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Botnet on Botnet Action

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the thats-not-hot dept.

Dausha writes "The Tech Web news site reports a story about Botnet turf wars. Botnets have been around for a while, and are increasing in severity. The latest innovation finds Bots capturing and securing host computers from other bots. Security includes installing software patches, shutting down ports, etc."

10 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. Note to Editors by Billosaur · · Score: 5, Funny

    Never let CmdrTaco come up with headlines after a night of watching girl-girl porn... the images created are... disturbing...

    --
    GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
    1. Re:Note to Editors by TheMeuge · · Score: 5, Funny

      How do you think he came up with his username?

    2. Re:Note to Editors by thestudio_bob · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Seriously, why couldn't some kind of "GOOD" botnet be created that does this? If the spammers can do it, why can't Microsoft, Yahoo, Goolge, AOL, Symantec or someone? A botnet that goes around and secures all these drone computers would save the connected world a lot of headaches.

      --
      The real Sig captains the Northwestern. This one captains /.
  2. I can see it now... by Mockylock · · Score: 5, Funny

    In a dark area of Brooklyn, servers have a standoff wearing their bandanas, willing to die for their turf.

    "We are better with patches", says GlobalBot international server.

    InterSearchBot united server sneers, "PATCHES!?... WE DON' NEED NO STINKING PATCHES!"

    --
    "Please, shut up. Just when I think you can't say anything more stupid, you speak again." -Archie Bunker.
  3. The fat years are over by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The time when there was still a market to grow into with botnets is over. The big surge of new, clueless morons filling the net is slowly coming to an end, and even the morons now start using firewalls and AV tools (still no brains, but hey, I'm already happy with small steps).

    So the maximum amount of machines to have is pretty much reached. Now the battle for the precious dimwits started. Well, it started some time ago, but we now get a lot of bot malware that actually tries to kick out the competition.

    What for, one may ask. Why the overhead? I mean, what's wrong with 2 competing botnetters controlling a computer?

    Bandwidth. You can only pump so much spam out of a machine with a given bandwidth. If two try that at the same time, they have to share. And sharing is not really a trait of a botnetter.

    So, let the games for the herd begin. If anyone's looking for me, I'm in the lobby getting popcorn.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:The fat years are over by Applekid · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There's a little more than just bandwidth. If your botnet can gain one extra machine, that's an advantage of +1. If your bothnet can gain control of a machine belonging to a competing botnet and kick it off that one into yours, you gain one extra machine and remove one from your opponent for an advantage of +2.

      When it comes down to botnets being commissioned for Spam and DDoS attacks, the one with the most machines gets the highest bid, and the difference between that bid and the second best is likely directly related to how many computers make up the difference.

      There's a bit of an evolutionary war that's continuing. It's not enough to get your bot client installed. It's facing selection pressure from smarter users, better anti-virus/rootkit detection, firewalls making it harder to propagate, and more aggressive opponent bots.

      Sounds very similar to nature's natural selection.

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
  4. Evolution by Shambly · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think this one oneupmanship is very good. Sure bots are bad but if we look at a virus they are now developing a symbiotic relationship with the hosts. How long until they become indispensable to the security unconscious consumer. Sorta like how bacteria evolved into helping the organism it inhabited. Very interesting to see where this will ultimately lead.

  5. Oblig by xBOISEx · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Begun, this bot war has"

  6. Botnet Gang Fights? by hcmtnbiker · · Score: 5, Funny

    *Cues West Side Story finger snapping*

    --
    If i had one dollar for every brain you dont have, i would have $1.
  7. Re:So Possibly... by plover · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't report zombies on Comcast addresses probing my home web server to Comcast because I'm afraid they'll just get all pissy about my running a web server. It's strictly a "personal use" server, and it doesn't see a megabyte of traffic a day, but you never know what's going to tweak the wrong person. I figure it's better to stay below the radar, keep the patches current, keep watching the logs and put up with the probes.

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    John