CommWarrior cellphone virus smolders, somewhere
Antivirus researchers are examining a new Trojan horse that could pose more of a threat than the Cabir virus, which only spread by Bluetooth (which means Paris Hilton's Sidekick would not, we repeat, would not be vulnerable to the Cabir Trojan). CommWarrior spreads by Bluetooth as well as by MMS, which makes it far more able to actually get around. The virus infects the Symbian OS found on Nokia Series 60 handsets and affects the phone directory software, selecting one directory profile at random and sending a copy of itself to that person. The recipient must also be running Series 60 software and accept the CommWarrior download to actually get infected. It uses over 20 different messages to lure users into downloading the software, from fake Symbian software updates to porn photos. Since users will be receiving the virus via MMS, they will be more likely to perceive it as coming from a 'trusted' source and erroneously install it — but note that the Trojan can't do any actual damage to your phone, though it can damage your phone bill from the MMS it sends. CommWarrior has been seen in the wild sporadically since the beginning of the year, but contains a sleep function that allows it to lie dormant for an undetermined period of time, which explains why it hasn't yet hit peak distribution. Yet another reason we may not have seen much of it is that it can't tell the difference between landline phones and cellphones, making CommWarrior a pretty dumb smartphone virus.
