How to win or cheat Whatever online voting competition

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of voting competitions, particularly ones that are built irresponsibly. That'southward why I've set out to create the definitive guide on breaking (/cheating) poorly designednonprofit voting competitions.
The problem with voting competitions is that they pit nonprofits against each other for a prize that usually doesn't come close to the true cost of the votes that these organizations push button to get. What's more, they run the take a chance of called-for out the supporters of these keen organizations.

In the worst case scenario, one organisation decides to cheat because the system is designed with flaws past some marketing firm and they run across a way to hands game the system to win coin for their great cause. I am not justifying or endorsing cheating – I really believe the but mode to win these contests is by not playing. Withal, in an endeavor to scare the pants off of people creating these contests I decided to create this guide.
NOTE Whole Whale does non cheat on behalf of our clients. It is not a service WW offers nor will ever offer.
Wow! @WholeWhale but wrote the guide on how to vanquish most nonprofit online voting contests. Click To Tweet

Step 1: Figure out how information technology is built

Online voting competitions will use a variety of means to track votes through a website. Here are the well-nigh common building technical:

A Spider web Form Built with the GET method

This method (low security) ways that the form will button the data into the URL and you will see information technology. eastward.g.  wholewhale.com/cheers.asp?orgname=charity&vote=true
How to break: Detect that URL and become ham on the refresh button. Hide the cookies and IP address if they are tracking. Post that link anywhere you lot can and every click will equal a vote. Honestly, no reputable contest will exist built this way because it isn't 2006, merely hey, you never know…

A Spider web Form Built with the POST method

This method (medium security) ways that the form will push the data through the body of the request and will not show in the URL.
How to break: you lot may be able to utilize the dorsum push button if cookies aren't being set. If they are existence set you can hide cookies with a browser like Chrome with cookies disabled. If they congenital information technology correctly yous will demand a more than advanced human assisted tech approach (see pace 2 below).

  • Cookies – contests that don't require a sign in and permit bearding votes depend on cookies that may have timers in some cases. To break: articulate your cookies, vote, repeat. Use Chrome and a cookie remover to block the cookies of the site, if it yet lets you vote y'all're all ready to click abroad. The Brave.com browser has very good privacy protection that will cake this blazon of tracking.
  • Cookie and IP on mobile – if y'all are using a mobile device y'all tin try switching to airplane way and using a wifi network to confuse the IP tracking.
  • IP – Some utilize the IP to determine location voting. You can employ a proxy server or a local VPN like Hotspot Shield.
  • Online Account – This will crave multiple accounts and a more avant-garde approach to get enough votes. Depending on how the account is authenticated, it may be not exist possible to automate mass voting.
  • Email confirmation – This is the most common system I see, it requires an email to be confirmed from the inbox with the link to record the vote.

Step 2: Human assisted automation

The following are diverse tactics which can be combined to intermission nigh voting systems with a piffling aid from third party tools. In club to not look suspicious it is important not to show suspiciously large voting counts – I tin immediately tell if a distribution of votes is unnatural and violating an expected power constabulary (20% of the contestants getting lxxx% of the total votes). In one case nosotros spotted this in a contest 1 of our clients were because and we advised them not to participate – afterward we establish several articles on the cheating that had occurred.
NOTE Whole Whale does not cheat on behalf of our clients. It is non a service WW offers nor will ever offer.

Estimator Macros

A macro is a program that you can setup on a computer that goes through a series of clicks and keyboard strokes on a timed interval. If a voting organisation doesn't crave a captcha or other man examination, a macro can be created to become through a voting cycle unabated. Combine these tools with a hotspot shield and cookies disabled on a computer tin can interruption most non-email verification process. Some tools:

  • Macro Limited – downloadable software that volition let you turn your computer into a bot that is timed to click and enter information as needed.
  • AutoHotkey – downloadable software that volition let you click the heck out of buttons or load pages.

Electronic mail Generators

For secure voting systems that don't take strict e-mail confirmations, in that location are ways to generate emails speedily. These email hacks can also exist used to create accounts for systems the require logins.

  • Whatever unmarried Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo or normal domain email accost can exist made into thousands of emails by adding a "+" or "." after the proper noun and before the "@" sign. For example, yourname@gmail.com can be yourname+anyword@gmail.com and the electronic mail will still be delivered to your address.
  • If you ain your own domain, yous can create a agglomeration of aliases for ane electronic mail account.
  • Mailinator – this is a site that volition generate emails for you on demand and give you a quick inbox that the confirmation link will be sent to. Using a variety of e-mail domains tin can help brand this look less spammy. This is a list of temporary e-mail domains hosted via mailinator: http://torvpn.com/temporaryemail.html

Outsourced Voting

For a nominal amount of coin, an organization can buy votes or emails through 'Vote Brokers'. These groups will exercise your behest in the same way they translate audio to text or do other unproblematic outsource tasks for companies. Technically it is against the Amazon Turk policy to pay workers to vote – which is bang-up.  However you can still hire someone on a site like UpWork to build a script that could use the above tactics.

Proxy Voting

A proxy vote traditionally ways that a voter transfers their right to vote to a third political party. Massive lists of proxy accounts tin can exist managed by a single person simply logging in i by one and voting. Imagine if political staffers could collect permission to vote on behalf of voters in a commune in perpetuity — not really the volition or action of a crowd, but highly constructive.
The best way to win a nonprofit voting competition is by non entering. Click To Tweet

Finally, for the competition creators

This mail service is meant to ruin poorly designed voting competitions and to scare anyone thinking about edifice a nonprofit voting contest. I hate the idea of cheating nonprofits and I think that starts when a contest doesn't utilize responsible pattern.

Responsible Contest Design Questions

  • Tin your online system be chop-chop gamed by the exploits above? (I beg y'all not to utilise GET requests or anonymous voting)
  • Tin you use a third political party authentication to stop the electronic mail hack?
  • Is the prize pool big enough to make an expected value equation brand sense for all participants?

Expected Value for Voting Contest = Prize amount  *  (total # winners / total # charities)

  • Practice the nonprofits involved get to keep the voter information that relates to their org? In the case of emails, do they get them?
  • Is in that location a fashion to build this and then that every participant wins in some way?
  • Is the time frame express and so there is only a pocket-size window of nonsense voting requests?
  • Is there a clever style to design the voting process so that it actually produces some positive impact for the nonprofit? e.m. voters have to submit photos they have of the cause that the nonprofit tin take access to afterwards for their photo database. Or they must submit 1 idea that they think would improve their work. etc.
  • Could you lot utilise a threshold voting, where nonprofits need to get to X votes to be considered by a panel? This caps the voting nonsense while still getting a bit of the network effect yous are hoping for your brand. This pairs well with a social integration.

I hope these questions will spur some more than creative approaches to contest pattern and will add more value to the nonprofits who participate.
NOTE Whole Whale does not cheat on behalf of our clients. It is not a service WW offers nor will ever offering. Also, please don't achieve out to us to vote for your contest.

And then at that place you lot have it – our guide to breaking online voting contests and so your nonprofit tin win. And more importantly, to bring transparency to this ane-sided marketing tactic.

Even more than awesome resources

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Plus, download this gratuitous, unproblematic checklist to brand sure y'all're covering all your bases when y'all set up your next nonprofit campaign!