Patches, zombies, etc.

More than 60% of Windows computers have been turned into zombies, ZDNET reports, and a lot of those are home PCs. Zombies are computers that have been taken over by malicious hackers who use them to send out zillions of spam messages or to launch denial-of-service attacks that shut down Web sites (often in extortion schemes). PCs usually get hijacked when owners click on links in emails or IMs that download worms or viruses carrying Trojan software that allows remote PC manipulation. The latest PC security risk is malicious Web sites that send your computer spyware and other "malware" automatically when you click to them from a Web search engine (people need to be careful what they click on from search engines now too, not just emails and IMs). The BBC reports on that. Meanwhile, Microsoft Tuesday released it biggest bundle of security patches of 2006, the Washington Post reports - 12 security updates "to fix at least 21 vulnerabilities in its Windows operating system and other software, including 12 flaws Redmond labeled "critical." PC owners, if you haven't automated patching, go to WindowsUpdate.com (patches can help keep your PC from becoming a zombie). Meanwhile, CNET reports that phishing attacks and botnets (the networks of zombie PCs that malicious hackers manipulate) are outpacing law enforcement.