Surf safe
What are Botnets threats?
One of the most significant indicators of the evolution of cyber crime is Botnet, an extremely sophisticated and popular type of malware that not only infects systems, but
also gives criminals control of the compromised computers. Botnets allow cyber criminals to take control of multiple systems at a time, and turn them into ‘zombie’ computers, which operate as part of a powerful Botnet to spread viruses, generate spam, and commit other types of online crime and fraud. The cyber criminals who control these Bots are called Botherders or Botmasters. Networks of zombie computers are flourishing across the world, and India is one of the most-infected countries. In fact, 62,623 distinct Bot-infected computers were observed in India in 2009, according to Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report XV.
Who are the victims?
Every unprotected Internet user is a potential victim. Unfortunately, not protecting yourself appropriately can leave not only you, but other users vulnerable as well.
What harm do they cause and how?
Botnets are dangerous and can bring down the entire infrastructure of large businesses and even countries. They steal confidential information and communicate it back to the malicious user, including credit card numbers, bank credentials and other sensitive data.
How can users protect themselves?
vKeep all software up-to-date. This includes the operating system, applications etc.
vA good password policy is to use varied passwords for different accounts. This would include a combination of letters, numbers and other keys
vAvoid clicking suspicious links even though posted by friends.
vUnsubscribe from legitimate mailings that you no longer want to receive.
vAvoid publishing your email address on the Internet.
vDo not open unknown email attachments.
vDo not reply to spam.
vDo not divulge personal or financial information.
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