SurfControl warns -- Festive screensaver - friend or foe?

M2 PRESSWIRE-8 December 2003-SurfControl: SurfControl warns -- Festive screensaver - friend or foe?(C)1994-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:12082003

Manchester, UK. -- SurfControl (London: SRF), the world's number one Web and e-mail filtering company, sends a word of warning to all UK workers to be extra vigilant at this time of year when opening e-mails. The run up to Christmas always sees a rise in the number of virus attacks which is already cause for concern but now these damaging e-mails are increasingly using spam techniques to get workers to open attachments that can often have devastating results.

According to a recent survey conducted by SurfControl, over 40% of UK businesses do not have filtering technologies in place, therefore, highlighting the complex problem posed by spam and other dangerous Internet content for IT Managers. Getting the balance right takes a great deal of effort. Martino Corbelli, Director of Marketing at SurfControl comments, "Businesses need to be able to stop unwanted Internet content, like spam and viruses, but its also imperative to appreciate the diversity of departmental and individual needs and then tailor filtering procedures and technologies to meet those needs."

"As a simple first line of security, from a worker's point of view, any e-mail's that look remotely questionable should NOT be opened and whenever such suspicion arises contact your IT department, who should advise on your next course of action," Says Martino Corbelli. He adds, "We must all be mindful that we do not forget how important the 'unwanted content in the workplace' message is and if an e-mail looks suspicious, then it probably is, so get it checked out before opening it or any attachments included."

The problem is further exacerbated because festive joke screensavers are often sent around as e-mail attachments. While these attachments can add cheer to the workplace at this time of year, inadvertently opening a festive e-mail, or something that looks like one, can bring down the company's entire network and your IT Manager will not thank you when they have to work over the Christmas break to ensure the network is up and running.

Lets have a safe Christmas this year both in the workplace and at home.

About SurfControl plc:

SurfControl plc, the world's number one Web and e-mail filtering company, delivers on its promise to help companies 'Stop Unwanted Content' in the workplace by continuous innovation, invention and expansion of its filtering products to address new content risks as they emerge. The company is the leader in the Content Security market, which analysts expect to reach nearly $2 billion by 2007.

SurfControl is the only company in the security market offering a total content security solution that combines Web, E-mail (including Anti-Spam and Anti-Virus) and Instant Message Filters with the industry's largest, most accurate and relevant content database and adaptive reasoning tools to automate content recognition.

SurfControl's world-class partners include Sun Microsystems, Check Point, Cisco, IBM, Research In Motion and Nokia. The company has more than 20,000 customers worldwide, including many of the world's largest corporations, and employs nearly 450 people in nine separate locations across the United States, Europe, and Asia/Pacific.

www.surfcontrol.com

CONTACT: James Russell/Pauline Beattie/Denis Davies, eclat MarketingTel: +44 (0)118 989 5600e-mail: surfcontrol@eclat.co.uk

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