What is a Botnet?
In the internet age there are many new issues of security to worry about. One of them is the botnet. A botnet is a network of computers that carry malware. The network can be a composition of robots or software applications that are run either automatically, or autonomously. They can be set up by a smart user and wreak havoc on the internet market. Most botnets are set up to retrieve information that brings them a good financial return. Normally they want email addresses and then sell them to third-parties for a hefty profit. Ever wonder how your email address is targeted by so many “strange” emails? It is possible that a bot was the culprit.
So why aren’t the creators of these botnet networks stopped? Well it isn’t easy. Remember that the online world is largely anonymous. You theoretically could set up a website today and use a fake name, PO box number, rented 800-number and alias email. It could then be up and running within anywhere between 24 to 72 hours. All you have to do then is to drive traffic to the website with some advertised special, or simple marketing technique. Then you can ask for money for a service from visitors. If they give it to you in return for something, you close your doors once you get the money and you can be gone within a few hours. Of course this is illegal, but it has happened thousands of times in the market– particularly in past years when the internet was first developing. Gamers weren’t yet seasoned enough to protect themselves and fell for the realistic and viable “products” or “service” being offered to them.
In today’s market botnets are still prevalent, though they are masked quite nicely these days. Just like online users have gotten more wise, so have companies that want to take advantage of them. There are now ways of getting around the watchdogs and botnet networks know how to utilize covert tactics to go unrecognized. For example, a network no longer sends out mass emails, but rather sends out a few thousand. It is much harder for regulators to find them if they are moving in semi-small numbers. There are changes in the market and reliable progammers are trying to catch up with the botnet networks, but it will take time. As long as there are people working on them, it will take an equally strong force to fight against them.
