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Tech Lessons From the Bad Guys

Posted by kdawson on from the cio-to-the-mob-boss dept.

Chris Lindquist writes "Organized crime, porn peddlers, gambling sites — they all use technology to make a killing. CIO.com has posted several stories that spell out how the seedy side uses IT for profit. From the online techniques of penny stock scammers to innovation lessons from a pair of 'accidental pornographers,' to what you can do to fend off cybercriminals, find out what they do right when they're doing wrong."

13 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Accidental pornographers? by eviloverlordx · · Score: 5, Funny

    How does one become an accidental pornographer? 'Oops! I took a full color spread of you nude by accident last night'?

    --
    'Loose' is when your pants are three sizes too big. 'Lose' is when you misuse 'loose'.
    1. Re:Accidental pornographers? by jmyers · · Score: 2, Funny

      The tech that tripped over the power cord and unplugged the server told his boss "I got it going, but I had to decompile the binary code and fix the bug because I could not get hold of the vendor."

    2. Re:Accidental pornographers? by geekoid · · Score: 2, Funny

      Simple with Java.

      other languages are harder, but not impossible. Depanding on the bug.

      Example, The theoretical person once had a bug in a game they had. The damn thing kept asking for some sort of ID or code. Can you believe the nerve? anyways, this person fixed the bug by removing the hex code that cause the jmp to the ID/Code check.
      Viola, bug was fixed.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  2. I'm shocked.... by 8127972 · · Score: 5, Funny

    .... That people actually paid for porn so that these guys could make a buck!

    --
    This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
    1. Re:I'm shocked.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      That is as stupid as paying for water! Wait a minute...

  3. Innovation from the Web's Red-Light District by spamking · · Score: 4, Funny

    Streaming video: YouTube made it famous; adult movies made it economically viable.

    Thank you YouTube?

    Videoconferencing: Businesspeople increasingly use online chat and embedded video rather than conducting face-to-face meetings. Before that, it was used to communicate with Live! Girls! Now!

    Face-to-what?

    Digital rights management: Through their disregard for intellectual property rights, adult sites helped spur the music and film industries to apply DRM to their online content.

    Wait. So we've got the pr0n industry to thank for DRM?

    E-commerce: The content on adult sites was so compelling (to some), it helped people overcome their fear of using a credit card online, according to Frederick Lane, author of Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber Age.

    First DRM and then identity theft . . .

    I wonder if my boss would go for me doing some cross-training with a pr0n site developer . . . hmmmmmm.

  4. Great! Now we'll get the MAFIAAA by Tatisimo · · Score: 4, Funny
    A random sampling of 400,000 queries on the early peer-to-peer file sharing network Gnutella in 2003 found that 42 percent were looking for porn (compared to only 38 percent looking for music)

    How long till pr0n industries get organized and start pulling off mafia style lawsuits against file sharers? Pornographers Association of Wasted Nudes (PAWN)

    "PAWN accuses 7 year old of browsing porn sites" "PAWN seeks $8 million in damages from dead man (Died of a heart attack while looking at bootleg pornography)"

    --
    Give Kashyyyk back to the Wookies
    1. Re:Great! Now we'll get the MAFIAAA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Instead of being called pirates they'll be called "booty bandits"

  5. Great... as if these problems were'n bad enough... by CaptainPatent · · Score: 2, Funny

    But now you've gone and given lessons to the entire Slashdot community!

    --
    Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
  6. The Obvious Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Organized crime, porn peddlers, gambling sites -- they all use technology to make a killing. Are they hiring?
  7. Re:Wanted: Linux systems administrator. by Overzeetop · · Score: 4, Funny

    just trying to bring in the nerdiest guys they could find and then have them interviewed by the porn girls and film it.

    And you had a problem with this because...?

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  8. Obligatory by Andrzej+Sawicki · · Score: 2, Funny

    RTFA and find out.
    You must be new here.
  9. Please repost in engineer friendly terms by Weaselmancer · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's like going to a party and getting so drunk you don't know where you'll be in the morning...or who will be able to have their way with you in the evening.

    I'm sorry, but I'm an engineer and I don't understand this comparison. Could you please rephrase it?

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.