The company identified over 286 million unique malware variants in a recent report, which together launched 3.1 billion attacks on computers in 2010. The report also notes an increasing number of attacks against mobile devices, especially Android handsets.
Social networks are rife with booby-trapped links, according to the report, with "short links" -- like those provided by bit.ly -- responsible for 65 percent of the malicious links.
Although virus reports from companies selling antivirus software should be approached with appropriate skepticism, experience bears out the report's findings. In January, Geinimi infected Chinese Android phones. Last month, over 50 infected apps were found in Google's Android Market and infected an estimated 250,000 phones. Last week, a vigilante anti-piracy virus struck Android phones.
The report notes that mobile malware is probably less dangerous now because most people still don't conduct financial transactions on their phones. But as mobile payment systems become more common malware authors will have a much greater incentive to attack smartphones, and users should be prepared for that.
"We are at a very early stage in mobile. But the evolution of the threat will be the same as the PC. We are already seeing that," said Orla Cox, security operations manager for Symantec, to the Wall Street Journal.
Some defensive measures are analogous to the PC malware world. People should be wary of clicking on links that suggest a sleazy payoff, like a naked celebrity or a shocking video. The perennial "Look at this!" messages should also be ignored, even if they seem to come from friends.
Android asks for approval of various "permissions" when an app is installed, and users should abort the installation if those look suspicious -- a game shouldn't need to send text messages, for example.
Finally, mobile anti-virus software has gone from tinfoil-hat territory to a sensible precaution.
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