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Olympic Medalist was Spyware King

Posted by CowboyNeal on Thu Feb 16, 2006 07:17 PM
from the other-biathlons dept.
Security Spam Privacy
Remy writes "Seems that Australian gold medal mogulist Dale Begg-Smith is also a spyware entrepreneur. According to a report at Spam Kings, Begg-Smith has supported himself in style as president of a company responsible for generating 20,000,000 pop-ups per day, thanks to drive-by installs of spyware. I know the concept of Olympians being amateurs is outdated, but shouldn't they be barred from competition for this sort of thing?"
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  • Well... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by daveschroeder (516195) * <`ude.csiw.tiod' `ta' `sad'> on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:18PM (#14737821) Homepage
    ...unless spam or spyware is illegal in Australia, or against terms set by the International Olympic Committee (which probably includes stipulations for non-voliation of the laws of competitors' native countries), then no, he shouldn't be barred from competition.

    Also, on the subject of "amateurs", you can't be a "professional" in the sport you're competing in. There's nothing to say that someone can't be rich, or be a "professional" in some other field. He shouldn't be barred for "richly supporting himself" either, until installing spyware becomes an Olympic sport.

    Hmm. Don't give them any ideas.

    • Re:Well... (Score:5, Funny)

      by AuMatar (183847) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:29PM (#14737908)
      No! THis would be a great sport in a biathlon.

      Sport 1: Competitive spamming

      Sport 2: Shooting. But we give the recievers the guns

        • Re:Well... (Score:5, Informative)

          by WebHostingGuy (825421) * on Thursday February 16 2006, @08:21PM (#14738265) Homepage Journal
          The amateur regulations were redefined because at that time the Soviet-bloc had paid "professionals" representing them at the Olympics. While they were not "professionals" in the Olympic definition (i.e., money for sport's performance) they were given token jobs in government or the military while for their day job they practiced their Olympic sport. You were talking about teams which had practiced together every day for eight years and whose only goal was to win gold at the Olympics. Contrast that against the majority of the other competitors at that time and you usually had a mismatch.

          I understand the reason for the change, but I think it did take something out. Take for example the 1980 US hockey win against the Soviets. Why is that so famous? Because a team of college kids beat the most "professional" hockey team at that time. It was a big win because amateurs beat the professionals. (Yes, I know Team USA practiced for over a year before the Olympics but that was nothing compared to the years of practice for the Soviets).

          Now, today in 2006, the US hockey team flew in the day before from all their NHL teams and then went on the ice the next day to play against Lativia. What is amazing in this 2006 game is that the "basically amateur" team from Lativia tied the NHL *super-stars*. Team Lativia went nuts after the game because they should have blown out. It made a big story because the professionals were almost beaten.

          For the NHL professionals (or any other professional competing) this is not something they are dying to win. A lot of the time they are more worried about their National endorsements (think basketball star controversy) and/or they are worried about not going all out because they might get hurt and injure themselves and hurt their professional career. (Yes, not all think like this, but enough do which takes away some of the spirit of the games.)

          Which would you rather see? A young amateur who goes all out and wins a gold after years of practice or a paid professional taking a week off from their competitive sport so they can try to pump up their professional career and get more shoe endorsements?

  • Then again (Score:5, Funny)

    by Janitha (817744) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:19PM (#14737827) Homepage
    Only if they had Spamming as one of the events in the Olympics.

  • In true Aussie style: (Score:5, Funny)

    by wiresquire (457486) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:20PM (#14737833) Journal
    As an Australian, let me be the first to disown him.

    Fuck you canada! You can have him back - and take this trashy medal with you on your way out.

  • Yeah (Score:5, Funny)

    by zardo (829127) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:20PM (#14737839)
    They could throw it into it's own category, like doping. "He was disqualified for spamming".

    • Re:Yeah (Score:5, Funny)

      by TekPolitik (147802) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:41PM (#14737992) Journal
      They could throw it into it's own category, like doping. "He was disqualified for spamming".

      Or they could do an interesting drug test - "We heard you are a spammer and need to find out if you have been using drugs. Drop your pants and stand next to this ruler."

  • interesting (Score:5, Informative)

    by coaxeus (911103) * on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:22PM (#14737854) Homepage
    This article reports him the president of "AdsCPM Network." http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/the-ski-dream- funded-by-a-spam-fortune/2006/02/13/1139679533728. html [theage.com.au] Which is mysteriously under construction right now. Handy archive.org has a copy from last month: http://web.archive.org/web/20050125100919/http://a dscpm.com/ [archive.org]

  • Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bobscealy (830639) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:25PM (#14737876)

    The olympics are judging competitors on thier sporting abilities, not thier business ethics. If Dale has broken some law then fair enough, chase him down with lawyers. Disqualifying him from the olympics would be on par with banning anyone who fails a doping test from running thier own business - they are completely unrelated.

  • Sad (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DeadPrez (129998) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:25PM (#14737877) Homepage
    You don't even attempt to mask your jealousy. Nerd athletes are the Xmen of the future. Sorry, Napoleon Dynamites of the world.

    ps: this is only a joke if rated funny and a serious warning all should heed if rated anything else.

  • Well... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Geoffreyerffoeg (729040) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:27PM (#14737884)
    If Jesse Owens was allowed to compete in the Berlin Olympics near the height of Nazi power, then I don't think any Olympic committee has authority to enforce a morality unrelated to sporting itself. An Olympic spammer in an online nation is no guiltier than a black Olympian in a racist nation.

    (Please don't misinterpret this as saying that Jesse Owens was somehow wrong.)

  • 20,000,000? (Score:5, Funny)

    by AeroIllini (726211) <aeroillini.gmail@com> on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:30PM (#14737911)
    Twenty million popups a day?

    That's it?

    Pfft. That's like 100,000 infected machines, tops.

  • Please don't tell me (Score:5, Funny)

    by serginho (909707) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:30PM (#14737914)
    it showed up in his urine sample. Man, these guys are getting really insidious.

  • Foster's. Australian for beer. (Score:5, Funny)

    by TheOtherAgentM (700696) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:33PM (#14737942)
    Spyware...Australian for advertising.

  • *WAS* is the important word right (Score:5, Funny)

    by StArSkY (128453) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:37PM (#14737972) Homepage
    .. he gave up his spyware business to focus on the olympics...

    Well at least the olympics are good for reducing spam right ?

  • his real sponsors.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lord_of_the_nerf (895604) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:47PM (#14738034)
    check out his competition jacket...

    I bet it has 'sponsored by C1Alis! and Vi4gra! By online too satsfy you're lady"

  • Modified medal (Score:5, Funny)

    by MrNougat (927651) <ckratsch@gDEGASmail.com minus painter> on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:47PM (#14738038)
    Someone should modify his Olympic medal so that it's got a flap on the front that "pops up" at random intervals and smacks him in the face, blocking his view.

  • Take away his medal and... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Eric_Cartman_South_P (594330) on Thursday February 16 2006, @08:04PM (#14738158)
    Take away his medal and give him an X-10 camera instead.

    • Re:I wonder..... (Score:5, Funny)

      by iamlucky13 (795185) on Thursday February 16 2006, @07:50PM (#14738063)
      At a slight disadvantage being the oldest biathalete on record, vice president Cheney nonetheless earned plenty of points for his target skills. "I tracked the target across my vision," he said. "When I pulled the trigger however, there was a spammer in my line of fire. I take full responsibility for what I did."

      The spammer was taken to a hospital with .22 wounds to the face and neck, where his condition was upgraded from "stable" to "beaten to death with computer mice."

      • Re:I wonder..... (Score:5, Informative)

        by Experiment 626 (698257) on Thursday February 16 2006, @08:16PM (#14738244)

        ...vice president Cheney nonetheless earned plenty of points for his target skills. "I tracked the target across my vision," he said. "When I pulled the trigger however, there was a spammer in my line of fire. I take full responsibility for what I did."

        He's already shot a lawyer, if he can bag a spammer and an RIAA executive, Cheney will be a shoo-in for the 2008 presidential election.

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