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Is it hype or should we worry? Nick Hunn, CTO of Ezurio Ltd – one of the world’s leading developers of Bluetooth solutions, explains the facts in a new white paper entitled “Mobile phone viruses – just what the network operators want?” (www.ezurio.com/documents/mobile_viruses.pdf). It explains what a Bluetooth virus is and how to prevent catching one. It also addresses the worrying fact that their appearance may even be seen as an advantage by some network operators.

Ezurio’s paper questions the approach that is being taken by network operators and phone manufacturers. At least one phone manufacturer is using the phrase “Infect your friends” as part of their current sales campaign. Drawing on their experience of the mobile industry, Ezurio discusses what effect a cavalier approach to phone viruses may have on the future direction of handset usage and the network operators’ continuing acceptance of Bluetooth.

Given the current distaste for Bluetooth that operators like Verizon are exhibiting, there is a real danger that some may even see mobile viruses as an opportunity to turn back the clock, disabling Bluetooth and returning to their preferred but discredited model of the phone and network as a walled garden. This paper from Ezurio explains the folly of that approach, emphasises the inherent safety of Bluetooth and shows how the industry can address the situation.

Mobile viruses are rapidly growing their own folklore, such as the recent apocryphal tale of a Lexus being infected by a Symbian phone. Decipher the hyperbole and separate fiction from fact by reading “Mobile phone viruses – just what the network operators want?” at www.ezurio.com/documents/mobile_viruses.pdf.