QWe received an e-mail from Comcast's Xfinity Internet service that said our PC may be infected with "bot" software, which we hadn't heard of before. But I can't tell that there's anything wrong.
Comcast is requesting that we let them use software to remove the bot that will cost us $360. Is there another way?
BOB BUSCH, EDEN PRAIRIE
ABot (as in robot) software takes over your computer and makes it follow instructions from some scam artist on the Internet.
For example, a PC that's been turned into a bot could run a phony phishing website that tricks other people into giving it valuable personal information. Or it might steal your online passwords as you type them, or use your PC to forward mountains of spam.
Because there are no outward signs that anything is wrong, literally hundreds of thousands of computers have been taken over without their owners' knowledge. (The recently discovered Flashback bot took over half a million Macintosh computers.) These groups of compromised computers, called "botnets," quietly carry on their illicit business.
Comcast probably spotted the bot software because there was a large amount of Internet traffic leaving your computer.
Without knowing which bot software is involved, it's hard to say whether it will be difficult to remove. But before I paid Comcast $360, I'd try the free Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program (find it at tinyurl.com/6my24hx and click "download now.") To avoid potential interference from the bot software, I suggest you download, install and run Malwarebytes on a flash drive.
