Trend Micro Tests Smartphone Antivirus

Last month, in a proof of concept, the first smartphone worm wiggled its way onto phones running the Symbian operating system. The worm -- named Cabir by Kaspersky -- has not yet been found in the wild, but has still managed to catch the attention of antivirus vendors.

Cabir exploited a serious flaw in the Bluetooth wireless standard that permitted the worm to propagate itself onto all Symbian phones that were within range. Symbian smartphones are set with a high degree of trust for other Symbian-based devices, due largely to Symbian's historically malware-free atmosphere.

In the wake of last month's incident and resulting higher demand for mobile antivirus solutions, Trend Micro is seeking beta testers for its new Mobile Protect software for Microsoft Smartphone 2003.

Mobile Protect will be positioned as an antivirus and SMS spam detection solution available to service providers, enterprises and end users. Features include: real-time, on access and on demand scanning; SMS whitelists and blacklists; the option for automatic SMS alerts to receive updated patterns; event logging; and a flexible installation.

The beta program will run from August 15 through September 25, 2004. Customers who already own a smart phone can apply for the beta by sending an e-mail to Trend Micro.