Symantec launches anti-virus for Palm

Anti-virus vendor Symantec has released a beta version of its anti-virus technology for the Palm operating system.

Anti-virus vendor Symantec has released a beta version of its anti-virus technology for the Palm operating system (OS).

Symantec has launched what it called the "world's first" anti-virus technology to combat the growing threat of handheld computer viruses.

Vincent Weafer, director of the anti-virus research centre at Symantec, said: "We are developing this technology so people know it is available and that the problem is being addressed."

The technology has been designed to safeguard critical data on the Palm OS against potential attacks by computer viruses, bugs or 'Trojan horses'.

According to Ron Moritz, chief technical officer at Symantec, the proliferation of handhelds for personal and corporate business has increased the number of new security threats.

Mike Collins, security product marketing manager at IBM's management and security arm Tivoli, warned resellers to prepare to meet security threats. "Now more people have access more of the time to company information and the overall potential for harm is continually growing. Look at the recent examples of e-banking and e-retail," he said.

"The speed at which viruses can spread has increased with the advent of the internet and email. Handhelds just add a new dimension to the problem."

The growth in this kind of device is presenting the channel with new security opportunities, he said.

"Palm Pilots and handheld devices were once self-contained, but when employees start connecting them to a company's main system, that's when the problem starts.

"Services will be centered more around security problems, so now is a good opportunity for resellers to get in on the act."

Meanwhile, security vendor Network Associates' anti-virus emergency response team last week said it had discovered the Palm OS Phage virus, a particularly destructive bug that infects Palm OS applications when executed.