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Mobile threats: when viruses move on from PCs.
Have PCs finally escaped the grasp of computer viruses? Judging by the written accounts describing the viruses that infect mobile phones, PDAs and other chat networks, you would certainly think this is the case. However, nothing has changed drastically: a virus is still a virus and these viruses are particularly simplistic.
After congesting PCs and files, it was only a matter of time before computer viruses would set their sights on different targets. And it doesn't really come as a surprise - even before the first "non-PC" virus appeared, experts were already well aware of these potential targets, with mobile phones and PDAs topping the list.
Long before the first PDA virus appeared in 2001, there was antivirus software available for hand held devices. Since then, PDAs have indeed been exposed to a number of viruses, however these have all been motivated by curiosity as opposed to genuine threats. Duts, the latest version to date, specifically infected the Microsoft Windows CE operating system for PDAs. However, this virus does ask users for permission to replicate. Of course, such clemency is unlikely to last and it is entirely plausible that we will eventually have PDA viruses that are equivalent to PC viruses. But we will also have equivalent anti virus software, so this does not really amount to anything new on the antiviral front: an updated antivirus is still the best solution.
Even mobile phones…
The picture is not quite the same when it comes to mobile phones. Up until very recently, mobile phones were really too primitive to be capable of effectively hosting even the most basic virus. The very most we could expect was a few "mobile killer" SMSs, which exploit a bug in the operating system to block the mobile phone.
However with the proliferation of the latest generation mobile phones, which function with an actual operating system (generally Symbian), virus authors are mounting another charge. The Cabir virus, which appeared last June, is the first virus to infect mobile phones with the Symbian operating system. Unlike other viruses, the Cabir virus uses the Bluetooth connection of an infected phone to seek out other victims within the phone's range. The virus requires such a specific configuration in order to replicate that it has little chance of spreading, however.
There is now antivirus software available for mobile phones, which is proof that these developments have not totally taken vendors by surprise.
Back to the PC…
Despite expeditions to uncharted territories, viruses have not lost sight of their home ground. They are also exploring new opportunities within the actual PC itself. And of course they follow the latest trends, which is why we have seen viruses capable of replicating through peer-to-peer (P2P) or chat (MSN Messenger) networks.
Since 2001, we have had the "Gnutella Mandragore" virus for example, which transforms an infected PC into a Gnutella exchange network. The virus intercepts all requests for files (music, film etc.) and returns a file that has the same name but which is in fact an infected program. To actually get infected, the recipient needed to double-click this file, which is not the most discrete of methods.
Meanwhile, other viruses have appeared that attempt to determine whether the computer on which they are executed is used for P2P exchanges. If this is the case, it adds infected files to the shared file content in the hope that they will be transferred also. Again, there is nothing new here as any PC antivirus would be capable of detecting such a virus once it is executed.
As a final frontier for viruses, instant messaging is no exception to the rule. Even if there are viruses that are capable of using chat tools, these will still need to execute on a PC, where they are likely to be detected by traditional antivirus software. This is the case with Jitux for example, which uses MSN Messenger to replicate itself by sending a link to a site from which the actual virus is downloaded to each of a user's contacts. However this virus is a straightforward executable file and is very similar to traditional viruses, so it won't escape traditional antivirus software. Regardless of which new approach these viruses take, the actual solution itself remains very traditional!
[glossary]
PDA:
Personal Digital Assistant. Originally designed as straightforward electronic diaries, personal digital assistants have now become genuine pocket computers. You can plug in a keyboard or use a handwriting recognition system such as provided by Palm for example.
P2P:
Peer-to-peer. Network on which there is no central server. Each network host is also a server that provides its resources (documents of any type) to all other members.
Bluetooth:
Short-range radio communication standard that allows a network to be created between two pieces of mobile equipment (mobile phone, digital assistants, laptops), enabling the simple, wireless transfer of information.
SOURCE
Have PCs finally escaped the grasp of computer viruses? Judging by the written accounts describing the viruses that infect mobile phones, PDAs and other chat networks, you would certainly think this is the case. However, nothing has changed drastically: a virus is still a virus and these viruses are particularly simplistic.
After congesting PCs and files, it was only a matter of time before computer viruses would set their sights on different targets. And it doesn't really come as a surprise - even before the first "non-PC" virus appeared, experts were already well aware of these potential targets, with mobile phones and PDAs topping the list.
Long before the first PDA virus appeared in 2001, there was antivirus software available for hand held devices. Since then, PDAs have indeed been exposed to a number of viruses, however these have all been motivated by curiosity as opposed to genuine threats. Duts, the latest version to date, specifically infected the Microsoft Windows CE operating system for PDAs. However, this virus does ask users for permission to replicate. Of course, such clemency is unlikely to last and it is entirely plausible that we will eventually have PDA viruses that are equivalent to PC viruses. But we will also have equivalent anti virus software, so this does not really amount to anything new on the antiviral front: an updated antivirus is still the best solution.
Even mobile phones…
The picture is not quite the same when it comes to mobile phones. Up until very recently, mobile phones were really too primitive to be capable of effectively hosting even the most basic virus. The very most we could expect was a few "mobile killer" SMSs, which exploit a bug in the operating system to block the mobile phone.
However with the proliferation of the latest generation mobile phones, which function with an actual operating system (generally Symbian), virus authors are mounting another charge. The Cabir virus, which appeared last June, is the first virus to infect mobile phones with the Symbian operating system. Unlike other viruses, the Cabir virus uses the Bluetooth connection of an infected phone to seek out other victims within the phone's range. The virus requires such a specific configuration in order to replicate that it has little chance of spreading, however.
There is now antivirus software available for mobile phones, which is proof that these developments have not totally taken vendors by surprise.
Back to the PC…
Despite expeditions to uncharted territories, viruses have not lost sight of their home ground. They are also exploring new opportunities within the actual PC itself. And of course they follow the latest trends, which is why we have seen viruses capable of replicating through peer-to-peer (P2P) or chat (MSN Messenger) networks.
Since 2001, we have had the "Gnutella Mandragore" virus for example, which transforms an infected PC into a Gnutella exchange network. The virus intercepts all requests for files (music, film etc.) and returns a file that has the same name but which is in fact an infected program. To actually get infected, the recipient needed to double-click this file, which is not the most discrete of methods.
Meanwhile, other viruses have appeared that attempt to determine whether the computer on which they are executed is used for P2P exchanges. If this is the case, it adds infected files to the shared file content in the hope that they will be transferred also. Again, there is nothing new here as any PC antivirus would be capable of detecting such a virus once it is executed.
As a final frontier for viruses, instant messaging is no exception to the rule. Even if there are viruses that are capable of using chat tools, these will still need to execute on a PC, where they are likely to be detected by traditional antivirus software. This is the case with Jitux for example, which uses MSN Messenger to replicate itself by sending a link to a site from which the actual virus is downloaded to each of a user's contacts. However this virus is a straightforward executable file and is very similar to traditional viruses, so it won't escape traditional antivirus software. Regardless of which new approach these viruses take, the actual solution itself remains very traditional!
[glossary]
PDA:
Personal Digital Assistant. Originally designed as straightforward electronic diaries, personal digital assistants have now become genuine pocket computers. You can plug in a keyboard or use a handwriting recognition system such as provided by Palm for example.
P2P:
Peer-to-peer. Network on which there is no central server. Each network host is also a server that provides its resources (documents of any type) to all other members.
Bluetooth:
Short-range radio communication standard that allows a network to be created between two pieces of mobile equipment (mobile phone, digital assistants, laptops), enabling the simple, wireless transfer of information.
SOURCE