quote:

ORIGINAL: favesclava

to the OP.., where are you from? i havent heard the word totty since the 80's and i dont think i've ever seen it in print.

quote:

ORIGINAL: poise
And as for the "numbers" , the Op is way off.
[image]local://upfiles/1031783/EB08DDC778094B04AD7962D9595ADB96.jpg[/image]

quote:

ORIGINAL: weaselwelder

Quick question: using what metric, sample and defintion of "fake" is who making a estimate "that around 95% of the total database of profiles are fake?" The "FakeWatch" you cite does not seem to exist, or at least is keeping a low profile.

EDIT:

You know, after actually reading all your responses on here, I have to tell you that you are first taking unverified, outdated data, mincing it for your own ends and generally making it useless, then announcing your interpertation as fact based on current estimates. Really? REALLY?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Humillacion

quote:

ORIGINAL: weaselwelder

You ask about the definition of fake used by FakeWatch. This was simply that the profile was using a photograph to give the appearance that the photo was the user, but the photo was used in other places on the internet, in a way that meant it was implausible that it was the user. At FakeWatch's site they give examples of how they determined a fake profile. For example where a user says on their profile that they are 18 years old. The photo appears to show someone of that age, but that photo first makes it appearance on the internet in 2006, which would have meant that they were 14 at the time the photo was taken. Therefore they conclude that it cannot be that user.

Secondly Is the estimate outdated? The estimate is about half a year old. I dont know if that makes it "outdated". I tend to think that the total database of profiles must be pretty huge. So the fact that it is six months old and a thousand or two profiles short of the total, wouldnt necessarily make it obsolete.
Best wishes
H

Didn't you say (earlier in the thread) that it looked like Fakewatch was only up for about a month in 2006?

If you did, how would the extrapolation still be up to date?

quote:

It is just to point out, that sites like CollarMe, are used by people with no interest in D/s for the purpose acquiring information and setting up botnets. At the moment, the centre of that activity is Russia. Three years ago it was China. All this isnt very controversial.

quote:

The useful point, for everyone who knows little about how these things work, is just this information, that sites like CollarMe are being targetted. It would be naive to suppose othewise.

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So its worth noting, that you can chat to someone you met through CollarMe, who exhibits nothing suspicious or untoward, who sends you a nice link to a webpage of a site you trust (which actually isnt that site but a clone of it, you would never know, as most of the millions of zombie pc's are captured through site clones) or who asks you to send a photo, or who sends you a photo...or any number of the other seemingly innocent ways by which botnets are spread. And you probably will not know that your pc has become part of such network, nor about any of the risks resulting from it.

quote:

ORIGINAL: thornhappy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Humillacion

You ask about the definition of fake used by FakeWatch. This was simply that the profile was using a photograph to give the appearance that the photo was the user, but the photo was used in other places on the internet, in a way that meant it was implausible that it was the user. At FakeWatch's site they give examples of how they determined a fake profile. For example where a user says on their profile that they are 18 years old. The photo appears to show someone of that age, but that photo first makes it appearance on the internet in 2006, which would have meant that they were 14 at the time the photo was taken. Therefore they conclude that it cannot be that user.

Secondly Is the estimate outdated? The estimate is about half a year old. I dont know if that makes it "outdated". I tend to think that the total database of profiles must be pretty huge. So the fact that it is six months old and a thousand or two profiles short of the total, wouldnt necessarily make it obsolete.
Best wishes
H

Didn't you say (earlier in the thread) that it looked like Fakewatch was only up for about a month in 2006?

If you did, how would the extrapolation still be up to date?

quote:

ORIGINAL: WyldHrt

quote:

It is just to point out, that sites like CollarMe, are used by people with no interest in D/s for the purpose acquiring information and setting up botnets. At the moment, the centre of that activity is Russia. Three years ago it was China. All this isnt very controversial.

You should really learn what the hell you are talking about before you pop off. Having read the thread, it looks like you read a site or two and jumped from A-Z without taking the time to learn about B-Y. You are mixing up fake profiles, scams, botnets, phishing and fake sites in a way that is just amazing to me.

quote:

The useful point, for everyone who knows little about how these things work, is just this information, that sites like CollarMe are being targetted. It would be naive to suppose othewise.

Welcome to the internet. If you think this is news, you obviously haven't been here that long.

quote:

So its worth noting, that you can chat to someone you met through CollarMe, who exhibits nothing suspicious or untoward, who sends you a nice link to a webpage of a site you trust (which actually isnt that site but a clone of it, you would never know, as most of the millions of zombie pc's are captured through site clones) or who asks you to send a photo, or who sends you a photo...or any number of the other seemingly innocent ways by which botnets are spread. And you probably will not know that your pc has become part of such network, nor about any of the risks resulting from it.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Do you seriously think that these Russians are setting up profiles and personally contacting people in order to infect their computers?? How and why would they contact literally millions of people and have conversations for something like this? Also, do you know the difference between Russians and Romanians? A huge chunk of what you are attributing to Russians is actually activity coming from Romania... and you got much of it wrong.

Botnets are created and spread by spam, because some people just can't resist clicking random links or downloading random files, and others will click links or dl attachments if they appear to come from someone they know. So, Dumbass #1 gets a botnet spam, clicks the link or downloads the file, and gets infected. The virus then sends copies of itself or the infected link to everyone in Dumbass #1's address book. Some percentage of those people step up to be Dumbass- Gen 2, by clicking the link or dl the file and infecting their own computers. And so it goes until millions of computers are infected, creating a botnet.

What cracks me up is those who think that anyone will personally contact them for the sole purpose of acquiring their precious email address. Email addresses are harvested by the hundreds of thousands from the web by spiders, with sites that display the email addresses of people who comment being a fave target. These huge lists are bought, sold, and shared regularly between spammers and scammers. As most people know, putting your email addy anywhere public on the net is inviting every spammer and bot in creation to send you phishing, botnet, and virus loaded emails.

Clue by four: no scammer worth a shit is going to take the time to dance with someone in order to infect their computer. The real game is MUCH more complicated than that. While some may try for CC details, most won't bother since phishing is much MUCH more efficient for stealing CC and Paypal details. It's a numbers game, plain and simple.

Seriously, OP. Take some time and learn how these things really work before trying to educate others. If you think a mule is a gray, 4 legged critter, you aren't there yet.