Glossary
Botnet
A botnet is like an army of hijacked computers. When your computer gets infected with certain malware, it becomes a 'zombie' that takes orders from a criminal mastermind. Together with thousands of other infected computers, it can be used to attack websites, send spam, or mine cryptocurrency - all without you knowing.
What is Botnet?
A botnet is a network of compromised computers (bots or zombies) controlled remotely by an attacker. These infected machines can number from hundreds to millions and are used for DDoS attacks, spam campaigns, cryptocurrency mining, credential stuffing, and spreading malware.
Why Should You Care?
Your infected computer could be part of a botnet right now without any obvious signs. This uses your resources (electricity, bandwidth, processing power) and makes you an unwitting participant in criminal activity. More importantly, the same malware that enrolls you in a botnet often steals your data too.
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Real-World Example
The Emotet botnet infected over 1 million computers worldwide. Many small business computers were part of it, being used to send spam and spread malware to others. Victims often had no idea - their only sign was slightly slower computers and higher electricity bills. The FBI eventually took down Emotet, but new botnets emerge constantly.
How to Protect Against Botnet
- 1.
Install and maintain reputable antivirus/anti-malware
- 2.
Keep operating systems and software updated
- 3.
Change default passwords on all devices including IoT
- 4.
Monitor for unusual network activity or slowdowns
- 5.
Be cautious about email attachments and downloads
- 6.
Secure IoT devices on a separate network segment
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