A computer virus that may leave Microsoft Windows users vulnerable to hijacking is spreading across the world, infecting almost nine million machines.
However, the 'worm virus' may be a dud, according to a private online security firm.
Finland-based F-Secure says a virus it has been tracking for several weeks has spread through corporate networks faster than anything they have seen in years.
But the virus does not appear to be working as intended.
F-Secure's chief security adviser, Patrik Runald, said the virus's coding suggests a type of bug that alerts computer users to bogus infections on their machines and offers to help by selling them antivirus software.
Instead, the virus is simply spreading to little effect, though it may still pose a threat to infected computers.
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