Nearly all of the Windows CE and Palm users surveyed did not use antivirus protection and 81 percent indicated that they were concerned about future mobile viruses that could infect their handheld devices, according to Central Command.
The survey e-mailed to 64,563 people, investigated many PC security related issues, including, the concerns and encounters with viruses and other harmful applications on handheld devices.
Central Command, a provider of PC anti-virus software and computer security services, received 3011 responses (a 4.6 percent response rate) answering a variety of questions regarding handheld devices. This large number of responses indicate a growing percentage of handheld device buyers among the traditional PC desktop users surveyed.
Of the 3011 respondents, 36 percent of the people surveyed said they currently own a handheld device, while 4 percent of those same respondents indicated that they intend to purchase a new handheld computer this Christmas season.
Central Command and its partners today released AVX for Windows CE 3.0+ and AVX for Palm OS 3.0+, anti-virus software specially designed for the Microsoft Windows CE operating system and the Palm OS.
"Even though no known viruses currently exist today that operate under Windows CE, we are very excited about the release of AVX for Windows CE because it once again demonstrates our advancements in new technologies," said Steven Sundermeier, product manager at Central Command.
AVX for Windows CE utilises the AVX plug-in technology that has been designed for multi-platform and multiprocessor architectures.
This design enables AVX for Windows CE to run a variety of platforms, including: Pocket PC, Palm-size PC, and Handheld PC Pro. ARM, MIPS, SH3, and SH4 processors are all supported.
"With the growing dependency of handheld devices worldwide, we are prepared to protect against future threats of viruses and other harmful applications that can exploit these operating systems," concluded Sundermeier.
Additionally, AVX for Palm is an anti-virus solution for the Palm V Handheld. AVX for Palm virus scans databases and locates infected databases and files and can disinfect the Palm OS from harmful or malicious applications.
