Killerbot

We all know about viruses, worms, trojans, spam, and other forms of Malware. However, you may also have heard about something called a "bot". Bots are basically software - automated programs - that perform tasks on the web. Some bots are good - like FrontPage bots. Other bots are bad - bad - bad bot! The bad bots make our lives absolute misery at times. If you have a website with a contact form, you probably have experienced bot attacks on your forms, sending unlimited spam through the form. But a more insidious kind of bot exists. These are bots that reside ON your computer. They are like a virus, in that they use your computer, but they are almost undetectable by most anti-virus !
software. You may notice that your system will slow way way way down at times, with a lot of unexplained drive and internet activity in the middle of the night (or other times) - this can be an indication of a bot infestation, that could be using your PC to send millions of spam emails or worse. If your system becomes bot infested, you are responsible for what happens. Usually, your internet service provider will simply turn off your connection without notice, which can be quite traumatic if your business depends on the internet.

Here are some tips to help prevent this: First, it is generally a bad idea to leave your computer on over night - this creates an unlimited opportunity for attacks from the web. Continuous systems are an attractive target. Second, make sure you have your operating system fully updated, with tight security settings. Third, make sure you have the latest antivirus software installed, with automatic updates - CA's antivirus product is recommended (and available for free download). Forth, you may want to turn on an IP monitor, to see what you system is doing from the outside. One such free service is www.ProjectHoneyPot.org, which will monitor your IP address (which would be all of your home/office PCs if you run through a wireless router), and send you email reports of any unusual activity. After all, knowing is half the battle! Once you know that there is unauthorized activity, you can seek help to resolve it, before your ISP blocks you!