How to Detect Storm Botnet Virus?

Storm botnet virus was first detected in January 2007. The reason why it is called so is because of the storm-related subject lines that are associated with it for spreading infection through e-mail. This can be as catchy as '230 dead as storm batters Europe'. Also exciting topics of human interest are included as subject line of e-mail this can range from news worthy topics to political news. This is done so to attract the readers attention and provoke to open the e-mail.

By a mere click upon the link will cause the system to be infected by Storm virus. This will then add malicious text to any message posted whether to a blog or a bulletin board. The text or the subject line will then be modified accordingly such as, Have you seen this?, this will be followed by a URL containing phrases like free-postcards and/ or fun-videos. So, it is advisable to opt for technical expertise who will provide you with full online tech support.

Users who often unknowingly walk into the trap became a part of a botnet infection. A botnet then serves as an army of commanded computers, these are later used by potential attackers. This procedure is carried on undetected and the owner has no knowledge of the illegal usage of the system.

The havoc it wreaked:

According to an update by virusthreads: The worm infected millions of PCs worldwide and was compared to the Sasser and Slammer attacks of 2006 in terms of damage caused.

Another big attack by Storm worm worldwide was in January 2007. The Storm worm originally posed as breaking news of bad weather hitting Europe. Over time, the worm was also seen in e-mails with the following subjects: personal greetings, reports that Saddam Hussein is still alive, reports that Fidel Castro is dead, sexy women, YouTube, and even blogs. On April 1, 2008, a new storm worm came into existence with the theme of April Fools day subject titles.

Why is it potentially dangerous?

Probably the biggest reason that Storm botnet virus is dangerous is because it operates without the knowledge of the owner. It is hard to detecct it on the infected system. This can only be done by a professional and seeking computer support is essential at this stage.

Another reason why it is dangerous is that the Storm botnet has displayed defensive behaviors. This is indicative of protection provided by its controllers who actively protect the botnet against attempts at tracking and disabling it.

The botnet has also known to attack the online operations of some security vendors and researchers who attempted to investigate the botnet. Security expert Joe Stewart revealed that in late 2007, the operators of the botnet began to further decentralize their operations, in possible plans to sell portions of the Storm botnet to other operators. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation considers the botnet a major risk to increased bank fraud, identity theft, and other cybercrimes.

Another thing to note about this virus is the way it propagates. It fills up the Web pages all over the Internet with links to the malware. So, to save the system from the potential threat of Storm botnet virus seeking help of online tech support is the best possible course of action.