Great, I can hardly wait! Yes, I am being really sarcastic as the idea of running a spyware scan on my phone really does not thrill me all too much.

Security software company McAfee this week announced its forecast for security threats in 2006, including the prediction of increased threats for mobile devices.

Since the first mobile malware was spotted in June 2004, according to McAfee, there has been steady growth in mobile viruses and Trojans. McAfee’s Avert Labs expects to see a significant rise in 2006, especially as smartphones and other mobile devices are increasingly connected to the internet.

The company predicts that mobile malware could wreak more extensive damage that current PC threats because of the increasing volume of smartphones and the relatively small percentage protected by mobile security. A mobile threat targeting several operating systems, McAfee said, could infect up to 200m connected smartphones simultaneously. [Read the rest]