11 
Christopher Weatherhead, who called himself “Nerdo” on the internet, was convicted of conspiracy to impair the operation of computers last week. A posh way of saying he was doing DDoS attacks under the Anonymous banner as part of the “Operation Payback” attack on big corporations.
According to The Register, police caught him after analysing IRC logs, with his main error being sticking with his “Nerdo” handle for a very long time, making it easy for cops to form an association between Weatherhead and his actions by simply looking him up on the internet. Here’s how they did it:
“We then did some keyword searching and spent a lot of time looking social leakage. Combining all these elements we then identified the NICs of interest and did open source research on them. Weatherhead was easy to identify as he had been using the NIC of ‘Nerdo’ for quite some time.”
So no matter how much you like your pretend internet name, it’s a good idea to change it every once in a while. Especially if you spend your spare time taking part in DDoS attacks against Paypal and talking about it on IRC. [The Register]
Thats why i have several names and accounts, thats right, I am Spatchmo, Darrell Jones, Mhatti3000, The Doctor, Southern, Udimion and Taf.
And thats just a few of my 27 identities.
Spatchmo is the greatest.
See? Why would Southern say this if he wasn’t just one of my sock puppet accounts?
Indeed, and now we get to agree with ourself.
It reminds me of Rogers the Bull.
Half a packet of Prawn cocktail crisps goes to the first person who can tell me who Rogers is.
I always thought you were the type to talk to yourself.
That explains why “taf” replies to his own comments, he’s getting his identities mixed up.
I’m happy to talk to anyone who will listen!
Who am I then?
Oh hello, not seen you for a while!
I’m Spartacus.
No, I’m Spartacus, your Jim.
Ah, so I am.
I am now at peace with the world.
thanks for not picking me up on the your/you’re btw.
I love this Spatchmo bloke. Been hilarious past few days, hadn’t really noticed him before, always noticed Darrell who coincidentally isn’t posting that much anymore.
P.S. Best avatar ever!
Thanks iName, i’ve been quiet for the last month or so but i’ve been here since Post #1 right at the very beginning.
Darrell has had a busy week at work this week so has been a bit quiet but i’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him soon!
I hope so, love a bit of Darrell! I’ve read Giz UK from the start but never really payed attention to posts because I usually read the stories as soon as they hit Google Reader and there isn’t comments. I’ve rarely commented as well. Hope to join in more, although I almost never have anything productive to say.
In fact everyone at Giz UK is awesome. Except that Apple fanboy, can’t remember his name haha. If I had Google+ I would join the group.
Taf, i guess, is who you’re referring to. I think we even have a place for Taf here! You should get a Google plus account, i only use it for chatting to the Gizmodo guys but there is more out there on G+ to look at and follow if you want it, i’ve just checked & we have 68 members in the Gizmodo circle so far and with the android and iOS apps you can instant message so there’s usually always a conversation going on.
Listen to me, i sound like a Google sales person and i have an iPhone! Anyway, we get a lot out of it, you should give it a go.
Yes I think it is Taf ha. You may just have convinced me to join G+.
Rhyme wishes I was a made up account.
Unfortunately, Rhyme really is a charred hunk of flesh from the future forced to live inside a giant robot suit in order to stay alive.
Thank fuck for hiphop or Rhyme would go CRAYZAYYYYYY!
I want to give you a star for that, made me giggle.
Oh look! I just did… hehehe
Rhyme thanks you.
Rhyme sees this not as a Gizmodo star, but as a sheriffs badge to protect the rights of overweight robot rappers everywhere.
I wouldn’t call you overweight; I think ‘chunky’ *cough*
is that proof? What if I sign up to something as nerdo and discuss illegal activities, will I get him in trouble?