Bandwidth Theft - Revision history

Artists Against 419 at 14:32, 3 August 2006

2006-08-03T14:32:48Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:32, 3 August 2006
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	''And this means that the scammer's can't use their fake site to convince victims to send them money.'' One of the central props of their scam is offline!		''And this means that the scammer's can't use their fake site to convince victims to send them money.'' One of the central props of their scam is offline!

	===Why is bandwidth ~~theft~~ a scammer's nightmare?===		===Why is bandwidth hogging a scammer's nightmare?===
	Artists were aware of bandwidth ~~theft~~ since we put up our first art Web sites: it's a plague of the internet! If somebody displays an artist's image on his site without permission, he's violating copyright. But if this person links directly to that image (a process called hot-linking), he is also stealing bandwidth. The bill for this additional data transfer is sent to the artist!		Artists were aware of bandwidth hogging since we put up our first art Web sites: it's a plague of the internet! If somebody displays an artist's image on his site without permission, he's violating copyright. But if this person links directly to that image (a process called hot-linking), he is also stealing bandwidth. The bill for this additional data transfer is sent to the artist!

	So why not turn this plague against scammers? Many of them use web sites to defraud their victims: there are thousands of fake banks, security companies, lotteries, barristers, even chemical companies. And frankly, they're pretty ugly. If you've seen one fake bank with its flipping bills and backwards-spinning globes, you've seen them all...		So why not turn this plague against scammers? Many of them use web sites to defraud their victims: there are thousands of fake banks, security companies, lotteries, barristers, even chemical companies. And frankly, they're pretty ugly. If you've seen one fake bank with its flipping bills and backwards-spinning globes, you've seen them all...

Artists Against 419: /* Related Links */

2006-07-26T00:53:16Z

Related Links

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:53, 26 July 2006
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	* [http://db.aa419.org The Artists Against 419 Fake Sites Database]		* [http://db.aa419.org The Artists Against 419 Fake Sites Database]
	* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]		* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]
			* [http://muguito.aa419.org/ Muguito]
			* [http://www.aa419.org/vampire/ladvampire.php Lad Vampire]
			* [http://www.aa419.org/mm/ Mugu Marauder] (discontinued)

Artists Against 419: /* How does aa419 use bandwidth? */

2006-07-26T00:52:26Z

How does aa419 use bandwidth?

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:52, 26 July 2006
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	We have put together some tools – [http://www.aa419.org/vampire/ladvampire.html The Lad Vampire] and [http://muguito.aa419.org Muguito] – which automatically reload fake bank graphics over and over and over. Now you can waste the scammers' bandwidth without wearing out your mouse buttons!		We have put together some tools – [http://www.aa419.org/vampire/ladvampire.html The Lad Vampire] and [http://muguito.aa419.org Muguito] – which automatically reload fake bank graphics over and over and over. Now you can waste the scammers' bandwidth without wearing out your mouse buttons!

	But above all, we see this as a tool of last resort. It's easier for everybody concerned if we politely inform hosters of what's on their servers and why it's illegal. And 95% of the time, the hosters appreciate the information and take the site offline – there's lots of reasons to ~~NOT~~ host ~~fraud~~ sites! But for the stubborn few who ignore abuse complaints, ignore evidence of financial regulators, ignore their own Terms of Service~~...~~ we're ~~use~~ bandwidth ~~theft~~ to take sites offline and protect the victims.		But above all, we see this as a tool of last resort. It's easier for everybody concerned if we politely inform hosters of what's on their servers and why it's illegal. And 95% of the time, the hosters appreciate the information and take the site offline – there's lots of reasons NOT to host fraudulent sites! But for the stubborn few who ignore abuse complaints, ignore evidence of financial regulators, ignore their own Terms of Service we're using our bandwidth tools to take such sites offline and to protect the victims.

	=== Related Links ===		=== Related Links ===

Artists Against 419: /* Related Links */

2006-07-26T00:50:59Z

Related Links

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:50, 26 July 2006
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	* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]		* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]
	* [[Bandwidth tools FAQ]]		* [[Bandwidth tools FAQ]]
			* [[DDoS disclaimer]]
	* [http://db.aa419.org The Artists Against 419 Fake Sites Database]		* [http://db.aa419.org The Artists Against 419 Fake Sites Database]
	* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]		* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]

Artists Against 419: /* Related Links */

2006-07-25T23:32:47Z

Related Links

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:32, 25 July 2006
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	* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]		* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]
	* [[Bandwidth tools FAQ]]		* [[Bandwidth tools FAQ]]
	* [http://db.aa419.org Database ~~of 419 fake bank & lottery web sites~~]		* [http://db.aa419.org The Artists Against 419 Fake Sites Database]
	* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]		* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]

Artists Against 419: /* Related Links */

2006-07-25T23:32:18Z

Related Links

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:32, 25 July 2006
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	=== Related Links ===		=== Related Links ===
			* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]
			* [[Bandwidth tools FAQ]]
			* [http://db.aa419.org Database of 419 fake bank & lottery web sites]
	* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]		* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]
	* [http://www.aa419.org/fake-banks/ Database of 419 fake bank & lottery web sites]
	* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]

Artists Against 419: /* How does aa419 use bandwidth? */

2006-07-25T23:31:19Z

How does aa419 use bandwidth?

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:31, 25 July 2006
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	===How does aa419 use bandwidth?===		===How does aa419 use bandwidth?===
	We have put together some tools – [http://www.aa419.org/vampire/ladvampire.html The Lad Vampire] and [http://~~www~~.aa419.org~~/mm/download.php The Mugu Marauder~~] – which automatically reload fake bank graphics over and over and over. Now you can waste the scammers' bandwidth without wearing out your mouse buttons!		We have put together some tools – [http://www.aa419.org/vampire/ladvampire.html The Lad Vampire] and [http://muguito.aa419.org Muguito] – which automatically reload fake bank graphics over and over and over. Now you can waste the scammers' bandwidth without wearing out your mouse buttons!

	But above all, we see this as a tool of last resort. It's easier for everybody concerned if we politely inform hosters of what's on their servers and why it's illegal. And 95% of the time, the hosters appreciate the information and take the site offline – there's lots of reasons to NOT host fraud sites! But for the stubborn few who ignore abuse complaints, ignore evidence of financial regulators, ignore their own Terms of Service... we're use bandwidth theft to take sites offline and protect the victims.		But above all, we see this as a tool of last resort. It's easier for everybody concerned if we politely inform hosters of what's on their servers and why it's illegal. And 95% of the time, the hosters appreciate the information and take the site offline – there's lots of reasons to NOT host fraud sites! But for the stubborn few who ignore abuse complaints, ignore evidence of financial regulators, ignore their own Terms of Service... we're use bandwidth theft to take sites offline and protect the victims.

Artists Against 419: Bandwith Theft moved to Bandwidth Theft

2006-03-02T18:26:13Z

Bandwith Theft moved to Bandwidth Theft

← Older revision	Revision as of 18:26, 2 March 2006
(No difference)

Artists Against 419 at 02:13, 1 February 2006

2006-02-01T02:13:54Z

Artists Against 419 at 17:22, 25 January 2006

2006-01-25T17:22:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:13, 1 February 2006
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	''Not familiar with what a 419 fake is? [[Advance Fee Fraud\|Learn more about Advance Fee Fraud]]!''		''Not familiar with what a 419 fake is? [[Advance Fee Fraud\|Learn more about Advance Fee Fraud]]!''
			__TOC__

	~~'''~~What's bandwidth and what's a quota?~~'''~~		===What's bandwidth and what's a quota?===
	"Bandwidth quota" is a technical way of saying how many bits of information a site is allowed to transfer in a given period of time. A typical hosting plan has a quota of a few gigabytes per month. Some particularly inexpensive (or free) hosting plans -- the ones that scammers like best since they're cheap! -- have quotas of only a few hundred megabytes, or have daily quotas. When a Web site has transferred that much information already, it becomes unreachable until the quota period ends. This means a site could be out of action until the end of the day or even the end of the month.		"Bandwidth quota" is a technical way of saying how many bits of information a site is allowed to transfer in a given period of time. A typical hosting plan has a quota of a few gigabytes per month. Some particularly inexpensive (or free) hosting plans – the ones that scammers like best since they're cheap! – have quotas of only a few hundred megabytes, or have daily quotas. When a Web site has transferred that much information already, it becomes unreachable until the quota period ends. This means a site could be out of action until the end of the day or even the end of the month.

	~~'''~~So how is bandwidth used up?~~'''~~		===So how is bandwidth used up?===
	Let's say that a typical graphic is about 15 kilobytes (kB).		Let's say that a typical graphic is about 15 kilobytes (kB).
	* If one person views that 15 kB graphic, he's used up 15 kB of bandwidth.		* If one person views that 15 kB graphic, he's used up 15 kB of bandwidth.
	* If that person comes back to see the graphic three more times, he's used up 60 kB of bandwidth total.		* If that person comes back to see the graphic three more times, he's used up 60 kB of bandwidth total.
	* If he forwards the link to ten friends and asks them to take a look, they use up 150 kB of bandwidth (bringing our total to 210 kB).		* If he forwards the link to ten friends and asks them to take a look, they use up 150 kB of bandwidth (bringing our total to 210 kB).
	* If they each like the graphic and come back three more times, that's another 450 kB of bandwidth used -- 660 kB gone!		* If they each like the graphic and come back three more times, that's another 450 kB of bandwidth used – 660 kB gone!
	You get the idea. The more people that visit a web site, the more bandwidth is used up. And when we encourage hundreds of people to take a look at a fake and fraudulent bank, its bandwidth gets used a lot more quickly!		You get the idea. The more people that visit a web site, the more bandwidth is used up. And when we encourage hundreds of people to take a look at a fake and fraudulent bank, its bandwidth gets used a lot more quickly!

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	''And this means that the scammer's can't use their fake site to convince victims to send them money.'' One of the central props of their scam is offline!		''And this means that the scammer's can't use their fake site to convince victims to send them money.'' One of the central props of their scam is offline!

	~~'''~~Why is bandwidth theft a ~~scammers~~ nightmare?~~'''~~		===Why is bandwidth theft a scammer's nightmare?===
	Artists were aware of bandwidth theft since we put up our first art Web sites: it's a plague of the internet! If somebody displays an artist's image on his site without permission, he's violating copyright. But if this person links directly to that image (a process called hot-linking), he is also stealing bandwidth. The bill for this additional data transfer is sent to the artist!		Artists were aware of bandwidth theft since we put up our first art Web sites: it's a plague of the internet! If somebody displays an artist's image on his site without permission, he's violating copyright. But if this person links directly to that image (a process called hot-linking), he is also stealing bandwidth. The bill for this additional data transfer is sent to the artist!

	So why not turn this plague against scammers? Many of them use ~~Web~~ sites to defraud their victims: there are thousands of ~~faked~~ banks, security companies, lotteries, barristers, even chemical companies. And frankly, they're pretty ugly. If you've seen one fake bank with its flipping bills and backwards-spinning globes, you've seen them all...		So why not turn this plague against scammers? Many of them use web sites to defraud their victims: there are thousands of fake banks, security companies, lotteries, barristers, even chemical companies. And frankly, they're pretty ugly. If you've seen one fake bank with its flipping bills and backwards-spinning globes, you've seen them all...

	~~'''~~How does aa419 use bandwidth?~~'''~~		===How does aa419 use bandwidth?===
	We have put together some tools -- [http://www.aa419.org/vampire/ladvampire.html The Lad Vampire] and [http://www.aa419.org/mm/download.php The Mugu Marauder] -- which automatically reload fake bank graphics over and over and over. Now you can waste the scammers' bandwidth without wearing out your mouse buttons!		We have put together some tools – [http://www.aa419.org/vampire/ladvampire.html The Lad Vampire] and [http://www.aa419.org/mm/download.php The Mugu Marauder] – which automatically reload fake bank graphics over and over and over. Now you can waste the scammers' bandwidth without wearing out your mouse buttons!

	But above all, we see this as a tool of last resort. It's easier for everybody concerned if we politely inform hosters of what's on their servers and why it's illegal. And 95% of the time, the hosters appreciate the information and take the site offline -- there's lots of reasons to NOT host fraud sites! But for the stubborn few who ignore abuse complaints, ignore evidence of financial regulators, ignore their own Terms of Service... we're use bandwidth theft to take sites offline and protect the victims.		But above all, we see this as a tool of last resort. It's easier for everybody concerned if we politely inform hosters of what's on their servers and why it's illegal. And 95% of the time, the hosters appreciate the information and take the site offline – there's lots of reasons to NOT host fraud sites! But for the stubborn few who ignore abuse complaints, ignore evidence of financial regulators, ignore their own Terms of Service... we're use bandwidth theft to take sites offline and protect the victims.

	== Related Links ==		=== Related Links ===
	* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]		* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]
	* [http://www.aa419.org/fake-banks/ Database of 419 fake bank & lottery web sites]		* [http://www.aa419.org/fake-banks/ Database of 419 fake bank & lottery web sites]
	* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]		* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:22, 25 January 2006
Line 2:		Line 2:

	'''What's bandwidth and what's a quota?'''		'''What's bandwidth and what's a quota?'''
	"Bandwidth quota" is a technical way of saying how many bits of information a site is allowed to transfer in a given period of time. A typical hosting plan has a quota of a few gigabytes per month. Some particularly inexpensive (or free) hosting plans -- the ones that scammers like best since they're cheap! -- have quotas of only a few hundred megabytes, or have daily quotas. When a ~~web~~ site has transferred that much information already, it becomes unreachable until the quota period ends. This means a site could be out of action until the end of the day or even the end of the month.		"Bandwidth quota" is a technical way of saying how many bits of information a site is allowed to transfer in a given period of time. A typical hosting plan has a quota of a few gigabytes per month. Some particularly inexpensive (or free) hosting plans -- the ones that scammers like best since they're cheap! -- have quotas of only a few hundred megabytes, or have daily quotas. When a Web site has transferred that much information already, it becomes unreachable until the quota period ends. This means a site could be out of action until the end of the day or even the end of the month.

	'''So how is bandwidth used up?'''		'''So how is bandwidth used up?'''
Line 19:		Line 19:

	'''Why is bandwidth theft a scammers nightmare?'''		'''Why is bandwidth theft a scammers nightmare?'''
	Artists were aware of bandwidth theft since we put up our first art sites: It's a plague of the internet! If somebody displays an artist's image on his site without permission, he's violating copyright. But if this person links directly to that image (a process called hot-linking), he is also stealing bandwidth. The bill for this additional data transfer is sent to the artist!		Artists were aware of bandwidth theft since we put up our first art Web sites: it's a plague of the internet! If somebody displays an artist's image on his site without permission, he's violating copyright. But if this person links directly to that image (a process called hot-linking), he is also stealing bandwidth. The bill for this additional data transfer is sent to the artist!

	So why not turn this plague against scammers? Many of them use ~~web~~ sites to defraud their victims: there are thousands of faked banks, security companies, lotteries, barristers, even chemical companies. And frankly, they're pretty ugly. If you've seen one fake bank ~~site~~ with flipping bills and backwards-spinning globes, you've seen them all...		So why not turn this plague against scammers? Many of them use Web sites to defraud their victims: there are thousands of faked banks, security companies, lotteries, barristers, even chemical companies. And frankly, they're pretty ugly. If you've seen one fake bank with its flipping bills and backwards-spinning globes, you've seen them all...

	'''How does aa419 use bandwidth?'''		'''How does aa419 use bandwidth?'''
Line 29:		Line 29:

	== Related Links ==		== Related Links ==
	* [[Fake banks and ~~web~~ sites in the news]]		* [[Fake banks and Web sites in the news]]
	* [http://www.aa419.org/fake-banks/ Database of 419 fake bank & lottery web sites]		* [http://www.aa419.org/fake-banks/ Database of 419 fake bank & lottery web sites]
	* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]		* Is this a legit bank? [[Online search tools]]