These computers are then used to launch a large-scale malicious attack.
Over a period of time, attackers take over multiple computers and create a network of zombie computers. This infected computer is called a zombie. These are computer security threats, and the foundation of these threats is the humble ‘bot.’ A bad bot is used by a cybercriminal to take over a computer – even your personal PC. If you are someone who keeps up with cybersecurity news like the latest hacking attacks and threats, you must have come across words like ‘zombie attacks’ and ‘botnets.’ It’s understandable to think these are phrases are from some apocalyptic movie where the world is taken over by zombies or robots.
Send spam that can be phishing emails or malspam (malware spam). Exploit backdoors that have been opened by viruses and worms. Steal financial and other personal information. The reason why these bots are so difficult to detect, which makes them even more challenging to protect against, is that they can disguise themselves as legitimate traffic.īots are doing tons of valid stuff on the internet, and cybercriminals take advantage of this to ensure bad bots fly below the radar to infect your PC or Mac with bot malware. They can steal your data, infect your computer with malware, launch Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, and do a whole lot more. Malicious bots: A dangerous and persistent threatīad bots are right up there amongst the worst cybersecurity threats. What we are worried about are the bad bots. You’ve likely encountered these on Amazon, Bank of America, Lyft, Spotify, and many other products and service sites.īut these are the good bots. A chatbot that you interact with in a customer support chat window is also a bot. Google’s search engine spiders that crawl the internet to index new pages, critical to finding the results you see on search engine results pages, are an example of bots. Bots have taken over certain tasks that otherwise were performed by human beings, typically those providing information or services. These have been created expressly for the purpose of automating repetitive tasks. What are bots?Ī bot is an application or software or process that has been created to interact with other network services. Bad bots can fly below the radar, using good bots as a front, and wreak havoc. 
The word ‘bot’ comes from the word ‘internet robot,’ and while this word looks and sounds innocuous, bots can be a cybersecurity nightmare.
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