What's the Application Security of the Smartphones?
We have wide selections of mobile phones on present market as the watch mobile phone and TV mobile phone are available. The Smartphone is becoming more and more acceptable to the people. Based on the computer operating experience, the users often think that Smartphone will meet the problems of virus, malware software and horse. The developers also take it for granted that there's the field for mobile phone security software.
However, does it go the way with the computer? Do the users need the phone security software? What's the marketing direction of the software? Or how to make the developed phone application become safer? Before we answer these questions, we may have a look at the security feature of the mainstream smart phones operation systems on the market. The present mainstream systems are Symbian, Windows Mobile, RIM, Palm, iPhone and Linux. Let's give a brief introduction of them in the following.
iPhone first. If you want to install software for an iPhone, you can only search it in the apple official software shop. And the supervision of the software's function and security is very strict, though some people are dissatisfied with the locked and monopolistic behavior. For security, the users of iPhone need not worry much.
Google Android also goes the same way. The users can only install the software of official software shop. Symbian is a comparatively complicated system. There is Symbian S40, the first, second, third and fifth version of S60 and UIQ on the market. All the software installed on the third version of Symbian S60 and the versions after it should have a security certificate of Symbian authority.
Although there is no limit of official software shop for Symbian, the official security identity is enough for the S60 hi-end smartphones. You must conquer many obstacles if you want to publish normal software. You must pay 200 dollars for the developer qualification. You must pay 20 dollars for the identity to get wide application each time. Let alone the spreading of the virus.
It's easy to make malicious software. But it's impossible to install it on the phone to spread. About the first and second versions of S60, Nokia did not launch the smartphones after the N90 in 2005. As their security identity level is low, the related products are not sold on the market any more.
People can think the Palm OS has attracted the smartphone field. The recently launched Palm pre will come with the Web OS. Though there is no real model at present, it's believable that the modern OS will pay special attention to the security.
In fact, Linux is not commonly used on mobile phone, but it's always used by Motorola. And as the market share is not large, the Linux smartphones appear to be safer. There is no strict security identity limit for blackberry, specifically the software installing of RIM. Just as the Symbian S40 mentioned above, it's the risk system which is with large market share. It's all talk about the security authentication of Windows Mobile. It's defined to be high risk.
