
Computer users around the world have been warned that they only have up to two weeks to protect their machines from a powerful, highly-sophisticated GameOver Zeus virus, which has been stealing financial and personal data around the world.



The UK-based National Crime Agency (NCA) said the two-week period was the timeframe given by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after an operation managed to take control of the servers used to control the GameOver Zeus virus.



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The virus, tailored after a criminal gang based in Ukraine and Russia, was created to mine banking or financial information from computers of unsuspecting users worldwide.



The FBI said more than 15,000 machines in the United Kingdom have already been infected with the GameOver Zeus virus, resulting to the loss of up to US $100 million. Worldwide, the FBI estimated that around one million computers have been infected with the virus.



Aside from stealing personal and financial information, the GameOver Zeus virus also distributes another malware called CryptoLocker, the NCA said in a statement released to the media.



The Cryptolocker performs another aggressive and highly-malicious activity on an infected computer. It encrypts all files, including personal photos, and then demands a corresponding "ransom" to unlock the infected file.



The FBI also said that the Cryptolocker malware has already affected up to 250,000 computers around the world since it was discovered in April. The FBI said those behind the malware have already extorted more than US $27 million from people who want to unlock their files.



Experts said the GameOver Zeus virus, which also comes with the Cryptolocker malware, is distributed via attachments or links in unsolicited emails. The emails that contain the virus mostly offer advice on how to update anti-virus software.



NCA's cyber-crime unit deputy head Andy Archibald said the two-week window should allow computer users to protect their machines and prevent criminals from accessing their personal or banking information or get access to their files.



The GameOver Zeus virus is used by criminals to hijack electronic money transfers and reroute money into bank accounts opened in another country.




TagsGameover Zeus Virus, GameOver Virus, Cryptolocker, Computer Virus