However, the company stopped short of saying that Zango had anything to do with the criminals behind the botnet, a giant network of compromised PCs used to send spam and distribute malware.

Trend Micro said that it had spotted Zango-related files being passed around in web domains where Storm activity has been seen before.

"The presence of these clues means either of two possibilities. One, that Storm is now targeting computers that have Zango adware installed in them, or two, that Storm has now been commissioned to deploy Zango adware," said Macky Cruz of Trend Micro.

Adware is a form of software that installs itself on a PC without the owner knowing to either pass on browsing information to advertisers or to actually present advertising to the person using the computer.

Zango has often denied that its products are adware, saying that its products are founded on "safe and ethical practices", though several security firms classify it as such. McAfee says it is a "potentially unwanted program".

The Storm botnet was thought to have been greatly reduced in size last month though there are now signs that the network is regenerating.

www.trendmicro.com

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