Abingdon Oxfordshire, United Kingdom - (The Hosting News) - September 29, 2008 - Web hosting and IT security control firm, Sophos, has launched its new WebAlert service, providing website administrators with notification of malicious code.

Infected websites pose a threat to all internet users - as simply visiting the site can infect unprotected web users. It is not just small websites that suffer from such attacks. Victims in the past few months have included BusinessWeek, Yahoo! TV, British government websites, UNICEF, MySpace, Sony PlayStation, and the International Tennis Federation. The Sophos WebAlert is available at no additional change to customers of Sophos's Premium and Platinum Support services.

Carole Theriault, Senior Security Consultant at Sophos explained, ''For too long it has been child's play for hackers to infect websites without the owner of the site ever being aware. Many firms have still not coded their websites correctly or taken the preventative measures necessary to stop infections like this occurring. Sophos WebAlert provides companies with visibility as to whether their websites are being attacked.''

Further information about the Sophos WebAlert application is available through a video and blog post by Carole Theriault, senior security consultant at Sophos: www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2008/09/22/sophos-webalert.

In addition, a Podcast of Carole Theriault and Sophos principal virus researcher Fraser Howard, discusses the threat posed by web infections:
http://podcasts.sophos.com/en/sophos-podcast-032.mp3.

Sophos offers security through control solutions, through a complete solution for protection and control for business, education and government organizations - defending against known and unknown malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, and policy abuse, and providing comprehensive network access control (NAC).

Sophos' Security and Control solutions are designed as a simple way to reduce the cost and complexity of keeping organizations threat-free. The company's portfolio of products include:

• Multiple threat protection with exceptional products
• Simple pricing and licensing, with sector discounts
• Web, email and telephone support included in all licenses
• Global visibility and cross-threat expertise from SophosLabs

Sophos' IT security and control also includes defense against known and unknown malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, and policy abuse, and providing comprehensive network access control (NAC), for over 100 million users in more than 150 countries.

With 20 years' experience and consolidated anti-malware, antispam, and policy enforcement expertise, Sophos provides proactive, effective protection against security threats and unauthorized network access, while giving system administrators the security and control they need. Matched by business-focused, 24/7 technical support, we respond rapidly to both known and unknown threats, no matter how complex they are. Sophos has offices worldwide and our products are sold through a network of subsidiaries and partners.

To learn more, please visit: www.sophos.com.