Hmmm, my phone wants me to play Texas Hold ’em?
New virus hits mobile phones – Technology – www.smh.com.au
A new mobile phone virus – the first of its kind – has started spreading via messages containing photos and sounds.
The Commwarrior.A virus – which is considered a threat to mobile phones around the world – spreads by sending multimedia messages (MMS) to everyone on a user’s phone book. If the user doesn’t click and dowload the message the virus won’t spread.
The virus, which data security firms think may have started in Russia, spreads via Bluetooth wireless connections with other devices.
Mobile phones are a security problem. Use a landline if you can. Wireless is great for TV broadcasting, but look at what the networks have invested. I don’t even talk on a cell phone. People who use cell phones shouldn’t complain when things go wrong. The whole system is built around billing, not security. If the mobile phones were secure, most people could not afford them. If you want to use a mobile phone, that’s up to you. I think it is crazy to send credit card or any financial data with a mobile phone. M-Commerce is the ability to transact with anything and anyone, anytime, and anywhere. Cash-free, card-free, hands-free transactions are a pipe dream. Maybe I’m being foolish, but I’ll stick with the cash, cards and hands. M-Commerce has to deal with the new problem of finding location dependent data. Your mobile phone will know where you are, even if you don’t. Learn to read a map and use a compass. Lost data and lost people are a problem and then the battery goes dead. They can’t hack gravity and a wireless compass. 15 minutes = ¼ of 60 minutes = ¼ of a degree.
http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/manual/mapcompass.shtml
Jim, you are living in the dark ages. I have found it incredibly useful to pull up a map on my PDA while out on the road. Here’s the kicker, I can get any map in the US (and most parts of the world.) It is not reasonable to carry all that with you. I can pull up phone numbers and addresses of places I’d like to visit that are nearby. I have a navigation system in my Acura TL that lets me find nearby gas stations and restaurants. That’s something that is very difficult when traveling in an unfamiliar area. That doesn’t mean paper maps are useless, it just means they are not as useful as my PDA.
Regarding, m-commerce, I find it quite amusing that you find credit cards ok but m-commerce is bad. Do you realize that all that is needed for most credit card transactions is your number? Signatures are a joke. Here’s an experiment, try signing your next credit card receipt “mickey mouse” and see what happens. Mobile commerce has potential, but like any new technology requires caution to ensure security.
Complexity is the enemy of security, but that doesn’t mean we should throw the baby out with the bath water. It was inevitable that as cell phones got more sophisticated, they would become targets for viruses. Ok. That does not mean we should throw away cell phones. It means we should find solutions that protect them.