BotNet

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A Botnet is a distributed collection of Bots operating together and controlled by a single entity or person through a "Command and Control" server, typically over a covert channel. Botnets can be bought and sold or rented on the Internet black-market.

Botnets are almost always distributed among numerous personal computers running the Microsoft Windows O.S. infected by malicious software, by exploiting vulnerabilities in the Internet Explorer browser. Such computers are sometimes termed "zombie computers". Mac, UNIX and Linux computers are relatively impervious to this problem as are Non-Internet Explorer browsers such as Firefox.

Due to the desirability of Botnets for criminal computing purposes and the ease of creation due to Microsoft's terrible track record with PC security, Botnets are common and are becoming massive in size, Dutch police shut down one botnet with 1.4 million nodes and a Norwegian ISP shut down one with 10,000 nodes it is feared that up to 25% of Windows computers connected to the Internet are members of at least one botnet.

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