Botnets are networks of compromised PC’s or “Zombies”.

The past 10 years have seen botnets evolve from small networks of a dozen PCs controlled from a single C&C (command and control centre) into sophisticated distributed systems comprising millions of computers with decentralised control.

They are used by cyber criminals to launch attacks on corporate networks, for phishing scams and for spreading email spam and malware.
Poor security on home PCs is largely to blame for the prevalence of these botnets.

A sophisticated underground economy has grown up to exploit the millions of personal computers that have been infected with rogue software that turns them into “zombies” controlled by botnet masters.

Kaspersky Laboratories has has researched the prices advertised in chat rooms and on clandestine websites and come up with the list below.

* Hiring a botnet for DDoS attacks costs from $50 to thousands of dollars for a continuous 24-hour attack.
* Stolen bank account details vary from $1 to $1,500 depending on the level of detail and account balance.
* Personal data capable of allowing the criminals to open accounts in stolen names costs $5 to $8 for US citizens; two or three times that for EU citizens.
* A list of one million email addresses costs between $20 and $100; spammers charge $150 to $200 extra for doing the mailshot.
* Targeted spam mailshots can cost from $70 for a few thousand names to $1,000 of tens of millions of names.
* User accounts for paid online services and games stores such as Steam go for $7 to $15 per account.
* Phishers pay $1,000 to $2,000 a month for access to fast flux botnets
* Spam to optimise a search engine ranking is about $300 per month.
* Adware and malware installation ranges from 30 cents to $1.50 for each program installed. But rates for infecting a computer can vary widely, from $3 in China to $120 in the US, per computer.

Make sure you’re not contributing to criminal income. Check your PC for infections, double check it. Make sure your Anti virus software is up to date, scan for Malware, Adware and rogue software you don’t recall installing.