Botnets¶
What they are
A collection of software robots, or 'bots', that creates an army of infected computers (known as ‘zombies') that are remotely controlled by the originator. Yours may be one of them and you may not even know it.
A botnet1 is a group of computers that have been infected with harmful software. This allows someone else to control the computers from a remote location without the owners knowing. The person controlling the botnet can use these computers to do bad things, like spread viruses or attack other websites. It's important to protect your computer from becoming part of a botnet by keeping your antivirus software up to date and being careful about what you download or click on.
What they can do
- Send spam emails with viruses attached.
- Spread all types of malware.
- Can use your computer as part of a denial of service attack against other systems.