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'Net Surfers Flock to Anti-Virus Sites |
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Mon August 25, 2003 04:43 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - With computer users under siege from a variety of worms, Internet buffs are rushing to Microsoft's anti-virus site to search for ways to combat the problem.
Traffic to Microsoft TechNet from surfers logging on at home skyrocketed more than 1,100 percent during the week ending Aug. 17, Internet audience measurement service Nielsen/NetRatings said Monday.
More than 3.9 million Internet surfers accessed Microsoft TechNet, compared to 317,000 surfers the previous week.
The site, which provided information about the Blaster and LovSan viruses and various security tools, was the fastest growing site during the week, NetRatings said.
The recent 'Blaster' virus targeted the Microsoft operating system, said NetRatings analyst Greg Bloom. This fact may have caused surfers to go directly to Microsoft TechNet in search of virus updates and information.
The birth of these viruses and the latest 'Sobig' virus this last week, will make anti-virus sites popular destinations on the Web in the next couple of weeks.
MSN Tech and Gadgets also provided information about the viruses and attracted more than one million visitors, a jump of 304 percent.
The rapid spread of the worms also drove surfers to non-Microsoft-related sites, with traffic to Symantec rising 302 percent to more than four million visitors.
More than 11 million different visitors accessed the Microsoft Windows Update Site, a 76 percent spike from the previous week, NetRatings said.
Rounding out the top five fastest growing anti-virus related sites was Zone Labs, which attracted 638,000 visitors, a 73 percent surge from the prior week, NetRatings said.
In other Internet news, average time spent online at work dropped 5 percent for the week ending Aug. 17, according to NetRatings, as work productivity was stunted by the East coast power outage.
Reuters
From:SNP
Table 1: Nielsen//NetRatings Fastest Growing Virus-Related Sites, Week Ending August 17 (U.S., Home)
Unique Audience (000) 8/10/2003 8/17/2003 % Growth
1. Microsoft Technet 317 3,902 1,131%
2. MSN Tech & Gadgets 258 1,042 304%
3. Symantec 1,007 4,049 302%
4. Microsoft Windows Update 6,605 11,637 76%
5. Zone Labs 368 638 73%
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