Virgin tackling malware threat... by letter
By Stewart Mitchell
Posted on 16 Aug 2010 at 13:25
Virgin Media is taking the fight against malware peddlers offline, employing the postman to deliver warning letters to customers that their computers might be infected.
Customers on the network suspected of hosting malware will receive a letter with advice on how to fix the problem, the company said.
While the company could make use of its up to 50Mbits/sec network to send the messages over email, it has opted for the low-tech, snail mail approach to help build confidence among customers, who Virgin says are wary of spam-style emails.
Sometimes email from companies gets missed because people think it is spam
“The letters are on headed paper, so they are obviously from us and they are the first step in the process and we'll be looking at email too,” a Virgin spokesperson told PC Pro. “Sometimes email from companies gets missed because people think it is spam or think it is from someone else pretending to be from a company – a letter is a sensible approach.”
Shadowserver support
Virgin said it would partner with the Shadowserver Foundation, a collection of security professionals from around the world, which would alert it to any IP addresses it thought represented infected computers.
Virgin says anyone found to be infected will be contacted via a letter detailing free ways to scan computers and remove viruses, as well as contact details for its paid-for Digital Home Support.
The company promised the data would be kept private, pointing out that the Shadowserver Foundation was already tracking the spread of viruses and that there would be no exchange of personal information between the partners.
“The system tracks viruses, not users, and the information we get is just that an IP address has an infection, whether it's the Zeus bot or something else,” the spokesman said. “We're not tracking people to see where they are going and getting the viruses.”
The letter campaign follows Virgin Media research that showed one in four users of its Digital Home Support had contacted the service to resolve issues with malware.
From around the web
Environment
I am a Virgin Customer and have the 50Mb/s service and it works well.
However, I am not impressed that I get sometimes 2 letters a month from them, often to buy the same service I have or to sell me more services. Send me an email! Save the environment, Virgin! They need to get their act together!
By willdamien on 16 Aug 2010 
Opt Out
@WillDamien
You do have the right to opt out of any mailing they do.
I too am on the VM's 50Mb service which to date has lived up to it's expectations. Opting out of their snail mail means I have never had a letter from them, have all their services including mobile phone and all my information from them lands in my inbox.
I would rather have email, but there again with the swarm of bogus emails that are recieved every day would you click on a link in an email you didn't expect? I know a lot of people would trust a letter that dropped through their door rather than an email into their mail box.
By TazWorld on 19 Aug 2010
Virgin letters
@WillDamien
I would agree with you - if the problem of scammers didn't exist.
How do YOU know that an email apparently from a firm with which you have financial dealings is actually from that firm and not from some nasty toe-rag trying to scam your details?
By Jaycee99 on 19 Aug 2010
Virgin letters
@WillDamien
I would agree with you - if the problem of scammers didn't exist.
How do YOU know that an email apparently from a firm with which you have financial dealings is actually from that firm and not from some nasty toe-rag trying to scam your details?
By Jaycee99 on 19 Aug 2010
Duplicate
Sorry, no idea why my Post got duplicated. Certainly not intentional!
By Jaycee99 on 19 Aug 2010
non issue
if I get an email from ebay or my bank or utility supplier I never use the links in the email, always go to the site independently where there normally is a message system with the email also in the in box of that system. if it's not there then I know the one in my in box is a scam.
Someone could have as easily sent a fake letter trying to get me to log into a fake site. so the same applies to mail i get through the post.
By SimonCorlett on 19 Aug 2010
Fake letters
Faking a snail-mail letter is easy - except for the stamp!
By andyj21 on 19 Aug 2010
Spam Callers
I have recently experienced a number of landline calls supposedly from either "Computer Maintenance Department" with no company specified, or from someone pretending to be from Microsoft.
On each occasion they have tried to talk me into going on line to correct virus infections or the like. I usually get them to hang up after giving them the runaround, but it could be bad for someone not quite as experienced, and I'm no expert. What do you think out there?
By christo30 on 19 Aug 2010
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