Microsoft says zombies are top security problem for Windows users

A new report from Microsoft finds that millions of computers have been enslaved and forced to perform evil deeds.

Microsoft says more than 60 percent of compromised Windows PCs scanned by its Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool in the first three months of this year were were running malicious software that turns the machines into tools for computer criminals.

Alan Paller with the Sans Institute, a nonprofit computer security think tank, says miscreants use these "zombie" PCs for a wide range of acts.

Paller says there are a few things you can do to prevent your computer from becoming a zombie:

1. Don't open e-mail attachments from unknown senders.
2. Don't click on links in e-mails. Copy and past them into your browser instead.
3. Update your software applications immediately when prompted by the programs themselves.
4. Download and install the DropMyRights app.