Pirates are not 'fun'

In the same way that Limewire and other services used to be full of fake files, back in the days when broadband and peer-to-peer sharing first appeared, the modern web is full of honeypots which are intended to excite you, seduce you, and then exploit you.

This happens because pirates are not fun. Viewed from any angle, they are c**ts.

Here is the cultural idea of a fun pirate.

He does look fun, doesn't he? He sails the high seas looking for adventure, for no particular reason, and his income is derived from the chance discovery of gold doubloons which were left laying about the place in wooden chests, presumably by his forebears.

At some point he probably helped some unstuck-in-time children to find their lost dog Max.

​He's a terrific guy. Shame he's an utter fiction.
Read on to find out more.

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The reality is that pirates were — and still are — people operating outside the law to tear anything of value away from any vulnerable people they could get their scabies-ridden hands on. They're only out to help themselves to as much as they can grab. They will not help you find your dog.

And they're not just limited to the high seas any more. They now appear in a slightly different form on the ocean of the web. This is how such pirates operate these days:

The cons should be obvious here, but some people just cannot think in malicious terms and so will not perceive the threat. So let's break down the scams.
 
In the first two images:

1. Acquire details about books from Amazon or Goodreads. This is easy because both sites present ordered information on books for use by legitimate search sites.
2. Use server-based software to generate a "download here!" page for each of those books.
3. No matter what the book is, point the visitor towards the sign-up page for an affiliated download site, even though the book is not in their library.
4. Exploit the personal details — and probably the payment details — entered into the site by the 'mark'.

 
In the last two images:

1. Acquire details about books from Amazon or Goodreads... etc.
2. Use server-based software to generate a "download here!" page for each of those books.
3. Put the visitor on a page which opens income-generating adverts or dodgy affiliated pages no matter where they click, thereby opening new opportunities for exploitation.
4. If they manage to get the "download", send them some tasty malware to hold their files to ransom.

 
Ransom, if you weren't aware, has always been a firm favourite of pirates, be they of the nautical or the technological variety.

That last image in the gallery above is what the site in the third image actually downloaded to my Mac. It's identifying as an installer package, not an eBook. It's also way too small to be an eBook, so it hasn't just been incorrectly identified. If I were to open that package, I would be running the pirate's choice of software on the computer I use to manage my work, career, social life, and financial dealings. That's a spectacularly bad idea. It's worth also mentioning that the site it came from popped up a new window which Safari immediately locked down because it was trying to run malicious code.

Don't be a sucker. Don't get conned. Don't put your private information and financial security at risk for the sake of saving a few dollars. Source eBooks, music, and video from legitimate sources. Keep yourself safe, and support the artists whose work you clearly enjoy.