Worms such as MyDoom, Bagle and Sasser have ripped though private and public sector IT systems, costing millions of pounds in IT costs and lost revenue.

The number of computer viruses has risen sharply in recent years. In 2003 more than 4,000 security vulnerabilities were identified by the Cert Co-ordination Center - a US-based centre for reporting IT security threats - compared to about 1,000 in 2000, according to Forrester Research.

The market for patch management software has grown quickly to meet the proliferation of security threats. These products help organisations keep track of security vulnerabilities and the patches released by suppliers.

By Lindsay Clark at MicroScope.

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