The malicious program lay dormant on many handsets for weeks to escape detection, said security firm Lookout which uncovered BadNews.

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If it feels like something is weird about the device, it could be some malicious program running in the background.

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People often fall victim by following a link to a booby-trapped website that installs the malicious program when they visit.

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The PCs are recruited using viruses and worms that compromise machines via known vulnerabilities or by tricking people into opening an attachment infected with the malicious program.

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"You can imagine how a man, believing he is being seduced online by a sexy woman, might be all too eager to click on a link she suggests or run a malicious program on his computer, " Cluley wrote on his blog.

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Although the risk of a malicious Mac program spreading as quickly as any Windows one is very low, it should not be ruled out.

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Android has been the favorite of malicious code writers since August 2010, when the first Trojan program targeting the OS was detected.

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Evans and Jamison emphasized that the program would create real-time network monitoring of malicious activity, limit the number of access points to government networks and standardize government security across all federal systems.

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The backdoor could take the form of an installed program or subvert the system through what is known as a rootkit, a malicious software hard to detect.

FORBES: Worm Attacks Coming For Google's Android - Kaspersky Lab