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

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