How to Detect if My Equipment is a Botnet and What to Do

botnetWhen it comes to surfing the web, there are many threats that can jeopardize the security and proper functioning of our systems. Many types of malware that can affect our security and privacy. In this article we will explain how to know if our computer has been infected and is a t-button. We will give a series of recommendations to know if we have been victims of this problem that is very present in all types of devices.

Many devices can be a botnet

Keep in mind that many types of devices can end up in a botnet . It is not something that is exclusive to computers, but any device can be infected. Especially IoT devices, all those in our home and connected to the network, can be attacked.

Normally hackers are based on vulnerabilities that exist in this type of equipment. For example it may happen that users do not change the passwords that come by default, as well as the configuration itself. This makes them vulnerable to suffer some types of attacks.

Having a device converted to a botnet can affect the security of other computers connected to the network. In addition it could also affect the performance of our connection, logically.

You also have to keep in mind that a botnet does not have a minimum size. That is, it can be a few tens or hundreds of devices , but it could reach much more. Each team acts as if it were a zombie and has different uses.

A botnet can be dedicated to sending spam . They can flood our inbox of ads that could be fraudulent and even affect security. For example, with the aim of downloading malicious software or entering fraudulent pages that may affect our privacy. They could also be used to carry out DDoS attacks against other systems.

How our devices infect

Hackers have different methods to infect our devices . They are generally based on common techniques that can turn our equipment into a botnet. Keep in mind that the methods may vary depending on the type of device, the security we have, etc.

One of the most common methods is to send threats through email . E-mail is a means of communication widely used by both private users and companies. It is the way in which we can send and receive documents, maintain contact with other users, etc. Now, also through this type of services can infect us.

Something frequent is that we receive an email containing an attachment that is actually a threat. It can be a PDF, Word or even a simple image. Inside it houses malicious code that runs when opened. This can infect our system and convert our device into a botnet.

There is another common method used by hackers and that involves infecting a web server . It takes advantage of possible vulnerabilities in your code and thus is able to load malware. In this way it manages to infect the equipment and can redirect them to other pages.

In all these cases, cybercriminals manage to control the equipment at will. They can use that botnet to carry out their attacks directed at other systems.

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How to know if our team is a botnet

There are several signals that we have that can show us that our equipment is a botnet and has been infected. Knowing how to recognize these problems can free us from future errors that put at risk not only the proper functioning of the systems, but also our own security and privacy.

We are going to detail some signals that we can take into account and that could indicate that our device is a botnet. A series of problems that may indicate that something is not going well.

The Internet is going slow

One of the most common symptoms that our computer has been infected and is a botnet is to verify that our Internet connection works slower than normal. It is a clear indication that something is wrong and one of the causes could be that we have been infected by a botnet.

Having a slow Internet could tell us that someone is using our Internet connection. We could take steps to try to correct the problem.

The system takes time to shut down or start more than normal

It could also be the case that when starting the system or shutting down it takes longer than normal. This could be because you are closing or opening a series of unusual processes that the botnet is using. It could, in short, be one more proof that we have been infected.

Slowness in general

If we notice that the computer or mobile device works slower than normal , it takes time to load certain applications and processes, it could also be due to this same fact. We could have been victims of a botnet attack and our team is in danger.

The slowness will also depend on the type of device, as well as the resources we have. A more powerful and complex device is not the same as a device that has fewer resources and is also simpler.

We found many spam messages

Adware , spam in general, is a very common problem on our devices. It can appear by very different methods, but one of them is due to a botnet. We need to keep this in mind.

If suddenly our team is flooded with advertisements, spam messages appear on the system, we could have been infected by such threats.

Our contacts receive emails that we have not sent

It may be the case that our contacts begin to receive emails and messages that we have not sent. This simply means that they are controlling our equipment and that they are sending these messages on our behalf.

It is therefore another indication that our computer has been infected and is a botnet. We must take steps to solve the problem.

Excessive consumption of battery and resources

It is certainly one of the most common signs that something is wrong. We notice a significant decrease in the battery and an increase in the use of resources. It can occur on any type of device.

Suspicious programs have appeared

Suspicious programs and icons have appeared on our systems. We do not know what it is and one of the reasons may be the entry of malware that has turned our system into a botnet.

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How to prevent our team from being a botnet

It is very important to take into account some tips to prevent our devices from becoming a botnet. It is vital to maintain security and privacy. We are going to give some basic but important advice for this.

Change factory settings

Something basic is to change the factory settings . This must be applied to all types of devices, but mainly those of what we know as the Internet of Things can be victims of attacks. It is vital that we change the values that come when you buy it and in this way we avoid that they can easily access.

Create strong passwords

Another option we have is to create strong and complex passwords . These keys must contain letters (upper and lower case), numbers and other special symbols. All this randomly and with an appropriate length.

Have security tools

Of course , security tools cannot be missing. An important way to prevent the entry of threats that put our equipment at risk. It will be necessary to have a good antivirus that can perform analyzes to find threats.

Keep the systems updated

Finally, one more tip is the need to keep the systems perfectly updated . Sometimes vulnerabilities arise that can be exploited by hackers to carry out their attacks. It is necessary to always install the latest patches and thus avoid security problems.