Friday 13: should you beware?

It's Black Friday and computer users are being warned to be cautious of emails which might contain viruses.

Chris Poulos, managing director for Australia and New Zealand at security vendor Trend Micro, told iTnews there were about 43 specific viruses that launch an attack on Friday 13th.

However, Poulos added that people shouldn't be alarmed, just alert. He said that the Friday_13th virus caused significant damage in 1996, but today it's ranked extremely low.

"None of the top 10 viruses today are date specific," Poulos said. "Seventy percent are mixed threats." This includes an email-style virus, network vulnerability-style virus, and an http-style virus.

According to a statement from the vendor, most of the viruses that launch on Friday 13th are now easily detected by modern anti-virus software. "Compared with modern network viruses, these older virus forms are less destructive and less capable of widespread proliferation," it stated.

Jamz Yaneza, senior anti-virus consultant at TrendLabs, said that BViruses, that launch attacks on specific days, aren't much of a threat due to the fact they leave traces that can be tracked through virus histories.