Net "meltdown" reports rubbished

Scare stories about an internet meltdown have so far proved nothing more than silly-season page fillers, the latest data suggests.

According to the Mirror newspaper, the new Sobig.F virus is "threatening to virtually kill off the internet." While today's Sun reports that the net was "was facing meltdown last night".

However, experts who control the flow of internet traffic in the UK say the reports are exaggerated. Data from the London Internet Exchange (LINX), which acts as a crossroads for most of the UK's internet traffic, shows no significant increase in internet traffic.

A spokeswoman for LINX, said: "There has been absolutely no effect on internet traffic from any of the viruses currently in circulation."

"There's certainly no suggestion that the internet can't cope with this. That's just not true," she added.

Sobig.F, which spreads via email, is reportedly set to become the most widespread computer virus ever and has caused chaos for home users and companies who have been infected by it.

But according to LINX this has little effect on the internet backbone. "It's so small that it's difficult to measure," said the LINX spokeswoman.

Sobig.F appeared on Wednesday, just days after the hype died down surrounding the Blaster worm, which was supposed to destroy Microsoft's Windows Update site. Microsoft avoided the strike by closing the site ahead of the expected attack time.