15 January 2010

The growing threat of malware to mobile phones is once again making front page news http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8459898.stm. Swapi.B, also known as RedBrowser, is code named for ‘let me dial premium numbers off your phone and let you pay for them’, and has surfaced as a Trojan dialler that infects the mobile, causing huge phone bills.

Many diallers, including Swapi.B, are contracted from porn sites which disguise themselves as software, video clips or helper programs and are sent to the phone via a text. This is how mobile malware can just instantly steal from you by making premium-rate calls or messages.

Whilst this threat is currently on the increase, there is a way to fight it and to protect yourself. Skelmersdale-based UMU offers a mobile security package that effectively deals with threats to your mobile by processing the malware and zapping it to oblivion.

CTO Peter Harrison said the increasing threat to mobile phones has enabled UMU to grow to international status, selling it’s product worldwide. “Many people go to extreme lengths to protect the data on their PC’s or laptops and yet leave the same data on their smartphones completely vulnerable.”