How to Spot a Botnet in Your Computer
A botnet is a group of devices infected with malware that are networked together to act as an army for cyber attackers. Hackers often use them to deliver ransomware, DDoS attacks, and data theft. If you suspect your computer is infected by a botnet, look for symptoms such as unusual bandwidth consumption and an abrupt dip in internet speed.
A computer is the primary device used by hackers to infect devices for their botnets. The initial malware infection can take place from phishing emails, exploit kits, popup ads, or website vulnerabilities. Once infected, the devices can be used to steal online credentials through techniques such as form grabbing and keystroke logging. These credentials can then be rented to other cyber attackers for profit.
Once a botnet is active, the infected devices can be controlled by the bot herders through a C&C server or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. The former relies on a central server to send automated commands to infected devices. The latter uses a variety of communications protocols to communicate with each other, making them difficult to identify and shut down.
It is essential to detect the presence of a botnet in your system early because it can cause a lot of trouble. Whether it is an unexpected change in file access preferences or unidentified programs in the task manager, these can be a sign of a botnet attack. Moreover, you can also spot a botnet by noticing a sudden spike in bandwidth consumption and an increase in internet speed.