Cellphone users at risk from new virus
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

PARIS, JUNE 7: A leading Finnish anti-virus software group has said it had identified a new strain of computer virus that could disrupt e-mail communications sent by mobile phone users.

F-Secure said Tuesday that the virus, baptised VBS/Timofonica, was actually a "worm", an application that created new text messages on individual mobile phones, clogging but not destroying entire systems and data.

However, the worm, of unknown origin, could open the door for the spread of viruses within mobile phone networks and via World Access Protocol (WAP) services that make it possible for mobile phone users to connect to the Internet.

The huge success of the worldwide mobile phone system makes it an especially attractive target for virus creators, whose aim is often to create a reputation for themselves, the company said. F-Secure says mobile phone users can download a "patch", a software programme that will help protect them from the latest virus, from the company's website at www.F-Secure.com.