The first virus designed for Windows Mobile devices has been found in the wild, dubbed WinCE4.Dust. When run, the program apparently does not deliver a payload but simply infects other programs on the device. The virus is also a proof-of-concept virus, as it explicitly asks the user if it can infect other files before doing so. Presumably most users will want to answer no.
Handheld or mobile phone viruses are extremely rare to date on all platforms for a number of reasons. Handhelds rarely exchange executable programs directly, compared to a desktop, and generally require user-confirmation for any data transfers. They also do not have features that make viruses and worms easier to write such as mixing code and user data in the same file or maintaining open background processes that accept network connections. As a result, there are fewer points of entry for viruses and other malware than on a Windows PC.
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