nsFifty-one per cent of companies surveyed had at least one virus outbreak in 2000. Seventy per cent using firewalls are still vulnerable to the threats they were designed to address.

Have you experienced any of these symptoms lately? Display of an unusual message, missing files, a file whose size has increased significantly, a slower computer, a sudden lack of disk space, an inability to access your hard disk? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these, chances are you’ve been infected with a computer virus. And you’ve got plenty of company.

According to a recent study Ipsos-Reid study, The Canadian [email protected] Reid Report, 46 per cent of the country’s Internet users reported they have experienced a computer virus. Of those who have been infected, 39 per cent said they were forced to get their computer repaired as a result of damage.

Another study, Is IT Safe? Network Security In Canada, by IDC Canada noted that most respondents identified computer viruses as the greatest security threat.

Finally, according ICSA Labs of TruSecure Corp. in Reston, Va., 51 per cent of companies surveyed had at least one outbreak in 2000. It …