A computer virus that gives hackers access to any information typed into a user's keyboard probably started in the UK and is spreading at "epidemic" levels, according to experts.
The Badtrans virus, which was first detected last Friday, has spread from Britain to over 140 countries worldwide in the past four days.
It is transmitted by e-mail and operates by installing a "Trojan" programme on a computer's hard drive, which then records every keyboard stroke and logs them in a hidden file that hackers can then collect.
Information that hackers can access includes credit card details, secret passwords and other sensitive information.
Britain’s National Hi-Tech Crime Unit is investigating its origins, spokeswoman Ms Judy Prue said. She warned the public "on a daily basis they should update the virus protection on their work and home computers".
Any e-mail account accessed using Microsoft's Outlook programme is vulnerable to the virus, and computers can become infected without opening the file - simply previewing the e-mail is enough to activate the "Trojan".
Badtrans spreads by sending copies of itself to the senders of any unread e-mails in the Outlook inbox.
It can be detected by some types of virus screening guard. Other countries affected include Germany and the US.
PA