Are mobile phone viruses really that big a threat these days? Are we just victims of a lot of hype? I think it is a little of both, myself. Newer phones are certainly targets for such a thing. But if you take the older phones that people like myself use, it just not that big a deal. Just passing on my two cents.

Last June, when anti-virus researchers reported the discovery of the first proof-of-concept cell phone virus, analysts and experts immediately predicted a coming wave of malware targeting high-end mobile devices.

Since then, the warnings have been coming fast and furious. According to the experts, the original proof-of-concept code quickly evolved into Cabir, a worm capable of bluejacking nearby cell phones running the Bluetooth-enabled Symbian Series 60 operating system.

Then came reports of mutants and Trojans and weekly warnings that the worm had spread to 17 countries around the globe. New reports that an underground virus-writing group called 29A had released the Cabir source code pushed the story onto the pages of the mainstream press, prompting anti-virus vendors to roll out plans to combat the threat.

But not everyone is convinced that the risk is high enough to justify the investments. On security discussion forums, there have even been suggestions that research firms are overblowing the threat to create an artificial market for cell phone anti-virus software.