Last updated April 12, 2019
Computer users have long been aware of the danger of viruses targeting their machines, but it seems that the virus creators may have a new target – cell phones. Hackers are apparently trying to target “smart-phones” with malware that could actually give them control of other people’s cell phones.
The newest virus around is known as “Steamy Windows”, an application which has been very popular among those who use the Google cell phone operating system, Android, and makes the cell phone screen look like it is fogged up with steam and can be cleaned off with your fingers. While the application itself is genuine, a false version has been doing the rounds, created by hackers, which is secretly filled with malicious commands.
Symantec, which released a report on the “Steamy Windows” threat last week, says that this virus is not the first and will be by no means the last attempt to attack cell phones, although the company’s primary security response manager Vikram Thakur says the sophistication of the virus is particularly worrying – and has made it disturbingly successful already. “It definitely had a lot more features than we’ve been seeing with Android threats in the last few months,” Thakur says, who points out that the “Steamy Windows” virus actually had the capacity to let the hacker steal data from the phone owner and even use the phone to send text messages at premium rates. While the current viruses are unable to actually use the phone to send calls for someone else, Thakur warns that that is probably only a matter of time.