Security rivals Symantec and McAfee are hitting the market with competing products aimed at protecting mobile platforms. Symantec announced the launch of Norton Smartphone Security Nov. 20, which supports both Windows Mobile and Symbian OS and leverages Norton Antivirus technology and provides a firewall and anti-spam for SMS (Short Message Service). The move comes on the heels of the Nov. 19 announcement of McAfee’s VirusScan Mobile.

In a McAfee-sponsored study released in February, Informa Telecoms and Media reported that 83 percent of the 200 mobile operators surveyed have been hit by mobile device infections, and that nearly half of the operators that have experienced mobile malware outbreaks have had one within the last three months. However, the same study reported only five incidents where more than 100,000 mobile devices were affected by malware–a drop in the bucket compared to the number of mobile device users. Most of the incidents involved between 100 and 1,000 devices, according to the study.