Quote from: betswift on Today at 03:24:16 PM

Quote from: BarterBoss on April 12, 2024, 04:04:40 PM

There are a plethora of illegal books, many run by college students, young adults and even teens. How secure are these websites??
What I am really asking is how easy (possible) would it be to hack the site and change a users balance without being detected??

From a personal standpoint, I’d strongly advise against engaging with any illegal online activities, including unregulated betting sites. The risks far outweigh the potential benefits. Not only are there legal concerns to consider, but the lack of security can also put your personal and financial information at great risk. It’s not just about the potential for someone hacking the site, it’s also about the operators themselves who might not have your best interests at heart

Moreover, dabbling in such activities can have broader consequences, potentially leading to identity theft or financial fraud that can haunt you long after you’ve left the site. It’s always better to play it safe and stick with regulated, legal platforms where your security is a priority and you have legal protection. Engaging in illegal betting is a risky gambit that’s just not worth taking.

Quote from: Fortify on Today at 10:29:00 AM

Quote from: BarterBoss on April 12, 2024, 04:04:40 PM

There are a plethora of illegal books, many run by college students, young adults and even teens. How secure are these websites??
What I am really asking is how easy (possible) would it be to hack the site and change a users balance without being detected??

It's too broad a question and I'm not sure it's even at any significant scale. There might be the odd tech savvy youngster who would be capable and have any interest in setting up such a site, but it requires a huge amount of effort to make it all functional - a barrier that will stop 99.99% of people from doing it. There's also a range of ways to do it, such as using forum software like this - creating threads where people submit pool bets and then keep track of the outcomes in a more secure place like google spreadsheet. You're very unlikely to find many instances of small scale sites getting popular enough and feature rich enough to be holding balances, as there is a lot of infrastructure required behind the scenes for that - but generally, yes, they would be hackable in all sorts of ways.

You make a valid point! Setting up and running an online betting site, especially one that deals with real money, involves complex development and significant security measures that go beyond basic web programming. The effort, knowledge, and resources required to create such a site that can securely handle transactions and personal data are substantial.

Most tech-savvy individuals interested in such projects might indeed be deterred by the technical challenges and legal risks. As you mentioned, a more simplified approach using forum software and spreadsheets is conceivable but has its limits in scalability and security. Such setups wouldn’t typically handle direct transactions or store sensitive information like a full-fledged betting platform would.

In addition, any site that grows to manage substantial balances and transactions would quickly attract attention—not just from potential users but also from regulators and cybercriminals, adding another layer of complexity in terms of legal compliance and security.

Given these barriers, while technically possible, the likelihood of small, informal betting sites becoming prevalent and sophisticated enough to pose a significant risk or attract a large user base is indeed quite low. It’s an interesting area to consider from a theoretical or cybersecurity research perspective, but in practical terms, the barriers to entry and risks are high.