Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

Winter in Hangzhou is characterized by a cold, howling wind.

The office was warm and cozy. Zhong Xue quickly approached Shen Mo, her voice tinged with panic.

"Boss, something's happened."

"Regarding the commissions during Singles' Day, our calculations show that the sales volume and commission pool for some product categories do not match, resulting in a loss of approximately 12 yuan."

"Investigate the underlying redirection logic."

Shen Mo abruptly stood up. "Did someone tamper with our promotional link and steal our commission?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Kun, Zhuang Bifan, and the others immediately sprang into action, tracing the source and quickly uncovering clues.

"Brother Mo, it really is just like you said!"

Yuan Hua said urgently, "Someone is using software that specifically tampers with the PID of promotional links, and our commissions are all flowing to unfamiliar PIDs."

Shen Mo's expression turned serious. In the Ali Mama system, each promoter has a unique identity identifier, namely PID.

By tampering with the PID in the link, the commission that rightfully belongs to YiTaoGO can be quietly transferred into the pocket of the tamperer.

"During the Double Eleven period, a massive number of users place orders, making it easy for these abnormal data to be buried."

Lu Wenbin reported: "Moreover, these bastards are taking advantage of the chaos, they're being very careful, and they don't dare to commit large-scale robberies."

Shen Mo's mind raced. "Conduct a comprehensive investigation and locate the source of the attack."

Yuan Hua cursed, "Damn it, how exactly did they tamper with the PID of the promotional link?"

"These people probably spread malware online. Once users' computers are infected, all Taobao links that pass through their browsers will be automatically modified. Then, when they click on the link, they will be redirected to a clone website similar to our YiTao GO..."

"By promoting this fake website, they are intercepting traffic that should belong to YiTaoGO."

Having experienced similar things in his previous life, Shen Mo quickly organized his thoughts.

These PID hijacking plugins and viruses are extremely cheap to make, and can even be bought for a few hundred dollars.

However, the damage caused was astonishing, not only in terms of money, but more importantly, in terms of damage to YiTaoGO's brand reputation and leakage of user data.

"Damn it, they dared to steal our money!"

"Boss, we need to report this to Ahri's mom immediately, demanding that the tamperer's PID account be frozen and the commission recovered!"

"..."

Everyone was trembling with anger; it was nothing short of blatant robbery!

"Of course we should report it, but we can't rely on others for defense. We must eradicate this cancer at its root."

"EasyGO is upgrading its anti-tampering monitoring. As long as the parameters of a link clicked by a user are tampered with by a local plugin, our server will be able to identify it, directly intercept it, and display a pop-up warning to the user..."

"I will contact Tencent's security team and ask them for technical support."

Shen Mo calmly made the arrangements, "Help us trace the source, use these hijacked links to trace the criminal gang's trail, follow the clues, and ideally obtain a complete chain of electronic evidence."

"I've already asked Sister Qingyan."

Zhong Xue adjusted her glasses. "This is no longer a simple business dispute, but a criminal offense. It can be filed as 'theft,' 'damage to computer information systems,' or even 'infringement of trade secrets.'"

"Alright, I'm going to make all those money-stealing rats go inside and work on sewing machines!"

A fierce glint flashed in Shen Mo's eyes. Once the Series A funding was completed, he would definitely have to set up a dedicated legal department.

Always entrusting things to Zehou is not a long-term solution!

………………

EtaoGO is working at a fever pitch, with the technical team, under Shen Mo's supervision, developing fixes and monitoring scripts.

"Brother Mo, I'm sorry, this time it was our technical team..."

Xu Kun's face was filled with guilt.

"Now is not the time to investigate, but the time to solve the problem!"

Shen Mo raised his hand to stop him from making a self-criticism.

"Brother Mo, speaking of solutions, I suggest implementing link signature verification and checking whether the parameters have been tampered with during redirection."

Xu Kun said, "The tampered links are directly blocked, giving the hijackers no chance."

Shen Mo clasped his hands together: "In addition, we at YiTao GO need to prepare for the deployment of HTTPS encryption protocol."

"Brother Mo, this can't prevent local plugins from tampering with the PID."

Xu Kun suddenly realized, "Moreover, the deployment cost of the HTTPS encryption protocol is high, requiring a large number of people..."

"This is YiTaoGO's long-term plan. We will make further plans after the Series A funding is secured."

Shen Mo smiled. "As for manpower, while it's still the tail end of the fall recruitment season, let's go to Zhejiang University and see if we can snag a spot?"

Zhong Xue replied, "Boss, it's all arranged."

"Fortunately, the PID issue was discovered in time; otherwise, it might have affected the subsequent Double Twelve activities."

Shen Mo turned to Lu Wenbin, "Wenbin, how did your business development team's talks with Meizu go?"

Lu Wenbin replied, "Brother Mo, Meizu hasn't given a definite answer yet, but I think it's pretty much a done deal."

"yes!"

Qin Feng added, "We had a very pleasant collaboration with Meizu on MP3 and MP4 players before, and on the Meizu M8, we offered all the benefits that YiTaoGO had to offer. There were no slot fees, and the commission was the lowest tier of 3%, which was already quite a concession."

Lu Wenbin nodded in agreement, "Brother Mo, are we really going to organize a launch event for the Meizu M8?"

Shen Mo countered with, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Brother Mo, everyone online is saying that the Meizu M8 will be a domestic smartphone to compete with Apple, but I think that's unreliable."

Lu Wenbin's tone carried a hint of worry.

"I think so too. Meizu is just a small factory in Zhuhai. Can they really develop a smartphone comparable to Apple?"

Yuan Hua also expressed his concerns.

Shen Mo crossed his arms. "Zhong Xue, what do you think?"

"Boss, I think what they said makes sense."

Zhong Xue said, "The Meizu M8 has been delayed several times. It's not that there are problems with the processor, but rather with RMVB decoding, the screen, etc. Given the background of a small factory that mainly produces MP3 and MP4 players, it will probably be difficult to solve these problems in a short period of time."

Shen Mo waved his hand, "Whether it's possible or not, we'll know for sure once Meizu sends over the prototype."

"But……"

"Don't underestimate Meizu's strength just because they're a small manufacturer. As long as they're a domestic brand that dares to innovate and compete, we at YiTaoGO will definitely support them!"

"Yes, Boss Mo!"

Everyone responded in unison, without any further doubt.

A meaningful glint flashed in Shen Mo's eyes. Helping Meizu M8 organize a launch event was not just about riding on Meizu M8's popularity.

Ouku.com mainly sells feature phones from BBK and OPPO. Once the Meizu M8 is launched, it will usher in the era of domestic smartphones.

By then, with Jingdong ahead and smartphones behind, the upper and lower limits of Ouku.com will be completely locked, and its future will be predictable.

Given Huang Zheng's personality, if he realized that there was no hope for B2C in the 3C digital field, he would definitely switch tracks decisively.

I can be just like Song Jiang and lure Huang Zheng, who is like Lu Junyi, to join the mountain bandits!