The spyware, which aims to gather information about a person or organization sometimes without their knowledge, and may send such information to other entities without the consumer's consent, started to spread in Vietnam since early July, according to Vietnam's leading cyber security firm BKAV.
It can read emails, view browsing history, and steal personal information such as passwords and bank accounts.
The spyware is hidden in fake software that hackers put on the Internet and tricks users to download it onto their computers.
Once triggered, the software will install a plug-in in consumers’ Internet browsers to keep track of their online activities or even update and download more malware that can attack their computers.
Vu Ngoc Son, deputy head at BKAV’s anti malware department, said it is very difficult for users to find out if their computers have been infected with BrowserSpy spyware because it makes no difference to the computers’ functions.
To deal with this situation, users should update their computers with the latest security software to detect the virus and should not download new software from unguaranteed sources, he said.