09-12-2006, 10:00 AM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,111
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Do We Really Need Antivirus Solutions for Windows Mobile?
"McAfee, Inc. has released McAfee VirusScan Mobile and McAfee VirusScan Mobile Enterprise Edition for the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform. The company says this new version helps protect users of Windows Mobile 5.0 against the latest malware and attacks, including what the company calls SMiShing attacks, or phishing scams via SMS. McAfee VirusScan Mobile and McAfee VirusScan Mobile Enterprise Edition protect Windows Mobile 5.0 user devices from attacks via SMS, MMS, Bluetooth and other entry points. The software protects against the threats by automatically detecting and cleaning infected files before they can infect the device."
I really don't get this. There's been nary a blip in terms of spyware/malware/trojans/viruses that target Windows Mobile but McAfee thinks we should fork out $29.99 a year to protect our devices from a virtually non-existent threat. The pandemic of spyware et. al. is pretty serious as far as our desktops are concerned, but that's on a different platform. Just because it says Windows on the front doesn't mean that what works or is a problem on WinXP, will be a problem with Windows Mobile - they're two very different OSs.
Let's take it through and see what we get - many spyware/malware programs run off ActiveX controls or VBScript that target Outlook or your web browser, not exactly a problem in Windows Mobile when VB support isn't even included any more. Phishing/SMiShing? Requires user input, and a bit of common sense can tell you not to give out your usernames/passwords. Trojans/Viruses? Win32 executables, 'nuff said. Rootkits? On Windows Mobile? Come'on! So where does that leave us? Symbian viruses?
Just for kicks I ran a search through the McAfee threat library for 'mobile' and got 31 hits, which broke down as follows:
16 Symbian viruses
5 Win32 worms
4 mobile phone hoaxes
2 VBS worms
2 malicious Win 32 programs
None of these work on Windows Mobile. The two remaining threats were RedBrowser.a (a J2ME trojan) and Duts.1520 (WinCE virus). So it sounds like there is a potential threat right? The J2ME trojan would not run on most Windows Mobile PDAs, except those equiped with a JVM, but some of the HTC phones do have them. The WinCE virus would obviously run on any Windows Mobile device. Here's the kicker - they're both proof of concept. So we are invited to subscribe to an antivirus/malware solution (a firewall is on the way, too), which purports to protect our devices from an external threat that consists of proofs of concept! Somebody's cynically banking on peoples indentification of Windows with Windows Mobile here. Color me sceptical.
Do security threats exist? Yes. Will real, out-in-the-wild viruses, spyware, malware, trojans etc targeting WM eventually appear? With WM-driven phones becoming increasingly mainstream, that seems inevitable. Should you run out and get an antivirus solution right now? Sounds premature to me - what do you think?
__________________
"A planner is a gentle man, with neither sword nor pistol.
He walks along most daintily, because his balls are crystal."
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09-12-2006, 10:06 AM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 5,067
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Re: Do We Really Need Antivirus Solutions for Windows Mobile?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Nurhisham Hussein
The J2ME trojan would not run on most Windows Mobile PDAs, except those equiped with a JVM, but some of the HTC phones do have them.
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J2ME-based viruses/virii won't start unless you actively import and start them, requiring a lot of dialog screens and Yes answers. That is, I wouldn't call it a threat either.
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09-12-2006, 10:09 AM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 5,067
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Re: Do We Really Need Antivirus Solutions for Windows Mobile?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Nurhisham Hussein
Should you run out and get an antivirus solution right now?
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I'd say NO. This stuff is over-diemensioned by the antivirus developers - as with Symbian. Remember the Symbian F-Secure case?
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09-12-2006, 01:01 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 718
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I'd say no too. Not only does the inherent nature of PDA's make it hard to infect them, there's also the publicity factor. Since virus makers want maximum publicity, they will also want maximum damage. Just like with Macs and Linux, PDA's just aren't worth a hacker's time since there are so few of them compared to Windows PC's.
Maybe some day, AV will be needed with future PDA's. But now, no.
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09-12-2006, 01:10 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 450
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No. Maybe in a few years...but I really doubt that too.
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09-12-2006, 02:12 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 351
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A cash grab really..
Maybe there's mandates that some Corporate's are required to have some sort of AntiVirus on their mobile devices.. they are the ones that pay big $$ to these vendors that keep the product afloat...
for Joe Average.. It doesnt matter.
B
__________________
iPhone / iPod(s) / Mac Desktop & Portables.. yet I'm a Windows/MS Platform Dev ;)
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09-12-2006, 02:19 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 73
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Those AV company bloodsuckers! 
Here is a fairly recent article on WM malware:
http://www.informit.com/articles/art...Num=2&rl=1
I'd agree that the average user does not need AV/spyware software on her handheld.
One issue to consider: many organizations mandate AV software before they do a corporate rollout. That is especially true in the medical, financial and military sector. And when they hear there is no good antivirus option for Windows Mobile, guess what happens? That's right, they drop their WM rollout plans and go with Symbian (or another OS) instead. We've seen it happen over and over.
We do AV exclusively for WM. The problem is that the "big 3" antivirus companies don't seem to think that WM developers are competent to do AV software. They seem to look down on eMVPs, established Pocket PC developers, and the Windows Mobile community in general. And they tell that to as many customers and contacts as they can.
That is wrong, because there are a lot of smart people in the WM security world. Good people like Janak (and others who post here) do security for a living. It is a shame that the big AV companies belittle the WM security community. But without "little" developers to give them some competition, they have no incentive to make good software. And so corporations drop their WM rollouts.
Thank you.
Take care,
Brad
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09-12-2006, 04:01 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 62
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Pocket devices (PIE) don't have support for VBScript only JS, so that's two more you can cross out. Unless that has changed on WM5. (it would be kind of cool if it has, as I code faster on VB, does anybody know?)
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09-12-2006, 04:17 PM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,111
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Brad - thanks for the link, and the different perspective. I hadn't considered the corporate angle, but that does explain the McAfee move (even if it doesn't explain it).
Feo - native VB support throughout the OS was dropped in WM2003, though you can still get VBS to run if you install the necessary runtimes.
__________________
"A planner is a gentle man, with neither sword nor pistol.
He walks along most daintily, because his balls are crystal."
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09-12-2006, 06:11 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 351
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well what about files that u sync with your desktop, what if one of the files has a virus and u transfer it to another pc... it could stop u from spreading a virus over networks...noo...wait a sec... both pc's should have virus scanners installed... ppc dont get virus attacks but i guess they could carry them... looks like a waste of money.
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