A botnet is a network of compromised computers, each of which is known as a 'bot'(short name of robot), connected to the Internet and collecting as well as sending data to a botmaster often called as herder.
'Bots' are good at hiding in the shadows of your computer so that they are not noticed. If you could easily detect that something was running on your computer, you would quickly remove or disable it. They often have file and process names that are similar, or even identical, to normal system file names and processes so that users won't think twice even if they do see them.
But what does it really mean to be part of a botnet, and is there anything that can you do about it?
How can you tell if your machine is part of a botnet?
Statistically, a Windows based machine is most prone to such attacks although other Operating systems are not completely immune to all threats.
è Your computer is unusually slow, crashes or frequently stops responding to commands.
è Your network or internet connection is unusually slow.
è You system generating high network traffic even when you are not doing anything significant.
è Check Hosts file for any unwanted entry other than 127.0.0.1 (Do not delete anything before taking a backup copy).
è Use of commands like arp –a and netstat –a can help you in finding any IP address that is out of place.
è Using Windows Task Manager, if a top 10 memory consumer is a process that you don’t recognize, it could be a bot.
Protecting Your Computer from 'Bots'
As with so many other security risks, prevention is the best medicine.
ü Run antivirus and antispyware software on your computer regularly.
ü Keep your Operating system and application patched against the known vulnerabilities.
ü Keep your system firewall program turned on.
ü Don’t download and use unknown software’s (specially free).
ü Do not be tricked into downloading malware.
ü Don’t open any attachments in e-mail from senders you don't recognize.
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