Well 2005 is nearly over and it’s probably been a good year for you if you’re a cyber crook. With bots, Trojans and phishers lurking, it’s no wonder that new online security threats soared almost 50 percent this year.

Latest statistics from Sophos, a UK-based security company, suggest it takes just 12 minutes for an unprotected computer to be infected with malware once connected to the Internet.

While worms and viruses continue to top the malware charts, it’s the emergence of more focused Trojan attacks by criminal gangs that were the biggest threat to computer users. A Trojan, or Trojan horse, is a malicious program disguised as legitimate software. In 2005, these malicious programs accounted for 62 percent of all threats, while more traditional Windows worms were only 35 percent of the threats.

“We are on the cusp between old school and new school virus writers,” said Paul Ducklin, head of technology at Sophos in the Asia-Pacific region. “Where old school virus writers sought as many hits as possible, organised crime works the opposite way.”

Nearly 42 percent of 2005’s computer threats allowed people to access computers other than their own. Thirty four percent stole some kind of information, while 16 percent involved some form of keylogging technique.