smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Businesses have been warned to watch out for emails containing viruses that can bypass firewalls and anti-virus software.

The Corporate IT Forum, a membership organisation representing the corporate IT user community, has announced that a new generation of “v-spam” emails are being sent to businesses in order to spread viruses through their IT systems.

The emails avoid firewall systems by asking the recipient to click on a website link to take advantage of special offers, download greetings cards or even unsubscribe from the mailing list. If the link is clicked, the virus is released into the business’ IT system where it can remain undetected.

The Forum is advising small businesses to ensure their anti-virus software is up to date and not to click on unsolicited emails offering great deals unless they are absolutely sure it has come from a reliable sender. It also warns against replying to these emails – as this will increase the amount sent – and forwarding them on to others.

One recent email virus to look out for, named Mimail, disguises itself as being from your own company with the prefix “admin” – for example, admin@smallbusiness.co.uk. It tells the user that their work email address is about to expire and to read the attachment for more details. It is important to remember that work emails do not expire and opening the attachment will release the virus.

Spam is a fast-growing problem in the UK, representing more than half of all emails received. Business Link for London has produced a factsheet to help businesses protect themselves against unwanted emails. Click here to access it.

(5/8/03)

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