Bot Worm

Bot worms are scripted with the intent to transform infected computers into zombies (bots). It then infects other computers to establish an army often referred to as a botnet or robot network. Botnet is essentially a vehicle for distributing spam, viruses, Trojans and other types of malware. While bot worms were initially known for exploiting vulnerabilities in the Windows operating systems, these attacks have recently targeted other platforms. Bot worms have also been known to attack certain applications, including anti-virus software. An example would be the bot worm known as Big Yellow that took advantage of exploits in the corporate edition of the Symantec software in December of 2006. The most reliable defense against a bot worm is to keep an operating system fresh with the latest patches. This should be applied to any computer that is exposed to the internet. Anti-virus and anti-spyware programs will also aid with their ability to detect such malicious content.