The malware began logging his bank keystrokes.

Alex was a freelance graphic designer working on a tight deadline. Suddenly, his computer slowed down, and his drawing tablet stopped responding. He knew he needed to update his system drivers immediately.

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Hackers accessed his saved browser passwords.

At first, the software seemed to work. But behind the scenes, the "crack" had disabled his Windows firewall and installed a hidden trojan horse. Within 48 hours: