We thought it was annoying for telemarketers to harass you on your cell phone - now we have to worry about downloading an infected file to our precious Blackberry, Treo, or other data capable phone. After the first known virus broke out in 2004 and infected a small number of Bluetooth enabled phones, news hit; cell phone viruses seem to be something to worry about in the near future. Though at the present they cannot do very much damage nor spread very far, they are on the rise.

The cell phone virus is basically the same as a computer virus, but whereas in the computers case they spread through internet downloads and email attachments a cell phone virus can spread through MMS attachments, Bluetooth transfers and via internet downloads. Phone to Phone viruses are also emerging. The infected files are usually disguised by applications like games, add-on functionalities, free stuff and of course pornography. Only smart phones with data capabilities are at risk. The Commwarrior virus arrived on the scene in January 2005 and is the first cell phone virus to effectively spread through an entire company via Bluetooth. Other viruses on the scene include the Cabir, Skulls, Locknut and Fontal. So, remember to just be smart; never open anything if you don't know what it is, haven't requested it or have any suspicions. Some steps you can take to decrease your chances of installing a virus are Turn off Bluetooth discoverable mode and set your phone to "hidden" so other phones can't detect it and send it the virus. Check security updates to learn about filenames you should keep an eye out for.