Got worms?

The mobile industry wanted its handsets to have all the capabilities of desktop computers, and while there's a ways to go, these handsets might be starting to pick up one of the more irritating capabilities of computers connected to the Internet — a propensity to catch viruses. The appearance of the Cabir worm on smartphones sent the wireless industry into crisis management mode for a few days last month, at least until it was clear that the virus only struck smartphones with the Symbian operating system and Bluetooth connectivity. Customers might still be worried, however. For a virus that hit no more than a few hundred users, the Cabir worm certainly garnered enough TV news airtime. That's partly because the virus and security experts who stand to make money off the paranoia surrounding viruses did a good job of encouraging fear. A few acted as though it were highly fatal to smartphones (it was bothersome more than anything), and that anyone with a smartphone could catch it (but there are so few smartphone owners, especially with Bluetooth capability, that a user might have to roam for days to find another victim). All the attention the worm has been getting is reminiscent of the general panic that greeted one of the original computer viruses — Michaelangelo — in 1992. Though computer viruses had been around for six to eight years before Michaelangelo, its romantic name and some energetic marketing by a then-embryonic anti-virus community turned this worm into a worldwide media event. Michaelangelo, like the Cabir worm, didn't live up to its billing. While the Cabir worm was the first mobile virus, it shouldn't really be seen as shocking development. The mobile Internet market stands at about the same stage that the desktop Internet market was at in 1992. That means a lot more mobile Web usage is on the way, along with more virus threats. We've learned that we can't stop their creation, but we can minimize their spread and create patches and fixes. Still, the reaction of mobile carriers has been disconcerting. While they put the worm in perspective, some also reacted with reasons why viruses can't infiltrate their networks. As we've learned, that's the best way to invite the problem to your doorstep.