Whats a botnet?
The hijacked PCs that are used in a DDoS attack comprise a botnet. The individual computers are called “bots,” “zombies” or “slaves” and are controlled remotely by the “master” attacker. The attacker relays instructions to the bots via a command-and-control server, typically using IRC (Internet Relay Chat). Botnets are also used to distribute spam. Some newer botnets, like one created by a version of Conficker, relay instructions via peer-to-peer.
