Bluetooth Phone Virus Hits U.S.

By George Agathos
Photo & Technology Editor

Just when we thought Microsoft was our biggest problem, the world's very first mobile phone virus has made its way to the United States. The first case was reported at a phone store in California.

The virus spreads through the bluetooth module in Nokia phones running the Symbian Series 60 operating system (in the California case, the models were Nokia 6600's). In this way it is much more personal than any other electronic virus, because it spreads through proximity almost like its biological counterparts. Bluetooth only has a range of about 40 feet in normal conditions, but has come under fire because of its vulnerability.

Of course, as was the case for most computer viruses and other harmful packages, there is a line of defense- the virus requires you to "accept" it by pushing a button. Unfortunately, it hasn't been proven to work in other situations ("Hey, this e-mail says I won a prize!") and we shouldn't expect this to be any different. The good thing is that this virus is non-destructive- it merely uses up your battery faster because it is constantly trying to transmit itself- but don't count on being so lucky in the future.