Experts have warned users of a possible onslaught of virus-ridden emails over the festive season. As the seasonal rush of advertisements via email is upon us the chief executive of Sybari, an anitvirus firm, has warned that "During the holiday season, employees need to pay close attention to the email they get in their inbox".
With 40% of mail now being identified as spam, compared to 8% in the run up to Christmas 2001, experts are afraid the number of viruses and worms propagating inboxes could result in problems for home users and businesses. While many are distracted by office parties and the New Year celebrations the messages of seasonal greeting often contained in spam emails at this time of year can make people more likely to open the mails, and therefore potentially infect their machines and/or networks.
The advice given on the matter is to not open mails from unknown sources, which is good practice at any time of the year.