Business practice has changed considerably over the last decade.  With more advanced and affordable technology available and advances in mobile communications, the amount of mobile communications has increased immensely and this seems set to increase in years to come.  Of course all businesses are very aware of security issues with mobile technology as far as computers and laptops are concerned.

Virtually no one uses a laptop for personal use, let alone for business use, that does not have anti-virus programs and all the necessary software to prevent infiltration where possible.  So it seems strange that the vast majority of mobile phones, smart phones and pocket PCs have no security or mobile antivirus software.  We simply do not think about them in the same way as we think about a laptop or PC, but they are just as vulnerable.

In order to protect your business interests all mobile technology that your staff may use off premises should be secure.   From mobile phones upwards you need to start thinking about security.  Getting mobile antitheft software on the company mobiles means they can not only be blocked, but they can also be wiped.  You can have mobile antivirus on phones and pocket PCs together with mobile antispam and a host of other security options.

UMU Global is one of the UK specialists in mobile security and we offer everything a business user could need.  Getting security for your business on the move is far less expensive than you may anticipate and the cost of losing information is high.

Now that the dust has settled, perhaps it is time to take a look at some of the more significant announcements at Mobile World Congress.

The biggest announcement at the show was the launch of Windows Phone 7 Series. Microsoft emphasised the consumer features of the platform, particularly its social networking and content capabilities. It seems to have good integration with popular social networking sites. It still contains all of the business features from previous versions of Windows Mobile plus some significant enhancements, but Microsoft were playing down this side of the product. They clearly hope that emphasising the consumer features will help them to compete against iPhone and Android. However, we won’t see the first handsets using this new operating system until the final quarter of the year.

Will Windows Phone 7 Series succeed? It is too early to tell. Microsoft were attracting huge crowds at the show – most of the time it seemed to be the most crowded stand. That doesn’t necessarily translate into success. After years of declining market share Microsoft badly need to get back into the game.

Google didn’t exhibit at MWC, confining their presence to a couple of hospitality suites. They didn’t make any significant announcements about Android but their CEO unveiled a new Google mantra – “Mobile First”. The idea is to put mobile at the heart of Google’s future. A number of new handsets were announced and the general perception remains that this is the platform with momentum at the moment.

Symbian released a video showing the S^3 user interface which is a major shift towards finger friendly operations. The first handsets with this UI are expected to appear in the third quarter of 2010. Some bad news for Symbian came from LG who confirmed that they will not be producing any more Symbian devices. Future handsets from LG will be based on Android or Windows.

Samsung announced their own operating system for smartphones. It is called bada and Samsung are trying to get application developers to provide apps for it. However, Samsung also said they are committed to supporting other operating systems including Android, Windows and LiMo (a Linux-based platform). It seems unlikely that bada will become a major player.

Finally on the platform front, Nokia and Intel announced a merger of their Linux platform to produce MeeGo. The goal is to create a unified Linux-based platform for high end devices including netbooks, in-vehicle infotainment systems and so on. Nokia hinted that up to 20% of their devices could be using MeeGo by 2011 but they have denied that this is a move away from Symbian.

The other major announcement at MWC was from the Wholesale Applications Community. This is a consortium of 15 of the largest mobile operators with over 3 billion customers between them. They want to set up an app store catering for all platforms to compete with the app stores currently offered by Apple. Nokia, etc. They also want to provide a way for developers to create applications that will run on multiple platforms. There are some obvious problems here. The iPhone will only install apps that are purchased from Apple’s app store. Windows Phone 7 Series will only install apps from Microsoft’s app store. And the fundamental differences between platforms will make it difficult to provide a way to develop cross-platform applications. However, these operators have a lot of clout so maybe they will be able to change the mobile world.

All in all it was a fascinating show.  As ever, I ended every day with aching feet and an aching back but it was very worthwhile, especially the contacts we managed to make. Watch this space!

Our mobile devices are crucial to us in our personal lives and business, and mobile viruses can do irreparable harm to any mobile. You could have your entire address book erased or stolen to be used fraudulently, or hackers getting access to your private and very sensitive information. This could be anything from your bank details, personal email and private text messages to removing funds from your bank account. Or a mobile virus can simply shut your mobile phone, your pocket PC, Symbian device or PDA down – basically killing it.

Mobile antivirus and common sense

It makes good sense to keep up to date with mobile virus information; how they disguise themselves and what to be on the lookout for. That however is simply not good enough to keep your mobile devices free from attempts to infiltrate your operating system. Your goal should be to keep all forms of mobile viruses off your devices, as that is the only effective protection. That is exactly what we offer you at UMU Global.

We offer mobile antivirus solutions that have been specifically created for smartphones that run on Windows Mobile. We also have mobile antivirus solutions for Symbian devices that operate with Symbian S60, as well as mobile antivirus solutions for pocket PCs and PDA devices.

It is simply not worth the risk to wait until your mobile devices have become infected, and then to try to save the day. Criminals have no conscience; they do not care if you stand to lose a great deal. The onus rests upon yourself to protect your mobiles with antivirus solutions.