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COMPUTER VIRUS INFECTIONS ON THE RISE
Have you updated your antivirus software lately?

Virus activity was up 17.5 percent in the first six months of 2003 compared with the same period last year, according to Sophos, a software firm specializing in antivirus applications for businesses. Sophos said it had detected 3,855 new viruses during the first half of this year.

What’s more, virus writing continues to grow more sophisticated with each new attack, according to Sophos and other information technology organizations. Eight of the top 10 viruses identified by Sophos were able to spread by more than one method, using a combination of e-mail, Internet relay chat, network shares and peer-to-peer file-sharing applications to propagate.

Another new technique employed by virus writers is to disguise malicious programs as timely news. Although they didn’t cause widespread infection, two recent viruses came under the guise of information about a severe acute respiratory syndrome–related biological virus in one case and secret spy photographs from the war in Iraq in another.

Antivirus software continues to be the first line of defense. A good antivirus package should scan e-mail, attachments, files downloaded from the Internet, script files used on Web pages and files loaded onto your system by disk and network connection. A variety of antivirus applications for home users and small businesses are available from companies such as Symantec and McAfee.

But remember, an antivirus package is effective only if it’s kept up to date. Virus protection software relies on small data files called "definitions" to identify and eliminate suspect files. Each virus requires a unique definition, which means if you don’t have the latest definitions, your system is vulnerable. Updates of virus definitions generally can be downloaded from the Internet and installed using the antivirus software application.

ANNUAL SESSION REGISTRATION ON ADA.ORG
Where can you find more than 180 continuing education programs, more than 625 technical exhibits, and 40,000 dental professionals and guests among whom to network? The 144th ADA annual session in San Francisco.

And where can you register for the San Francisco meeting quickly and securely, any time of day or night? The annual session content area of ADA.org.

ADA.org provides you with the tools to get a head start on planning your time in San Francisco to maximize your productivity and fun. You can

– register for sessions, housing and special events;

– find out what session highlights are planned for San Francisco;

– search a comprehensive database of scheduled sessions and speakers;

– find out more about what you can do with your free time in San Francisco;

– download the complete 2003 annual session preview in portable document format, or PDF.

Reported by Joe Hoyle, electronic media editor, "hoylej{at}ada.org".

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