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Kaspersky has detected what appears to be the very first SMS Trojan attacking Android smartphones. The malicious program called Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a, has been reported to have attacked a number of Android phones.

The Trojan disguises itself as a harmless media player application send via SMS. When the SMS is opened, users are prompted to install a 13KB file. Once installed the program will tell the compromised Android device to send text messages to premium SMS services without the owner’s knowledge. As a result, if your phone has been infiltrated, get ready for a huge text bill at the end of the month.

As with such malwares, prevention is the best measure. If you’ve received SMS from unknown sources with links or attachments, don’t do anything and just IGNORE.

Check out the full report from Kaspersky Lab right after jump.

Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management solutions, announces that the first malicious program classified as a Trojan-SMS has been detected for smartphones running on Google’s Android operating system. Named Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a, it has already infected a number of mobile devices.

The new malicious program penetrates smartphones running Android in the guise of a harmless media player application. Users are prompted to install a file of just over 13 KB with the standard Android extension .APK. Once installed on the phone, the Trojan uses the system to begin sending SMSs to premium rate numbers without the owner’s knowledge or consent, resulting in money passing from a user’s account to that of the cybercriminals.

The Trojan-SMS category is currently the most widespread class of malware for mobile phones, but Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a is the first to specifically target the Android platform. It should be noted that there have already been isolated cases of devices running Android being infected with spyware. The first such program appeared in 2009.

“The IT market research and analysis organization IDC has noted that those selling devices running Android are experiencing the highest growth in sales among smartphone manufacturers. As a result, we can expect to see a corresponding rise in the amount of malware targeting that platform,” says Denis Maslennikov, Mobile Research Group Manager at Kaspersky Lab. “Kaspersky Lab is actively developing technologies and solutions to protect this operating system and plans to release Kaspersky Mobile Security for Android in early 2011.”

Kaspersky Lab recommends that users pay close attention to the services that an application requests access to when it is being installed. That includes access to premium rate services that charge to send SMSs and make calls. When a user agrees to these functions during the installation of an application, the smartphone may then be able to make calls and send SMSs without further authorization.

The signature for Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a has already been added to Kaspersky Lab’s antivirus databases.

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Verizon Wireless with its DroidDoes campaign is promoting the new Motorola Droid 2 with this sophisticated ad. Pretty high grade ad campaign which demostrates the new device slider QWERTY keyboard, 1GHz processor and corporate mail support.

Motorola together with Verizon has finally announced the Droid 2, the successor to the popular Motorola Droid / Milestone. To ride on the success of its predecessor, the Droid 2 maintain its original form factor and features a new slider QWERTY keyboard, WiFi hotspot capability and Flash 10.1 support. All of these comes ready the Android 2.2 (Froyo) built-in.

According to early leaked specs, the Droid 2 has a 8GB Internal Memory with additional 8GB microSD, a 5.0MP Camera and 1GHz TI OMAP Processor with dedicated GPU.

The Droid 2 is offered at $199 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a 2 year contract. For those who wish to share their 3G connectivity as a WiFi hotspot will need to pay additional $20 a month.

According to the press release, Verizon Wireless is also offering a limited edition R2-D2 version of the Droid 2 which will Star Wars content and R2-D2 skinned body.

Pre-orders are expected to start tomorrow at the DroidDoes microsite.

News from HP about the multi touch tablet pc. Product tablet PC from HP is ElteBook HP 2740p. Hewlett-Packard announced at the moment the HP EliteBook 2740p, a multi-touch Tablet PC for business users. The EliteBook 2740p changeable laptop has a 12.1-inch 1280×800 LED-backlight screen that supports digitizer merely or digitizer and multi-touch key in. The display can be furthermore configured with outdoor-optimized covering.

HP’s tablet arrives with an Intel Core i7 or i5 processor and optional vPro administration technology. The machine features Intel HD included graphics, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, up to 320GB of hard drive space or up to 160GB of solid state drive storage, and an optional external DVD burner.

The 2740p also includes a 2MP web camera and microphone, stereo speakers, a spill-resistant keyboard, dual pointing devices (touchpad with scroll zone and pointstick), 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, the optional HP un2420 EV-DO/HSPA mobile broadband module, Ethernet LAN, a 56k modem, three USB ports, ExpressCard and Secure Digital slots, Firewire and a VGA port.

According to HP, the EliteBook meets the MIL-STD 810G military-standards for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude, and high and low temperatures.

It starts at 3.8 pounds and comes with a six-cell li-ion prismatic battery, which provides “up to 5 hours” of uptime, and an optional HP 2700 Ultra-Slim Battery that provides “up to 11 hours” when combined with the standard battery.

The HP EliteBook 2740p runs Windows 7 OS.

The tablet has a base price of $1,599 and is expected to be available in the US next month.

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If you want to give your Android device a cooler way to boot? The folks at XDA Developers has given some android models the old school boot sequence which you normally see on a PC BIOS boot up. It even shows the processor and memory check animation as well!

It is currently available for Android devices below:
Nexus One
HTC Desire
Motorola Droid/Milestone
HTC Dream
HTC Hero
HTC Incredible
HTC Magic
HTC Liquid
If you would like to impress your friends with this, head on to the forum thread with the flashing instructions within.

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