Tip #2240 - Bots
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Q:
Can you please explain to me what a bot is?
A:
The word bot comes from the word robot, meaning work. A bot can be described
as automated software that sends out commands when it receives a specific
type of input. Bots are often found in chat rooms and through advertisements
on Web sites. For example, if you're ever in a chat room and automatically
get kicked out because of a violation, the bot is what actually removed
you from the area. A bot is also partly responsible for some of those
banner ads you always see going across your computer screen.
There are also Web
searching bots, which are also known as spiders and crawlers. They crawl
around the Internet searching for HTML
documents and record the information they found. Later on, they create
catalogs from the information they generated from the Web sites they "spidered."
The information that is found is then used for the search engine results
that you get on Google or Yahoo!
Although, from the
above mentioned situations, bots may seem like they're not too bad,. They
seem like they can help you out in some ways (removing violators from
chat rooms and creating search catalogs), but bots really aren't your
friend. Bots are also known as "zombies" or "drones."
They are part of the malware family; the part that allows an attacker
to gain complete control over an infected computer. They also work closely
with worms or Trojans to control your PC. So, if your computer has been
victimized by any sort of infection, the bot is able to take over and,
in a way, "zombie" your PC. So, if you notice your computer
is running slower or it suddenly crashes, keep bots in mind as a possible
reason. You'll just want to run your antivirus and spyware protectors
immediately.
If your protective
software happens to find a bot on your system, it may come under the names
of AttackBot, SubSeven, EvilBot or SlackBot. These are types of bots that
consist of a single binary. Others use one or more binaries, as well as,
attacking open source script files that you may have on your computer.
These are commonly known as GT Bots, with GT standing for global threat.
Some bots are also created to generate clones.
To make sure you can
stay safe from any threats that bots hand out, make sure your antivirus
software and any other protection software you may use is up to date.
Also, be sure to run scans of those often.
~ Erin
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