Shiny Doom Forum

[Trool]

someone just wrote the first virus for a mobile phone, it uses bluetooth to propogate itself through and jump from phone to phone....

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9860240%255E2,00.html
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The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, isn't 'Eureka!' but rather 'hmm....that's funny.'

--Isaac Asimov

[rklee]

Do new nokia phones have bluetooth on all the time? The ericsson's u have to telll it to turn on bluetooth so it doesn't waste power... Seems like if the phone's bluetooth is shut off... this can be limited greatly.
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"My Heart Is In the Work" - Andrew Carnegie

[Trool]

i would imagine so, i think the group that released the virus said they just wanted to demonstrate that nothing is safe from viruses....

it's true that u can limit it with turning blue tooth off, but i'm not sure how hard it would be for the virus to turn it right bak on or maybe even just dial in somewhere...it depends on how much of everything is hardware vs. software.....
_________________
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, isn't 'Eureka!' but rather 'hmm....that's funny.'

--Isaac Asimov

[Jastermereel]

Wouldn't the virus have to be on the phone to turn the bluetooth back on?......Isn't that like the idea that a virus could come into your house and plug a LAN cable into a wall so that it might get in?

[Trool]

i think it depends how blue tooth control was implemented on the phone, i have no clue what is usual, but there r laptops that implement volume control as purely software sollution, and there are ones where volume control is a hardware switch and independant of software, usualy by making something totaly software u can do many many more cool things with it. + with phones if u make bluetooth software only then u don't have to put an extra button on the phone, but make it a software menu option, witch means the virus depending on how secure that option is, might be able to turn the bluetooth on. It might just from phone to phone using bluetooth, but it might also come as a bug when someone downloads a new app for the phone, or pics, or ringtones. phones r becoming more and more mini computer devices with extendable software witch means they r more vulrnable. The more features ppl get on phones the more likely there will be a security hole, as with any software/hardware system the more complex the more bugs.
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The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, isn't 'Eureka!' but rather 'hmm....that's funny.'

--Isaac Asimov

[Jastermereel]

But still...if the bluetooth is off...i still don't see how something could turn it on using the bluetooth connection.........programs that use software controlled volume are part of the system...but i can't controll the volume through telekinesis.........then again...all the analogies in the world mean nothing if the design and security of the phone is crap......guess we'll have to wait and see...