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Hackers Are So Fed Up With Twitter Bots They're Hunting Them Down Themselves (theintercept.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Even if Twitter hasn't invested much in anti-bot software, some of its most technically proficient users have. They're writing and refining code that can use Twitter's public application programming interface, or API, as well as Google and other online interfaces, to ferret out fake accounts and bad actors. The effort, at least among the researchers I spoke with, has begun with hunting bots designed to promote pornographic material -- a type of fake account that is particularly easy to spot -- but the plan is to eventually broaden the hunt to other types of bots. The bot-hunting programming and research has been a strictly volunteer, part-time endeavor, but the efforts have collectively identified tens of thousands of fake accounts, underlining just how much low-hanging fruit remains for Twitter to prune.
Among the part-time bot-hunters is French security researcher and freelance Android developer Baptiste Robert, who in February of this year noticed that Twitter accounts with profile photos of scantily clad women were liking his tweets or following him on Twitter. Aside from the sexually suggestive images, the bots had similarities. Not only did these Twitter accounts typically include profile photos of adult actresses, but they also had similar bios, followed similar accounts, liked more tweets than they retweeted, had fewer than 1,000 followers, and directed readers to click the link in their bios.
Among the part-time bot-hunters is French security researcher and freelance Android developer Baptiste Robert, who in February of this year noticed that Twitter accounts with profile photos of scantily clad women were liking his tweets or following him on Twitter. Aside from the sexually suggestive images, the bots had similarities. Not only did these Twitter accounts typically include profile photos of adult actresses, but they also had similar bios, followed similar accounts, liked more tweets than they retweeted, had fewer than 1,000 followers, and directed readers to click the link in their bios.
Outlaw porn, while letting the real criminals, the online scammers who cheat people out of money, the murders, go free.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Social platforms that promote popularity (and even pay for it) will always have actors that will try and profit from it in any way possible. Heck I even coded a Twitter bot to try and build up followers once as an experiment, I actually posted a quote of the day, image of the day, joke of the day, so it wasn't that evil of a bot.
Social media is a social deconstruct, hopefully it dies sooner than later and spares humanity more grief. You reap what you sow right?
Tired of my customary (Score:1)