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Level: Teens

Mobile Viruses:

A mobile phone virus is a computer virus specifically adapted for the cellular environment and designed to spread from one vulnerable phone to another through Bluetooth, and multimedia messages. Mobile phone virus though still not as widespread as computer viruses can still be a nuisance and lead to monetary loss or identity theft. Taking some basic precautions could effectively combat mobile viruses.

Mobile virus effect

The effect of virus infection varies according to the virus nature and type; it could be one or some of the followings:

Annoyance.
Changing mobile themes around or silly icons appearing.
Drain mobile battery.
Try and send SMS and pricey MMS to everyone listed on your address book.
Allowing personal information to be collected without you being aware.
Disable programs or even disable the phone itself.
Deleting files on your mobile or PDA.

Infection methods:

Mobile viruses are usually transferred, Using Bluetooth, IrDA, email attachments, downloads and MMS, disguised as tones, themes, images, games and video files. The arrival of the smart phones & PDAs has expanded the infection speed.

How to protect your mobile phone against viruses:

Make sure to deactivate the Bluetooth connection when you are not using it.
Ensure that your mobile remains ‘hidden’ or ‘undiscovered’.
Do not accept Bluetooth connections from mobile phones you do not know.
Use Bluetooth bonding when you connect to another Bluetooth unit.
Do not install pirated software on your mobile.
Do not accept .sis files unless you have specifically requested them .
Do not open unknown files received on your mobile phone.
If a friend sends you a program, confirm they've sent it, before you open it.

The spreading speed:

So far, the spreading speed of mobile viruses is relatively slow compared with computer viruses. One of the reasons for this has been the greater variety of software running cellular phones compared with computers, which mostly run on Microsoft's Windows operating system. However since Symbian is commonly used by many smart phones like Nokia and Sony Ericsson, they have become mobile phone virus favorite target.