128-bit encryption and anti-virus software
IT managers who are responsible for more than a couple PDAs will need to go beyond basic encryption and storage. Certicom's MovianCrypt uses the128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to encrypt and decrypt data on the fly. According to Certicom, one advantage of its software is that when you create a password, a key is generated; during synchronization, the password is not transferred to your PC, where it could be accessed.
Another corporate-level security application is Pointsec for Palm OS and Pocket PC. In addition to offering authentication for the entire contents of the Palm, Pointsec also prevents access to passwords during synchronisation, or infrared transfer, and demands authentication when the cradle's hotsync button is pressed. The product also includes PointSafe, an application that provides a separate encrypted area for personal information.
Anti-virus software
Your corporate data also could be compromised by a virus, Trojan horse, or other infection. Luckily, at this point, your chance of catching a PDA-specific infection is very low. While a few viruses for PDAs have actually been created, there are none currently in the wild. For example, there is no record that the Palm.Liberty.A Trojan horse, which was discovered in August 2000, ever actually affected any users; the same goes for Palm.Phage.Dropper, which overwrites all installed Palm OS applications.
"I would say at this point, the threat is fairly minor," agrees Carey Nachenberg, chief researcher at Symantec Security Response. However, he also thinks that PDA viruses may begin propagating soon. "As more of these devices have network capabilities and are connected, I think we will see a surge in the number of infections."
Using the philosophy of one ounce of prevention, some anti-virus software vendors are selling applications for PDAs, such as McAfee VirusScan Wireless (for both Palm OS devices and Pocket PCs), Symantec AntiVirus for Palm OS, F-Secure Anti-Virus for Palm OS, and F-Secure Anti-Virus for Pocket PC. In all cases, the software allows automatic scanning for viruses during synchronisation. In addition, McAfee and Symantec offer on-device scanning for Palm OS devices (for any viruses that may be transmitted from PDA to PDA), while F-Secure offers it for both types.
