Aditya Wikrama

Laptops on display at a computer expo in Jakarta. (Photo: Safir Makki, JG )

Indonesia's Ailing PCs In Need of Band-Aid, Expert Says

Indonesia’s computer networks are badly infected with viruses and other malware designed to hijack PCs, according to the founder of a large Russian antivirus firm who says he expects good business here in the future.

“Indonesia is one of the most promising markets for our products, that’s why I am visiting,” said Eugene Kaspersky, the founder of Kaspersky Labs, during his visit to Jakarta last week.

Kaspersky, who received his initial training at the KGB-founded Institute of Cryptography, Telecommunications and Computer Science, said the abundance of malicious software was in line with the large number of computers online here.

Data from Kaspersky Labs showed that an estimated 50 million Web-based malware viruses were circulating in Indonesia this year.

“About 40 percent of those were dominated by the Conficker family of malware,” Kaspersky said.

Conficker is a computer worm targeting the Microsoft Windows operating system that was first discovered in 2008. The viruses use flaws in the software to remotely control PCs by linking them into a virtual network commanded by its authors.

As of August, Conficker had more than five million computers under its control — government, business and home PCs in more than 200 countries, according to the New York Times. Hijacked computers can send unwanted advertising e-mail, or spam, but such viruses can also be used to steal personal information, including credit card details, for later sale.

Despite the problems in Indonesia, along the with size of the local market, Kaspersky has no plans to set up offices here, saying he was confident the company could manage its Southeast Asian business from its regional base in Kuala Lumpur.

Kaspersky had two major antivirus labs, in Russia and China. It plans to set up another in the US. Business in Indonesia continues to grow, with sales expected to triple this year.

“We aim for 200 percent sales growth this year after selling 500,000 licenses in 2008,” he said.

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