A bot is a computer program that automates tasks, allowing it to work much faster than human users. These programs can be used for both good and evil purposes.
Bots can be found in everything from handheld devices to complex social media and web crawlers. They can also be malware, which allows hackers to steal data or carry out DDoS attacks.
1. Chatbots
While most bots are used for various purposes that support users, some are used maliciously to steal user data and information, spread spam messages, or launch attacks. Some bots, such as search engine bots that scan web pages for content, are considered benign. Another internet bot, like a chatbot, converse with website visitors to provide more excellent self-service support capabilities. Some are even able to make appointments and book travel or lodging.
Sometimes, the most advanced bots use natural language processing (NLP) to respond to users. However, NLP technology has limitations and requires ongoing updates to improve its ability to understand the nuances of human conversation.
The most basic type of chatbot is a menu or button-based chatbot that provides answers to users through pre-written scripts. These bots are often designed to answer specific questions or requests, such as how to place an order or what a product is made of. These bots are very similar to the automated phone menus we interact with daily, which require users to select one of several options before receiving an answer.
Another type of chatbot is a keyword recognition bot that uses artificial intelligence to recognize the intent of a question and identify relevant patterns. Once a design is detected, the bot delivers an appropriate response to the user. For example, if the query is “What are your pricing models?” the chatbot will respond with a detailed explanation of the company’s revenue model.
A final type of chatbot is an entertaining bot that aims to increase brand awareness or provide a fun experience for the user. Examples of these bots include weather, gaming, or entertainment bots that act as virtual comedians. These bots are a great way to promote a specific brand or event and can be an effective marketing tool.
Choosing the right bot for your business depends on your specific needs. Generally speaking, the best chatbots are the ones that cover a wide range of critical use cases and can help you achieve your most important business goals. For example, if your goal is to convert customers into clients, you may want to use a keyword recognition chatbot or a hybrid model that integrates rule-based bots with AI. In addition, choosing a platform that supports both chatbots and live chat is a good idea.
2. Botnets
Bots are used for various applications, from simple script bots that simulate human conversation to complex AI-based chatbots that perform customer service and help companies optimize search engines. However, not all bots are created equal. Bad bots – also known as malware bots – are controlled by cyber attackers and can be used to hack into user accounts, send spam or carry out other malicious activities.
Typically, the cyber attackers behind malware bots are called “herders.” These herders use techniques like phishing emails, software and website vulnerabilities, trojan horses, and DNS poisoning to infect computers and other devices with malware. Once a device is infected, it can be controlled by a herder for a long time – sometimes years. The herder can change the bot’s functionality, communicate with it, and even download other malware onto a device.
A network of infected devices controlled by a herder is called a botnet. Hackers can then use the botnet to conduct large-scale phishing attacks, DDoS attacks, and other cyberattacks. The herders who control the botnet can steal sensitive information, use it to infect other devices, and run up loan and credit card charges under the victim’s name.
While good bots are vital to the Internet, bad bots pose significant security risks for consumers and businesses. The best way to prevent a bot attack is to install and update cybersecurity software on all your devices, remove the Internet from any insecure devices, and change factory default usernames and passwords.
While using bots can benefit customers, businesses, and even the global economy, the negative impact of bots can have a devastating effect. When you Google “what are bots,” most results focus on what they can do wrong. While it’s easy to see how they can negatively impact the world, focusing solely on their negative aspects is not a productive way to understand technology. It’s equally important to remember that it only takes minutes for an unprotected computer or another device to be infected by a malware bot and become part of the herder’s botnet – so prevention is critical.
3. Spam Bots
Bad bots are responsible for many of the spam messages we encounter online. They have many forms and goals, but they all share the same goal: sending users unwanted or malicious content. Some of these bots include form spam bots programmed to search for forms to fill out and add irrelevant data, scraper bots that scour the Internet for email addresses, passwords, or other critical information, card stuffing or cracking bots that attempt to use repeated attacks to infiltrate databases. Scam bots that attempt to trick users into sending personal or financial information.
If you’ve ever received a Twitter message that seems to be from an unknown person or one that makes a claim that seems too good to be true, you may have encountered a scam bot. Hackers or other bad actors use this bot for various purposes, from instigating political divisions to spreading malware.
Other bad bots include comment spam bots programmed to post to social media sites or user-generated comments sections on websites. They look for forums that don’t have verification tests to determine if someone is a human user and then create fake accounts to post spam.
They also use a wide range of tools to find email addresses, including searching for text online that is formatted as an email address and using the exact words often found in the text to match email names on a database.
They can also use scripts that mimic human behavior and evade detection by security measures. This is why having a reliable defense against these bots is essential, which can be hard to spot even by the most discerning web users.
