Nope, they’re different things. Proxy networks like Proxybase [0] use open-source clients and ask for the user’s consent before allowing them to join the network.
Basically all of them are botnets, yes. They generally claim to have consent but I'm pretty sure 99% of it is "some app the user uses has it buried in a 200 page ToS"-style consent.
These SDKs, which are offered to developers across multiple mobile and desktop platforms, surreptitiously enroll user devices into the IPIDEA network.
If I install an app with a big ToS and buried in there is "we use third-party monetization SDKs" and buried in there is "welcome to our botnet" they do not actually have my consent.
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I believe they have the actual videos to download, "exclusively for academic and non-commercial research." and you have to request access, https://projects.laion.ai/bvd/bvd-raw-access.html
They say they used yt-dlp and "employ a residential proxy network". But, yeah, youtube seems to now more aggressively block yt-dlp.
Ha, is it just me or does a “residential proxy network” sound like a fancy way of saying “botnet”?
It's the "legal version" of botnets, yes.
Nope, they’re different things. Proxy networks like Proxybase [0] use open-source clients and ask for the user’s consent before allowing them to join the network.
[0] https://proxybase.xyz
Basically all of them are botnets, yes. They generally claim to have consent but I'm pretty sure 99% of it is "some app the user uses has it buried in a 200 page ToS"-style consent.
No, they are not. Just ask any AI.
The companies say they have consent because saying "yeah we'll give you access to a botnet" is illegal.
https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/dis...
If I install an app with a big ToS and buried in there is "we use third-party monetization SDKs" and buried in there is "welcome to our botnet" they do not actually have my consent.
That’s a pretty penny on the bandwidth bill alone!
Another thing to thank AI for! /s