What is a Botnet
A botnet consists of two parts. The "bot" is a virus, worm, or other piece of malicious software which runs secretly on many computers, the "net". The viruses and other malicious programs install on a computer without permission. Once a computer has been infected by a bot, recruited into the network and turned into a "zombie", it silently communicates with a central command server or with other bots. Botnet activities include sending spam or flooding a site with so much Web traffic that it's forced to shut down. This is known as a "denial of service attack.
It has been estimated the 10 biggest botnets in the world comprise over 1 million computers. These botnets are capable of sending billions of spam e-mails per day. As security researchers develop more and more sophisticated means of tracking and detecting these threats, the creators of the predatory programs continue to find innovative ways to spread their bots and hide their tracks.
Early botnets set up a direct line of communication via a communication system called Internet Relay between the infected computer and the person controlling the network known as the "botmaster". A system like this makes it fairly easy for security experts to isolate a copy of the bot software, analyze it, and track down the server where the bot is phoning home. More sophisticated botnet are now using peer-to-peer systems, where bots relay commands through the network, in a "pass it along" system of giving orders. This makes it harder for investigators to find the source of the commands.
The most infamous botnet was called Storm Worm, so named because it originally spread through e-mails in 2007 with the subject line "230 dead as storm batters Europe." Microsoft claims its bot-hunting software has finally defeated Storm, but several other botnets have taken its place. Researchers continue to track the newest botnets, study their code, and develope ways to detect and eliminate the bots. Experts concede that the computer security problem with botnets won't end soon.
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