Viral Message Passing Framework for Crowd and Sensor Applications Eiman Kanjo 1 , Elizabeth Platzer 2 , Christian Kittl 2 1 Information Systems Department, CCIS, King Saud University Riyadh, KSA ekanjo.c@ksu.edu.sa 2 Evolaris, Austria, UK Abstract. Bluetooth, WiFi, and NFC are considered to be low power, af- fordable and available on most mobile handsets. However, these types of wireless mediums are classified as short links since their communication ranges are limited to ~100meters for WiFi and ~10 meters in the case of Blu- etooth which seems to stifle the full usefulness of the service. In this paper, we propose a new wireless network concept called ViralNet, solely dependent on the mobile devices in the vicinity using principles of opportunistic networking. ViralNet allow new type of communications beyond the short-range limit which can be used to connect to other phones and sensors distributed in the en- vironment. A message or sensor reading can be turned instantly viral. An au- thentic user or a monitoring device sends a message to others nearby and they do the same without internet connection. This can open the door to com- pletely new type of applications ranging from emergency evacuation in crowded areas and animal monitoring to citizen reportage, if the authori- ties want to keep an image from escaping the scene, they must confiscate hun- dreds or thousands of mobile phones. Keywords: Wireless networks, Mobile Sensing, Message Routing Protocols, Short-range communications. 1 Introduction Internet, phones and mobile devices, such as mobile phones, enable an alternative mode of communication to users, achieving global connectivity via infrastructure networks (cellular, WLAN). However, centralised infrastructures are not always available. During the recent revolutions in the Arabic world, governments have shut down both Internet and Mobile phone services in an attempt to quell protests and control communication among demonstrators. In addition, during natural disasters, people have been left without means of finding out the latest news regarding emer- gency services.