How to Know if My IP Is Part of a Botnet and How to Avoid It

Thus, the OSI, which is an organization that seeks to promote security, has created its AntiBotnet service . Thanks to it, we will be able to check if our IP is part of a botnet. Let’s start by getting to know OSI better and explain how it can be useful to us.

What is OSI and what can we offer to users?

OSI comes from an acronym whose meaning is INCIBE Internet User Security Office. In case you don’t know, INCIBE is the National Cybersecurity Institute, which is an organization endorsed by the Government of Spain. This indicates that both are trusted pages. Its objective is to offer us the information and support necessary to solve the security problems that we may have while browsing the Internet. Therefore, they seek that users adopt good security habits, learn to be aware of their own responsibility in relation to security, and that the number and severity of security incidents suffered by Internet users is minimized.

Thus, for example, we can be aware of the latest security notices . This would be an example with security alerts rated on their level of importance.

We also have campaigns that can help us raise awareness and be more secure. In addition to resources with a series of guides for configuring our devices, OSI has technical support where you can make a free call. Another interesting option are its educational games with which you can learn by playing, such as, for example, the Trivial of cybersecurity.

In addition, it has a series of services that can help protect our equipment and devices:

• The AntiBotnet service to check if your IP is part of a botnet.
• AntiBotnet browser extensions.
• The Conan Mobile app.

We will talk about them individually later, but we will start by dealing with the botnet issue.

What is a botnet and why are they dangerous

A Botnet could be defined as a network of computer robots or bots at the service of a cybercriminal and that run autonomously and automatically. Thus, the owner of the botnet is able to remotely control all PCs and other computers that have been infected.

With a botnet, the aim is to control many users’ computers remotely, to commit a series of scams and crimes on the Internet. Among the criminal actions that can be done using a botnet we find:

• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks . These can be very damaging for companies as they interrupt or slow down the work of employees. It represents a loss of business for organizations, and makes it difficult to work with clients because they cannot operate normally.
• Sending spam to email accounts . In them, the botnet owners sell their services to spammers to send advertising or whatever is necessary.
• Advertising scams : usually an ad on the Internet pays the owner of the website for views and clicks. The cybercriminal can then use their bots to visit their own websites or that of a client to make a profit.
• The mining of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies . To this day, mining cryptocurrencies individually does not pay off and it only pays off by creating computer farms. Since the cybercriminal does not have to pay for hardware or energy, it can be profitable to mine cryptocurrencies.
• Spread viruses, carry out fraud and distribute illegal content, for example that is copyrighted.
• The theft of passwords and personal data for sale on the dark web.

Devices that form a Botnet and indications if we are in it

Traditionally, botnets have been composed mainly of computers. Today, the situation has changed a lot and we can now add smartphones, tablets and, recently, IoT devices. For example, there have been cases of cryptocurrency mining on smartphones and putting them to the limit of their capabilities can reduce their useful life.

As for the most common form of infection, it is usually by sending an email with an attachment or by infecting a web server that may have malware. Some symptoms that we could have if we belong to a Botnet are:

• Slower Internet browsing than normal.
• The computer is resource intensive and we are not doing anything that requires a lot of workload.
• We have a lot of spam messages.
• Our contacts begin to receive messages that we have not sent.

OSI’s AntiBotnet service

The AntiBotnet service of the Internet Security Office provides us with tools to know if, from an Internet connection, a security problem related to botnets or other threats has been discovered. In that sense, it should be noted that the service is offered in two ways:

1. Code query.
2. Checking your connection with an online tool.

The AntiBotnet service based on the notification of codes , is carried out with the collaboration of Internet operators that collaborate with OSI. One of them, for example, is Telefónica. In this case we would receive a message from our provider in which we are provided with a code. Then we will have to go here , then we will look for the button See your code and click on it.

Then a screen like this will appear:

Here, what we have to do is enter the code that our operator has given us, accept the conditions of use and press the Consult button. The requested information will then be offered. The second option is to use the AntiBotnet online service that will offer us an answer instantly. What it will do is check if our IP is part of a botnet. To do this, on the same page or by clicking this link we will touch the button check your connection.

Then this screen will appear, we accept the conditions and click on the button Check my connection.

In the event that our IP was not related to threats or a botnet, it would offer us this result.

The AntiBotnet service as an extension for browsers

Another way to know if your IP is part of a botnet is by installing an extension in the browser. We have it for Google Chrome and Firefox.

Once installed in the browser, if we click on the extension, it will offer you this information:

The red arrow is pointing to the Antibotnet extension icon. As for the information you provide us, it is that my IP does not belong to a botnet. In addition, on the wheel with a gear that sets configuration we can put it to check every 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour. Also, if we click on Show complete threat registry, it will offer us a complete historical registry.

In the hypothetical case of a positive result, the icon will blink and the following alert message will be issued:

An important point is that, even if you see that an IP is part of a botnet, perhaps that computer is not the one that is infected. You have to check all the devices on your network: smartphones, tablets or other computers, because the culprit could be anyone. There could even be several infected.

Conan Mobile App

If it is an Android device, an application that we could use to check if we have a malicious application installed and check if the configuration of your device is correct is to use Conan Mobile .

If you want to try the Conan Mobile app, you can download it for free from the Play Store from here:

As you have seen, thanks to the service provided by OSI and INCIBE, we will be able to know if we are part of a botnet and how to get out of it, disinfecting our devices.