Ron Paul Spam Traced To Ukrainian Botnet

Ron Paul is not a botmaster.

Security researchers have shut down a network of computers responsible for sending out nearly 200 million spam messages supporting the U.S. presidential candidate last month, and after analyzing the server's software, it's clear that there is no such thing as a Ron Paul botnet, according to Joe Stewart, a senior security researcher with SecureWorks. "It probably wasn't even set up by a Ron Paul supporter," he said. "This whole system has been around since 2004. This [spam] somehow just landed in this underground spam economy."

When spam first surfaced, trumpeting Paul as the winner of a recent Republican presidential debate, the fact that it was being sent via illegally infected machines raised eyebrows. The spam messages have never been directly linked to the Ron Paul campaign, which has denied any involvement in the incident.

The Texas congressman is considered a long-shot contender for the Republican presidential nomination, but he has a strong Internet presence. His videos are popular on YouTube, and Ron Paul fundraisers recently were able to raise more than US$4 million in a 24-hour period.

Botnet Analysis

Stewart published an analysis of the botnet on Tuesday, connecting it to an Eastern European spammer known as "spm," whose company, Elphisoft, sends unsolicited email using a network of about 3,000 infected "botnet" PCs. Stewart believes that spm, and many of the people involved in his operation, are located in the Ukraine.

The botnet server used to manage the Ron Paul spam was located in the U.S. and shut down in mid-November, giving researchers a chance to examine the software on the machine, Stewart explained.

Apparently spm rented out his botnet to a middleman, a spammer calling himself "nenastnyj," who has also sent out messages promoting pornography, online gambling, and male enhancement technology. He probably paid spm between $100 and $1,000 to send out the Ron Paul mailing, Stewart said.

It is nearly impossible to figure out who nenastnyj really is, but Stewart made a few guesses, based on his previous spam jobs stored on the server. "Nenastnyj appears just to be a small-time spammer who doesn't write the spam software," he said. "Basically he just makes money by finding sponsors and then becoming a mailer for them and using someone else's mail service to send it."

This botnet is one of 16 controlled by spm's servers, which use a user-friendly, Web-based application called Reactor Mailer to manage spam mailings. "The interface is pretty slick; it's Web 2.0-enabled," Stewart said. "It shows that they really do view this as a business and they put out a quality product. They are trying to make a lot of money on this."

The spammers used a malicious Trojan horse program called Trojan.Srizbi to take control of computers and link them into the botnet.

Source: Robert McMillian

It's those damn NeoCons.

http://RonPaul2008.com

Why do all you Canadians want Ron Paul to win? Is he pro-Canadian or something? I don't know many Americans that vote or know who Ron Paul is ..

Ron Paul happens to be the leader of youtube video watchers, meetup groups, hes the presidential hopeful that wants to remove the government out of your life as much as possible. He as also anti-nafta, anti-CIA, anti-income tax, anti-war, and anti-IRS. Hes extremely pro-constitution, as every vote he has cast in congress, he based it on whether it was constitional or not. Plus hes the only Republican that has the chance to beat billary. He also feels that its constitution does not permit the federal government should have juristriction on abortion and would leave it for the state level to decide. He is one of the front runners in money raised in this quarter with $10.7 million. Wel like him and hour dumb politicians like to copy the US too bloody much, and hes laying the ground work for world freedom. Its hitting the campuses, the young people like his policies. History dictates all revolutions happen that way.

Watch the revolution:

Early Ron Paul during his 1988 run for prez under the Libertarian ticket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88REf0tjZHo

Today under the republican ticket:

Count the meetup groups.

Stop the 23 year Bush/Clinton Tag team

Sounds like any president that starts running. He'll tell you what you want to hear until he finds out it's impossible when he gets in the office.

To be quite honest, I've given up on the republican party. I'll find a good democrat and vote for him.

anyone who tells you they want to kill off income tax is an idiot and thinks the voters are idiots too

if the kill off one tax they will put up some other tax or come up with a new way of taxing people

you cant run a country without tax

Yeah he addresses all that on Jay Leno.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Kue1Podxs

he isn't the only republican with a "chance" of beating hillary *

To be honest, I wouldn't vote for him anyway. The plans he proposes sounds like a harbor for letting illegal immigrants and terrorist just waltz on into the country. Maybe that's why every other country loves him.

I don't honestly see where you could possibly gain that opinion from. Perhaps you could elaborate X-Fusion?

Of course you don't, your Canadian, you aren't exposed to the issue of illegal immigration surge.

Anti-IRS translates to no taxes. As it is now, illegals are not documented, which means they pay no money back to the government. No money back means everything raises in price for legal citizens, which is why I believe is half the reason our economy is in the crapper as it is. Also, why would he be anti-NAFTA? NAFTA LOWERS the price of taxiation on products that are traded between Mexico, the US and Canada. Why would he be anti-CIA? Is it because they're 'secret' and they 'phone-tap?' They phone-tap people they believe are terrorists, which is done for the greater good of the safety of Americans. His views are to weird for me. It sounds like he's going for one audience, and it's the younger one. Unfortunately, there aren't many voters that are young.

If the Canadians want Canada to stop following America, vote for politicans that can think for themselves, not mimic a society that everyone is apparently against.

Well sounds like your mind is made up and you have all the facts you need.

No point in me pointing out the flaws in your statments because I sincerally doubt you would take the time required to research the issues to there conclusions.

Well, that and a Canadian won't sway my vote for an American president.

overall it really doesn't matter who is president anymore. Until we get some of these old bought and paid for politicians out of the house and senate, things are only going to get worse.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Well Vote for Ron Paul, your best chance to get the ball rolling on exactly that err0r.

sorry he just isn't who i think would best represent my country.

Not quite the typical politician as some may think.

He has never voted to raise taxes.He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.He has never voted to raise congressional pay.He has never taken a government-paid junket.He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.He voted against regulating the Internet.He voted against the Iraq war.

He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.