botnet

Definition

A collection of compromised computers that is gradually built up and then unleashed as a DDOS attack or used to send very large quantities of spam.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos Proto-Balto-Slavic *árbas Proto-Slavic *orbъ Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Balto-Slavic *-éitei Proto-Slavic *-iti Proto-Slavic *orbiti Proto-Indo-European *-otéh₂ Proto-Balto-Slavic *-atā́ˀ Proto-Slavic *-ota Proto-Slavic *orbota Old Czech robota Czech robota Czech robotbor. English robot English bot Proto-Indo-European *neHd- Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Germanic *natją Proto-West Germanic *nati Old English nett Middle English net English net English botnet From bot + net.

Example Sentences

• "Then they blacklisted addresses used by spammers. In response, senders started using botnets (networks of otherwise innocent computers)."
• "Google Chrome is botnet, use Firefox instead"