Botnets and How to Avoid Them. Introduction What is a botnet?
How does your computer become a bot? Warning signs How to protect yourself Getting help Introduction Botnets are quickly becoming a growing threat to computer users due to their inconspicuous and diverse methods of taking over computers. Millions of computers around the world are believed to be compromised and the numbers continue to grow. What is a botnet? A botnet, which is short for robot network, is a group of computers that have been taken over and controlled remotely. Bots were originally designed to help transmit spam. Botnets are commonly used for: DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks DDoS attacks attempt to overload a site in order to disrupt business by creating a loss of connectivity or connection bandwidth.
Some botnets can also install malicious software that causes infected computers to infect other computers. How does your computer become a bot? Home computers that have security vulnerabilities are prime targets for botnets. Getting help. Is Your PC Part of a Botnet? Being part of a botnet is no fun.
Your computer becomes your worst enemy, watching everything you do, collecting all of your secrets, and then delivering all that data to the bot-herder; the person who originated the network. But what does it really mean to be part of a botnet, and is there anything that can you do about it? According to a report today from The Associated Press, Internet security company Prevx recently discovered a Web site that was being used as a storage facility for data stolen from 160K infected computers, and the discovery offers an interesting case study.
The storage site was hosted in the Ukraine and its contents showed that the botnet was harvesting data. Information found included passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers, addresses, telephone numbers and other personal information; quite a treasure chest if you're into identity theft. But it wasn't just individuals that were targeted. Botnet Protection. Is Your PC Bot-Infested? Here's How to Tell. As fireworks boomed on the Fourth of July, thousands of compromised computers attacked U.S. government Web sites.
A botnet of more than 200,000 computers, infected with a strain of 2004's MyDoom virus, attempted to deny legitimate access to sites such as those of the Federal Trade Commission and the White House. The assault was a bold reminder that botnets continue to be a massive problem. Botnets are rogue networks of compromised "zombie" PCs. Your machine can become infected if you visit a site and download tainted code disguised as a video, if you visit a site that itself has been compromised, or if a traditional virus or other piece of malware enters your system. Once a bot infects your PC, it calls out to its command-and-control (CnC) server for instructions. Spammers pay big money to have a bot blast their message to thousands of machines; in particular, Canadian pharmaceutical spam is big right now. Detecting Infections The Malicious Software Removal Tool garners results.
Differences between botnets and other viruses. How to avoid them. What to do if you get one. What is a Botnet.