","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); Bots_070327[i-1].body = "“Bots” – short for robots – are hijacked computers that are infected by computer viruses and then used by criminals and pranksters for a variety of criminal and malicious purposes.
"; Bots_070327[i++] = new Array("","Who controls ‘bots’?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); Bots_070327[i-1].body = "The criminals behind “bots,” known as “bot herders,” assemble armies of infected computers -- often between 50,000 and 70,000 PCs strong -- that they can then charge customers for the use of. The going rate for sending spam is $5,000 a day or more, according to Howard Schmidt, former White House cyberczar.
"; Bots_070327[i++] = new Array("","What are ‘bots’ used for?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); Bots_070327[i-1].body = "“Bots” are used to spread malicious programs, send spam, fuel “pump-and-dump stock schemes and launch denial-of-service attacks, among other things.
"; Bots_070327[i++] = new Array("","How many ‘bots” are there?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); Bots_070327[i-1].body = "Internet founding father Vint Cerf recently estimated that 150 million computers have been hijacked. Most other experts believe that figure is too high, but there is general agreement that “bots” number in the millions, if not the tens of millions."; Bots_070327[i++] = new Array("","How can I tell if my computer is a ‘bot’?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); Bots_070327[i-1].body = "You can’t necessarily. Antivirus software will catch most known viruses, but new ones are being created all the time. It used to be that poor performance often tipped off users that their computers had been infected, but “bot herders” now distribute tasks among thousands of computers to avoid tell-tale crashes.
"; // END editorial data