Programmers award winners for spyware

The more spyware (spyware) you have infected on a user's PC, the more money the hackers will receive from the developers of this type of malware.

Security firm MessageLabs said the trick is commonly known in the cybercrime under the name 'install'. With each successful installation spyware hackers will receive bonuses. The more spyware installed, the bigger the bonus.

Also the bonus value for each spyware installed on a user's PC varies depending on the geographical location of the PC. For example, if spyware is successfully installed on 1,000 PCs in Australia, hackers will receive $ 100. But if those 1,000 PCs are in the US, hackers will only receive $ 50 and in the UK $ 60. But if those PCs are in Asia, hackers will receive only $ 3.

The author of spyware development will first download malware onto phishing websites, websites that are hacked or stored on a web server. Hackers - especially those running maliciously infected PCs, known as botnets - are encouraged to control PCs that they have hijacked access to these websites to download spyware.

If spyware is successfully installed and hackers registered with the author develop spyware, they will receive a bonus.

MessageLabs said in May last year it discovered a case in just one week that the spyware developer had to pay hackers to $ 11,890. This figure shows how much spyware is infected on PC users.