FNC: Ron Paul Supporters May Be Using 'Botnets'

[Bradley in DC]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,307056,00.html

Ron Paul Supporters May Be Using 'Botnets'
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Ron Paul supporters may be using e-mail spam and dirty tricks to gin up support for their presidential candidate on the Internet.

"This is clearly a criminal act in support of a campaign, which has been committed with or without [its] knowledge," University of Alabama at Birmingham computer-forensics expert Gary Warner told Wired News.

Warner was referring to a wave of pro-Paul e-mails that flooded the Internet after the most recent Republican presidential debate on Oct. 21.

The e-mails had subject lines such as "Ron Paul Wins GOP Debate! HMzjoqO" and "Ron Paul Exposes Federal Reserve! SBHBcSO."

The funny character strings are common methods to defeat spam filters.

Warner says his lab traced the e-mails back to servers in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe — signifying that whoever sent them may have used a botnet, or world-wide network of hijacked computers, to pump out massive volumes of e-mail.

"This is the first I've heard about this situation," Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton told Wired News.

[KewlRonduderules]

Or may be another campaign trying to smear us like FAUX news.

;)

[rpfreedom08]

lol, the fight is on. These guys are just rediculous. They should listen to themselves speak every once in a while. They would end up laughing, lol.

[pcosmar]

Oh goody, yet another post on a hit piece, based on unfounded allegations.

[amonasro]

you've got to be kidding me.

[steph3n]

Oh goody, yet another post on a hit piece, based on unfounded allegations.

again, the emails ARE HAPPENING, one can not deny it, we need to team up to find and expose the source.

[Brinck Slattery]

I think it would be best if the Ron Paul campaign or the Ron Paul grassroots were the people who outed the person responsible for this spam.

I don't know if it's actually illegal (CAN SPAM only outlawed commercial e-mails), but it's classless and makes the campaign look bad.

[pcosmar]

THERE IS NO PROOF

NO proof that it was a Ron Paul supporter.

[steph3n]

THERE IS NO PROOF

NO proof that it was a Ron Paul supporter.

find the perp, we have so many techies here we can surely reverse a hacked machine to the source network(likely some irc network) and at least find a general idea where the control node is.

[literatim]

Why am I having a Professor De Bots flashback?

[speciallyblend]

Maybe we should have a Media Call Day and show them that we are real people,that way they will understand we are not bots;)

WE could plan a MEDIA CALL DAY JUST FOR FOX NEWS,show them the force of real people calling in,NO EMAILS,We can Call;)

[Jojo]

I'm so pissed. Found this article, sorry if it's been posted already
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2007/10/paul_bot
If Texas congressman Ron Paul is elected president in 2008, he may be the first leader of the free world put into power with the help of a global network of hacked PCs spewing spam, according to computer-security researchers who've analyzed a recent flurry of e-mail supporting the long-shot Republican candidate.

"This is clearly a criminal act in support of a campaign, which has been committed with or without their knowledge," says Gary Warner, the University of Alabama at Birmingham's director of research in computer forensics.

[Cindy]

This is Poetic Justice in action.

Now the media sounds like the paranoid conspiracy theory nut cases.

They should listen to themselves talk.

Spambots from Asia?

Sounds like a bad Japanese Sci Fi flick.

[literatim]

http://xs221.xs.to/xs221/07444/terminator-army.jpg

[lonestarguy]

http://xs221.xs.to/xs221/07444/terminator-army.jpg


....may the farce be with you.......

[filmmaker58]

Whether it's real or not, there are a lot of people out there that believe what Fox news says (My mother is one), and this is all they will need to hear to dismiss the campaign. We're clearly at the "then they discredit you" (bordering on the "fight you part) stage of the fight, because they can't ignore us anymore. The last Fox debate was a phone poll. Do we have "Phonebots" too? I didn't get mine yet, are they available at the merchandise page?

[werdd]

if there is a spammer there is also the possibility that spammer is actually trying to sabatoge the RP campaign, maybe its hannity ;)

[steph3n]

if there is a spammer there is also the possibility that spammer is actually trying to sabatoge the RP campaign, maybe its hannity ;)
Did it sabotage viagra, levitra, or cialis?
It is a failed strategy both to advertise in this manner, and to smear.

[conner_condor]

Warner says his lab traced the e-mails back to servers in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe

He's catching on..

[lawdida]

Did it sabotage viagra, levitra, or cialis?
It is a failed strategy both to advertise in this manner, and to smear.

If it was designed to smear, it's obviously working. Your analogy doesn't work.

[im_a_pepper]

So far I have seen 4 youtube videos and a few bloggers hype the story of Sarah Lai Stirland from WIRED magazine being paid by Ghouliannie supporters from over at his forums to conjure up and blow out of proportion a story to attempt to discredit Paul and his tech savvy support in upon itself.

http://www.rudygiulianiforum.com/index.php?topic=38.0

Is the only thread so far not deleted. I'm pretty sure the author being paid story is probably BS but wouldn't that be something. Turn a overly-hyped inflated story around and upon a competing front-runner, might actually kill the attention of this completely. You guys are hilarious.

[nullvalu]

If you received one of these spam emails, could you please post the headers from the email?

[nullvalu]

I'm pretty sure the author being paid story is probably BS but wouldn't that be something.

It is fake.

[constituent]

here (http://www.ronpaulnation.com/?p=310) is where i think the story is at right now.