Invasion of the Botnet Computer Snatchers

[mandy]

Washington Post article and interviews with botnet operators and victims:

Hackers are hijacking thousands of PCs to spy on users, shake down online businesses, steal identities and send millions of pieces of spam. If you think your computer is safe, think again

In the six hours between crashing into bed and rolling out of it, the 21-year-old hacker has broken into nearly 2,000 personal computers around the globe. He slept while software he wrote scoured the Internet for vulnerable computers and infected them with viruses that turned them into slaves.

...the hacker known online as "0x80" (pronounced X-eighty)...sets his new laptop on the coffee table and punches in a series of commands. At his behest, the commandeered PCs will begin downloading and installing software that will bombard their users with advertisements for pornographic Web sites. After the installation, 0x80 orders the machines to search the Internet for other potential victims...

full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...01342.html

Interview with the CEO of software maker 180Solutions:

Shortly after arriving at 180, I sit down with the company's co-founder and chief executive, Keith Smith. I ask Smith about the criticism that his company's software too often ends up on PCs without the owner's knowledge or permission, and how he thinks the company's "users" view the quality of their software...

...According to 180's Web site, at any given time 7,500 to 10,000 Web sites distribute the company's Zango software.

full article: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityf...ionss.html

Interview with botnet victims:

But Feito isn't terribly concerned about keeping his computer current with anti-virus updates or Windows security patches. In fact, he can't remember ever installing one...

Feito's attitude toward maintaining his computer is all too common among Windows users.

full article: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityf..._user.html