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This Valentine's Day you may want to think twice about opening any e-greeting cards adorned with cute puppies and vibrant red hearts or e-mail messages promoting hot new gifts for your sweetie.

There are good chances this precious e-greeting card may not be from the love of your life or secret admirer, but from a computer hacker, intent on stealing your identity, rather than your heart.

Security software vendor PC Tools is warning users about succumbing to a digitally transmitted disease (DTD) this weekend.

People should exercise extreme caution when subscribing to dating or social networking sites, or surfing adult content online, the San Francisco-based firm says.

Just like the real world, virtual venues for dating, social networking or adult entertainment all carry an increased risk of infection, said Michael Greene, vice-president of product strategy at PC Tools.

"The rise of virtual networking has radically changed the way people use the Internet to interact and search for love," he said.

People strapped for time are seeking alternative ways and new technologies to find love, Greene said. "Cyber criminals recognize this trend and are using sophisticated techniques to target the digitally active consumer."

Valentine's Day presents an excellent opportunity for cyber crooks to exploit lonely hearts online, Greene said, as people are expecting to receive e-cards or messages from that secret admirer they didn't know existed.

Diabolical duo

The biggest Valentine Day threats this year are two themed e-mail messages, one containing an image of a puppy holding a heart in his mouth, which asks the user to download a puppy love developer kit.

The second e-mail message shows an image of a series of hearts which asks users to choose an e-card and forward it to a friend.  

The e-mails look pretty innocent but when users click on their link, they become infected with a "digitally transmitted disease," Greene said.

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