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The Internet has made it possible for a lot of interesting developments–too many to mention all of them, of course. But a lot of smart, creative people have taken advantage of the Internet’s ability to bring people from all corners of the globe together through their computer networks and allow them to share information, as well as create it. Unfortunately, those people aren’t the only ones that have figured out how to use the Internet in new, creative fashions. Criminals have also taken advantage of the Internet’s data grid; maliciously preying on unsuspecting user’s information. In ironic fashion, this a spurred even more innovation from computer and software makers to keep their products secure.
The latest method of Internet delinquency is the creation of botnets used by cyber criminals for financial gain. In this scheme viruses are unleashed over the Internet to infect operating systems and unsuspectingly take over the machine. Infected computers then connect to the command servers of the criminal, who then can uses the machines for everything from mass email spamming to denial of service attacks to credit card theft.
A botnet’s lethality comes from its ability to infect thousands, even millions, of computers at once. This gives the botnet the appearance of a zombie computer army. In a recent report released by Microsoft, over 2.2 millions PCs in America have fallen victim to Internet botnets, making it the most infected country in the world.
However, Internet users shouldn’t browse in fear. For one, computer and software makers are very aware of botnet attacks and have made steps to prevent their effectiveness. Many newer operating systems come with tools to search and remove this specific virus in a few easy steps, and new computer models are less likely to fall under their advances. In addition, botnets are very simple to locate by law enforcement. Additionally, they are undertaken by only one or a few individuals making them easier to capture.
