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US man jailed for turning computers to zombies

A 27-year old man has received a four-year jail sentence in the US for allegedly using malware to turn computers into zombies in the hope of stealing private information from unsuspecting users.

According to prosecutors, John Schiefer, a computer security consultant based in the city of Los Angeles turned thousands of computers into zombies using malicious software, reports the Associated Press.

Mr Schiefer, who pleaded guilty last year to computer fraud, created armies of infected machines otherwise known as botnets together with associates, the prosecutors said.

The aim was to steal individuals' identities by getting their information from their PCs unbeknown to them. Such information can be used for ID theft related crime including stealing money from online accounts.

Mr Schiefer was ordered to pay thousands to PayPal and other companies in restitution.

According to recent figures from Javelin Strategy and Research in the US, online security solutions are helping consumers to avoid falling victim to ID theft, which is contributing to a decline in ID fraud.

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