A '''Botnet''' is a network of compromised computers; while not a form of [[malware]], a botnet can be the consequence of a malware attack. Often created by a ''Trojan horse'' or a worm, a botnet can be used to send [[spam]] or to attack [[computer]]s. For example, security researchers at [[Intego]] discovered a ''Trojan horse'' responsible for a [[Apple|Mac]] botnet in January, 2009, hidden inside pirated copies of popular Mac [[software]].<ref>Intego Security Alert. [http://www.intego.com/news/ism0901.asp Mac Trojan Horse OSX.Trojan.iServices.A Found in Pirated Apple iWork 09], intego.com, January 22, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://blog.intego.com/2009/01/26/new-variant-of-mac-trojan-horse-iservices-found-in-pirated-adobe-photoshop-cs4/ New Variant of Mac Trojan Horse iServices Found in Pirated Adobe Photoshop CS4], ''The Mac Security Blog'', January 26, 2009.
* [http://www.intego.com/news/ism0902.asp Intego Security Alert]</ref>
==Notorious Botnets==
* [[Conficker]] (a.k.a. Downup, Downadup or Kido) was the cause of perhaps the largest botnet is history. It was first detected in November 2008, and targeted the RPC port (number 445) of the [[Windows XP]] operating system. There where five versions of this [[Computer worm|worm]] released, to deal with the efforts of "Cabal" which tried to stop it.<ref>''Worm: The First Digital World War'' by Mark Bowden</ref><ref>https://www.sans.org/security-resources/malwarefaq/conficker-worm.php</ref>
==References==
<references/>
[[categoryCategory:computersComputers]][[categoryCategory:softwareSoftware]][[Category:Malware]] ==External links==* [http://www.confickerworkinggroup.org Conficker Working Group]