PDA viruses
Summary Description Worried about viruses on your personal digital assistant? Newswire's 5 Minute Guides has it covered.
Author

Publication

Roullas Top10 Simon Vandore

Newswire
No


Editorial InformationArticle Location
Article Topic 5 Minute Guides, Security
Story Order
Story Group 000917
Post Date 11/09/2000 05:53 AM Status Posted Entered by Simon Vandore on 04/09/2000 07:41 AM


ImagesLead Picture


Heading Image




Content
Introduction


Body
I've heard about new viruses that attack PDAs. What's really happening?
A Trojan horse (a malicious program disguised as a harmless one) known as Palm.Liberty.A has appeared on personal digital assistants (PDAs) based on the Palm operating system. It poses as a 'crack' -- an illegal registration enabler -- for Liberty, a Game Boy emulator which runs under Palm OS. When activated, Palm.Liberty.A deletes all programs on the host Palm Pilot.
A university lecturer in Sweden claims he wrote the program for testing purposes and believes one of his colleagues adapted and released it over the Internet without his permission. Others allege he released it himself as revenge for the pirating of his software.
Just one virus? It's generating a lot of hype . . .
Considering there are no reported cases of Palm.Liberty.A infection, extensive media reports might seem a little over the top. However, antivirus companies have been warning for months that wireless devices are a new battleground which will lead to new virus types.
What's so bad about a PDA virus compared to a normal computer virus?
Palm OS is said to account for near 80% of the booming handheld computing market. Thousands of applications exist for the platform, and many users are accustomed to downloading them online. This gives virus writers a significant new target.
Wireless devices potentially have several means of data transfer including infra-red, radio frequency and physical cable. Most have no security measures beyond the on-off switch, but often exchange data with high-risk environments such as PCs linked to corporate networks. Many wireless devices now entering the market are also designed for mobile Internet access and could be vulnerable to email viruses akin to Melissa and the Love Bug, or fall victim to PDA-specific viruses downloaded in applications.
On the other hand, PDAs currently have few features that viruses can exploit. For example, Microsoft's versions of Word and Excel for handhelds do not support macros or script files, two of the biggest vulnerabilities on PCs. And WAP devices generally don't have rewritable memory, so they are safe.
Do viruses spread from PDAs to PCs and vice versa?
Not yet. It is said that virus authors are seeking a way to do this, perhaps with Bluetooth in mind. Bluetooth is a short-range radio frequency data transfer protocol being developed for all wireless devices, which aims to allow transactions and the exchange of information to occur instantly. For example, a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone could perform an automatic transaction with the checkout at a supermarket when you buy groceries. If there was a danger of catching or transmitting a virus this way, the usefulness of Bluetooth would be under a cloud.
Sales of PDAs are rising, and some new phones even double as PDAs. Their operating systems (including Palm OS) are designed to synchronise data with fully fledged PCs, and this is where the current danger lies. Software is also being developed that will enable a PDA to synchronise data with all other devices in the area.
The only current danger for PC owners is where a virus aimed at PCs arrives in an email attachment that is transferred from the PDA.
Do I need antivirus software on my PDA?
McAfee has released VirusScan Wireless for Palm OS, and Symantec is also working on antivirus software for the platform. Both companies have been issuing warnings for several months that PDAs were a threat. If you regularly use and update downloaded applications on your PDA, such a program may be worthwhile. Analysts have said more of these viruses are likely to appear soon. However, as memory on PDAs is at a premium and all but the most recent data can usually be restored through synchronisation with a PC (which is the best way to cure Palm.Liberty.A), antivirus software on your PC may be the long-term solution to protecting your PDA -- as long as the data for synchronisation is not already infected.


Related MaterialsRelated Articles


Related Links




Bulletin Summary5 Minute Guides: PDA Viruses
Worried about viruses on your personal digital assistant? Newswire's 5 Minute Guides has it covered.

WAP Summary

Cross-Publishing InformationShort Headline
5 Minute Guides: PDA Viruses

Clipping Information

Corporate IT No This field should be marked 'Yes' for any story of interest to corporate readers
CIT Lead No Newswire Lead No Section Lead No (These fields are controlled by all those handy buttons and agents)