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Holes in your programs 'are letting in key loggers'

It may be possible for key loggers to be installed on systems which are running anti-virus software, users have been warned.

A post on Ossians Blog explains that many computer users are living literally in a false sense of security.

The problem arises when a rootkit is installed on a system via a weakness in an application such as a word processor or internet browser.

"When your spyware scanner scans your computer the rootkit will tell the scanner 'nothing here'," Steve Marsh, site administrator for antirootkit.com, tells the blog.

He adds that this could mean pop-up advertisements begin to appear or that spam emails may be sent using the computer system as a point of origin.

But he adds that spyware and key loggers are currently the most prevalent rootkit-related infections, feeding back information about the system to the person who first distributed the malware.

The cautionary note follows warnings on the MSBasic blog that some malware now imitates Microsoft Windows' own Security Centre program in an attempt to encourage users to download specific software described as having anti-malware capabilities.

After downloading the requested application, however, the blog notes that some systems begin to experience pop-ups on a periodic basis.

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