Features

• Is your PC bot-infested? here's how to tell

  By Robert Vamosi | 25 August, 2009 02:32

  As fireworks boomed on the Fourth of July, thousands of compromised computers attacked U.S. government Web sites. A botnet of more than 200,000 computers, infected with a strain of 2004's MyDoom virus, attempted to deny legitimate access to sites such as those of the Federal Trade Commission and the White House. The assault was a bold reminder that botnets continue to be a massive problem.

• Latest malware trick: outsourcing quality assurance

  By Tim Greene | 15 July, 2009 10:02

  Creators of Waledac malware enlisted the Conficker botnet as a tool to spread malware of their own, marking the first time Conficker was made available for hire, according to Cisco's mid-year security report.This was symptomatic of a wider trend Cisco noted of malware purveyors using established business practices to expand their illegal enterprises. Cisco likened the arrangement between Waledac and Conficker to a partner ecosystem, a term Cisco uses to describe its collaboration with other vendors.

• Botnets: 4 Reasons It's Getting Harder to Find and Fight Them

  By Bill Brenner | 16 April, 2009 09:20

  The perpetual proliferation of botnets is hardly surprising when one considers just how easy it is for the bad guys to hijack computers without tipping off the users.