IT Professionals

Antivirus Software For Mobile Phones – It Will Never Happen, Right?

Posted by on Feb 13, 2007 | 2 Comments

I have to smile at the notion that there is no need for any sort of anti-virus protection on the mobile platform. Reports like this one tend to indicate that I may be correct.

Granted, I will admit that someone taking the time to create a mobile virus to attack the files on that platform is random at best. However, I am still wondering if those same “experts” who claimed that mobile viruses ever considered that mobile syncing is a great way to exchange malicious attackes back to a desktop PC?

Food for thought? Or instead, merely another consideration along the path of security concerns that may never really be that big of a target? It’s a tough call, guess only time will tell.

[tags]mobile,virus,security[/tags]

  • http://www.goretsky.com/ Aryeh Goretsky

    Hello,

    As Microsoft has moved into providing anti-virus solutions for their own PC operating systems, many of the traditional anti-virus vendors have begun to branch out. While there have been some threats for smart phones such as Cabir, Skulls and Mosquito, malcode has not yet reached the pandemic level it has on the PC platform.

    The other thing to consider is that the target audience is a little different for anti-virus vendors. While some of them may be going after individual mobile phone users, the real money is to be made from either OEM deals with handset manufacturers and in approaching carriers with servers they can use to block the entry of malcode at the edge of the network as well as monitor what is going on in their own networks. F-Secure in Finland has had some success with developing antithreat software for Nokia phones, while McAfee Mobile (which is actually a joint venture between McAfee and NTT, Japan’s largest telco) have had similar luck with antithreat software for DoCoMo, NTT’s mobile arm.

    I should probably mention that my employer currently has their own antithreat product for handsets in beta, so please keep that in mind when considering my comments.

    Regards,

    Aryeh Goretsky

  • http://MobileOffice Syed Shah Nawaz

    I want to safe my mobile from the virus of the internet world.