Password-stealing worms loose

Fraudsters are employing malware programs designed to steal passwords in order to carry out fraud on the web, security experts have said.

Sixty-four per cent of all infected emails sent in the month of April contained password-stealing worms, according to Kaspersky Lab.

The firm is encouraging all surfers to use good password practice to stop cybercriminals being able to access sensitive data.

Kaspersky Lab found in a recent survey that 25 per cent of those questioned had 20 or more online accounts, though only 9 per cent had more than 20 passwords.

You should make sure all your devices are protected by firewalls and not use the same password for all services, the company said.

"Every online device needs to be protected by internet security software and a password protocol should be used to make each one as complex as possible. Have a different password for each account, don’t use real words and mix letters, numbers and non-alphanumeric characters in upper and lower case," said Kaspersky Labs' David Emm.

www.kaspersky.com