40 percent of PCs infected by botnets

SEATTLE, March 17 (UPI) -- Botnets -- e-mail messages that hijack computer operations -- infect 40 percent of U.S. personal computers connected to the Internet every day, USA Today said.

One Internet security firm says that on the average day, about 7.3 million computers become infected with bots, up from 333,000 in August 2006. Most computer users are unaware of the infection, USA Today said Monday.

Botnets work by embedding code into attachments or fake Web addresses. Once a user clicks on the link, the bot takes over part of the computer to steal sensitive information or spread more infections.

Gangs of cybercriminals managed to save up enough stolen identify theft to keep running scams for many years, the report said, but law enforcement and security protections are largely behind the curve.

Beyond personal use, botnets targeted nearly 2,000 financial institutions and government agencies, with 106 new targets in the fourth quarter of 2007, the security data firm Cyveillance reported.

"Botnets have become the tool of choice for bad guys," Rick Howard, director of intelligence at VeriSign iDefense, tells USA Today. "You take over a box (PC), put it in your botnet and forevermore you own that box and can do whatever you like with it."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International