COMPUTER anti-virus company Sophos has warned that the rapid growth in business e-mails is leading to an explosion in computer viruses.

The Abingdon firm said its study of the most commonly reported computer viruses throughout 1999 showed that virus writers were taking advantage of the Internet and corporate e-mail systems to distribute their creations more quickly.

The analysis highlights three self-propagating viruses - WM97/Melissa, W32/ ExploreZip and W32/ Ska-Happy99 - which forward themselves via e-mail attachments to unsuspecting computer users.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said that instead of taking months to spread, these viruses had the potential to attack globally within days.

He said: "Whilst we have seen a proliferation of new viruses, these results show that companies are still commonly infected by old viruses, despite the media focusing on new threats.

"For example, Sophos statistics show that the most frequently reported virus of 1999 was XM/Laroux, a macro virus that infects spread-sheets, first seen in 1996.

"Meanwhile, the Form boot sector virus also appears in the Top Ten, despite being first seen almost ten years ago.

"As always, we recommend that businesses keep their anti-virus software up-to-date and employ 'safe-computing' policies," said Mr Cluley

Sophos is one of the world's largest specialist developers of anti-virus and encryption software.

The products are sold through a global network of subsidiaries and distributors in more than 40 countries.

Sophos Anti-Virus is used by large corporations, banks and governments all over the world.

Story date: Wednesday 02 February

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