Web-enabled cell phones are the new frontier for viruses. Expect hackers to increase their assaults on handsets that use Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm OS, the most common operating systems.

New phone models will be especially virus prone, particularly the next version of the iPhone and a phone to be developed using Google's technology. Rather than run on closed networks as iPhone does now, they'll be on open networks to let users access the entire World Wide Web as well as other vendors' games, retail sites and additional software applications.

Sellers of antivirus solutions are scrambling to respond. McAfee, for example, is trying to persuade U.S. phone companies to copy some Japanese cell phone firms by installing antivirus software on phones before they're sold. McAfee is also including mobile phone software as part of package deals for large businesses.

Symantec's mobile security suite for businesses costs $69.99 per user. Not only does it weed out viruses, it also scrambles messages in case the phone falls into the wrong hands after being lost or stolen. It includes a firewall and record-keeping to report to regulators if vital information is stolen. A simpler antivirus-only product intended for consumers is called VirusScanMobile and sells for $29.99 a year. A competitor, F-Secure, offers software for $34.95 a year.

Virus attacks can hit in various ways. They freeze phones, change on-screen icons or divert the user to annoying ads. Or mobile phone users get instant messages telling them to respond for a free ringtone or a prize by clicking on a Web site link. Or they'll be asked to send a message unsubscribing from a Web site they never visited before. Instead, they'll get a virus, which may forward copies of all of the instant message conversations to unscrupulous operators or URLs of Web sites they visit. Unscrupulous operators can steal usernames and passwords for banking, auction and other consumer Web sites.

And other messages, either e-mail or instant messages, might provide a phone number that, when called via your phone, can charge $5 a minute for a conversation. Even more insidious are viruses that allow an outsider to monitor voice conversations or view pictures shot from a cell phone camera.

The most common sources of viruses? Wi-Fi hotspots, where anyone can connect to your mobile phone. Also, Bluetooth headphones, which receive wireless transmissions from the cell phone, can pick up these viruses at a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Spam is going to be an increasing problem, too, as e-mail and instant messages become more common on mobile phones. Getting spammed is expensive for many cell phone users who are often charged extra for instant messages or calls they receive.

Note that Blackberries are least prone to vicious viruses. Blackberry creator, Research in Motion, has a good system for scrambling transmission data, which is then unscrambled by the user, minimizing virus attacks.

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