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The Indian who fought 'I Love You'

Nitish S Rele

Last week the now notorious 'I LOVE YOU' virus brought a relatively new company into the limelight.

A leading consumer application service provider of PC security and management services, McAfee.com serviced more than 1 million customers in 24 hours with online application services and file upgrades.

It was the scariest and the fastest-moving virus "I have ever seen," said Srivats Sampath, co-founder, CEO and president of McAfee.com. "There are seven variants of the 'I LOVE YOU' virus. It is coming under control now and people are more aware of what the virus does. The variants are changing the message with new ones, including one called VIRUS ALERT."

Sampath believes that the virus will be controlled fully in the early part of this week.

McAfee.com's VirusScan Online is just one feature offered on its website. "You can use our online applications to optimize your PC, clean unneeded films from your hard drive, find updates for your software and more," said Sampath.

McAfee.com also offers a download center for free evaluation software.

It is the destination for customers looking to buy PC peripherals, accessories and related accessories online. Users can shop from a huge selection of books and software.

New users can click on McAfee.com and get a two-week free trial. After two weeks, for $29.95 a year, subscribers are entitled to take advantage of all McAfee.com clinic applications.

Based in Santa Clara, California, McAfee.com has 130 full-time employees and earned revenues of $24.5 million last year. It was co-founded in October 1998 by Sampath with Bill Larson.

"Our mission was to become the world's largest online service provider," said Sampath. "Our unique desktop-style web interface allows customers access to the most up-to-date versions of web-hosted applications.

McAfee.com has more than 350,000 unique visitors each day and has signed up nearly 350,000 unique paid subscribers to date.

Before he co-founded McAfee.com, Sampath was vice president of product marketing for servers at Netscape Communications Corp. There, he developed the product, business and marketing strategy for SuiteSpot line of web servers, messaging and applications.

He also worked at Intel Corp, where he began as the development manager and co-founder of the company's microcomputer communications division, and was chief architect and co-founder of Intel's LAN Enhancement operation.

Sampath earned a BS in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from Madras University in India in 1981.

Next: The story of a 'Little Red Dot'

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