botnet

The FBI and Justice Department have shut down a network of infected Windows machines used for stealing money. The 'Coreflood' botnet was one of the largest and most longstanding networks of its type. Despite the network shutdown, the malicious ... software used to infect PCs remains in the wild. Over 2 Million PCs Infected with Malicious Software The botnet at one point held control over two million PCs which were infected by malicious software, often downloaded unknowingly by users online the Internet. The malicious software (also known as "malware") easily penetrated Windows defenses ... (view more)

A computer science graduate student and his friends claim to have found a way to use distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to take down large gateways of the Internet -- an act never before thought possible. The method, referred to as the ... "Coordinated Cross Plane Session Termination (CXPST) Attack," would require approximately 250,000 personal computers to target the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) network routers in the attack. This style of coordinated denial of service attack is referred to as utilizing botnet , or a virtual "robot" network of computers under the control of ... (view more)

Security experts are trying to work out why the amount of spam (unsolicited bulk email) distributed worldwide fell dramatically towards the end of 2010. That said, they also suspect it's a situation that won't last long. Post-Christmas Spam a ... Fraction of Summer Totals Security firm Symantec estimates that in August the number of bogus emails sent daily was around 200 billion. Surprisingly, that number slipped dramatically to 110 billion by October, was just 70 billion in late December, and collapsed after Christmas to around 30 billion. (Source: symantec.com ) If you're staggered by talk of ... (view more)

While it is no secret that spam and botnet attacks are becoming more sophisticated with each passing day, there are a number of advanced security software programs that have been able to effectively combat malware in most of its forms. In spite of ... these positive strides, Symantec recently revealed new information that suggests botnets are adapting new methods of attacking computers. In short, a botnet is a jargon term used to describe a network of computers under the control of 1 (or few) users. For example, a PC can become part of a botnet when the primary user inadvertently download and ... (view more)

The worldwide volume of spam has decreased in the third quarter of this year, thanks in large part to the mass shutdowns of some major botnet systems . In their latest reports, security software companies Symantec and Kaspersky have found that spam ... volumes decreased 47 percent compared to August figures. Botnets are formed when (for example) malicious software is unknowingly installed on an MS Windows PC. That PC then becomes part of a "zombie network" of infected systems which are then used to propagate spam email messages. Kaspersky weighed in on the correlation between legitimate ... (view more)

According to a recent report from Microsoft, the Redmond-based software company removed 6.5 million botnets from Windows machines during the first period of 2010 -- which is more than double the number eliminated by the firm over the same period in ... 2009. Botnets Used to Spam, Spread Malware, Steal Secrets In simple terms, a botnet (or "robot network") is a group of infected PCs that are under control of a few (or 1) individual. Typically, a PC becomes infected by visiting a malicious website, or by opening a malicious file or email. Once a computer is infected with botnet malware, ... (view more)

Microsoft has convinced a judge to grant it legal ownership of 276 web domains previously used to control networks of infected PCs. It's the first time this has happened, and the company believes it could be used as a legal weapon. The case involves ... a botnet , created from computers infected with the Waledeac worm . A botnet is short form for "robot network" -- or quite simply, a network of infected computers controlled by one or few individuals. Botnet Sends 1.5 Billion Spam Email Messages Per Day At one point an estimated 80,000 computers were under part of the botnet and were ... (view more)

A recently discovered botnet packing approximately 60 gigabytes (GB) of passwords and other stolen data has been opened up by security researchers. The crack was made in spite of the botnet's difficult-to-detect, self-cloaking ability. Known as ... Mumba, the botnet intercepted and amassed data from 55,000 PCs when it was first investigated, says security firm AVG. It's believed well-known data thieves "Avalanche Group" were responsible for the botnet. According to a report earlier in 2010, Avalanche was responsible for about two in every three phishing attacks during the last six ... (view more)

More and more research is proving that those who know how to create viruses and malware are keen on reaching out to others, most likely to cash in on their deceptive knowledge. Such can be proven with TwitterNet Builder: a new tool designed to ... simplify botnet-based attacks over Twitter. Botnets: A Virtual Army of Zombie Computers For those unaware, a botnet is a technical term used to describe a network of computers under the control of a malicious software program. Once a computer has become compromised, the botnet program runs silently and autonomously until issued a command from a master ... (view more)

Spanish police have arrested three individuals for what is believed to be one of the biggest computer crimes in history. At a news conference delivered this past Wednesday, police revealed that malicious programs created by the accused were used to ... steal bank details from computers all over the world, and that these programs had the potential to cripple the computer systems of an entire country. The accused men are said to be between the ages of 25 and 31, each from a small town in Spain. 13 Million Infected PCs in Control Their transition into hacking came after the acquisition of a virus ... (view more)