Chapter 1: Understanding Bots

In our modern era, technology surrounds us, evolving daily in ways we never thought possible. Among the most impactful advancements are bots. These are specialized software programs designed to perform specific repetitive tasks automatically, without human intervention. By taking over these tasks, bots help reduce the workload for humans, often executing them more quickly and efficiently.

Generally, bots function over networks, frequently the internet, and they interact with other bots, web pages, or users to address particular issues they are programmed to solve. Bots can be broadly classified into two categories: beneficial bots and malicious bots.

A "beneficial bot" refers to those that assist users and provide valuable services, while malicious bots engage in unlawful or unethical activities. It is essential to understand that bots themselves are neutral; their ethicality is determined by how humans choose to use them.

Section 1.1: Categorizing Bots

When searching for types of bots, you may come across various claims—some suggest there are four, six, or even seven types. This discrepancy arises because categorization is subjective, and different people may have their own criteria. For our exploration, we will focus on the broad division of good and bad bots, even though many other classifications exist.

Subsection 1.1.1: Good Bots

1. Chatbots: These are designed to engage in conversations with humans. Typically utilized in customer service, chatbots aim to resolve inquiries and enhance understanding of products or services. They replicate natural human dialogue and leverage natural language processing to interpret and respond to user inputs. A historical example is ELIZA, which used a scripted question-and-answer format. Other notable chatbots include Erica from Bank of America and Microsoft's Tay, which interacts with users on Twitter.
2. Crawlers: Operating continuously, crawlers interact with APIs or websites to gather data. They only access publicly available information or data they have permission to obtain. Search engine spiders, like Googlebot and Bingbot, are prominent examples, designed to extract URLs for indexing. Some crawlers also monitor systems, alerting users to changes, such as pricing assistants and website uptime monitors.
3. Transactional Bots: These bots act on behalf of humans, facilitating specific tasks often related to data movement. They can be tailored for various custom applications. Examples include Birdly, a Slackbot for data retrieval, and x.ai's Amy Ingram, which schedules meetings via email.
4. Informational Bots: Created to deliver useful information, informational bots send notifications or messages. Commonly used for breaking news, these bots alert users about significant events. The GuardianBot, for instance, provides news briefings through Facebook Messenger, while GamerBot delivers gaming updates.

Chapter 2: Malicious Bots

The first video titled "Got Bots? 1: Intro to Bots & Ethical Bot Creation" provides an insightful introduction to the realm of bots, discussing their ethical implications and creation processes.

1. Hacker Bots: These malicious bots are crafted to disseminate malware via emails or websites, targeting data and attempting to breach networks. They exploit vulnerabilities to compromise systems, and their prevalence grows yearly, leaving a lasting impact once a network is breached.
2. Scrapers: Operating as the nefarious counterpart to crawlers, scrapers unlawfully extract data, such as personal information and passwords, disregarding established protocols. They often republish stolen data for exploitation.
3. Spammers: As their name implies, spam bots inundate users with unwanted content, typically via emails or misleading ads, aiming to generate traffic for specific sites. Fortunately, advancements in detection technology have led to a decline in spam bot activity.
4. Impersonator Bots: These bots mimic the behavior of specific users to gather sensitive information. They are frequently employed in political contexts to sway public opinion by creating propaganda.