Symantec released Norton AntiBot recently, first targeted security product to fight the growing botnet pandemic. The new solutioin is a real-time bot revealing and removal product for consumers. Norton AntiBot monitors PC applications and processes around-the-clock, bringing an additional layer of safety that complements existing security solutions to protect PCs from unauthorized access and tampering.

Rowan Trollope, senior vice president, Consumer Products Division, Symantec, stated: “Consumers need to know that they may be directly implicated in the criminal activities being perpetrated by botnets – if not by having their own identity or personal information stolen, then by being part of a network of zombie PCs carrying out large scale criminal activities like massive spam distribution and phishing email schemes. We’re estimating millions upon millions of bot-infected PCs in existence today, with the vast majority of these users having no idea of what’s going on behind the scenes of their own computer. Norton AntiBot is an important new tool for strengthening consumer security and stopping these insidious threats.”

In addition, Rob Enderle Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group, said: “Botnets are quickly becoming one of the most pervasive, dangerous, and aggravating classes of malware. These networks are increasingly managed by professional criminals using leading technology to steal consumer bandwidth and performance and use it to for tasks ranging from massive amounts of spam to outright identity theft. To mitigate this growing risk all of us should be looking at using defense in depth solutions like Norton AntiBot that include strong protection for these technically advanced bot nets.”

In Symantec’s latest Internet Security Threat Report (Volume XI, March 2007) Symantec found that during the last six months of 2006, there were more than 6 million active bots which is approximately 30 percent more zombie computers than observed in the previous six-month period. At large, Symantec Security Response is revealing that the number of bot-infected computers continue to rise.

Today’s bots are stealth and dynamic, unlike old viruses and worms, secretly installing on systems and turning them into “zombies.” Once installed, bots can execute new commands sent by a bot master on an ongoing basis. If they are not properly removed, they can reinstall themselves, making them particularly difficult to destroy. Norton AntiBot is created to completely remove all traces of any bot or other malware from a system, once it’s identified.

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