Symantec performance was even worse, providing access errors 100 percent of the time, said Bill Quinn, a spokesman for Service Metrics. As they have after every such attack, observers once again cautioned users never to open attachments. They also cautioned everyone who works on a PC to back up their data continually and keep copies on disks or CDs. Several online companies were also touting their services as a means to preserve data from such attacks. A number of start-ups now let people store digital images on their Web sites.
Users can organize their photos in online albums to share with friends.
Companies like Zing in San Francisco and Ofoto in Berkeley are among dozens that make money by printing the images on film paper and knickknacks. While the virus might be a boon for digital photography companies, the online music industry might suffer from the bug's fallout. Her company, based in Clearwater, Fla., hosts an MP3 player for mixing digital music. Bruce Haring, who has written a book on the digital music revolution, said people might shy away from downloading music files because of the uncertainty surrounding the virus.