A botnet is a decentralized and coordinated network of Internet-connected devices (called “zombies” or “bots”) that are infected with malware and placed under the common remote control of a single command center, often run by malicious hackers. A botnet is a malicious architecture used to carry out large-scale cyberattacks and online crimes.
Conceptually, a botnet is a computing resource used for manipulation. It is exploited to perform coordinated tasks that require a large amount of network power. Typical applications include launching DDoS (denial of service) attacks, sending mass spam emails, phishing campaigns, or generating fake traffic for online advertising fraud.
In the context of SEO and digital security, botnets pose a serious threat to network integrity and rankings. They can be used for negative SEO (for example, creating a huge volume of spam links to a competing site) or to compromise servers, leading to site crashes and service interruptions.