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If you've spent much time at all analyzing network traffic, you've run into an infamous plague swarming the Internet known as botnets -- the interconnected web of compromised PCs that virus writers use for intelligence gathering and distributed denial of service attacks. But unless you've actually disassembled botnet code, you likely don't have much information about how botnets work. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) whitepaper Botnets as a Vehicle for Online Crime is a first-rate tutorial on the motivations and mechanics of botnets. It should be required reading for all network professionals.