Fighting malware and spam

Understanding and teaching bots and botnets

Randy Abrams ESET

Bots and botnets suck, so what better to teach about them than a vacuum cleaner?

The second in the 'Understanding and teaching...' series, this presentation is designed to both educate those who are not familiar with the topic or have misconceptions, and at the same time to present effective methods to take a technical topic and present it in a user-friendly manner that those who are not fluent in geek-speak can understand.

Where the Catahoula Leopard Dog (and other canines) was used in 'Understanding and teaching heuristics', this presentation will use iRobot Rumbas to help explain what a bot is and what botnets are. Command and control your Rumba from the comfort of your office, or let them create their own peer-to-peer network to perform attacks on unwitting domesticated animals.

Once users understand what can be done by bots and botnets, and the real risks presented by the malware on their computer, they will be more likely to become interested in safe computing practices.

Just as students drop out of universities, it is not expected that everyone will learn from the opportunity to be educated, however, when presented in an interesting, relevant and entertaining manner, the desire to learn and be more secure can be fostered in many users.

Poll

VB2009