Important Security Notice to Sony VAIO Personal Computer Owners.

2002-01-23
Sony has recently identified a security issue in one of Sony¿s VAIO software pre-installed in some VAIO Personal Computers sold from November 2001 in:

- East Asia (excluding Mainland China)
- Southeast Asia
- Oceania
- United Arab Emirates
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa

NOTE: VAIO Personal Computers sold in other areas (North America, Central & South America, Europe and Mainland China) are NOT affected. Customers who purchased a VAIO Personal Computer in Japan, please refer to https://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/ for more information.

The affected models in the Asia-Pacific are:
FX Series: PCG-FX900, PCG-FX900H, PCG-FX990 and PCG-FX990L
R505 Series: PCG-R505AFH, PCG-R505AFL, PCG-R505AFT, PCG-R505AGL and PCG-R505AGT.

By exploiting particular software characteristics of these computers, a sufficiently skilled person may be able to obtain unauthorized access to a computer via the Internet. This could enable that person to add, change, or delete data without the owner being aware of this.

In order for an unauthorized person to successfully obtain access in this way, a high level of technical knowledge and skills would be required. As of January 24th, 2002, there have been no reports from VAIO owners of any such violations.

In order to address this issue, Sony has prepared a new program, VAIO Security Enhancement Program. It is recommended that affected VAIO owners download and install the new software program immediately. Please visit the Downloads page and select your VAIO model.

Thank you for your understanding.