Virus update 'paralyses PCs'

2007-05-24 12:29

Beijing - Millions of Chinese computers may have been paralysed by a faulty anti-virus update from Symantec, the world's largest security software provider, state media reported on Thursday.

An automatic update to the Chinese version of the Norton anti-virus software sent out last Friday identified two critical files of the Microsoft XP operating system as malicious codes and deleted them, the China Daily said.

Millions of computer systems collapsed as a result, with users unable to restart their computers or reinstall their operating systems, according to an earlier report by Xinhua news agency.

The China Daily said some of the company's clients, mostly corporate users, have demanded compensation ranging from 100 000 yuan to several millions of yuan.

The company made a formal apology on Wednesday but did not make any direct response to the compensation requests.

The China Daily said California-based Symantec is one of the major players in China's corporate anti-virus market, holding about seven percent of the market by the end of 2006.

- AFP