Anti-virus (AV) firm F-Secure has stated its belief that ISP's should cut-off customers that propagate online viruses through a failure to install basic security measures.

The firm believes ISP's should check their customers’ traffic to identify such users and then disconnect them:

F-Secure said ISPs should let customers know they have been infected automatically, and redirect users to sites so they can disinfect their machines.

"Most affected computers belong to home users, who have no idea they've been infected. ISPs are in the best position to distinguish infected users." Mikko Hyppönen, director of antivirus research at F-Secure, told ZDNet UK.

"Service providers can automatically shut down a user connection, and specify that to get back online users have to follow certain steps, for example, by visiting the Microsoft site for the latest updates. ISPs can automatically shut down what they want, and can still connect users to Microsoft," said Hyppönen.

It's worth pointing out that several ISP's have done this in the more distant past, such as Telewest. However we can't recall it happening recently.

On the surface it's a good idea, although no doubt the technical difficulty of both tracking and warning users on a large scale could prove formidable. On the other hand, if it could be applied, then we're sure many would pay extra for a provider able to offer it. More @ ZDNet.