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[Johannesburg, 27 February 2004] -
Microsoft has disclosed a help-desk snapshot for February that reveals a large number of virus-related calls, most of them from Telkom and Absa Internet Access subscribers, followed by Tiscali and M-Web users.“In the three weeks of February until Monday, 23 February, we received 600 virus-related calls,” says Colin Erasmus, lead for security at Microsoft SA. “This amounts to 30% of the total call volume.”Demonstrating customers' sloth in patching their systems to protect against increasing virus threats, Erasmus says most virus calls related to 2003's Blaster worm, which made use of a Microsoft vulnerability.And the winners are…Subscribers to Telkom's Internet service accounted for most of the calls, reveals Erasmus.Hans van de Groenendaal, Telkom senior specialist, corporate communications, says Telkom Internet received and cleaned 784 745 virus-infected e-mails during February, up to and including the 26th. “For the whole of January we received and cleaned 537 593 viruses.”Van de Groenendaal says Telkom Internet uses Clam Anti-Virus to scan and clean all e-mail. “The Telkom Internet call centre refers callers to the Microsoft Web site to check they have downloaded the latest security patches.”Next were subscribers to Absa Internet Access (AIA), a separate organisation from Absa, points out Richard Peasey, Absa group information security officer. Tiscali and M-Web subscribers bring up the next two.Asked whether this meant M-Web has the best anti-virus engine, Microsoft's Erasmus said “they're pretty good. You have to make up your own mind on this.”Absa's Peasey says the fact that AIA subscribers make up about a third of the total Internet clientele in SA, however, means the number “stands to reason”. M-Web, another leading consumer ISP in SA, stood up very well in this count.Peasey adds that Microsoft's measurement can in no way be seen to be representative of the actual picture. “It is just a rudimentary way of measuring their own picture.”He adds that Absa feels quite comfortable that, following its own awareness campaigns, consumers take the trouble to raise security issues with providers of services or even software.“And remember, a virus-related call doesn't necessarily also mean the caller has been infected.”
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