Handset virus threatens the New Year
6/12/2004 17:21
Jane Chen/ Shanghai Daily news
Ahead of the New
Year, computer experts are warning mobile phone users to be on the alert for
short messages as the flourish of romantic exchanges may also bring viruses to
their handsets.
Early last year, about 10 billion messages were sent via
mobile phones in China, according statistics cited by today's Shanghai Morning
Post.
With more functions on mobile phones today, such as Internet connection
and multimedia messaging services, handsets are exposed to an increasing risk of
virus infection, said experts with Rising Technology Corporation Ltd, a
Beijing-based company devoted to computer virus protection.
The variety of
handset viruses has soared while the channels of infection have expanded, the
experts noted.
To ensure safe use, they suggest phone users not download ring
tunes, pictures or other information from unknown websites, nor open or read
messages that appear in unreadable codes.
Despite that, people needn't be
overly concerned, the experts said. The negative impact of phone viruses may be
limited because the different chip designs of handsets will cause difficulties
in the wide spread of the virus.
Also, researchers are speeding up the
development of virus protection software for handsets, they
added.
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