28 Jul 2004
MyDoom proves no doom in Australia, says Sophos
Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses against spam and
viruses, is delighted to report that the MyDoom-O computer worm -
apparently causing significant problems elsewhere in the world -
does not seem to have troubled Australian businesses.
"Although virulent, this worm is easy to detect and prevent for
businesses with sensible email policies," said Paul Ducklin,
Sophos's Head of Technology, Asia Pacific. "Australian users have
shown themselves willing to take on the virus problem not just with
technology but with a good dose of common sense."
As a confidence trick, MyDoom-O produces emails which warn you
to open an attached file for security reasons, allegedly because
"your e-mail account has been used to send a large amount of
unsolicited e-mail messages during this recent week".
Since many users in Australia are understandably afraid of being
billed by their ISPs for emails sent by someone else, this tactic
might seem a likely way for the latest MyDoom variant to worm its
way around this country. But Ducklin suggests that users are
building a healthy cynicism for claims made in email.
"Few people really believe emails which promise to extend
various parts of their body," remarked Ducklin. "Likewise, they are
learning to disbelieve emails which claim to be a magic bullet for
their supposed security problems."
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.