A virus which may leave many users of Microsoft Windows open to hacking has been estimated to be on over nine million computers worldwide, it has been stated.

F-Secure, a security firm based in Finland, made the discovery several weeks ago and has since been tracking its progression around the globe, although the company has reason to believe it may not pose a threat, instead being a fake.

Despite this, it remarked that it has spread between company computers and networks faster than any other virus it had seen in years and highlights a possible need for disaster recovery.

It is understood the worm may originally have been intended as a bogus alert system to tell users that they were infected and needed to buy anti-virus software to rid their machine of the problem, although F-Secure believe it may not have worked properly.

Sources have recommended people download Windows Service Pack 3, which may not protect the computer completely but can help keep a computer safe.

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