluetooth drains the device's battery quickly.
The next type includes those that do not spread but are harmful. Such is the Skulls, which has disabled everything but the phone function on the phone.
Finally, the third category of pests will greatly increase our phone bill as they spread. This group includes Commwarrior, which also spreads via Bluetooth and MMS.

And how to defend against all this? Well, for now, the only antivirus available is made by F-secure. The price of the program is approx. 2 euros, which includes automatic updates - even via SMS. Of course, there is also a server-side solution; it runs at the service provider. F-Secure has so far signed contracts in 6 European countries - unfortunately not in our small country. According to the company's representative, due to the relatively small number of viruses, it is not vital to keep antivirus on our mobile phone for the time being, it is enough to follow certain reasonable principles, such as our Hungarian friend probably does not send us text messages