Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Is Your PC Sending Viagra Spam Behind Your Back?

Dec 3, 2003 2:05AM PST

Security experts have identified what they suspect to be the biggest culprit behind that seemingly unceasing torrent of e-mail spam messages and computer virus outbreaks.

The unwitting culprit, they say, is the home user with a broadband, or always-on, connection. In fact, it could be you.

Viruses and related "worms" typically target computers that run on Microsoft Windows and have a high-speed broadband connection. In the past six months, a new generation of bug has emerged that contains a so-called "trojan" program which discreetly installs itself into the innards of the PC.

An effective "trojan" gives the author near complete control of a victimized machine -- almost always a computer that is not equipped with proper firewall and security software.

The result is that the computer becomes a "zombie" ready to carry out any nefarious command.

Once hit, a computer user would never suspect that through their machines flow waves of spam and e-mail-borne viruses, experts say.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3932107

Discussion is locked