back to article Symbian malware escapes Russia

Malware profiteers have created a trio of smartphone Trojans that send out premium-rate SMS messages from infected Symbian S60 devices. The Trojans, all members of the Viver strain, pose as utility programs for Symbian phones and have been uploaded to at least one popular file sharing site, anti-virus firm F-Secure reports. …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Rare but...

    "Infections for mobile malware are rare and ordinary Symbian users have little to fear."

    ... of course the likes of F-Secure will have you believe it's bad enough to make you buy their mobile anti-virus products.

  2. Mike Jones

    Just Gimme The Dumb Phone

    Smart phones! Nothing wrong with a good old simple phone! No real advanced OS to speak of, so no international SMS japery!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    not the only malware to worry about...

    More disturbing are the state sanctioned apps that discretely turn the handset into an active microphone, the camera into a live video feedback device and "phone home" in real-time a users exact lat/long gps coordinates.

    You are either with us or against us so absolutely nothing to worry about if you are onside, right?

  4. Daniel Ballado-Torres

    Somehow ....

    I get reminded of Yakov Smirnoff...

    With Russia Trojan, Phone Calls YOU!!!

    Not only malware is something to worry. There have been some cases reported that kidnappers hack into Bluetooth-enabled mobiles and use them to make ransom calls. Not only do they piggyback for free their call, they also get the police looking for another dude!!

    ... and that's why most of us keep Bluetooth off.

  5. Jasmine Strong

    "state sanctioned apps"

    Well, given that the government basically has free reign over the networks, they know where you are anyway. Your phone constantly pings the nearest few BTS masts, so it constantly knows where it is- it has to do this to be able to set the timing advance properly for the network to work efficiently. They can tell where you are to within a few hundred metres.

    This has always been the case, even with "dumb" phones. I remember seeing a case where the police used this to locate a distraught motorist. Presumably the intelligence services have been doing this sort of thing for years.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    tracking the mobile phone

    there are several services that you can subscribe to that will track a phone - even a basic one. but if you want some fun/interest, download Jaiku for your S60 smart phone . no this isnt the malware that the article mentioned ;-) - but it is a location aware social networking tool.

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