fast1

glib

Every single post of his ends with a 1x1 transparent gif image from a site called photosnag.
http://boards.polycount.net/search.php?searchid=693029

Some googling turns up that there are many forums out there that have users that are less than 2-3 months old which are doing the same thing, some of them named 'fast1'. Looks like he/it/them has been banned on several other forums due to others being concerned about it being a possible lead up to an attack or something else malicious.

Here are a couple other posts on the subject:
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/feedback-suggestions/160973-1x1-clear-gif-every-post.html
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1051079&postcount=14


And here's a list of a bunch of different forum posts from various fast1's all over the place:
http://boardreader.com/linkinfo/photosnag.com



Can we get a ban?

Jeremy Wright

The first link seems to be invalid or something.

This is pretty weird.

glib

Hmm it still works for me. Just find one of his posts, click on the name and choose 'find all posts by fast1'.

Jeremy Wright

Ok, I found a post and noticed the gif displayed as a red x, but his/her account must be gone.

Andreas

I don't understand??

TWilson

not too bad, thanks for the share.

rooster

hehe twilson. this is pretty intrigeuing, there's tons of posts if you google fast1 and clear.gif. weird
edit: found this:


Yes, it's generally cookie stuffing or view tracking via images. Please report any instances of it you spot.

What does that mean? View tracking via images in email I can understand, but what does random forum posting need to be tracked for?

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WildCowboyApr 1, 2009, 12:35 AM
They're hidden links that go usually go through redirects that end up planting a cookie on your computer for a referral program. Anytime from then on that you that happen to purchase something from the vendor used in that cookie, the spammers earn referral bonuses. Very sneaky stuff.

They'll frequently use 1x1 pixel images that are essentially invisible, or sometimes they'll use exact copies of the vBulletin smilies that are actually hosted elsewhere.

Ben Apuna

Lol! Very sneaky indeed. I guess anything goes to make a $ these days. What surprises me is that there's some company out there stupid enough to pay people to do that kind of thing. I don't remember fast1 actually advertising anything so he's not actually doing his job... And here I thought Polycount was safe :shifty:

00Zero

first flu swine, now GIFs. NOOOOOOO

bearkub

glib, thanks TONS for this. This may explain why the boards have been getting absolutely hammered by spiders recently.

I am passing this on to the other admins now. Again, thanks for this.