Taking down botnets

Let’s start with a few facts. Last week the Dutch police arrested a 19 year old Dutch man for selling a botnet to a Brazilian, who was also arrested. The ‘Shadow’ botnet is made up of around 100 000 infected machines.

However, the arrest isn’t the end of the story. The Dutch police are working to help the victims. One of the steps they’re taking is informing users that Kaspersky Lab websites include removal instructions (created at the request of the Dutch High Tech Crime Team) on how to get rid of the malware which transformed machines into bots.

The case raises a number of security questions which need to be discussed once the botnet has been dismantled. But in the meantime, if you think your computer might be part of the Shadow botnet, check it with an online scanner such as Kaspersky Online Scanner, and read the removal instructions we’ve posted at http://www.kaspersky.com/shadowbot. The botnet does include machines from around the world, so you’re not automatically safe just because you don’t live in the Netherlands.

Do remember that the removal instructions only apply to the malware which has been used to create the botnet. These programs may have downloaded additonal malware to your machine, so make sure you also scan your computer with an up-to-date antivirus solution.