A US company has launched a security product for documents and email correspondence that claims to act as a vaccination against computer viruses.

Princeton firm Wormhole Technologies announced the release of SecurText this month. It is a portable Internet software product offering file and email encryption, anti-virus protection and full email usage in a single package. Its encryption strength is 256-bit.

Wormhole president Erik Weingold claims recent studies show the cost of removing virus infections from computers will rise dramatically during the next five years.