This 'NullMixer malware' can infect your PC with over 20 Malicious Programs. It can download a large number of Trojans to a PC all at once, according to antivirus provider Kaspersky.  Looking for bootleg software? Be careful; it might lead you to download malware. Antivirus provider Kaspersky has discovered one such malware strain trying to infect tens of thousands of Windows PCs through websites that pretend to offer "Cracks and Key Generators" for legititamate software programs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The malware has so far attacked over 47,500 users, Kapersky said in a report. A victim can be tricked into accidentally installing NullMixer if they search engines such as Google. These software cracks are often designed to let you run legitimate software on a PC, but without buying a license key. The hackers behind NullMixer have been exploiting these software cracking sights to reroute users to download a ZIP file that will run NullMixer. "Notably, the cybercriminals used professional SEO tools in order to come up early in search engine results, so they could easily be found when searching for cracks and keygens over the internet and could target as many users as possible, "Kaspersky said.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The infection occurs when the user extracts the "win-setup-i864.exe" file- from 'archive' and decides to run it. Doing so will trigger it to launch another executable, which will then proceed to drop "dozens of malicious files" onto the PC, Kaspersky said. In addition, the malware will try to disable the real-time monitoring from Microsoft's Windows Defender system.  "Since the beginning of the year we've blocked attempts to infect more than 47,778 victims wordwide," Kaspersky added. "Some of the most targeted countries are Brazil, India, Russia, Italy, Germany, France, Egypt, Turkey, and the United States."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Getting infected with so much malware can also make the PC unusable, unless Windows is reinstalled. "Any information you type on your keyboard will be available to the attackers: from messages you write to your friends on Facebook, the address you use to order on Amazon, to logins and passwords from your device or cryptocurrency accounts, and credit card data. As a result, the entire device with all your information  is now in the hands of cybercriminals," says Kaspersky security researcher Haim Zigel.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         To protect yourself, it's best to avoid pirated software. Users can also consider installing an antivirus program on their PC.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                -by MICHAEL KAN  - PC Mag