KEY POINTS:
Computer users have been warned to be suspicious of seductive emails that appear to promise undying love but in fact carry the cyber equivalent of a sexually transmitted disease: the most advanced "worm" yet seen on the internet.
Called Storm, the malicious piece of software is believed to have enslaved tens of millions of computers around the world.
Most users do not know they have been infected and unwittingly pass the worm on.
The world's leading internet security experts have been striving to kill Storm, but it is constantly evolving to stay one step ahead.
Storm started in January last year with a message that said: "230 dead as storm batters Europe." When internet users clicked on the file attachment, they unknowingly let cybercriminals take control of their computers.
Storm has already exploited Christmas and Halloween, and there are fears of an onslaught in the build-up to Valentine's Day.
Greg Day, an analyst at the security firm McAfee, said: "We've seen Valentine's messages appearing in the last couple of weeks with a big image of a heart.
"It's trying to install a 'trojan' on your system which can then be used to send more spam to others."
Cybercriminals can then commit identity theft.
- OBSERVER
