Botnet Mafia in Online Turf War

An anonymous reader writes " The kind of turf war seen in the real world by drug gangs is being replicated by the criminal gangs behind spamming botnets, and things are turning nasty."

Careful..

[michaelhood]

It'd be a shame if something were to happen to this nice botnet ya got here...

Botnet Mafia warnings

[marto]

You could wake up with an ascii horses head in your inbox http://www.virtualhorses.com/graphics/asciiart.htm [virtualhorses.com]

Re:ISPs have to be the solution

[tomstdenis]

Can't have that. People can't be held responsible for what goes on in their computers. After all they're big magical boxes and the public is just so stupid.

I think this is a problem only MSFT can solve.

Tom

Let's have ...

[WrongSizeGlass]

... Botnet Wars! They can infect systems and fight it out in the process table.
"Watch out! They just spawned a thread that has access to your virtual address space! Protect your data registers!"

Where will there HQs be?

[master5o1]

Will they be in the typical Pizza shop website? something like www.donluigi-pizza.com (and donluigi-pizza.org for eGangster login)

We're doomed

[giafly]

The really organised criminals will be using exactly the same techniques to evade capture and to protect the business of criminality as is seen in the drugs war. You can be sure that while sacrificial lambs get jail time, the gang bosses and the real botnet builders will continue to prosper. Until, that is, law enforcement, the judiciary and governments around the world start to take the spam problem as seriously as they do the drugs one.

We're doomed

Re:Trying to care

[Oligonicella]

Wow! What the hell were you doing/where were you going that you got so much? I look at tits and ass online and still only get some 10-20 a day on a heavy day. Wow.

Re:Trying to care

[medraut]

Until one of your coworkers turns out to be one of the eevil spammers! Then we'll watch you cry.

Medraut

Re:ISPs have to be the solution

[d3ac0n]

-1 for missing the sarcasm.

Although I suppose he should get -1 for not using a /sarc tag.

-1's all around! Whee!

Final solution

[Fuzzums]

I hope they'll drive-by-spam eachother until their computers are fried.

Re:Trying to care

[tomstdenis]

fo rizzle my nizzle, I izzle coolies for me spizzle.

Tom

Re:Somehow...

[Anonymous Coward]

It would probably be the kind of movie where both gangs walk up to each other rhythmically snapping, the tension building until they ultimately explode into violent "singing" at one another. Personally, I think it sounds like a gripping romp.

Re:Somehow...

[Rob T Firefly]

*ominously clicking together Jolt COla bottles stuck on fingertips*

Botnets... come out to play-ayyyyy!

Botnets blowing each other up?

[Arancaytar]

Yay! I'll get popcorn!

Oh wait, that also means the tubes get clogged. Dang it.

Re:ISPs have to be the solution

[powermacx]

Well, here in Argentina the first answer when you call tech support to complain your connection isn't working is: "You've got spyware. Reinstall Windows and install an up to date antivirus+antyspyware".

Of course, when I answer: "Er... I have a Mac" the answer is "Uh... I don't know... did you try restarting?"

End the War On Botnets

[Cyryathorn]

Obviously, the War On Botnets has failed. All the War On Botnets has done is created a lucrative enterprise for organized crime. We need to legalize botnets, so that botnet operators can finally come out of the shadows. Also, once legalized, we can tax botnets -- this way, botnets become an income generator for the government, rather than a black hole of enforcement dollars. The police can then better spend their time tracking down *real* criminals.

Re:Trying to care

[spazmolytic666]

I would receive anywhere between 100 and 500 spams a day...

How did this get a (Score:4, Interesting)? Dude, here's a free clue, stop signing up for pr0n with your email and you wont get the spam.

Re:Somehow...

[billcopc]

I'm still waiting to be cast in an XXX Hackers spoof, where copying a garbage file sends the female lead on a dirty, dirty quest to get out of trouble with the sleazy fat ugly cops that pursue her.

Might as well spoof Takedown as well, where a fugitive hacker leads his asian arch nemesis on a cross-country chase through every brothel in the USA, all over a dick-length argument. They finally settle their feud in a stomach-churning scene where they both anally violate a journalist named John Warkoff.

Oh come on! When have you ever seen pr0n with a good story ?

No, not really

[Dachannien]

The kind of turf war seen in the real world by drug gangs

Until I actually RTFA, I thought they meant that botnet gangs were finding the people running opposing botnets and killing them.

Or maybe I was just secretly hoping.

Re:Somehow...

[Retric]

I'm actually *related* to italian mafioso... Shut up and deal with it.

Yes, Sir.

Re:Trying to care

[ThousandStars]

As someone who doesn't have an email address anymore [...]

So, do you still have a TV? [theonion.com]

How to avoid spam (slightly OT)

[Lavene]

In a consumer help program on TV they had brought in an expert to teach people how to avoid spam (viruses was already covered in an earlier program. Sadly (?) I missed that one. From the top of my head, some of the advices was:

Do not open porn sites (Yes, he said 'open')
Do not watch online movies
Keep an updated anti virus
Do not use web based e-mail
When not using your computer turn it off. Laptop users should close the lid.(I love this one!)

The most peculiar though was that not once did he warn about giving out your e-mail address. Thank god we have experts like that to help us protect our self...

Re:Trying to care

[jZnat]

Also, it's not "IPv6", it's "inet6". And not "IP" or "IPv4", we go with "inet". Therefore, instead of "IP address", for example, it's "inet addr". "Email address" can thus be shortened to "mail addr" in techie lingo.

Hmm, this is fun. It's like AOLspeak for techs! And it makes a little more sense.