You may have heard of how dangerous “Trojan Horses” can be online. A “Trojan Horse” in the online world is a computer program planted illegally in another program that can damage your computer or steal personal information when the software is activated.

This week, hundreds of thousands of bank customers got some unpleasant news – their accounts had been hacked by a dangerous Trojan called the Sinowal, which (according to online safety experts) is one of the most sophisticated forms of malicious spyware around.

Likely originating in Eastern Europe or Russia, this sneaky spyware works by stealthily gathering banking data by waiting for unsuspecting users to browse common web destinations, including popular social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. When a user clicks on a link, the software downloads in the background.

IT professionals think that because the Trojan has already been around for two years, the infrastructure supporting it must be very sturdy. It’s quite costly to store and maintain the amount of information that this Trojan gathers, so the return on the investment for these online thieves must be high.

InventHelp’s Invention Girl has a few pieces of advice for keeping safe online: monitor your bank accounts and credit cards regularly to ensure they’re not being used without your permission, only visit trusted websites, and finally, think before you click!

Related InventHelp posts:

1. InventHelp Warns: Mac’s Immunity to Computer Bugs May Be Over
2. InventHelp Warns: Conficker Worm is No Joke
3. InventHelp Warns: Gift Cards are Risky Business
4. InventHelp Warns: Watch Out for Spam in Disguise!
5. InventHelp’s Invention Girl Warns: Avoid Craigslist Scams!