A ‘bot’ – short for robot – is a software program that performs automated, repetitive, pre-defined tasks. Bots typically imitate or replace human user behavior. Because they are automated, they operate much faster than human users. They carry out useful functions, such as customer service or indexing search engines, but they can also come in the form of malware – used to gain total control over a computer.
Internet bots can also be referred to as spiders, crawlers, or web bots.
What is a computer bot and what is an internet bot?
Computer bots and internet bots are essentially digital tools and, like any tool, can be used for both good and bad.
Good bots carry out useful tasks, however, bad bots – also known as malware bots – carry risk and can be used for hacking, spamming, spying, interrupting, and compromising websites of all sizes. It is estimated that up to half of all internet traffic today is made up of computer bots carrying out certain tasks, such as automating customer service, simulating human communication on social networks, helping companies search online for content and assisting with search engine optimization.
Organizations or individuals use bots to replace repetitive tasks that a human would otherwise have to perform. Tasks run by bots are typically simple and performed at a much faster rate when compared to human activity. Though not all tasks performed by bots are benign – sometimes bots are used for criminal activities such as data theft, scams, or DDoS attacks.
Malware bots and internet bots can be programmed/hacked to break into user accounts, scan the internet for contact information, to send spam, or perform other harmful acts.
To carry out these attacks and disguise the source of the attack traffic, attackers may distribute bad bots in a botnet – i.e., a bot network. A botnet is a number of internet-connected devices, each running one or more bots, often without the device owners’ knowledge. Because each device has its own IP address, botnet traffic comes from numerous IP addresses, making it harder to identify and block the source of the malicious bot traffic. Botnets can often grow themselves by using devices to send out spam emails, which can infect more machines.
One of the most common ways in which bots infect your computer is via downloads. Malware is delivered in download format via social media or email messages that advise clicking a link. The link is often in picture or video form, with either containing viruses and other malware. If your computer is infected with malware, it may be part of a botnet.
A bot can also appear as a warning saying that your computer will get a virus if you do not click on the associated link. Clicking the link subsequently infects your computer with a virus.
While malware bots create problems and issues for organizations, the dangers for consumers include their potential for carrying out data and identity theft, keylogging sensitive information such as passwords, bank details and addresses, and phishing.
Malicious bots can easily go unnoticed. They are easily hidden within a computer and often have file names and processes similar if not identical to regular system files or processes.
Examples of malicious bots include:
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