Weaponized Code

Cross-site scripting is used to find weak spots in your Wordpress website. It may come in the comment section dressed up as spam, where the owner inadvertently opens the door to let the robbers in. Here is how easily it can happen.



Wordpress upgrades include patches for weaponized code vulnerabilities. It's important to be up-to-date. The Askimet plugin also helps keep your Wordpress spam in place. It adds another security layer to your website. I can attest to that first-hand.

The +Our Movie Talk blog wasn't just getting hundreds of spam comments a day, it was getting thousands. One time I opened up the Dashboard and there were over 20,000 comments. I nearly cried. As soon as I downloaded Askimet (it comes with a nominal fee), it all came to a screeching halt. Spam was captured in the spam folder, where I could look through to see if there was a legitimate comment (not going to happen when there are thousands). Instead, I just empty the spam folder with one click.

Weaponized code can be used many different ways. Hacking is one. Cyber-trolling is another.

Cyber bots are set up to spam, create fake websites, and set up an all-out assault on Internet users. Code is programmed into a weapon and will hunt for certain terms. For instance, on Twitter, it might seek out the word "feminism," which will trigger a troll post that says something disparaging about women.

There are savvy individuals who create counter bots. So if a troll bot posts that they want to assault you, the counter bot might reply with statistics on violence and how to improve legislation on crime. For every cyber-troll, there is a cyber-hero.