Although it's hard to say for certain how the site was hacked, Runald said Athar was using an older version of the WordPress blogging software that may have allowed criminals to break into his site.

The attack code on Athar's blog targeted an array of known flaws affecting Windows software. It installed a fake system scanner, called , on computers running unpatched versions of many programs including the Windows operating system, Java and Adobe Reader.

Windows Recovery hides system folders on the PC and then tries to scare the victim into paying for bogus software that it claims will fix the issue.

Athar started posting Twitter messages at about 1 a.m. local time about the raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad. "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)," he wrote. "Go away helicopter - before I take out my giant swatter."

He continued to update his Twitter feed, adding details from local friends, and then commenting on the breaking international news story. On his blog, he called himself, "the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing about it."