21 Dec 2000
Sophos Anti-Virus urges users to remain cautious during the holiday period
Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, is
warning companies to be as suspicious during the holiday season as
they would be at any other time of the year. Sending joke programs,
screensavers, and electronic greetings cards increases the risk of
virus infection at any time but can prove particularly dangerous
during the holiday season. As the festive mood descends upon us, it
becomes all too easy to let your guard slip and leave yourself open
to attack.
"Organisations need to be aware that safe computing is a must
all year round", said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant
for Sophos Anti-Virus. "The holiday period can be especially risky
and users need to stay alert to prevent virus infection."
Virus writers attempt to take advantage of seasonal goodwill by
disguising their viruses as fun programs associated with the
holiday season. Recent examples include the Navidad virus, named
after the Spanish word for Christmas and the Music virus which attempts
to play a festive song when it is run.
Sophos advises users to practice safe computing and
to remain cautious of unsolicited attachments all year round.
About Sophos
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.