BURY businesses are being urged to avoid "commercial suicide" by making sure they have adequate protection against computer viruses.

Some such viruses which are currently doing the rounds are titled under the subjects of "Snow White," "A virtual card for you" and "homepage", to name but a few.

Andrew Ratcliff, chief executive of Bolton and Bury Chamber, said: "Businesses without effective anti-virus protections are facing commercial suicide. They are leaving themselves extremely vulnerable and exposing all their business contacts in their e-mail address book to the threat of potential infections, which can very often wipe the entire system."

He added: "One option is to download a free virus checker from the Internet or buy a commercial package.

"Better still, take professional advice on improving the health, safety and security of your computer."