Below is live coverage of the Black Hat Tactics and Preventative Measures panel from the PubCon 2011 conference.
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Barry Schwartz:
4:25:44 pm
Starting soon, this room is going to be packed!
Barry Schwartz:
4:26:11 pm
Barry Schwartz:
4:26:29 pm
FYI, this speaker will be at SMX Israel on Jan 15th, a conference I chair. So come!
Barry Schwartz:
4:27:55 pm
He is just loading his presentation...
Barry Schwartz:
4:29:27 pm
Okay, here we go
Barry Schwartz:
4:30:38 pm
Barry Schwartz:
4:30:49 pm
People come to him when they have no where else to go
Barry Schwartz:
4:31:52 pm
he works in the most aggressive spaces
Barry Schwartz:
4:32:43 pm
Competitive Industries, each industry is a different type of animal - there are no rules. Competitive landscape has changed over the years. It is incredibly concentrated and aggresive. It is an all out war in these industries.
Barry Schwartz:
4:33:31 pm
It is dirty out there.
Barry Schwartz:
4:34:06 pm
Sometimes the best method to move forward is to "eliminate" the sites above you.
Barry Schwartz:
4:35:01 pm
This is how the space thinks
Barry Schwartz:
4:35:41 pm
First thing is to figure out what went wrong. Exposure awareness is the key to solve problems.
Barry Schwartz:
4:36:06 pm
Barry Schwartz:
4:37:01 pm
Barry Schwartz:
4:37:09 pm
Okay, now we can start...
Barry Schwartz:
4:37:38 pm
Take out the site, take it out through attacking it.
Barry Schwartz:
4:38:35 pm
Links: incomng links are important, so what do you do?
Barry Schwartz:
4:39:13 pm
- send an email to those linking to your competitor links and ask them to change the link URL and (change link requests) 35% are approved
Barry Schwartz:
4:39:42 pm
- Send link accountability emails, you are spamming Google by linking to site X.
Barry Schwartz:
4:39:48 pm
It gets links down.
Barry Schwartz:
4:40:14 pm
- If that doesn't work, use a trademark threat - you are violating my TM by linking to it.
Barry Schwartz:
4:40:23 pm
- If that doesn;t work, fake a Google notice.
Barry Schwartz:
4:41:51 pm
Now give this competitor site some new links from link networks, banned/hacked sites, fake profiles with spam words, blog/guestbook spam, link buy requests to Google employees and push huge amount from the same site and subdomains on the same IP. This can really hurt a web site
Barry Schwartz:
4:42:22 pm
Barry Schwartz:
4:44:39 pm
Now work on outbound links from that web site:
Barry Schwartz:
4:45:15 pm
- XSS exploits
- Hacking into the site
- Widgets and code injection
- Links in posts, comments, testimonials and other UGC content
- Hacking into the site
- Widgets and code injection
- Links in posts, comments, testimonials and other UGC content
Barry Schwartz:
4:47:32 pm
Where do you point these links?
- Banned sites
- Big banned link buyers
- Malicious sites
- Bad neighborhoods
- Banned sites
- Big banned link buyers
- Malicious sites
- Bad neighborhoods
Barry Schwartz:
4:48:46 pm
Posting content on your competitors site:
- Parameters spam for duplicate content (adding parameters to the URL with keywords in it even) this leads to dup content issues
- Parameters spam for duplicate content (adding parameters to the URL with keywords in it even) this leads to dup content issues
Barry Schwartz:
4:49:32 pm
- UGC sub domains : some sites allow content, some put users on a subdomain, so register 2000 new users and put some bad content there.
Barry Schwartz:
4:49:47 pm
- Lots of forums out there are not moderated, put content there
Barry Schwartz:
4:50:17 pm
FYI, people tried this on us, see http://www.rustybrick.com/free-viagra-spam.html and http://www.rustybrick.com/rustybrick-spam.html
Barry Schwartz:
4:50:27 pm
Also posts, comments, etc.
Barry Schwartz:
4:50:36 pm
- Hacks and injecting hidden content spam
Barry Schwartz:
4:51:11 pm
FYI, if anything bad happened to your site, this is your check list to look for.
Barry Schwartz:
4:51:26 pm
Now site wide internal tactics:
- Cloaking & htaccess
- Cloaking & htaccess
Barry Schwartz:
4:51:32 pm
- Robots.txt to block the site
Barry Schwartz:
4:51:45 pm
- Hidden no index, nofollow
Barry Schwartz:
4:52:08 pm
- XSS for content
- CSS for link injection
- Many new domains with spam content and same contact info linked to target
- CSS for link injection
- Many new domains with spam content and same contact info linked to target
Barry Schwartz:
4:53:51 pm
Get access to webmaster tools through social hacking and then do a location change request, geo targeting to a small area, ignore pages, do an address relocation and set up stupid reconsideration requests
Barry Schwartz:
4:56:23 pm
External methods:
- DMCA takedown requests via owner, hosting, dns providers, registra and even search engine
- Take untaken brand TLDs
- DMCA takedown requests via owner, hosting, dns providers, registra and even search engine
- Take untaken brand TLDs
Barry Schwartz:
4:58:46 pm
- Change IP geo targeting requests (removes the site from Google US)
- Influence search engine suggestions (i.e. Google Instant, do a lot of searches via different proxies to influence them, i.e. brand name virus, brand name scam, etc)
- Influence search engine suggestions (i.e. Google Instant, do a lot of searches via different proxies to influence them, i.e. brand name virus, brand name scam, etc)
Barry Schwartz:
5:01:18 pm
- Multiple proxy site duplication
- Mobile / Email / Skype and IM Spam
- Abuse freshness to position push results (starting last week Google favors freshness, submit a lot of fresh content about the brand name and can outrank the brand name)
- Mobile / Email / Skype and IM Spam
- Abuse freshness to position push results (starting last week Google favors freshness, submit a lot of fresh content about the brand name and can outrank the brand name)
Barry Schwartz:
5:01:47 pm
You can utilize videos, images and even maps, since they rank well. Post nice lady images, etc.
Barry Schwartz:
5:02:07 pm
Use news and press releases for your competitor
Barry Schwartz:
5:02:18 pm
Social and post bad titles on UGC forums, blogs, etc for your competitors
Barry Schwartz:
5:02:40 pm
Many of these tips are about hurting competitors, as you can tell
Barry Schwartz:
5:04:12 pm
PPC:
- Click bots on other sites and on target sites
- Post public freelance project request for click fraud
- Use PPC advertisers ID on abused sites
- Abuse adsense account score using PPV
- USe 3rd party remarking tricks for scaring potential clients away (this is funny)
- Click bots on other sites and on target sites
- Post public freelance project request for click fraud
- Use PPC advertisers ID on abused sites
- Abuse adsense account score using PPV
- USe 3rd party remarking tricks for scaring potential clients away (this is funny)
Barry Schwartz:
5:06:18 pm
You can retarget on your competitors web sites using PPV
Barry Schwartz:
5:06:59 pm
show ads that say this web site is a scam or visit this other site, etc.
Barry Schwartz:
5:07:50 pm
Hire people to snitch on competitors for link buying
Barry Schwartz:
5:08:00 pm
Post in forums how the site tricked the SE and got away with it
Barry Schwartz:
5:08:08 pm
Report click fraud done by your competitor
Barry Schwartz:
5:08:13 pm
Report spyway injection
Barry Schwartz:
5:08:27 pm
Annoy search engine stuff with spam from that site.
Barry Schwartz:
5:09:45 pm
Analytics:
- Change user behavior information by using paid surfing services (trick your competitors by messing with their analytics)
- Cloaked and fake queries and search terms traffic
- Buy botnet fake traffic trends
- Change user behavior information by using paid surfing services (trick your competitors by messing with their analytics)
- Cloaked and fake queries and search terms traffic
- Buy botnet fake traffic trends
Barry Schwartz:
5:11:05 pm
Hack!
- 302 highjacks still work
- Cross domain canonization
- Cloaked 301 redirects
- Cloaked JavaScript redirection
- Geo targeted DNS poisoning
- Fake credit card sales
- 302 highjacks still work
- Cross domain canonization
- Cloaked 301 redirects
- Cloaked JavaScript redirection
- Geo targeted DNS poisoning
- Fake credit card sales
Barry Schwartz:
5:12:31 pm
Human Resources:
- Eliminate his SEOs by hiring them away
- Distribute the SEO team members resumes online as job seekers
- Trash the SEO team results to management
- Get your own people inside as a spy
- Eliminate his SEOs by hiring them away
- Distribute the SEO team members resumes online as job seekers
- Trash the SEO team results to management
- Get your own people inside as a spy
Barry Schwartz:
5:12:42 pm
Social Media:
- Trash reputation on sites
- Trash reputation on sites
Barry Schwartz:
5:13:30 pm
Affiliate Network:
- Positon an affiliate link instead of the home page
- Trash affiliate program in UGC
- Contact all affiliates as a fellow affiliate and tell them about the bad experience you had
- Positon an affiliate link instead of the home page
- Trash affiliate program in UGC
- Contact all affiliates as a fellow affiliate and tell them about the bad experience you had
Barry Schwartz:
5:14:05 pm
Denial of Service:
- Target the site itself
- Go after the same IP
- Kill the sites resources
- Target the site itself
- Go after the same IP
- Kill the sites resources
Barry Schwartz:
5:15:49 pm
That is all Q&A
Barry Schwartz:
5:15:56 pm
Good night folks!
