Austrian Operator ONE: offers exclusive antivirus mobile protection with F-Secure
Subscribers choosing exclusive antivirus service get first month for free
Helsinki, Finland - May 31, 2006 -- While the virus problem in the PC world is is already known, viruses are also becoming an increasing threat for Austrian mobile phone users. With new connection media coming available in recent years such as email, downloads and Bluetooth wireless technology, mobile phones have become increasingly vulnerable. According to F-Secure, there are now more than 200 mobile viruses in circulation. The research organization IDC estimates that by 2008 the market for mobile security software will grow yearly 70% to a volume of around 1 billion USD.
Mobile phones with open operating systems like Symbian and Windows, which represent half of the Austrian market for mobile models, are particularly at risk. Mobile viruses are able to propagate through MMS or Bluetooth using techniques that fool the recipient, often with the text and sender known to the receiver. The damage caused by mobile viruses so far extends from the loss of data to damaging the device hardware.
The most notorious viruses, for example, CommWarrior have never broken through into the ONE network. All MMS messages containing viruses which are sent through the ONE network or get into ONEs network, are automatically blocked. This measure does not, however, replace the need for using antivirus software in the device because network scanning only filters the most common viruses. In co-operation with F-Secure, the leading provider of mobile securilty software, ONE will start to offer its subscribers F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus for mobile devices exclusively in Austria.
ONE CEO Michael Fried said: Experts predict that mobile viruses will develop at a very rapid pace just like PC viruses and within a short time they will pose a serious problem for our customers. We would like to offer our customers true added value with this extensive measure. Offering the F-Secure solution is truly effective protection that we as the only Austrian carrier are offering to our customers. We are delighted that ONE has selected F-Secure to deliver its mobile antivirus service to its millions of customers, says Pekka Kuusela, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing Director at F-Secure. We truly believe in the importance of acting now to institute protection for the growing mobile threat and ONEs forward thinking and groundbreaking approach will undoubtedly benefit all its customers in Austria, he added.
ONE customers are able to download the software either from ONEs mobile portal or by visiting the customer service section under www.one.at where customers can send F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus with an SMS message directly onto their mobile devices. After downloading the software, customers can easily install the solution onto their Smartphone/PDA. After the end of the first free trial-month customers receive a message on their device displays. It allows customer to easily continue the trial as a subscription service. After accepting the payable antivirus service, customers will receive a monthly Premium-SMS message which costs 2 per month and is added to the customers phone bill. Unsubscribing from the service is possible at any time with a one month period of notice.
ONE advises its customers to use Bluetooth only when needed and to deactivate the option visible to other devices if the feature is not needed. If a mobile device is being attacked with a Bluetooth virus the user should move away from the potential attacker. Users should also avoid downloading software from untrusted sources and installing it onto their devices. Downloading a mobile antivirus software such as F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus is recommended in any case. For more information go to: http://www.one.at/handy-virenschutz
About F-Secure Corporation
F-Secure Corporation protects consumers and businesses against computer viruses and other threats from the Internet and mobile networks. We want to be the most reliable provider of security services in the market. One way to demonstrate this is the speed of our response. According to independent studies in 2004 and 2005 our response time to new threats is significantly faster than our major competitors. Our award-winning solutions are available for workstations, gateways, servers and mobile phones. They include antivirus and desktop firewall with intrusion prevention, antispam and antispyware solutions, as well as network control solutions for Internet Service Providers. Founded in 1988, F-Secure has been listed on the Helsinki Exchanges since 1999, and has been consistently growing faster than all its publicly listed competitors. F-Secure headquarters are in Helsinki, Finland, and we have regional offices around the world. F-Secure protection is also available as a service through major ISPs, such as Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, PCCW and Charter Communications. F-Secure is the global market leader in mobile phone protection provided through mobile operators, such as T-Mobile and Swisscom and mobile handset manufacturers such as Nokia. The latest real-time virus threat scenario news are available at the F-Secure Data Security Lab weblog at http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/
About ONE
In October 1998, the communications company ONE (ONE GmbH) launched Austrias only nationwide GSM-1800 mobile telephony network. At the end of September 2005, ONE had about 900 employees and approximately 1.7 million network customers. ONE has placed its focus on innovative products and services. ONE is the only mobile telephony operator in Austria to offer a free voicemail box, and with ABS it offers the first real cost control service for private post-paid customers as well as in the business sector with the private mobile branch exchange, which forms a more flexible and inexpensive alternative to the fixed line. Since 2004 ONE has been focusing on music and is the pioneer when it comes to downloading musical pieces in full length at www.ladezone.at. With LoungeFM ONE presents the first mobile digital radio worldwide exclusively for UMTS-enabled handsets. ONE has a population coverage of 98% as well as a banking licence for its 100% subsidiary ONE Bank GmbH forming the basis of mobile payment applications. Turnover in 2004 amounted to 705 million. By the end of 2004, the company had invested a total of app. 1.81 billion. ONE is owned by the German E.ON (50.10%), the Norwegian Telenor (17.45%), the French Orange (17.45%) and the Danish TDC (15%).
Source: F-Secure
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