Microsoft have spoken out against sick PCs on the net

A senior researcher at software giant Microsoft has suggested that virus-infected PCs should be banned from the internet if they pose a risk to other machines.


Very similar to the way that public health risks are treated, the proposal implies that putting infected PCs into a temporary quarantine would prevent the spread of any virus and allow time for it to be cleaned.


The idea is designed to tackle botnets, which are networks of infected computers. They are very popular with cybercriminals. Networks can consist of a few hundred to a few thousand Windows machines. However, some can contain millions of PCs.


Computers are recruited into a network when they become infected with a virus. Usually they are distributed by criminals as attachments in e-mail messages, and occasionally as software downloads masquerading as legitimate programs.


Whilst the suggestion does put an end to their concerns, it raises further problems, claims Scott Charney of the firm's trustworthy computing team, for example;


"An individual might be using his or her internet device to contact emergency services and, if emergency services were unavailable due to lack of a health inspection or certificate, social acceptance for such a protocol might rightly wane.”


There are other models being discussed around the world, such as throttling internet access once a user is suspected of having an infection, but they too are not without controversy. Watch this space.