Chapter 92

Seeing "Autumn Song" retreat and erase all traces online, the cybersecurity personnel knew that this time the tracking had failed.

However, some others had already downloaded and tested the specialized tool "Autumn Song" had released.

The few experts responsible for tracking exchanged glances, and one of them spoke up, "How likely do you think it is?"

"Hard to say. Personally, I think his skills are good, but it's unlikely. The Halloween virus was probably made by foreigners, and this Autumn Song just seems like a Xiaoguo national."

"That's not necessarily true. This 'Autumn Song' could very well be part of an organization, and the virus might have been created by them. Otherwise, how could Autumn Song always release effective specialized tools in the first place?"

"If they created the virus, why would they go to the trouble of releasing a specialized tool?"

"Perhaps they want to make a fortune through this opportunity. The initial free release is just for advertising. As the virus continues to mutate, the development of specialized tools will become increasingly difficult. Think about it, when the world's security companies are at a loss against this virus, the emergence of the only effective specialized tool could earn them a lot of money."

"Given the massive impact of the Halloween virus, with over 50 million infections, even if only one in ten computers buys their specialized tool, it would be enough to make a huge profit."

They had already noticed this account when Autumn Song first released the specialized tool. After downloading and testing the tool, they assigned someone to monitor the account.

So when Autumn Song came online this time, they immediately discovered him and started tracking. However, they didn't expect Autumn Song's skills to be so good that he easily evaded their tracking and even counter-tracked them. If Autumn Song had more computational resources, he might have breached the cybersecurity protection servers, and they would have been traced to their real IP addresses.

If the cybersecurity experts were traced to their homes, it would be a great humiliation!

...

Zhang Qiu thought about it over and over but couldn't figure it out.

His release of the specialized tool under the pseudonym "Autumn Song" caused a sensation, making it hard to avoid attention. Currently, only one party was tracking him, and he couldn't immediately determine who they were.

After logging out of the network for a while, Zhang Qiu set up his defenses again and entered the Hacker Empire forum, logging into the "Autumn Song" account.

At this point, Zhang Qiu discovered several more tracking signals and immediately counter-attacked.

These tracking signals were significantly slower than the first one, and Zhang Qiu could handle them simultaneously.

He quickly broke through several tracking signals and traced them back to their real IP addresses. They were all cybersecurity companies. One of them was an old acquaintance—Ma Shun's Wisdom Cybersecurity.

The other two were Shield Company and Duqiang Company. These two were not specialized cybersecurity companies but rather internet companies with a wide range of businesses, with cybersecurity being just one of their services.

However, their security software was very popular among individual users, though its antivirus effectiveness was average. It was more entertaining, often showing animations and telling users how many people they had defeated, earning it the nickname of "entertainment software" in the industry.

These two companies were clearly different from specialized cybersecurity companies like Wisdom Cybersecurity, which focused on business clients.

However, the fact that Wisdom Cybersecurity was so quickly breached indicated that their skills were not much better than the amateur Shield and Duqiang companies.

Now Zhang Qiu understood that those tracking him were likely these cybersecurity companies.

After tracing these few, the others took advantage of the gap to erase their traces and escape.

Zhang Qiu wasn't frustrated or determined to pursue them. After this experience, he didn't expect anyone to continue harassing him.

Although online battles are invisible and intangible, true experts can judge the nature of the battle by observing the data.

Clearly, more people were watching the "Autumn Song" account than taking action.

Zhang Qiu's sharp counter-attack served as a deterrent.

After tracing the real IP addresses, Zhang Qiu promptly stopped. With so many people watching him, it wasn't wise to make big moves, as it could give others an opportunity to attack his base.

After stopping, a private message on the forum caught his attention. Someone had contacted him.

Curious, Zhang Qiu opened it: "Hello, great god! I didn't expect you to release a new tool so quickly."

"Who are you?" Zhang Qiu replied with three words in less than 0.1 seconds.

The other side then replied, "I'm from the Dawn Alliance. We are currently researching and promoting your specialized tool. Without our help, you wouldn't have such a big reputation now."

"Uh-huh." Zhang Qiu replied with one word. This guy talked nicely, but Zhang Qiu dismissed it as nonsense. He became famous because his software was good and effective, and it spread by word of mouth. Otherwise, why wouldn't other specialized tools become famous?

In a situation where everyone was looking for a specialized tool, the one that worked best would naturally become famous.

However, this sudden appearance claimed that Zhang Qiu's fame was all due to their efforts.

"We are currently researching your specialized tool, but your encryption is too strong, and we can't figure it out. We want to ask if you can provide us with the source code. We can add a registration system to make it easier to charge."

"Wait, when did I say I wanted to charge?" Providing the source code, Zhang Qiu didn't comment on that. If you have the skills, go ahead and crack it. He didn't plan to charge, so being cracked wouldn't be a big loss. But if you crack it and charge for it, that's a different story. Did you get the author's permission?

"Such a good tool, not charging is a waste. We, the Dawn Alliance, are dedicated to combating piracy. We have already promoted your tool and added it to a paid download system. Here's the link... You can check it out." The person said, "But your software is too simple. Without a registration function, charging is inconvenient. If you can provide the source code, we can help you solve this problem."

"Are you kidding me? You took my software and charged for it without my permission?" Zhang Qiu was angry.

"Didn't I come to ask you? Charging is a good thing! We are helping you promote it to prevent piracy." The person said.

"Damn! You are the pirates! If you want to charge, I'll do it myself. But how can you take my free software and charge for it without my permission? And now you're asking for the source code. Do you even know what 'shameless' means?" Zhang Qiu cursed. He didn't plan to charge for the initial software, considering it a trial version to build a good reputation.

The real opportunity to charge would come after he cracked the mutation pattern of the Halloween virus and created a specialized tool like a vaccine. However, this guy suddenly appeared, claiming to have added his software to a paid system and asking for the source code to make a more complete charging system.

This was strange, like his hard work being stolen and sold by a thief. Although he hadn't suffered any financial loss yet, it was still disgusting. Even more disgusting was that they were asking for the source code!

"How can you say that? You misunderstood us. We have a cooperative relationship with many authors. How can we be pirates? Do you want money? We can negotiate. You give us the source code, and we can give you a share." The person said.

"Share my ass! When did I agree to let you sell my software?" Zhang Qiu cursed and immediately hacked into the person's account.

The person had some skills and knew how to use a jump server. However, in front of Zhang Qiu, a world-class technician, it was no match. With a few quick keystrokes, Zhang Qiu hacked the person's computer while they were still typing a message.

As the person finished typing, their computer suddenly went black and couldn't boot into the system. Zhang Qiu had formatted the hard drive, including the operating system.

Zhang Qiu entered the link the person provided and found it was indeed a download link for his specialized tool. However, while other places rehosted his software for free, the Dawn Alliance added a "premium version" and made it a paid download. More shamelessly, the software description claimed it was "developed and produced" by them.

Zhang Qiu then browsed the website and saw that they claimed to be a justice league dedicated to combating piracy. However, they were actually distributing cracked and pirated software.

For software that was originally paid, they cracked it and offered free downloads, but with ads or even malware embedded. For free software, they added new features and charged for downloads.

For example, they offered a paid version of a free software, claiming it provided free membership privileges and IP lookup. Since it was a good deal, many people bought it, but this was clearly piracy.

Zhang Qiu usually didn't bother with such things. In developing countries, piracy was widespread, an inevitable part of the development process. Developed countries also went through this phase.

However, the Dawn Alliance, which claimed to combat piracy but actually engaged in piracy, was extremely shameless. If they hadn't targeted Zhang Qiu, he wouldn't have cared, but since they did, he had to take action.

Zhang Qiu immediately started hacking the website's server. Initially, he didn't launch a full-scale attack but infiltrated the backend, obtained low-level admin privileges, and deleted his specialized tool.

Then, using these privileges, he gradually escalated his access. When he had enough, he cleared all the website's data, leaving only a modified logo and slogan: "Cracking Alliance, dedicated to piracy!"

After completing this, Zhang Qiu erased all traces, feeling very satisfied.

He then focused on researching the mutation pattern of the Halloween virus, hoping to crack it soon to gain more capital for his company.

The next day, Zhang Qiu decided to register a company before the holiday ended, so that by the time the college entrance exam was over, the company would be approved.

This way, if he wanted to charge for software, he would have a legitimate name and avoid being accused of illegal fundraising.

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Today, I struggled with the writing. This is a transitional chapter, and it's not easy to write. The plot seems to be boring, and I'm also finding it difficult to write. So I plan to adjust the outline and better plan the next plot to make it more exciting and engaging. That's all for today, sorry. (To be continued...)