Mugu Marauder

The Mugu Marauder was an application used by the Artists Against 419 to take some fraudulent websites offline. Mugu Marauder was superseded by a similar (but more advanced) Java-based tool called Muguito and also the Lad Vampire.

Mugu Marauder worked by repeatedly downloading the scam site's images and HTML files until the site's bandwidth limit was exceeded. Many people used this program at the same time, and a site could quickly be taken offline.

Some people confused what the artists did with a denial-of-service attack. A DoS attack affects all websites on the server or network. The Mugu Marauder did not do this. It was programmed to stop downloading if the server did not respond after a certain amount of time. Its aim was to have the site shut off by the server when its small bandwidth limit was reached.

Note: The AA419's usage of bandwidth-draining tools ended in September 2007. As a result, Mugu Marauder, Muguito and the Lad Vampire are no longer operational. Alternative methods of stopping scam sites from operating are now employed.

External links

• The Muguito anti-scam tool