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How Can I Tell If My Computer Is Part of a Botnet?

Posted by timothy on from the check-if-you-are-running-windows dept.

ashraya writes "My father (not too computer literate) has a desktop and a laptop both running Windows in his network back in Hyderabad, India. I set up a Linksys router for him to use with his broadband service. For some reason, he reset the config on the Linksys, and connected it up without wireless security, and also with the default admin password for some time. As you would expect, both of the Windows computers got 'slow,' and the desktop stopped connecting to the internet completely for some reason. As I logged in remotely to 'fix' things, I noticed on the Linksys' log that the laptop was making seemingly random connections to high-numbered ports on various IPs. I did an nslookup on the IPs to see that they were all either in Canada or US, with Comcast and other ISP addresses. Is that a sign that the computers were in a botnet? Are the other hosts part of the botnet too? (I have since rebuilt the Windows hosts, and these connections are not happening now. I have also secured the Linksys.)"

4 of 491 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Well the only fool proof way... by easyTree · · Score: 0, Redundant

    X0563511 (793323) has made you their foe.

          http://slashdot.org/~X0563511/

    Thanks :D

    --
    Requiem for the American Dream
  2. thats easy by nurb432 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Is it running windows? Then its part of a bot-net.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  3. Check the lower left corner of the screen by waa · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Does it say "Start" ?
    Botnet.
    :)

    --
    Windows is not the answer.
    Windows is the question.
    The answer is "NO."
  4. Re:Assume it is .. by Adam+Jorgensen · · Score: 0, Redundant

    A common refrain, but not necessarily true. By and large UNIX-based OSes have proven themselves far harder to penetrate in general with regards to security and I personally do not believe the rota "If your OS had a 90% marker share it'd be spammed by viruses too..." retoric of windows apologists.

    When it comes down to it, Windows is just plain insecure and no amount of arguing to the contrary and sidelining into market shares will change this fact.

    If, the day after tomorrow, all Windows machines suddenly became Macs running OS X there would be a marked drop in malware infection levels that would not suddenly ramp up again in a few months as malware authors adjusted. Personally, I think most malware authors are simply not on the level of the people attending the Black Hat conferences and could barely make the leap from Pascal to C without some hand holding...