Are You Part of the Botnet Army?

As malware becomes more prevalent, the number of infected computers continues to grow, some of which are becoming part of large-scale botnets. So what can you do to protect yourself from joining the “botnet Army?”

A botnet is a string of computers that are each infected with malware. The infected computers are linked back to a command and…

Botnet Targeting Mexicans Taken Down by Owner

A botnet that was being used to target Mexicans has been taken down, apparently by the cyber criminal who set it up, according to TrendMicro. “The botnet appears to have been taken down by the owners themselves,” writes Ranieri Romera, a senior threat researcher with TrendMicro.

“The botnet’s controllers sent out new instructions to all of the active bots,” Romera writes. “One of the effects of this was to…

Australians Look to Block Off Zombie Computers

The Australian government and the Internet Industry Association (IIA) have launched a new effort to reduce the number of malware infected computers on the Internet. The new code, which was crafted by IIA, outlines ways that Internet service providers (ISPs) can work to protect other Internet users and the individuals running infected machines.

The suggestions include placing infected computers…

Get Your Botnet Here

Cyber miscreants can now purchase botnets relatively cheaply, according to an article on SiliconIndia. The botnets, a string of infected computers run by a “control server,” allow a purchaser to use the botnet to assail websites and servers and effectively cripple them.

Botnets are often used in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that shut down websites by making illegitimate data requests, blocking legitimate users from accessing the website. Some…

UA Student Pleads Guilty to Launching Botnet Attacks

A former undergraduate at the University of Akron pleaded guilty Thursday to charges he hacked into the school’s computer system to launch botnet attacks.

Mitchell L. Frost of Ohio was charged with one count of causing damage to a protected computer system and one count of possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices. He could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined up to…

Man Accused of Cyber Attacking Conservatives

Federal prosecutors have accused a man of launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against the websites of conservatives Bill O’Reilly, Ann Coulter and Rudolph Giuliani.

Mitchell L Frost is accused of launching the attacks while an undergraduate at the University of Akron. The attacks occurred over a five day period in March 2008, according to court documents filed by the prosecutors office.

The attacks “rendered each website inoperable, at least…

Coder Makes Twitter Botnet Construction Easier

A security researcher has uncovered a new tool that makes construction of a botnet using Twitter significantly easier. The new tool called TwitterNet Builder “offers script kiddies a point-type-and-click interface that forces infected PCs to take commands from a Twitter account under the control of attackers,” according to The Register. “At the tail end of last year, Botnets controlled by Twitter accounts started to make the …

Teenage Sony Hacker Sentenced to 1 Year’s Probation

A Pennsylvania-based teenage hacker who employed botnets to paralyze Sony Entertainment Corporation’s video-gaming website has been sentenced to serve one year on probation, perform 250 hours of community service and pay Sony $5,000, pittsburghlive.com reports.

The 11th grader was found guilty of using a computer for illegal motives, computer encroaching and distribution of virus that caused Sony’s gaming website to crash in November 2008. The boy decided to bring…

Botnet Changes Tactics

The cyber criminals who control the Gumblar botnet have been adapting their tactics to evade detection and stop researchers from downloading and analyzing new versions of the malware.

Analysis on SecureList has found that the botnet has the ability to check what country the infected machine is in. Machines in Japan will not be hit by new infections, as researchers in the country have been actively attempting to…

Texas Man Admits to Deploying Botnet

A Texas man has plead guilty to charges that claim he used a botnet to demonstrate malware to a potential client by targeting an Internet service provider, according to The Register.

David Anthony Edwards admitted that, along with an accomplice, in the summer of 2006 they trained a botnet on ThePlanet.com to demonstrate the effectiveness of a botnet they call Nettick. They allegedly told a potential buyer that they had…