SpamBots are the ever popular tools to either severely lag or crash a Server on the game NetBattle. SpamBots come in many different forms, including the original, Steve's version, FrostBots, or the DeathScythe.
History
The original SpamBot spam. BOAH BOAH BOAH BOAH
The original interface of SpamBots
SpamBots first originated in 2005 by Jshadias, a known Smogon/Tafop regular and authority figure on the original NetBattle forums. These were used as tools to bring down servers; namely VFD and Zero's Night Club, and later on, PokeRealm. SpamBots mainly signed on in numbers, depending on how many the user set to sign on at once, and spammed BOAH, causing severe lag to the server, or in 9.4's case, 'Data Arrival Error' would occur and crash the server.
Soon, SpamBots would be spread across NetBattle, mainly by JBoy of Zero's Night Club, and many NetBattle servers were attacked. However, people such as Da Almighty Wombat would create a block for these SpamBots; and methods to slow them down such as limiting IP connections per user to 1. Soon, SpamBots became useless. Or did they?
Months later, people would still get use out of SpamBots: To overwhelm servers with connections, which would cause their ports to get 'fried', and cause lag. However, if the server host had a fast enough internet connection, it would cause only minimal damage.
However, when 9.5 was released, the original SpamBots no longer signed on servers and spammed, and eventually, SpamBots could not even impact servers anymore with the use of overwhelming servers with connections. SpamBots fell into disarray.
SID Changer
Up until 2006, nobody could change Player Station ID unless a person changed computers.
One day, Pokefan Bob got banned from Smogon for unknown reasons. So he decided to get back at Smogon. Then, he hatched a brilliant plan: To spread a SID Changer which had a trojan. The SID changer originally was named gg.exe, but eventually someone changed it to SIDchanger.exe to make it seem more believable
Bob spread this SID Changer across NetBattle with detailed instructions on how to use it. It instantly became a hit, but not enough to get back at Smogon, for 2 years later, a login script requiring a password would be built, and eventually people would make IP based auth scripts, instead of making them SID based.
FrostBots and WPE Pro
FrostBot 3.0 interface
FrostBot 4.0 interface
During '08, the server destruction and troll group, NNN, led by Celebi/Lumine, would start a revolt against Steve. Overlord Icy, a lead programmer in the NNN, would develop FrostBots using Visual Basic.NET as the basis. These would serve as a MUCH more powerful SpamBot, proven in tests, as any server attacked by FrostBots would lag severely and block all connections. Also used as a DoSing tool, with several people attacking at once, FrostBots, or 'Frosties', lagged people's NetBattle servers and internet.
An even more powerful FrostBot was developed shortly after the release of FrostBot 3.0, 3.2. Used mainly as a powerhouse, it required someone with a fast computer to successfully use it. 3.2 easily destroyed servers, and made most NetBattle server owners resort to installing firewalls to defend from the attacks. However, a report was given saying that a FrostBot group attack at the time had cause one hoster's firewall to crash.
Eventually later on in 2008, Icy would make FrostBots 4.0, a FrostBot version which highly relied on WPE Pro, as explained below due to Icy not having the encryption of NetBattle. This would nearly revive the original SpamBots, but all work on 4.0 was dropped. A new FrostBot version may be released in the near future, as Cel is considering reviving the NNN as, in Icy's words, 'The protectors of NetBattle.'
Before FrostBots, a new tool was discovered: WPE Pro. Used to send or receive packets to a targeted program, people fiddled around with it, utilizing it in several ways, the most noticeable ones:
- Sped up Away Spam, which had existed around the time of the original SpamBots
- Signon Spam, at the time, deadly. The user would sign on nonstop until the user would be banned, causing drastic lag.
DeathScythe and Steve's NetBattle
Around late 2007, Athrun Zala (the user), already known for being friends with TeamRocket Admin Koga, developed DeathScythe, a program designed for multiple uses, although all for the same purpose: Crashing servers. While Athrun had developed BombBots before, which attacked port 80 (internet), DeathScythe, or simply DS, starting with the first known version, 3.0, was able to:
- Force Battle everyone in the server, resulting usually in the instant destruction of a server, and giving the hoster an error called 'StreamIn Overflow'. Or, the user with DS3 can forcebattle only one targeted person at will.
- All features of WPE Pro.
- Able to change the user's SID into anything he desires.
Soon, DS4 was released, and usually was used to mass crash servers. DS4 had a feature which made use of Socket Zero, to send an /ignore command, which would trigger a glitch and crash the server. DS4 also boasted all features from DS3, and included 3 different methods to crash: Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice, and Providence, all names taken from Gundam SEED. Each had a different use:
- Strike Freedom: Crashed servers using aforementioned Socket Zero method.
- Infinite Justice: While this is still unknown, it is rumored that this crash method did something on Socket Zero.
- Providence: A mass crash version of Strike Freedom. Crashed every server on the registry.
DS4 also included a mass PM feature, which sent a private message to everyone on the server, usually resulting in a crash while on populated servers such as Official Server.
Shortly after Steve's downfall due to a fake DS4 being sent to him, Steve made Steve's NetBattle, mainly a copy of DS4. Both DS4 and SNB are user-password required NetBattles.