The Chinese Internet community will soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief, as formidable  cyberworm Red Code II is, reportedly, to subside its malicious  forays on global computer servers,according to today's China Daily.

    However, Chinese anti-virus combatants remain in battle  mode, warning yesterday that a slack defence system remained  the Achilles Heel of computer users, putting them at risk of  another bug assault.

    Virus vigilance has been stepped up, following the onslaught  on the global Internet network of viruses and hacker attacks,  including CIH, I Love You and Ice River, since April. Experts  warn of a high frequency of bug attacks this year.

    Yesterday, Zhang Jian, chief engineer of the National Computer  Virus Emergency Response Centre, said many net buffs still turned  a deaf ear to the warnings, as they stake their bets firmly  on luck.

    "They are too complacent and do not take the problem seriously,"  said Zhang.

    Worse still, a lack of consultation between computer firms  that host corporate servers and their clients has inhibited  the urgent build-up of an anti-virus defence shield.

    This scenario was a perfect fit for Red Code II, which targeted  servers as the main breeding ground. It can remain latent in  one defenceless server before making another onslaught later  on, experts said.

    Nearly 600 firms and institutions in China, mostly high-tech  firms, have been bitten by the virus within the first 22 days  of this month, official statistics reported.

    The bug, a potent sibling of Red Code, which was active  in June, ground the cyber traffic of more than 1,000 servers  to a standstill in the past few weeks.

    However, anti-virus engineers from the Ministry of Public  Security - the official bug-busting watchdog - have said the  effect was not far spread, and that proper measures have been  taken to keep the bug in check.

    Xia Ji, a manager at anti-virus technology maker Kingsoft  Co Ltd, agreed. He said:"Some of our clients have been attacked  but they have downloaded patches to plug the loophole. And emergency  calls are dwindling in the last few days."

    However, Wang Jiangmin, a chief operator at Beijing Jiangmin  New Science Technology Co Ltd - another anti-virus software  player - said the overblown hype on Red Code II should be put  to rest.

    "Vigilance should focus upon other virus at this time,"  he said.