Computer Care Tech Tips

© designjetparts.com 6/21/2012

Bot Nets. Are you a bot?
You might be a bot and never know it.
Your computer could be infected with a spyware or other malicious software that makes you a bot.
Bots are commanded to travel the internet and conduct DoS attacks (Denial of Service), scrape websites for email and phone numbers, perform php injection attacks against websites (attempting to hack and change the coding on a webpage).
Your computer could be actively seeking information to aid an identity thief to steal information and credit card numbers from unsuspecting people.
Bots collect information and then, without your knowledge, transmit that information to the writer of the bot.
Activities that you would not normally, actively participate in, nor approve of.

If you are a bot, like I said, you might never discover that you are. You would need to employ network-monitoring software, and then you would have to notice the excessive activity when you are not surfing the net. You might suddenly start getting returned emails that you did not send. In a worse case scenario your ISP might shut you off.

Follow up:

Bot nets are used to shutdown web servers, steal information or to hack servers and systems to infect them or propagate themselves. Bot nets cost millions of dollars in damage and theft, they can also be deadly. Bot nets have been used to hack into sensitive computer and server networks to gain access to information or shut them down. When an electrical grid control network is hacked the power can go out, when a hospital network is hacked patients are in danger, and patient information can be stolen. The list goes on and on.

What can you do?
Turn off or disconnect from the internet computers that are not in use.
Do not click on links in emails or social networking sites that you are not 100% sure you know the link is safe and a website you would normally visit.
If possible, download, install and use FireFox web browser for surfing social networking sites.
Keep your anti-virus software up to date and running.
Use the Windows or a reliable 3rd party firewall.
Do not allow software you are not familiar with access the internet.

If you think your computer might be infected with a bot or spyware.
Use Spyware S&D to check and remove spyware from your computer and immunize your system against future infections.
If you have doubts, download and install Microsoft Security Essentials, (uninstall your old anti-virus program) Never run more than one anti-virus program, it will slow your system and can also protect some infections.
You can also download and run the free version of LavaSoft Ad-Ware and Mal-Ware Bytes anti-malware.

If you find you have been infected and you cannot remove the infection, contact your local computer service company and get it removed.

Don't be a bot.

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