electrons's Blog

Perhaps you may have heard about the Bot Net going around nicknamed "Storm".  Watching this one, I can see how easily it is to become infected.  For those not sure what a Bot-Net is, it is NOT a virus, but a tiny program which allows someone on the outside to silently take control by accepting commands from the outside world.  Scary huh?  Most infected computers send spam email around the clock.  Remember most spam comes from computers like yours and mine infected and taking commands from the "mother ship" computer.  But it gets worse than spam....

This "Storm" bot net is estimated to have infected 160,000 computers, and that number will only go up.  While it is not always 100% possible to detect you have it, a good measure is to run a program called Spybot Search and Destroy found here.

The lastest news on this very disturbing bot is that once you are silently part of this network of infected computers, the creators are using commands to pull information out of your PC such as bank information, passwords, etc... and selling this information they find to others.  It is an underground business out there and this is how indentities are being stolen and sold.  One expert said  "It's a fast-flux network with thousands of machines around the world, and it's grown so that it's almost impossible to shut down." Full article here.

So how do you get it?  Opening emails from people you do not know and clicking on links or opening attachments.  Visiting gaming websites, downloading games and fancy looking programs, screensavers, etc.. A new way is by using USB thumb drives that are infected.  Bot nets are becoming big news, but they are still a mystery to many including experts.  Be careful out there, use common sense and realize that every effort is being made to compromise your information.