Viruses may be dialing in to infect your ‘smart phone’
PC users have battled file-stealing, computer-crashing worms and viruses for years, but now the cyberwar may be shifting to a new front — to “smart phones,” which combine a cell phone with PC-like powers.
A group of Eastern European virus writers recently unveiled a sample of a virus that can spread from one mobile phone to another over a short-range wireless connection.
The worm is harmless, but it could pave the way for a new generation of bugs that may prove as troublesome as PC worms, security experts said.
“We are going to start seeing this type of activity,” said Alfred Huger, senior director of engineering for Symantec Corp., a Cupertino, Calif., maker of anti-virus software. “It won’t be epidemic in the short term, but it certainly won’t be hard for hackers to create worms that delete information stored on your phone and pose a range of threats.”
Such a new strain of viruses could potentially cause cell phones to place calls on their own, running up big long-distance bills, other experts said. Infected devices could also be used to send unwanted e-mail, or spam, and also provide a gateway into corporate networks when a phone is connected to a PC to “sync,” or share and update phone numbers and schedules.
There hasn’t been a worm that attacks basic cell phones, and experts said that was unlikely, though not impossible.
‘Wired’ kids seem to excel
Good news for wired families: Computers boost preschoolers’ intelligence, according to a new study published in the June issue of the Pediatrics medical journal.
Children with ready access to computers scored an average of 12 points higher on IQ tests than their unwired peers. An even more dramatic contrast appeared in testing motor skills: The wired youngsters scored twice as high.
But the study found a catch: Kids who use a computer for long stretches every day turn out to be less prepared for kindergarten — in terms of social skills and motivation — than those whose parents enforce some kind of moderation.
Web an important source for purchases
The Internet is one of the most important sources of information for people deciding whether to buy expensive items, says a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by the consumer service portal Reply.
According to a poll of 2,245, the Web is a more popular source than referrals by parents, friends, professionals, news articles and clergy.
New networking option
External hard drives need no longer be tethered to a single computer.
A new product from Linksys allows such devices, which are commonly used as supplemental or backup computer storage, to be wirelessly connected to a home network, so multiple users can tap into the databank like a central library.
The $99 Linksys Network Storage Link serves as a bridge between any external hard drive with a USB port and a router that is part of a wired or wireless network.