Y2K bug wards off thieves

If your PC isn't year 2000 compliant, there could be an upside: computer thieves are less likely to steal it.

The finding comes from research conducted by insurers Commercial Union and the Thames Valley Police, a force which has been running a campaign - Operation Mousetrap - aimed at deterring professional criminals specialising in computer crime.

The survey revealed that computer-related crime in the Thames Valley area has been in decline over the past three years - and that non-millennium compliant PCs in particular were being avoided.

A spokesman for Commercial Union said that criminals are now being tipped off as to which machines are year 2000 compliant, calling the phenomenon "a growth industry in crime".

However both police and insurers recognise the danger of the IT-savvy burglar. A Commercial Union spokesman said: "We've been aware for the past few years that computer theft is a highly sophisticated business. Thieves have been known to remove chips from PCs and servers, for example."