Mobile Viruses - The Stronger Foes

Hi there! 

You have probably heard of a plethora of antiviruses sufficient enough to keep the Corona virus at bay. One such antivirus is the Astrazeneca vaccine that is widely available, and for free. Why not get a jab at the nearest designated health facility? You may not believe it, but we need you around. For taxes. 

See, when I was young, I wanted to become a doctor. So far, not so good. Here's the flipside though, I still get to talk about viruses, albeit computer viruses. A virus is a type of malicious software (malware) that upon execution, acts to harm your computer by damaging programs, compromising their functionality, and more broadly, doing anything it is designed to do by its creator. A virus may for example, delete your files, replicate and spread itself to slow down system activities and services, and disrupt the overall performance of your computer. No wonder you hear comments over the association between a slowing machine and the presence of computer viruses. There you go, computer viruses 101 covered. For free. 

While much is known about computer viruses, little is known of the next most popular viruses; mobile viruses. These are viruses that target mobile devices running on android and iPhone gadgets. These viruses are subtler in nature, and are meant to exist within your device's ecosystem without causing too much havoc least you call 911. Many types of mobile viruses exist, including adware, worms, trojan horse, and spyware. These viruses function in the same way as their computer cahoots, only that they are meant for mobile devices. Adware will deliver annoying advertisements, including a product you dreamt about last night. Worms will replicate profusely to render your device slower than an intoxicated tortoise. A trojan horse, if you have have watched the movie troy, is that type of virus which pretends to be legitimate while it will in fact, implement nefarious intentions once it gains your trust. Lastly, a spyware will simply spy on your device to acquire information about your active activities, history, location, and so on. 

One such spyware is the Pegasus, whose capabilities will scare you enough to acquire a feature phone (katululu). See, this spyware can read your text messages, listen to your calls, track your location, harvest your passwords, access your camera and microphone, and query so much more on your phone.  

Obviously, viruses, more so mobile viruses, have become popular due to users' inability to identify and protect themselves. Creators of such viruses are well aware of the masses' ignorance and naivety; that smartphones are safe and secure by default, probably due to their size and limited functionality. Well, mobile devices have these days become more powerful and versatile enough to deliver  many features and functionalities. Anything doable with a traditional computer or laptop can be done by a standard android or iPhone gadget. The only thing a mobile device won't do is bother you with its size and weight. All the improvements have opened many avenues for mobile virus attacks. It will only be fair that you equip yourselves with ways to keep bad actors out of your phone. You don't have to worry that Big Brother is monitoring your move every time you make a call or teach your cat how to use TikTok. Lucky enough, in my next article, I will show you how to proactively defend against mobile viruses. Stay tuned!