Spam on your cell phone?

Ready or not, that day is coming.

As wireless customers start using software applications not sold or even vetted by their service providers, spam, viruses and other cyberheadaches are inevitable, says Deepak Mehrotra, a vice president at Aricent, which tests applications for carriers such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless. "The cell phone becomes fertile ground for hackers."

Mehrotra says big carriers do not make applications available to customers until they go through a "certification" process, which includes a battery of field tests.

Such vigilance is one reason cell phone customers haven't had to deal with the usual viruses, spam and other headaches that can plague PCs

As the wireless environment becomes more "open," all that could change, Mehrotra says.

On the upside, consumers could soon be able to easily download dozens, or even hundreds, of new software programs to their wireless devices. On the downside, he says, they will have to exercise caution when downloading new applications or could wind up infecting their wireless devices with "nasty viruses, the kind that can eat (PC) hard drives."