ONE exclusively offers its customers in Austria F-Secure antivirus software|Free for the first month| About 200 mobile viruses currently in circulation
Viruses have been an issue for computers for a long time and are now becoming a constantly increasing threat for Austrian mobile phones. With new connection channels such as e e-mail, messaging downloads and Bluetooth, mobile phones have become more and more vulnerable over the past few years. According to a recently published analysis by the antivirus software specialist F-Secure Corporation about 200 mobile viruses are currently in circulation. According to estimates by the research company IDC, the market for security software for mobile phones will increase by 70% by the year 2008 to a volume of roughly 1 billion US dollars. Mobile phones with open operating systems such as Symbian and Windows Mobile, which applies to about 50% of handset models popular on the Austrian market, are particularly vulnerable. Mobile phone viruses may be spread by MMS or Bluetooth and in most cases cannot be recognised by the recipient as both text and sender of the message have been named. The damage caused by mobile viruses range from losing data to damaging the handset itself.
More protection and service for ONE customers
The most common viruses such as the so-called CommWarrior have not stood any chance in the ONE network to date. All virus-infected MMS, which are sent via the ONE network or reach the ONE network are blocked automatically. However, this measure cannot replace antivirus software on the mobile phone as only the most common viruses are filtered at the moment. In cooperation with F-Secure, the leading provider of security software for mobile phones, ONE exclusively offers the mobile phone antivirus protection “F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus” in Austria to its post-paid customers“.
ONE CCO Michael Fried:“Experts predict that mobile viruses will develop as fast as PC viruses and form a serious problem for all mobile telephony customers within a short period of time. We would like to offer our customers a significant added value by fully assisting them in protecting themselves against potential threats. Ordering the F-Secure Software forms effective protection, which we are the only operators in Austria to provide to our customers. “
“We are delighted that ONE has selected mobile F-Secure antivirus software for its customers, “, says F-Secure President and CEO Risto Siilasmaa, “We believe it is necessary to act now in order to offer protection from this constantly growing mobile threat. ONE customers will undoubtedly benefit from ONE’s progressive and exemplary vision. “
More security
ONE customers can either download the software from the mobile ONE Portal or send the application link by SMS from the customer service section at www.one.at directly to their mobile device. Having downloaded the software the customer simply installs it on his/her handset/ Smartphone/ PDA. Once the free month expires, customers are informed via their handset display. ONE customers can conveniently register to continue this service which they have to pay for from then on. With this registration post-paid customers are charged € 2 per month for a premium SMS. This service may be discontinued any time and becomes effective once the current month is over.
More precautionary measures
ONE advises its customers to activate Bluetooth only when they actually need it and visibly deactivate this option for other devices when not needed. In case a mobile device is attacked by a Bluetooth virus, the owner of the device should move away from the potential attacker. Moreover, ONE advises its customers not to download software from unknown sources onto their mobile devices. In any case, downloading the F-Secure antivirus software may be highly recommended. For more information, please refer to www.one.at/handyvirenschutz.
About F-Secure Corporation
F-Secure Corporation protects consumers and businesses against computer viruses and other threats from the Internet and mobile networks. We want to be the most reliable provider of security services in the market. One way to demonstrate this is the speed of our response. According to independent studies in 2004 and 2005 our response time to new threats is significantly faster than our major competitors. Our award-winning solutions are available for workstations, gateways, servers and mobile phones. They include antivirus and desktop firewall with intrusion prevention, antispam and antispyware solutions, as well as network control solutions for Internet Service Providers. Founded in 1988, F-Secure has been listed on the Helsinki Exchanges since 1999, and has been consistently growing faster than all its publicly listed competitors. F-Secure headquarters are in Helsinki, Finland, and we have regional offices around the world. F-Secure protection is also available as a service through major ISPs, such as Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, PCCW and Charter Communications. F-Secure is the global market leader in mobile phone protection provided through mobile operators, such as T-Mobile and Swisscom and mobile handset manufacturers such as Nokia. The latest real-time virus threat scenario news are available at the F-Secure Data Security Lab weblog at http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/
Contact details:
Anton von Troyer, Marketing Manager Consumer programs, mobile: +358 (0)40 5808 670