The FBI and Microsoft have teamed up with a number of law enforcement agencies to crack down on a global botnet threat that used a ring of more than 100,000 computers around the world.

The threat, known as Dorkbot, basically installs itself on a user's computer, allowing hackers to use the malware for a number of different things, including sending spam and stealing information like logins. In fact, usernames and passwords for websites like Netflix, Gmail and PayPal were reportedly particularly targeted by the hackers.

The threat has long evaded law enforcement and first became known as a threat back in 2011. Not only that, but it infects over 100,000 computers every single month and has broken into over a million computers in over 190 countries in the past year alone.

This particular Dorkbot is not to be confused with a tech-focused organization of designers, hackers, engineers and scientists who meet to present lectures and presentations. That particular Dorkbot is of the good kind.

Nowadays, Microsoft's security software is able to detect and remove the threat of Dorkbot on an individual's computer, however, the massive threat still persists, especially on older computers that might not have up-to-date versions of Microsoft security software.

According to Microsoft, if you have Dorkbot installed on your computer, it's highly likely that you'll have other malware installed on it, too.

"The Dorkbot worm can receive commands to download and install additional malware on the infected computer, causing users whose computers are infected with Dorkbot to be infected with other types of malware as well," says Microsoft.

So, how can you avoid the threat? According to Microsoft, the best way to do so is to be careful in opening unknown emails and downloading software from unknown developers. It's also important to run antimalware software regularly and keep that software up to date so that it can detect new threats.

Via: ZDNet