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Cell phones forum: Scanning a cell phone with a PC antivirys program???

by: kjomputer November 21, 2007 1:20 AM PST

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Scanning a cell phone with a PC antivirys program???

by kjomputer - 11/21/07 1:20 AM

Is it possible to connect a cell phone to a PC and then scan it with antivirus and antispyware programs?

My husband and I both have Sony Ericsson K550i and I'm kinda worried about security.
Especially about my husband: he uses Bluetooth to exchange pictures and ringtones with his friends.
He laughed at me when I told him to be careful, but later he heard that his friend's phone got messed up with a virus, so he's now afraid too.
For me, I never used Bluetooth at all, but I regularly use Gmail app on my cell phone.

So, my questions are:
Is there a real reason to be afraid?
And:
What to do to make us safe?


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Re: antivirus for phones

by Kees Bakker Moderator - 11/21/07 1:28 AM

In Reply to: Scanning a cell phone with a PC antivirys program??? by kjomputer

Good question. Alas, the normal antivirus programs for PC's don't work for phones.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=antivirus+phone shows some protection programs specifically designed for ones. Most phones don't run Windows (although some have a versions called Windows CE), and different makers use different OS'es in stead of Windows, so your choice has to be specifically suited for Sony Ericsson phones. I didn't look at the results, but it's quite possible you find something.

It would be interesting to hear your experiences, so please keep us informed.

Kees


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Just as I thought...

by kjomputer - 11/21/07 2:15 AM

In Reply to: Re: antivirus for phones by Kees Bakker Moderator

Thanks for the reply.
I supposed that normal AV apps won't "understand" the phone, just wanted it confirmed. wink

However, I did find something based on your link:
http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071020221857AAFvrCv
This guy says that there are no viruses nor anti-virus programs for my phone.

My husband did occasionally tell me that his phone behaved strangely (opening apps out of the blue, etc), but my guess was that he never remembers to lock the keypad before putting it to his pocket wink
I did once notice that my shortcuts changed to their default settings (2 out of 4), but it happened after disconnecting it from PC, after the restart to Phone Mode.

But I would still like to hear more opinions.

Thanks,

Jelena


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