Sophos technical support has reminded users of the nuisance
caused by forwarding emails, as a message claiming to contain the
contents of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's recipe book cooks up a
storm on the internet.
The email, which has been hitting inboxes across the UK in the
past couple of days, claims to contain a copy of a new Jamie Oliver
book, entitled "Naked Chef 2" and shows a picture of the
faux-Cockney chef eating an apple.
Many recipients of the email have forwarded it onto their
friends and colleagues, slowing down email systems because of its
4MB size.
However, Oliver's publisher, Penguin Books, advises that the
email is a hoax and that the 100+ recipes and images contained in
the email are stolen from previous publications by Oliver.
"Sending a 4MB email clogs bandwidth like some of Jamie's more
indulgent desserts may clog arteries," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus. "If you're hungry for
his latest recipes, buy his books at the store rather than cheat
the system and upset your IT administrator."
Penguin Books is no stranger to hoaxes. In 1996, its own
publicity department started a hoax about a computer virus called
Irina, which went on to
concern thousands of users worldwide who did not realise it was
intended to promote a new book.
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.