Carole Theriault Virus Quotations

We are already seeing a transformation, where virus writing is getting more sinister and turning toward monetary gain.

There are two re-entries fooling users this month. The Elf Bowling hoax, which has made a festive re-appearance, warns users that the game is infected with a virus and should be deleted immediately upon receipt. This hoax is essentially harmless, but serves as a reminder to companies that they should explain to employees the danger of distributing executable files. The game, while not a malicious threat, can divert employees from doing real work.

It's important to remember that as older threats are vanquished, others will undoubtedly take their place. Mass-mailing worms may be in decline, but it's highly unlikely that they will disappear entirely - the introduction of a major new operating system may even spark a new wave of threats, as virus writers try to find holes in the product.

Virus writers are always looking for new tricks to entice innocent computer users into running their malicious code. This latest ploy feeds on people's desire for the latest news.

Though the Hotmail hoax is now in its 14th month at the top of the chart, it has fallen in volume by 20% from July - though this may be explained by the reduction in user activity, ... With London still recovering from last month's bombings, it is not surprising that the ICE virus hoax, which exploits a genuine 'In Case of Emergency' campaign, has risen several places in the chart.