Botnet is a network of computers that have been infected by a virus, allowing a hi-tech criminal to use them remotely. Unlike other types of virus, botnets can often operate without having a noticeable effect on the machine in question, meaning users are unaware they are being targeted.
Botnet that was believed to be illegally raking in more than $1m (£640,000) a year, has been shut down by Microsoft and Symantec security experts. Teams working with Microsoft and anti-virus specialists Symantec raided several data centers in the US. They said computers infected by the Bamital botnet were being used for identify theft. Bamital botnet would hijack user searches, tricking users into clicking links on online advertisements.
By the time the botnet was shut down, Microsoft and Symantec believed anything between 300,000 and one million machines may have been actively infected.
In order to combat the botnet, Microsoft and Symantec temporarily disabled infected users’ ability to search the web – instead presenting them with a warning screen explaining the problem and how to solve it as shown above.
