There are hundreds to thousands of botnets that infect a massive number of computer devices every day. If you cannot afford to ignore the botnets due to your online activities, you should at least have an idea of how the botnets work and how to stop them. When it comes to the botnets, the size definitely matters. This is because the larger the botnet networks are, the more will be the damages to the operating systems and computer and mobile devices. You should not get wrapped up as the botnets are not easy to deal with.

Here Artem Abgarian, a leading expert from Semalt has talked about 5 major botnets and how to stop them.

1. Pushdo/Cutwail

This botnet is also known as Loader. It is easily downloaded and gets installed on a computer device. The business model is that the Pushdo is customized for customers and aims to spread lots of spiders and bots on a device. The botnet is charged by thousands of installs, and its speed varies from device to device. It downloads other types of malware and viruses to your system too, including Cutwail. The Cutwail is an email spam and Webmail is a web-based spam engine. Both of them have been around for years, and Pushdo uses both Cutwail and Webmail to spread spam and copies of malware on the internet.

2. Bredolab

Just like Pushdo, the Bredolab is prevalent and is broken down into different sub-categories. This is involved in spreading spam and malware online. Bredolab is focused downloading and installing scareware and spyware. The business model is to infect multiple devices at the same time, hoping that the victims will buy the products from affiliate links.

3. Zeus

This botnet is widely sold as the crimeware kits, means it is a huge collection of bots and compromised computer devices. There are different detections for Zeus, and this botnet aims to steal personal information. It is mainly involved in stealing bank credentials and PayPal IDs on the internet.

4. Waledac

Just like Cutwail, the Waledac is used with customized templates and gets the users involved in downloading malware and bots. Since its launch, this bot has been operating on peer to peer networks and is difficult to take down. It can easily load the malicious programs and proxy HTTPs to your computer or website.

5. Conficker

This botnet doesn’t need any introduction. It has never been active prominently but has caused significant damages with time. It does not threaten the users but steals their sensitive information silently.

How to stop the botnets?

The easiest and best way to stop the botnets is the installation of anti-malware or antivirus programs. Before they take your personal computers down, you should turn them off and don’t be a slave for the criminals. For the beginners, we suggest that they clear their cache once in a day and apply application and Windows updates on a regular basis. You should keep your programs and software especially the security patches up to date, and scan your computer every time you turn it on.