There is a strain of cell phone virus called CommWarrior that was unique for its ability to replicate itself through Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS), text messages that include a picture, video or audio file and are sent via email. Prior to the launch of the CommWarrior virus in 2005, cell phone viruses were transmitted through messages sent via Bluetooth and were confined to relatively small areas and few devices.
Manual Removal of the CommWarrior Virus
If you have a variant of the CommWarrior virus, there is a manual fix that you can perform to clean your phone. Depending on your phone model, check your user manual to find out how to access and use the Application Manager, or download a third party application manager tool. Open the list of running applications and select the CommWarrior entry. Highlight the entry and choose to terminate and cancel the program. You can also remove the stopped application by downloading a file explorer then removing any CommWarrior associated entries. There is also an antivirus program designed specifically for this virus that you can download and run on your phone.
Take Reasonable Precautions Against Cell Phone Viruses
Other cell phone viruses are transmitted through MMS messages via Bluetooth. These messages are less dangerous because they can only reach a smaller number of devices in a small area. It is also important to follow the same rules with your cell phone as you do with your computer: don’t download pirated or unconfirmed programs, and be careful when opening unknown attachments, especially those that look like spam.
Flash - Format - Your Cell Phone
If you can’t get the virus off your cell phone with an antivirus program, you can also format your cell phone. Flashing your cell phone will have the same results as reformatting your computer and will remove all of your saved information, so be sure to back up or record all your information. Check in your user manual to find the instructions to flash your cell phone model, also called a factory reset.
