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Oh look, more pornbots. In Japanese this time, even. #SundaySpam
(yes, this is the second pornbot thread we've posted today)
cc: @ZellaQuixote
(yes, this is the second pornbot thread we've posted today)
cc: @ZellaQuixote
We found a network of 257 Japanese-language pornbots, all created in 2020 and all automated via IFTTT. Additionally, all of the accounts have seven-character names consisting of random numbers and lowercase letters, and none have ever liked a tweet.
The accounts in this botnet were created in batches, and as batches have been added, the network's output has grown, presently ranging between 100 and 120 tweets per hour. The botnet is active 24/7.
We ran across an automated account by the name of @alllibertynews recently as a result of it having voluminously retweeted another account we were studying (@reality3232.) How does the automation work, and can we find other accounts using the same tools?
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
@alllibertynews @reality3232 @ZellaQuixote Almost @alllibertynews’s most tweets are posted by automated means. Mostly, they’re retweets, but a few here and there begin with the text “@labnol testing twitter connection”. A quick search turns up other accounts with this same tweet, which contains a link to a blog post...
@alllibertynews @reality3232 @ZellaQuixote @labnol The blog post is titled “How to Write a Twitter Bot in 5 Minutes” but would be better titled “if you give me access to your Twitter account, Google account, and Twitter Developer API keys (TOS violation), you can automate your Twitter account with my app.” #ThatsAHardNo
PSA: There is no way for an app to track who visits your profile, and one should be wary of apps that demand access to one's Twitter account. #ThatsAHardNo
DO NOT visit the linked site or sign into it with your account.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
DO NOT visit the linked site or sign into it with your account.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
We downloaded tweets linking to the app in question (site name is in the chart - once again, be careful), yielding 15433 tweets from 6753 accounts in 10 days. The spikiness is due to the tweets being posted by the app, which appears to fire at specific times of the day.
We didn't go so far as to actually log into the app in question with a Twitter account, but the list of permissions it demands is scary: the ability to tweet/follow on one's behalf, alter one's profile, and access one's DMs. Also, there's the drive-by malware download.
