Computer Malware and Preventive Recommendations

It’s often what we don’t know can hurt us the most…

That is the case when it comes to the effects of malware such as computer viruses, worms and Trojans.

Botnets are one of the fastest growing and the most dangerous threat on the Internet today. “Bot” stands for robot, which is a piece of software with some intelligence to perform a task and the “net” stands for network which is the collection of these bots.

Not all bots are bad, for example, intelligent software agents used in Microsoft Word or the ones used by search engine sites like Google are here to help the end user, whereas bots such as the Storm and Kragen botnet collection are here to disrupt end user activities.

The bots are small executable files that are very easy to spread. They can be spread through spam, music files located on file sharing systems, various Microsoft vulnerabilities that are not patched and host on a web site that pushes it to visitors in a technique call “drive-by download” (Very nasty and stealthy).

The thing that makes these bots so dangerous is their exponential growth factor. As more systems are infected, they also begin to scan to look for vulnerable system. Since additional computer systems use their recourses to recruit other systems, the growth can be enormous in a short period of time.

My recommendations are:
* Use a Mac OS X based system or even a Linux-based system if possible, if not

1. Make sure you have security controls in place (eg. Firewall, Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware and IDS)
2. Make user they are licensed and updated regularly
3. Make sure you run them frequently or have them run at a time your computer will be on
4. Do not download free miscellaneous software from the Internet (eg. Screensavers and games)
5. Do not open attachments if you do not know from whom it is from or what the attachment is.
6. Be smart

For more information on botnets, their effects and detailed recommendation to prevent and remove malware, check out http://www.securityorb.com/

Internet Botnets: The Storm Botnet is not the Big Kid on the Block Anymore, Hello Kraken

Internet Botnets: The Storm Botnet is not the Big Kid on the Block Anymore, Hello Kraken

Botnet is a term for a collection of software robots or bots on compromised computer systems called zombie computers. The majority of these computers are running Microsoft Windows operating systems, but other operating systems have been known to be affected as well. A botnet's originator is called "bot herder" and can control the group remotely using IRC to conduct malicious activities.

The Storm botnet once considered the biggest botnet network with capabilities to force entire countries off the Internet as been replace with the Kraken botnet.

Karken Botnet:

As of April 2008, the Kraken botnet is the world's largest botnet, according to researchers at the computer security company Damballa. They state that Kraken has infected machines in at least 50 of the Fortune 500 companies and has reached the size of over 400,000 bots. The Kraken botnet virus may have been designed to evade anti-virus software, and is apparently virtually undetectable to conventional anti-virus software.

A full write on malware and these specific botnets can be located on SecurityOrb.com