Subliminal advertising techniques have been used for a long time and feature a rapid sequence of images that the user's subconscious perceives, even though he is not aware of it. In the case of this e-mail message, the word Buy appears on screen for a maximum of 40 milliseconds, and in some cases, for only 10 milliseconds.

Although the recipient is not consciously aware of the 'Buy' command, the subconscious levels of perception receive it and store it, influencing the recipient.

According to Jeremy Matthews, MD of Panda Software SA: 'This is the first time that PandaLabs has detected an Internet threat that uses a subliminal message. Although the author does not use a very refined technique in this case, it is worrying to witness cyber-criminals consistently introducing new strategies to increase the effectiveness of their attacks. We can expect new and more sophisticated threats of this kind to appear soon. Think about the damage that this type of message could cause, especially to young users.'