Signs of a Zombie Computer – How to Secure Your PC from Botnet Attacks?

Taken over by malware of different forms, zombie computers are a growing threat and are often called as botnets. The intent behind creating these botnets is basically to conduct illegal activities for personal gain or to harm the victim through malicious attacks.

As per Britannica, “The largest known botnet was uncovered in April 2009. A six-person gang operating out of Ukraine had compromised 1.9 million computers around the world; approximately half were in the United States.”

Sending spam email messages, spreading viruses, downloading pornography, and DDoS attacks on websites, there are a number of havocs that are created over the Internet using zombie computers.

Botnet Detection- How to find out a Zombie PC?

Well, that’s a little difficult. However, you can look up for these signs in your PC to know whether it has been compromised or not.

• Extremely slow performance of your computer
• Sudden or unexplained system error messages
• Frequent computer crashes
• Sudden and frequent closure of web browser without any reason
• Excessive usage of hard drive even when there is little data
• Email messages in your sent folder to unknown ids

How to kill your zombie computer?

• Most noteworthy thing is that several bot malware cannot be found by security software as these malware install rootkit on the system. Therefore, you should get an Internet security software with an anti-rootkit feature.

• Keep your antivirus program up-to-date and regularly scan your computer system to ensure complete safety of your data.

• Ensure that your system’s firewall is activated since it helps in detecting malware quite effectively.

• Look for applications that are installed on your system but are unknown to you. These applications can be viruses, trojans or another form of malware that are making malicious activities without your knowledge.

• Clicking on infected files, or installing malicious software are one of the most common tactics that are used to create zombie computers. Therefore, watch out before taking any action.

In conclusion, I would say that preventive security measures should be taken into consideration for better web security. Do share your instances of dealing with a zombie computer with us in the comments section.