CDC says a "Goolag Scanner" program based on work done by a hacker using the name "Johnny I Hack Stuff" is available for free download at its website.

The tool lets people with fundamental programming skills check websites or Internet domains for weaknesses that could be exploited by hackers, according to CDC.

The group said it uncovered "some pretty scary holes" through random tests of the tool in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

CDC advised website operators to use to tool to find and patch vulnerabilities before hackers use it for crime or mischief.

"If I were a government, a large corporation, or anyone with a large web site, I'd be downloading this beast and aiming it at my site yesterday," CDC spokesman Oxblood Ruffin said in a message posted at the website.

Google did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

Computer security specialists warn people to make certain any programs they download onto their computers don't contain malicious code.

Hackers routinely try to trick people into installing programs that then take over machines or mine them for passwords, financial accounts, or other valuable information.

CDC was established in the US in 1984 and its history includes declaring war on the Church of Scientology and claiming to have given former US president Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Disease with a tainted dart from a blow gun.

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