botnets

As a Show of Gratitude for Discovering the Mac Botnet, Apple Tries to Shut Down Dr. Web’s Virus Monitoring Servers

Dr. Web is the security firm that discovered last week’s all-Mac botnet, something that is pretty unprecedented for the operating system. After sending Apple the findings of their research, Dr. Web heard nothing. And while it technically has yet to acknowledge Dr. Web at all, the fact that Apple attempted to nix the group’s monitoring…

Tech News Adrian Covert Apr 10

Microsoft Raids Take Botnet Stings Into Its Own Hands

Over the weekend, Microsoft teams accompanied by United States marshals raided buildings and seized hundreds of web addresses to shut down a major botnet syndicate. The sting was part of a civil suit brought by Microsoft—because it was tired of waiting for law enforcement bodies to act. The New York Times reports that the raids…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Mar 26

How Microsoft and Kaspersky Labs Neutralized a Spam Botnet

Botnets are feared not only for what they can do, but also for their resiliant nature (they’re virtually impossible to completely disband). Still, Microsoft and Kaspersky Labs teamed up recently to foil a particularly malevolent botnet called Kelihos. Here’s how. https://gizmodo.com/theres-a-botnet-called-tdl-4-thats-virtually-indestruct-5817261 Kelihos is a botnet that, at its peak, was sending 4 billion spam messages…

Tech News Adrian Covert Sep 30

There’s a Botnet Called TDL-4 That’s Virtually Indestructable

TDSS is a trojan virus that infects computers and installs the TDL-4 program, which makes said computer part of a botnet 4.5 million machines strong. TDL-4 is extremely difficult to detect and eliminate. One expert at Kapersky Labs says TDL-4 is “practically indestructable.” What’s the magic behind TDL-4. It’s a combination two things. The first,…

Privacy & Security Adrian Covert Jun 30

Inside the Big Business of Spam Botnets

Spam emails are usually so crude that it might seem impossible that spammers make money from them, but the sheer volume of messages sent every day makes spamming a profitable industry – most emails sent worldwide are spam. This constant stream of cheap drug offers and other scams is pumped out by botnets, networks of…

Tech News Jacob Aron - New Scientist Mar 28

Night of the Living Androids: New Botnet will Zombify Your Smartphones

If there are two things that nerds fear the most, it’s the impending zombie apocalypse and the threat of viruses and malware on their smartphones. Well it looks like the latter is one step closer to reality. Researcher Georgia Weidman developed the Android-based malware in her lab, which is believed to the the first botnet…

Tech News Adrian Covert Jan 22

Microsoft Wants To Keep Your Sick Computers Off The Internet

According to Microsoft, your virus-infected computer is no different from a diseased human. This means that it should be quarantined until it’s healthy so that it doesn’t put others at risk: Just as when an individual who is not vaccinated puts others’ health at risk, computers that are not protected or have been compromised with…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Oct 6

Microsoft’s Legal Team Slays Botnets

Microsoft’s legal team has worked hard to kill “malvertising” and botnets and they’ve had some great success recently: https://gizmodo.com/heroes-of-the-day-microsofts-legal-team-for-fighting-t-5363037 The U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia last week granted a motion that, in effect, gives Microsoft permanent ownership of 276 Web domains once used by the Waledac cybergang to send instructions to hundreds of thousands…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Sep 9

The Myth of Computer Security

Let me tell you about a myth, a story, a fable that’s been concocted and perpetuated by certain media groups. It’s a story about how—with proper protection—your computer is immune to cyber attacks, viruses and other malware. That’s the story but it’s not true. I’m talking about the myth of computer security. There’s no conspiracy…

Tech News Andy Kaiser Jun 3

Anti-Spam Warriors Fight Botnet With Botnet

Researchers at the International Computer Science Institute and UC-San Diego have achieved 100% success rates in filtering spam from a specific botnet. The strategy? Capture the enemy, and make him talk. A botnet is a computer that’s been hijacked to send spam out into the world without its owner’s knowledge. By running a captured software…

Tech News Brian Barrett Jan 25

How Three Guys Dismantled One of the World’s Most Powerful Botnets

If you’re envisioning lines of code flying across bays of screens, amphetamine-fueled digital manhunts and dramatic, albeit rendered, explosions, I’m sorry. When major botnets fall nowadays, it’s the product of hard work, patience, and some well-placed phone calls. For the last couple years, security firm FireEye has been under contract to protect its clients’ computers…

Privacy & Security John Herrman Dec 29

Giant Dutch Botnet Busted, Forced to Commit Ritualistic Suicide

When the Dutch High Tech Crime unit raided the 150,000-machine strong Shadow botnet, they didn’t simply bust its 19- and 16-year-old basement-dwelling operators. Oh no. Instead of simply decapitating it from the top, the police enlisted the help of Kaspersky Labs to actually take full control, driving the cold dagger of the law even deeper…

Privacy & Security John Mahoney Aug 15

As a Show of Gratitude for Discovering the Mac Botnet, Apple Tries to Shut Down Dr. Web’s Virus Monitoring Servers

Microsoft Raids Take Botnet Stings Into Its Own Hands

How Microsoft and Kaspersky Labs Neutralized a Spam Botnet

There’s a Botnet Called TDL-4 That’s Virtually Indestructable

Inside the Big Business of Spam Botnets

Night of the Living Androids: New Botnet will Zombify Your Smartphones

Microsoft Wants To Keep Your Sick Computers Off The Internet

Microsoft’s Legal Team Slays Botnets

The Myth of Computer Security

Anti-Spam Warriors Fight Botnet With Botnet

How Three Guys Dismantled One of the World’s Most Powerful Botnets

Giant Dutch Botnet Busted, Forced to Commit Ritualistic Suicide

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