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| Pfizer is taking action against those selling
fake Viagra online |
Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, has announced it is taking legal
action against dozens of illegitimate online pharmacies to block
sales of counterfeit drugs and help reduce spam. This action
follows Pfizer's own research which discovered that more than a
quarter of men wrongly believe the company is the source of Viagra
spam. Anti-spam expert Sophos welcomes the pharmaceutical giant's
stance in the fight against spammers.
"Viagra spam is big business as buying medication online negates
the need for a sometimes embarrassing visit to the doctors. Indeed,
if you have an email account, it's likely you've received Viagra
spam - so it's no wonder that Pfizer is cheesed off with spammers
hijacking its brand to push bogus drugs," said Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant, Sophos. "Pfizer's action may only
serve to chip away at the spam mountain, but it's reassuring to
computer users when big brands use their weight to slow down the
deluge."
The amount of spam email continues to grow despite governments'
attempts to deal with the problem through legislation. Sophos is
therefore advising businesses and home users to take matters into
their own hands.
"More spam is being pumped out than ever before, and internet
users who are being hit hard realise that anti-spam legislation is
failing them. They can't wait for the law to catch up and apply
stiff sentences - they want the spam stopped right now," said
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "The
easiest way to do that is to deploy a sophisticated anti-spam product at your email
gateway, and resist the urge to buy spam-marketed products."
More information about Pfizer's legal action can be found on its
website.
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.