The FBI has issued a warning about zombie attacks. No, not the kind that crave your brains to eat, these zombies want to eat your PC and turn it into a zombie to attack other computers.

Zombies, also called bots, are hijacked computers. It’s usually done through trickery. Infection occurs when the user opens an email attachment with a virus or visits a booby-trapped webpage. The virus quickly takes over the computer, using it to steal personal information, wipe out files, send out spam, spread spyware, or even stash illegal content. Tens of thousands of computers can be on a single botnet, and the managers of such illicit systems will even sell access to other managers.

The FBI's ongoing Operation Bot Roast has identified over one million infected computers. They are notifying the owners, most of whom had no idea their computers were compromised, and are looking for more evidence on how criminals use bots.

It can be difficult to tell if a computer is infected. Telltale signs may include the computer running slowly with Internet traffic or outgoing email when there should be none. If you receive an email saying you are sending spam, that might be a symptom. However, some spammers steal addresses or generate them automatically, so this is not always definitive.

Southwest Cyberport monitors overall network traffic. If we see an unusual amount, or receive reports of spam coming from our customers, we will quickly notify them. However, by that time the contagious computer is dangerous and may be almost useless, so it’s far better to prevent infection in the first place.

To avoid the curse of the zombies, use a firewall and keep your virus protection current. Some websites offer free scanning, but be careful. Some report an overabundance of spyware to get you to buy their products or even use the scan to install some.

However, sites such as F Secure, http://www.f-secure.com/ , Trend Micro http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ , and Kaspersky Labs http://www.kaspersky.com/ all have a good reputation for being trustworthy.

 by Jay Nelson, Editor

from SWCP Portal, July 2007