Submitted by Paul McNamara on Mon, 06/25/2007 - 8:18am.
Or is this just a case of a teenage prank taken way too far? Either way, it's one weird story. ... (Update: My colleague Ellen Messmer asks an expert.)
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 7:44am.
It is funny that we never learn. The mainstream computer system of the 90's (windows) was a system with no idea of user/administrative separation. Today we still live in a world full of viruses and exploits because of it. (And, quite honestly, most of the current windows systems are set up with users having absolute or near absolute control, just proliferating this problem).
Cell phones came into being after this lesson was learned, yet we didnt learn to separate user space from administrative space. Add to this that most popular cell phones were created using a common Symbian base system and you have a huge platform for virus proliferation.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 12:46pm.
I was wondering about the new Iphone thats coming out this Friday. It has real interenet, which might make it much more dangous for down loads. Also most phones that connect to the computer to download music. Would they be in any danger from a trajon or virus??
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 07/09/2007 - 5:58pm.
The iphone isnt the first of its kind to have access to the "real" internet. The Moto Q for example has the ability to run java apps and access html sites not just wap.
The heart of the question i presume is now that "real" net is on our phones, can our phones turn on us like our computers? Absolutely, its possible...but it takes a sophisticated programmer and for all that effort the pay off must be equal to the effort. Phones are more limited in light of the abilities of a computer and would be far less valuable in being used as a "Zombie" for remote controling.
So yes, it can happen...likely? not as much.
More valuable information is stored on computers then in phones, phreakers (phone hackers) are more likely to just mess with your phone for amusement or in the worst case hijack your service..and if you have an iphone...dont worry, who wants to hijack a 2.5G network. Its useless. .
history repeating
It is funny that we never learn. The mainstream computer system of the 90's (windows) was a system with no idea of user/administrative separation. Today we still live in a world full of viruses and exploits because of it. (And, quite honestly, most of the current windows systems are set up with users having absolute or near absolute control, just proliferating this problem).
Cell phones came into being after this lesson was learned, yet we didnt learn to separate user space from administrative space. Add to this that most popular cell phones were created using a common Symbian base system and you have a huge platform for virus proliferation.
What about Iphones??
I was wondering about the new Iphone thats coming out this Friday. It has real interenet, which might make it much more dangous for down loads. Also most phones that connect to the computer to download music. Would they be in any danger from a trajon or virus??
about iphones.
The iphone isnt the first of its kind to have access to the "real" internet. The Moto Q for example has the ability to run java apps and access html sites not just wap.
The heart of the question i presume is now that "real" net is on our phones, can our phones turn on us like our computers? Absolutely, its possible...but it takes a sophisticated programmer and for all that effort the pay off must be equal to the effort. Phones are more limited in light of the abilities of a computer and would be far less valuable in being used as a "Zombie" for remote controling.
So yes, it can happen...likely? not as much.
More valuable information is stored on computers then in phones, phreakers (phone hackers) are more likely to just mess with your phone for amusement or in the worst case hijack your service..and if you have an iphone...dont worry, who wants to hijack a 2.5G network. Its useless. .
A couple of obvious questions
Obvious questions to all of this are how did Fox find out about it, and who has the most to gain by instilling this fear anyway?