Spy-Ware, Spam, Bots, and Thieves

Heroes just aren't what they used to be- the 21 year old Australian gold medalist in the mogul is a spam mogul. He's been running a company that infects computers with spy-ware, and then turn around and offers computer users a program (for a fee, of course) to block the very pop-ups he's installing on your computers. Ah, me. On what level of the inferno would Dante have placed such men? Via Slash/dot

And speaking of spyware, the DHM is really quite annoyed when she reads this profile of another computer bot sleaze merchant who says that he feels no compunction about how he earns his money, because most of us are too stupid to be on the computer anyway:

"Most days, I just sit at home and chat online while I make money," 0x80 says. "I get one check like every 15 days in the mail for a few hundred bucks, and a buncha others I get from banks in Canada every 30 days." He says his work earns him an average of $6,800 per month, although he's made as much as $10,000. Not bad money for a high school dropout.

Hacked, remote-controlled home computers, known as robots or "bots," and large groups of robot networks like the one 0x80 runs -- called "botnets" -- are the souped-up cyber engines driving nearly all criminal commerce on the Internet. Botnets are used to relay millions of pieces of junk e-mail, or spam, touting everything from cheap Viagra to get-rich-quick business schemes...."

It's rated a PG-13 in my humble opinion, but parents should definitely give it a read.

These people have a twisted moral code:

He and his hacker friends are part of a generation raised on the Internet, where everything from software to digital music to a reliable income can be had at little cost or effort. Some of them routinely go out of their way to avoid paying for anything. During a recent conference call with half a dozen of 0x80's buddies using an 800-number conferencing system they had hacked, one guy suggests ordering food for delivery. Nah, one of his friends says, "let's social it." The hackers take turns explaining how they "social" free food from pizza joints by counterfeiting coupons or impersonating customer service managers.

"Dude, the best part is when you walk in, you hand them the coupon or whatever, they give you your [pizza], and you walk out," one of them enthuses. "Then, it's like, yes, I am . . . the coolest man alive."

"Dude, that's so true," echoes a 16-year-old hacker. "Free pizza tastes so much better than pay pizza any day."

Free stuff is only better if they are the thieves, of course. Because they do have a strong sense of justice- it's just completely self-centered:

Their biggest complaint about the whole enterprise: being routinely shortchanged by the adware distribution companies, which often "shave," or undercount, the number of programs installed by their affiliates.

"It [stinks, inserts the DHM primly], too, because the companies will shaft you, and there isn't a lot you can do about it," says Majy, 19, who claims to have had as many as 30,000 computers in his botnet.

The reason they can't do anything about it is because what they, and their companies, are doing is is illegal. It's against the law to put this garbage on our computers without our permission. But, and you knew there had to be a but:

There are, in fact, legal ways to induce PC owners to download spyware and adware. Most computer users acquire spyware and adware simply by browsing certain Web sites, or agreeing to install games or software programs that come bundled with spyware and adware. Before its Web site went dark not long ago, TopConverting.com bundled its adware and spyware with products most likely to appeal to children and teenagers: simple games, online game insignias or "avatars," and "emoticons," custom-made smiley faces for use in instant-message software.

One company even created short videos with content specifically geared to the junior high locker room tastes of many young men, and when they agree to download those videos, they also agree to download a bundle of spyware, ad-ware, and pop-ups. These parasites are well-named. '0x80' has written his spyware programs so that they auomatically answer yes to such requests for the user, and they automatically delete themselves later so that he has room to install more programs so he can get paid, again.
Let me stress again that parents should read this. It's five pages, but if you have a youngster, especially boys, you need to know this stuff. Print it out and give it to your fellow parents who don't have internet. Turns out that 'Ox80's' parents didn't have internet access at home, either. He got his start as a young teen while visiting a friend who did have the internet. His parents? Well:

On the eve of a visit to his home by a Washington Post photographer, 0x80 decides to tell his father what he really does for a living, in part, he says, because hiding it is starting to eat him up inside. 0x80 tells his father the whole truth, but he can't bring himself to break the news to his mother because, as he puts it, "she's really Christian and that would just crush her to know I'm involved in something like this."

His dad's reaction? He hopes his son won't o to jail and that he hasn't been dealing in underage porn. High moral standards, those.

Via SlashDot

We first learned about spyware problems when we were infected with some nasty little parasites. WE followed the instructions on this page from the computer warriors at MajorGeek and have been happy with the results. I scan my computer for spyware once a week- it's just as important as taking out the trash. I also have a good firewall and a good virus protection on that one. But I am not a geek, so don't take my word for it. Ask somebody who knows.