Don't give your lover a nasty virus this Valentine's

Lovestruck computer users are being encouraged to ditch technology this Valentine's day in favour of flowers, in a bid to cut down on viruses transmitted by e-cards.

The message comes from anti virus vendor Sophos, which has warned computer users to be on the lookout for viruses masquerading as e-cards in the run up to Valentine's Day.

A statement from Sophos said: "If someone sends you a Valentine's e-card, at best they're an unromantic cheapskate, at worst they're sending you a virus, either way you should probably consider ditching them."

In 2000 the Love Bug, an email virus bearing the subject line "I love you, " crippled networks worldwide in hours and cost companies billions of dollars in lost business.