The FBI has uncovered over one million individually identified computers and is attempting to contact the owners to let them know their computers may be part of a massive criminal network that is a growing threat to national security. The networks - which are made up of individual "zombies" or "bots" - are being used to steal ID's, attack websites, act as repositories for illegal content as well as spread spam.

The initiative, dubbed Operation Bot Roast, has been ongoing with most victims unaware that their PC's have been compromised and are being used for criminal activities.

Many of the unsuspecting users became victims by opening email attachments that contained a virus or spyware. Other methods used to infect and take over a user's computer are to set up maliciously encoded web pages which, when visited, download malware directly onto the visitor's PC thereby enlisting their machine into the botnet.

The FBI cautions PC users to install and utilize proper computer security measures such as firewalls and anti-virus programs in addition to anti-spyware software (click here for more information on obtaining this type of protection from the ITPME website).

Even if you haven't been contacted by the FBI in connection with Operation Bot Roast, you may still be an unknowing party to online criminal activity. It is often difficult to tell if your PC is part of a botnet but here are a few things to look for: Your email outbox is full of email you did not send or you have been receiving emails that state you are sending spam; your PC may be operating slowly or in some cases it may be so difficult to shut down you literally have to pull the power plug. Check out ITPME's page on Internet Threats to learn more about ways your computer becomes infected and to discover additional steps to protect yourself.