Nokia

[nmphillips]

With new phones almost being a PC and the internet being used more and more on handsets should I be running an antivirus program on my mobile? Any one got any suggestions?

Ta

[Johnmcl7]

Although phone capabilities and performance have improved substantially, there are still major differences between them and PCs - there's no need for anti-virus, just always be cautious what you're installing.

John

[Daz_V]

Hi nmp,

Although I completely agree that it's worth being cautious, I'm with John McL7 on this - the way mobile OS architecture works is still different from a PC, and as long as you're aware of what you're installing and using you should be fine

There are a number of companies that offer 'virus protection' for mobiles, but personally I don't see the point - it's more scare tactics than anything else. Maybe some of the community can elaborate on their opinions on the matter too?

Let us know if there's anything else - and don't forget to backup all your important data if you do want to be safe than sorry - there's more chance you'll lose or break your phone statistically than catch a virus!



Daz

eForum Team

[andypryce]

I would beg to disagree, on my Nokia N95 I use Kaspersky Mobile Internet Security, and do occassionally get 'alerts' from it.

Kaspersky has a firewall, Anti-virus and many other features. If your phone is stolen you can send a text to it & it will wipe all your data and another text will bar the handset. Also, if the thief changes the SIM card it will send a text/email to you giving you the new SIM card number (so you can still send texts to it to delete personal data & bar the phone).

Also, you can activate GPS tracking (by sending a text) and you will be informed of your phones location which can help you to recover it.

I am just sorry that Kaspersky don't have a version for the Nokia N900.

[Jebelious]

F-Secure used to do a symbian anti virus, i am not sure if this is still around though.

take a look here fore more info:

http://www.f-secure.com/en/web/home_global/protection/mobile-security/system-requirements

[hooker1uk]

there are a few Antivirus solutions on Symbian avaliable from the Ovi store.. 

but unless you have patched the Firmware so the device can accept unsigned apps then your screwed! 

Symbian s60 3rd edition was made more secure. also the threat of malware is about 2% so i would not worry about it.