More than 150,000 Symbian-based mobile phones in China have been infected with spyware called Xwodi, according to mobile security company NetQin.

A variant of existing spyware called Spy.Felixspy, Xwodi stealthily activates a phone's conference call feature when a call is made, enabling a third party to secretly eavesdrop on conversations.

NetQin reports that the spyware is capable of remotely activating a phone's speaker to secretly monitor nearby sounds.

Furthermore, it can steal incoming text and email messages. Mobile spyware like Xwodi generally propagate in one of two ways: It comes packaged in seemingly innocent third-party apps, or it spreads via an SMS-based phishing attack through which a user is duped into clicking a Web link that causes him or her to unknowingly download the ma... ...

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