Great nugget:
> a US credit card costs 2$ on the black market and a UK starts at 60$, americans are all in debt.
IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
21–30 of 203 posts
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#22Well, clearly this guy's moral compass is a bit out of whack, but the IAmA does offer some fascinating insights into this world...
yea, the world is a weird place. seeing a lot of angry ethical reactions on reddit, i can't help but think: on one side, there are people like this guy in the comments who left marketing a health product due to false claims, or me refusing to code for certain clients based on "personal" ethical judgments and on the other side there are these "crackers" who steal the credit cards of random people and who even hate them.
one thing i want to believe, you can't build a future on crime, or can you?
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#23Most of what he says is obvious stuff and the emphasis he puts on how much he modifies stuff makes me assume he's someone that just runs programs and doesn't have any unique insight, but he does make one interesting point: > Try to use "Verified-By-Visa" and "Mastercard-Securecode" as rarely as possible. If only your CVV2 code is getting sniffed, you are not liable for any damage, because the code is physicly printed…
My experience with mastercard-securecode is that I can just enter gibberish until it fails the check, then my purchase goes through anyway.
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#24The fact that this guy even posted an AMA shows that it's either entirely fake (doesn't seem it), or he's way too cocky. I suspect some trouble may be coming his way soon. He seems to think that he's infallible and that he won't catch a charge for running a botnet.
From what he says I agree that he seems either stupid or a liar, but I'm not sure about your premise, it's not hard to post an AMA that can't be linked to you.
It is more of an attitude that he has. He either gets out soon or he will get caught sooner or later, the longer you go with attitude like that the more proud you become, the more shortcuts you take and then one day you make one mistake too many
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#25Great nugget: > a US credit card costs 2$ on the black market and a UK starts at 60$, americans are all in debt.
Well this could be because US credit cards are magnetic and UK ones are (much more secure) chip-and-pin cards.
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#26Great post. I forwarded it on to my family and friends in order to give them some awareness of the people who're looking at them from the other side of the internet. Rather than sending more strident "think before clicking" warnings, this post is a great way to get them to think like an attacker so that they can avoid the attacks better.
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#27The fact that this guy even posted an AMA shows that it's either entirely fake (doesn't seem it), or he's way too cocky. I suspect some trouble may be coming his way soon. He seems to think that he's infallible and that he won't catch a charge for running a botnet.
From what he says I agree that he seems either stupid or a liar, but I'm not sure about your premise, it's not hard to post an AMA that can't be linked to you.
It is more of an attitude that he has. He either gets out soon or he will get caught sooner or later, the longer you go with attitude like that the more proud you become, the more shortcuts you take and then one day you make one mistake too many
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#28I don't understand how these people sleep at night. The whole notion I didn't make the game I just play the ball is just hilarious. Furthermore those guys don't understand that eventually they're hurting the web. All that will bring stricter legislation and governments will start enforcing rules like IP identification for just about anyone out there. I can understand organized crime exploiting the cyberspace. But for…
They are just like petty criminals in real life, you've seen what surveillance and legislation does in real life... virtually nothing. The smarter ones go into the cracks and the shadows (Tor) which just leaves us folk being monitored for no reason, but we're okay with it because "it's helping to stop crime"
There is also the addition that you are just interacting with a computer, a keyboard, a mouse and a screen. I bet if you asked this guy if he would go out and mug someone he'd say no, because he'd be face to face with the person... he'd see the upset and pain he's caused.
Not saying it's right, but there is certainly a bit of psychology involved here, gaining from the computer doesn't seem like a crime to those not in charge of their own compass.
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#29Now, what has to be done not to get hacked ends up being answered as; AVs won't help, macs won't help, linux won't help, and use ipad? are we heading towards a world where average users will end up in managed computing behind walls, and only some hackers and crackers will use open computing? is computing doomed to be a the black and white world of tyrannic rule vs. mob rule?
Re: IAmA a malware coder and botnet operator, AMA
#30* About 20% of the users have good graphic cards, but are not sophisticated enough to install drivers. * 30% of victims are Americans. * 80% have an antivirus installed. * An average income of $40 per day (bitcoin only). May vary up to $1,000.
Thanks for the summary.
People obviously think they're safe when they have an AV solution installed...