The first worm to infect the cell phone iPhone, Apple, was found to spread in Australia. Experts fear to see more attacks in the future.
The program changes the traditional wallpaper of the iPhone by a picture of Rick Astley, an English singer of the 80s, with the message "ikee will never abandon you."
The worm, known as ikee concerns only unlocked phones (or jail broken), in which the user has deleted the Apple protection mechanisms to allow the device to run any software.
Experts say the worm is not harmful, but that might appear more malicious variants.
"The virus writer has published the full source code of the four existing variants of the worm," wrote Mikko Hypponen of F-Secure, a security company.
"This means that soon there will be more viruses that could have a load more unpleasant than just changing the wallpaper," he added.
Risks
"Ikee" until now has circulated only in Australia, home to Ashley Town, who said he created the worm for discussion the issue of security.
The virus can be eliminated by changing the phone password and deleting some files.
Some estimates suggest up to 10% of all iPhones and iPod Touch are operating under the mode "unlocked".
This practice can install applications that have not been approved by Apple.
For Graham Cluley, from security firm Sophos, "telephone users may rush (...) to increase functionality that Apple may have denied it, but if they do not care also run the risk that your iPhone will become the target of a hacker ".
"My prediction is that we may see more attacks like this in the future," added Cluley.
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