BusinessDayIf you have a webcam and a microphone on your computer and a broadband connection to the internet, as many now do to chat with their friends around the world, a hacker could be watching you - maybe, if your PC is in your bedroom, just when you really needed privacy.
Computer security experts warned last week that a series of Windows viruses released to the internet are capable of taking control of the audio and video accessories to spy directly on people at home or work.
The worm, dubbed W32/Rbot-GR, is "the equivalent to a peeping tom . . . peering through your curtains", said Graham Cluley, at Sophos, the British-based antivirus company.
Worms such as Rbot-GR can be neutralised by any of the several anti-virus software packages available but these must be regularly updated. "And if you are not using your webcam, unplug it," said Mr Cluley.
While spying on people at home probably fell into the nasty-prank category, in the workplace worms of this kind could be used for industrial espionage, Mr Cluley said.
Security experts say hackers who once developed viruses to demonstrate their cleverness with computer code are being recruited by criminal fraudsters.
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