It is high time people from NASA were more attentive when it comes to protecting their computers. W32.Gammima.AG is the name of a virus which was detected in some laptop computers aboard the Space Station.

Anti-virus software manufacturer Symantec described the virus as a worm which spreads by copying itself onto removable media. It is capable of stealing passwords for online games and is classified as a very low risk virus.

Randy Abrams, director of technical education at ESET, explained: “To start with, no computer going into space should have autorun enabled. Simply disabling autorun would have almost certainly rendered the worm inert. Given that age of the worm, and its low risk ranking, it is probable that current (antivirus) software was not being used either.”

According to NASA, this wasn't the first time they’ve had to deal with computer infection.

NASA told SpaceRef.com, which first broke the news about the virus, that no command or control systems of the Space Station were at risk because of the infiltrated worm. NASA is now working with partners on the International Space Station to find out how the virus got on to the laptop in the first place. As there was no direct Internet connection on board whatsoever.

"The protection software automatically quarantined the virus," spokesperson Kelly Humphries told TechNewsWorld.

"The virus did not attempt any malicious or destructive operations. The virus was never a threat to any of the computers that are used for command and control station and hasn't had any adverse effect on the station operations," Humphries said.