Viruses, worms and Trojans have spread beyond personal computers. With the growing popularity of smartphones and communicators (that are essentially small computers), malicious programs for mobile devices are appearing in increasing numbers and diversity.

In developing Kaspersky Anti-Virus Mobile we have combined the latest Kaspersky Lab technologies to protect mobile platforms with our long experience of working in the antivirus field. This solution offers effective protection for your smartphone and personal data from malicious programs.
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Malware for Mobiles
What can malware do to your smartphone?

Send mass SMS and MMS messages or dial premium rate numbers without your knowledge all billed to you
Delete your personal information (e.g., address book, file, etc.) or steal confidential information
Disable functions on the phone (SMS, games, camera, etc.) or completely disable the whole device
Use up the phone’s battery much faster than usual
Send infected files to people in your name (via email, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.)
Transfer malicious code from the smartphone to a PC upon connection
How can malware reach your mobile?

Via Bluetooth connections
In MMS messages
When downloading a program to the smartphone from an unreliable source

Latest Virus Backdoor.Brador.A Trojan

The latest virus was not so benevolent. The Backdoor.Brador.A trojan allows a remote user to upload, execute, list or delete files from your Pocket PC while it is connected to the internet. This is an example of the kind of viruses that can be created to run on your Pocket PC. This virus can be prevented by not installing programs from unknown developers. To better understand the details of how the Backdoor.Brador.A virus is doing to your Pocket PC you may want to read “Reverse-Engineering the First Pocket PC Trojan, Part 1, and 2” By Cyrus Peikari, Seth Fogie, Ratter/29A, Jonathan Read, InformIT for a technical explanation of why it can infect your Pocket PC. With the release of the Backdoor.Brador.A virus in the public, users must now consider scanning their Pocket PCs for viruses.

Viruses Pocket PCs Can’t Catch

There is one type of virus that will not work on the current generation of Pocket PCs the script based viruses seen in applications like Outlook. This is because the Pocket PCs do not have the scripting support that Outlook has in the OS. Also, the Pocket PC is immune to viruses that run on the PC. This is because the Pocket PC and the PC do not use the same microprocessor. The PC uses the x86 microprocessor while the Pocket PCs use the ARM microprocessor.

Indirect Transfer

Since the Pocket PC can now download programs as well as document files from the internet, e-mail, memory card or even ActiveSync, users may transmit viruses between their Pocket PC and their PC. PC based programs or documents infected with viruses will not infect the Pocket PC. However when these infected files are transferred to your PC via ActiveSync, e-mail or using a memory card reader, they can infect your PC. Also, infected Pocket PC files can be safely stored on the PC. This is because the PC cannot be infected by the same viruses that affect the Pocket PC. However when these infected Pocket PC files are transferred from the PC to your Pocket PC, it can be infected. So I highly recommend that users continue to use real time scanning of all files received or stored on your PC. Vendors such as McAfee, Trend Micro and Symantec offer comprehensive antivirus solutions for your PC. Just make sure you choose the option to update the antivirus definitions as often as possible.

Where do Smartphones Stand?

Right now there are no known viruses for Smartphones. So you may think the Smartphone is safe. However this situation can change at any time just like it did for the Pocket PC. Also, right now none of the Pocket PC AntiVirus applications are designed for the Smartphone. So it may require users of Smartphones to make backups and be careful before installing applications from unknown sources.

Antivirus Options for Pocket PCs

Applications such as McAfee VirusScan PDA Enterprise 2.0, AirScanner Mobile Antivirus, and Symantec Norton AntiVirus for Handhelds, Kapersy Security for PDAs offer scanning solutions for the Pocket PC. I am maintaining a list of the known viruses for the Pocket PC at http://www.pocketpcfaq.com/faqs/virus/virus.htm. This way you can keep up on the viruses that have been found for the Pocket PC