Carole Theriault Users Quotations

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.

Since we saw the first Sober worm back in October 2003, its author has tried to improve upon tried-and-tested tricks to dupe computer users into launching infected attachments. This latest worm purports to be a warning from CIA and FBI agents, accusing recipients of visiting illegal websites. Mocking the feds is a sure-fire way of goading the authorities, and you can't help but wonder whether the author is desperate to be caught.

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.

Smaller, targeted attacks are on the increase, with the emergence of a new breed of financially-motivated online criminal. The concern is that if users continue to combine unsafe computing practices with outdated threat protection, they'll be a soft target for this new form of attack,