Hello Kitty, Goodbye Viruses?

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I thought I had seen it all.

I’ve been working professionally in the anti-virus business since January 1992, and in that time I’ve seen anti-virus companies quote the Moomins in their press releases, produce a rap song video and even convince young women to dress up as Melissa, ILOVEYOU and Anna Kournikova.

So it takes quite a lot to make me do a double-take. With that in mind, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to.. drum roll.. Hello Kitty Antivirus and Firewall Software.

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Now, I’m not really sure what Hello Kitty actually is, as it hasn’t really reached the corner of Oxford where I live – is it somehow an homage to Miffy the rabbit? But I am reliably informed that whatever the Hello Kitty phenomenon is, it appears to be huge.

Should Sophos be quaking in its boots at this new competitor? Perhaps not. I can’t imagine the large corporations and organizations we defend rushing to protect their networks with a cartoon kitten.

What next? A Hello Kitty operating system? After all, there are already Hello Kitty laptops


Graham Cluley is an award-winning keynote speaker who has given presentations around the world about cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. A veteran of the computer security industry since the early 1990s, he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows, makes regular media appearances, and hosts the popular "Smashing Security" podcast. Follow him on LinkedIn, Bluesky and Mastodon, or drop him an email.

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