New computer virus reported

LONDON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- At least 5,000 computer users, most of them in Europe, have fallen victim to a computer virus that uses vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows.

A Russian group is believed to be responsible for the virus, known as Mebroot, the BBC reported. It attacks the Master Boot Record of a computer, trying to overwrite part of it.

"If you can control the MBR, you can control the operating system and therefore the computer it resides on," wrote Elia Florio, on a blog run by the security firm Symantec.

Once the virus is installed in a computer it can download other programs like keystroke loggers that allow the theft of critical information including online bank account passwords.

Another security firm, iDefense, has located at least 5,000 computers that have been infected.