iiNet to launch security site for all net users

Free virus, malware and vulnerability checks planned for one-stop shop

iiNet is planning to give consumers access to a free Australian online security centre to help them correct basic problems and reduce inbound technical calls to the ISP.

The security website will offer anti-virus, anti-malware and patch management services to all Internet users. It is badged as a community site to help non-technical people improve baseline security.

iiNet chief technology officer, Greg Bader, said site is planned for launch mid-year.

“It is a community service for everyone to use… there are a lot of people coming online that are non-technical,” Bader said.

“We have monitored the calls to our contact centre [and] a lot of people will ring in with a technical problem that could be anything… but there is an understanding that iiNet owns it.

“At no point can you go and check the complete health of a PC from a trusted site in Australia.”

Bader said iiNet is in talks with “large” security companies, including anti-virus vendors, to ink security service deals for the site.

Most of the large security vendors offer free virus scans, however Bader said they may not be comprehensive or too difficult to find for some non-technical users.

Symantec security response group technology director, Zulfikar Ramzan, said the company identifies more than 20,000 new virus signatures a day. A signature is the footprint of a newly discovered piece of malware.

Austrian company AV-Comparatives found Symantec, Kaspersky and ESET were the top performers last year based on the percentage of malware false positives, false negatives, and the speed of the program virus scan.

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