Norton, one of the most well-known virus-checkers and the first
line of defense for many users worldwide, paralyzed millions of
computers across China by deleting two system files on each
workstation running the simplified Chinese version of Windows XP on
May 18.
"This is an unforgivable safety software mistake," said Li
Tiejun, an anti-virus programmer with Kingsoft, one of the
country's leading software companies. "Norton's action is the
equivalent of the police shooting an innocent civilian by
mistake."
Li explained that false virus reports had surfaced before but
were usually limited to rarer software. This is the first time a
false report has generated such a disastrous incident.
The original error lay in the lap of Symantec, the company that
has captured 60 percent of the global market and 30 percent of
China's. It seems that the mistake originated when false virus
definition codes were entered during an update of the virus
database on Friday.
"Symantec runs an interior test before the company upgrades its
database, and this includes a false report test," said Li, adding
that "apparently, Symantec might not have included the simplified
Chinese version of Windows XP in its testing system."
Industry experts have already blamed Symantec for not paying
attention to Chinese customers and for blowing off the issue.
Afflicted users complained that the company had put in place a
solution package swiftly enough with enterprises in the major
cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou rumored to be planning
legal action.
However, while Symantec dawdled, domestic anti-virus software
companies such as Rising and Jiangmin, leapt into the fray.
Rising issued a red safety alert, its warning for the most
serious threats, at 2:00 PM on Friday, and it predicted that the
economic losses incurred from this crash would top those
experienced during the spread of the "panda burning joss stick"
virus, or "Xiongmao Shaoxiang." Jiangmin braced itself for a major
backlash, comparing the Norton cock-up to the backdoor.gpigeon
virus.
"For years, companies and netizens have trusted foreign
anti-virus software as being more reliable," said Gao Min, a safety
software expert from Beijing. According to him, most enterprises
use foreign safety software brands since these had an established
international reputation when their domestic competitors were still
starting out. Furthermore, domestic customers also advocate foreign
brands due to the IT industry originating abroad.
"We must admit that domestic companies have improved in recent
years. According to virus reports, computers are facing more
threats from viruses attacking from within the country. Remember
that 'panda burning joss stick' was first intercepted by domestic
software," said Gao, suggesting that customers abandon their
superstitions about foreign software.
(China.org.cn by Huang Shan, May 23, 2007)