Possessed PC's Go Spamming and Scamming

Increasingly there's an online criminal element that's using viruses and Trojans to take control of other people's computers to engage in illegal activity.

The users system will have a "back door" installed on it - either via a traditional virus or `phishing' spam e-mail. Sometimes users will download the Trojan when attempting to obtain software from a P2P file sharing network.

Once installed - the computer responds to instructions on a given TCP/IP port. A hacker can then remotely tell the computer to download other software - and execute it.

Typically these attacks will happen in mass - with thousands of systems (ore more) unknowingly participating.

In contrast to most earlier infections - many of the new culprits have specific financial objectives in mind. Often the wrong doers utilize the zombified computers to send massive amounts of junk e-mail.

There have even been coordinated attacks of spam protection services such as DNS blacklists.

Various email spam blockers are available to help users minimize the odds of being infected, and decrease the burden of unwanted email.

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