Posted by whizkidd
This is not a news story..in fact, I might be the first one reporting this.
So far, I was not aware of an malware or virus affecting the Symbian series 60 third edition phones. (Correct me if I am wrong!) Unlike the ones that affected the earlier s60, (caribe, commwariior et all).
Last week, I had lend my N73 to one of my friends for use as he had lost his phone. I did not know what he did, but I checked my bills today and see some International calls made that amount to around 20USD. That is around 800 Indian rupees.
To check, I called the number and learnt that it was a phone sex line. Now it was time for my friend to answer. The thirteen calls were made during a period spanning two days. On an average there were 7 calls a day. Now, the thing that struck me is, going by the call records, the calls on the second day were made when I had the phone with me. I am pretty sure no one dialled the numbers. I called my buddy and asked him if he had downloaded something. He then spilled the beans informing that he did go to some adult website and installed a software (I do not recall the name).
Now, I do recall uninstalling a software when I saw these calls being made and the day I uninstalled the program, the calls stopped. (I did suspect the calls were made automatically as I know my buddy will not lie).
I suspect if this program would have been idenified as a virus/malware even if I had an antivirus suite on. Perhaps its time we start being more careful with s60 third edition as well
. I am not the kind who falls prey easliy to viruses.. even on my pc I have minimalistic protection and have never ever been infected.
Would advise folks to be a tad careful.
I am now unsure if I will get my money refunded. Or maybe contact the web site who has this program available for download.
Posted by shug
It's likely that your friend gave the application permission to access the number and at the very least left the app on some kind of automatic update not to mention the fact that he actively downloaded the said program to start with. Sneaky but probably not a virus. As the saying goes ...who needs enemies?
Posted by whizkidd
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Whatever the permission, to make a Gsm call automatically is absurd even when the user is unaware of it. It is not a "service" that i'm availing. The end user is unaware that a call has been made. Typical malware behavior. The intent was to make illegal money and they succeeded.
Posted by QVGA
moral of the story: dont jack off looking at a 2.4'' screen
Posted by whizkidd
Researched a bit more earlier today and the program indeed makes unsolicited phone calls. The program calls itself isexplayer and i have not seen this reported elsewhere. This indeed is a malware.
Posted by Guto_ViP
Im using a Kaspersky Mobile Security on my N82... I have AV, Firewall and Anti-Theft
Posted by whizkidd
I doubt if those would detect it and i'm unsure if these can prevent unsolicited phone calls. The thing is, this program does not seem to be listed anywhere..