It’s easy to spam and phish because of the existence of large botnets full of infected computers.
This has effectively created a platform economy in which the botnets are the platform, Savage said. While he didn’t make this specific comparison, it sounds very much like how popular operating systems, browsers and devices are the platforms for large-scale software development. The goals are much different, though.
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Unfortunately for the criminals, they can’t even trust each other. Hackers who sell software that infects PCs are like normal companies in the sense that “they do not want you to pirate their software,” Savage said.
“These guys have a problem with this since they are selling to criminals,” he said.
One such software author took the extraordinary step of distributing versions of the software compromised with malware, so people who downloaded pirated copies would get infected themselves.
“This has been effective and kept his price high,” Savage said. “He sells it for $500.”
And if you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you actually respond to one of those Viagra ads, it turns out you will almost always get some pills – real or not – in return for your credit card payment, as long as the company has a way of getting their wares past Customs. And if you’re not satisfied with the product, getting a refund is easy. These companies need to fly under the radar, and want as little attention from credit card companies as possible.
“They have far better customer service than any business you’ve ever dealt with,” Savage said.