Where there are PCs, there are sure to be computer viruses, and the mainland is no exception.
What is exceptional is the government's control over the anti-virus software market, oversight of which was placed in the hands of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) earlier this year.
The ministry registers businesses looking to study or develop anti-virus software and also grants licences to domestic and foreign software vendors wanting to sell products.
The process represents a time-consuming formality for foreign vendors but is slightly easier than in the past, when software companies had to obtain licences from the Public Security Bureau office in each city they wanted to target.
Symantec's North Asia regional director Daniel Schneersohn said the government gave the MPS licensing control because it 'wanted a central organisation through which you could apply for certification across the country'.
Computer Associates' North Asia marketing director Alex Jiang said: 'I don't think they want to control the industry.' As one of the country's biggest information technology users, the mainland authorities needed to protect their systems from being corrupted by external parties, Mr Jiang said. 'They are trying to protect the national property. They don't want outsiders to break through their system [or] break down their information system so this is a security issue.' Anti-virus software must be evaluated at the MPS's testing facility in Tianjin, which is said to be barely adequate for the task.