If you’re not an I.T. wiz, some of the descriptions of the router security features might seem more like a foreign language than anything aimed at helping you decipher which integrated services router is right for your company. We’re here to help you understand the security features of a router by breaking them down for you one at a time. Let’s talk about Botnets.
First off, what is a Botnet?
A Botnet is a collection of computers that are all infected by “bots.” Considered one of the top security threats to any network, an attack of software robots can morph your healthy network into ‘botnet’ and a botnet can host fraudulent websites, steal data, and participate in Denial of Service attacks that can render an entire network useless—at least to you. Once a botnet is created, the system of hijacked computers can then be controlled by the command of a “botmaster.”
One of the most destructive worms to date is the Storm Worm. Spread by spam, no one is sure how many computers are infected with Storm (it could be anywhere from 1 million to 25 million), but it is one of the largest, most powerful botnets ever. Because it has the power of so many computers behind it, it is believed that Storm has the ability to cripple any Website that exists.
Botnets are capable of exposing their host PCs to a plethora of internet threats like spyware, adware, Denial of Service attacks, and phishing. Because they come in so many forms, to protect your network, you need something that will recognize each of these forms as bad and kick them off the network before they do any harm. A simple firewall won’t cut it. To detect malware and mitigate it, it’s important to install not only anti-malware tools, but a reliable IDS and IPS.