The word botnet is made up of two words: bot and net. Bot is short for
robot, a name we sometimes give to a computer that is infected by
malicious software. Net comes from network, a group of systems that are
linked together. People who write and operate malware cannot manually
log onto every computer they have infected, instead they use botnets to
manage a large number of infected systems, and do it automatically. A
botnet is a network of infected computers, where the network is used by
the malware to spread.
How can you find out that your computer is part of a botnet? Does it have any impact on system performance?
When a computer becomes part of a botnet, it can be instructed, among other things, to send spam or make queries to overload a website(s). These behaviors might be visible to the user who has less limited bandwidth available to use for the Internet.
A user can find out if his/her computer is infected through various tools. The most typical would be to use a good anti-malware product. For more tech-savvy users, using a diagnostic tool like ESET SysInspector or simply looking at which processes are running on a computer and which programs are installed might reveal the presence of a botnet malware infection. However, sometimes it’s not that easy to determine botnet’s presence.
Who is behind botnets and what are botnets used for?
Botnets are used by malicious actors for various purposes, ranging from information theft to sending spam. As with everything else, the more resources you have, the faster you get results. Various types of people operate botnets. Criminal gangs use them to steal banking credentials and commit fraud, pranksters use them to spy on webcams and extort their victims.
What is the role of a Command-and-Control server in the botnet? Does bringing it down result in bringing down the whole botnet?
What we call a command and control server (sometimes called C&C or C2) is the central server that is used to connect infected computers together. With most botnets, shutting down the command and control server means bringing down the whole botnet.
There are exceptions, however, the first one is botnets that use peer-to-peer networks to communicate, meaning there is no command and control server to bring down. The second exception is a case we are seeing more and more often: botnets that use many command and control servers. These servers are located in different countries and jurisdictions, making it very hard to bring them all down at the same time
When a computer becomes part of a botnet, it can be instructed, among other things, to send spam or make queries to overload a website(s). These behaviors might be visible to the user who has less limited bandwidth available to use for the Internet.
A user can find out if his/her computer is infected through various tools. The most typical would be to use a good anti-malware product. For more tech-savvy users, using a diagnostic tool like ESET SysInspector or simply looking at which processes are running on a computer and which programs are installed might reveal the presence of a botnet malware infection. However, sometimes it’s not that easy to determine botnet’s presence.
Who is behind botnets and what are botnets used for?
Botnets are used by malicious actors for various purposes, ranging from information theft to sending spam. As with everything else, the more resources you have, the faster you get results. Various types of people operate botnets. Criminal gangs use them to steal banking credentials and commit fraud, pranksters use them to spy on webcams and extort their victims.
What is the role of a Command-and-Control server in the botnet? Does bringing it down result in bringing down the whole botnet?
What we call a command and control server (sometimes called C&C or C2) is the central server that is used to connect infected computers together. With most botnets, shutting down the command and control server means bringing down the whole botnet.
There are exceptions, however, the first one is botnets that use peer-to-peer networks to communicate, meaning there is no command and control server to bring down. The second exception is a case we are seeing more and more often: botnets that use many command and control servers. These servers are located in different countries and jurisdictions, making it very hard to bring them all down at the same time
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