Virgin Media to warn infected punters by post

Malware defence campaign

Virgin Media says it will use volunteer malware trackers to identify customers whose computers have been infected by malicious hackers.

The company is turning to organisations like the Shadowserver Foundation which snoops on Internet connections to find if users have been attacked by viruses, trojans or botnets.

The company says it will write to anyone who is apparently affected, offering advice on how to clean up their act.

"Each household will be contacted via a letter which will detail free ways to scan computers for and remove viruses," the ISP said. "It will also give contact details for Virgin Media Digital Home Support which offers a complete virus removal service," the firem confessed.

SpokesVirgin Jon James hyped, “Malware doesn’t just affect computers - it can affect lives. It’s time for ISPs to go beyond the basics and do whatever they can to help protect their customers from this growing problem. Customers may think they are protected, but with the ease by which malware can infect a computer - even just by visiting a innocent-looking website - we’re going to do whatever we can to help defend our customers from serious consequences such as identity theft, and even banking fraud."

The firm, which is the third largest ISP in the UK says that it takes security very seriously, especially if punters are willing to stump up an extra six quid a month to use its remote PC maintenance service.

The first "experimental" marketing mailshot  will go out to 'hundreds of customers per week' and will be expanded if deemed a success.