Chinese malware takes aim at passwords

The code is designed to give cyber criminals an edge when it comes to stealing personal and sensitive information which could help with identity theft and fraud. Sophos found that 45.2% of the malware was designed to nick online game login information from unsuspecting gamers, while 7.5% of the malware had been designed to give hackers username and password details for Chinese messaging client QQ.

Sophos says users should be cautious about using the same password for different sites and warns Internaughts to keep secure passwords.

Senior security consultant at Sophos Carole Theriault reckons the malware's a "worrying trend" considering the growing popularity of online gaming. "Once hackers have stolen login details, they can effectively impersonate the victim in the online world," making a mockery of their level 70 Warlocks.Hackers, once logged into the games, would be able to run up huge debts in online stores without the victim knowing otherwise, warns Theriault.

While it may not seem particularly dangerous for hackers to steal instant messaging and gaming details, Theriault warns that "cyber criminals will have inadvertently gained access to bank accounts, or cracked the passwords to secure password protected information, from which they can steal confidential and financial information." Time to change those passwords, mayhaps. µ