Warez Site Gets Owned (from ATSNN)

Three guys claiming to be the "Robin Hoods of Cyberspace" were charged with copyright enfringement. Apparently, these three men had "hacked" mass amounts of software and Dvd's, and made them available for download off the web. Even though hearing this story is nothing new, it's a landmark case because it's the biggest of it's kind.



Downloading software, music (and basically anything) from the web has been as easy as going to your frig and grabbing a snack. Most people don't think twice about downloading things from the web.

Two things come to my mind when a person downloads copyrighted material from the internet.
1. You don't know where the person you're downloading the material got it from (it may have a virus).
2. You're taking income away from the people who've spent months and maybe years developing the software.

Being in the computer industry, this story hits home. Having just spent the last year working 50 hours a week pumping out code for a game so I can put food on the table for my family only to have some l33t teenage script kiddie exploit my hard work. Kinda makes me feel good that these guys are getting thier just deserts.

[edit on 10-3-2005 by rancid1]
edit> I had to take the hacker "jargon" out of the subject. I guess whomever decided that it wasn't spelled right isn't computer litterate


[edit on 10-3-2005 by rancid1]

if ive said this once ive said it a thousend times i dont think its good to be downloading software illiagally but with movies i think he big movie guys deserve it this has the possibility for untapped profits but there too dumb to see it we over in the uk wait ages b4 a film from america comes out over here and people wonder why

What terrible news.

As a supporter of piracy I am displeased to hear this.

Free crap > all.

who, with a high-school education and a home computer, cracked the computer industry's toughest copyright protections.

and college is good for what again??

At whatever point the larger companies get tired of kids ruining their profits they will take the only logical step to destroy the "warez" crap once and for all.

Flood the web with those very same programs, on "warez" style sites, embedded with viruses. Now the user looking for a free ride has no idea what's safe anymore and is afraid to download. Sure they still will, but more and more chances of being hit doesn't make anyone feel comfortable.

It is simply the only logical choice. You will not get people to stop downloading, you will not find (at least) half the people distributing, so you destroy them quietly.

Not only will it work, but it will work to the point of devastation.

Ever download a song on kazaa with screeching right in the middle of it? You get the idea.

[edit on 3-11-2005 by Djarums]

Stopping piracy ain't gonna help software companies that much IMHO.
People usually DL software they couldn't afford to buy in the first place including me, and if you don't like it knackers!!

Now DLing music I would agree does effect the music industry. BUT I don't give a rats ass about the music industry. Biggest rip-off ever! None blacker!

Now where's that ISO file?...

AP&F...

totally agree i think we will all find illegial tech will evolve to get around anything they through at them think of normal p2p then bit torrent then bit torrent evolved further so each user became a tracker so it was harder for people to catch them you cant stop people its went way too far now
Seeding is not a crime

[edit on 11-3-2005 by klain]

Imagine the repurcussions of music piracy...

What if a Pepsi sponsored, no-talent, more-plastic-than-flesh rock 'superstar' was forced to live a life of only semi-luxury? Because of you sick, sad bastards, decent, inteligent people like Britney Spears and Maddonna might not be able to afford top of the line private jets and 700 dollar an hour lawyers to protect THEM from copyright infringement lawsuits filed by the real artists of the world. Oh, the humanity.

I do sympathize with software designers, but when you charge half a grand for a copy of photoshop, what do you expect is going to happen? I understand development costs, I understand infrastructure costs, I almost sort of understand the necessity of marketing costs, but I don't understand the need to make a big deal out of what is essentially a small problem.

As long as the music is good, people will still pay to see you in concert. I don't know about anyone else, but if I download software that is well written and useful, I'll buy a copy to support the company.

Information should be free and for the benefit of humanity in its entirety. I appreciate the concerns of the executives and the need to feed their families (caviar and crepes) but I can't compromise what is a fundamentally good principle for the benefit of their proft margins.

People say, nobody will invent anything new if they can't make exhorbitant sums of money off of it. Well shucks, I guess humanity is doomed if we're that goddamn greedy and near-sighted. Hacker ethics should be embraced. Hackers should be elected, not jailed. These people were essentially doing a public service for 90% of the world, at the expense of 10% of the world. I just can't justify prison sentences for that sort of behavior.

I'm all for piracy. Especially music piracy.

An argument held by most is that the artist loses a significant profit in piracy, but in reality, Artist earn pennies for CD sales. It's the mega-corporations that earn off the slavish work of the artist.

If you've been involved in the music biz just for a minute you will know that

Artist earn their money off of concerts and shows.

Which is how it should be. I'm tired of walking into a Virgin megastore only to be bombarded with propanganda like sales techniques in order to push another useless product that is instantly consumed and instantly forgotten. Bring the music back to the street, where the people live. That's where it rightfully belongs.

Originally posted by Simulacra
I'm all for piracy. Especially music piracy.
...
Bring the music back to the street, where the people live. That's where it rightfully belongs.

Damn right! It's ludicrous that Metallica, of all bands, is leading the charge against piracy. Their fame is owed directly to tape swapping at their shoes back in the day. Without that legion of fans, freely promoting their music, Metallica would still be messing up their riffs and getting boozed in little clubs instead of giant arenas and concert halls. They have to play most of their gigs overseas now, because those people haven't gotten word that they suck yet.

Real artists don't care about making money, they're motivated purely by a desire to produce art. They make enough to live on at their shows and with their schwag (50 dollar t shirts..don't even get me started). Real bands play because they love music, not because they love money.

I've been boycotting the recording industry since the whole debacle with Napster began. I won't buy a single damn CD, and I won't download a single song, until these so called artists start acting like artists.

Originally posted by EliteXizer
What terrible news.

As a supporter of piracy I am displeased to hear this.

Free crap > all.

YA! Now where do your parents work so I can go there and get everything they do for free!, and while I'm at it, I'll go get my Free car, and take someones house cause I want it, it's Free right? Hey you got a girlfriend? Not anymore, cause I want her and she's Free anyway! Gimme your money too, cause if you can live with everything being Free, then you don't need it, and I can always use a little Free money!

Know whats funny? Weird Al, Dennis Leary, Stephen Lynch, other "comic" musicians have basically said "Go ahead, download my songs, if you are listening to my songs/what I have to say, then it's all good." Japanese band Taii Jakku has said the same thing, for their music isn't sold in America, so if someone d/ls the song, they don't care. Ammana 18(local band) doesn't even have a cd! They do live shows/concerts around Toledo, Detroit, Indianappolis, that area and have put all of their songs on the internet for people to d/l. Even did a Car Stereo One commercial. These kids don;t even belong to a record companmy. My sister is their roadie for she the only one who doesn't have a college kid car, but a truck, goes with them. She helped them set up so people could use kazaa to d/l their music.

Or hell, I was looking for a certain song, found a dif. song, liked it, bought the cd. If I hadn't heard that song, never would have bought the cd.

Ever hear Dairigyousha Jin by Taii Jakku? Taii Jakku by Taii Jakku? Seiko-Seiko by Taii Jakku? Jinzouningen Jin Oite Kyuujitsu by Taii Jakku? All great songs, but no cd is sold in America, so have to d/l them.

[edit on 11-3-2005 by James the Lesser]

There are certain kinds of piracy I condone, others I do not.

I support music piracy, because I figured out at a young age that most bands would have their hit song, maybe one or two other ones worth listening to on a CD, and the rest filler. Then, they'd charge 12-20$ for that. Well, we're forcing change now!

Same with movie piracy. 12$/ticket for Catwoman? Kiss my firm Canadian a$$.

However, software piracy I DO NOT condone. It's hard enough to make a living in that business. I poured a fortay out on the curb for Black Isle. I don't mind stealing abbandonware like Sam and Max, but Doom 3? No, that's not kosher. I shelled out 150$ to get the Baldur's Gate series, and I still feel like I ripped them off. 1500+ hours of entertainment right there. That's a piece of art, man. Software is either good or bad- if it's bad, you won't download it anyways. If it's good, than the makers deserve your money. I'm a proponent of ICE- black as sin. Lullaby and goodnight, script kiddies.

DE

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
These people were essentially doing a public service for 90% of the world, at the expense of 10% of the world. I just can't justify prison sentences for that sort of behavior.

Key phrase there, just another example of how this world is f**ked up and geared towards protecting the rich, yet whilst the majority of society thinks its perfectly fine, the laws against them. I mean do they even realise how many people download songs etc? I know just about all mine do, I suppose its not so prevalant in older generations, but that will enivitabley change in the future.

Originally posted by Chuck Stevenson
YA! Now where do your parents work so I can go there and get everything they do for free!, and while I'm at it, I'll go get my Free car, and take someones house cause I want it, it's Free right? Hey you got a girlfriend? Not anymore, cause I want her and she's Free anyway! Gimme your money too, cause if you can live with everything being Free, then you don't need it, and I can always use a little Free money!

The main point I think you've missed here is that software n files etc are copied. If I could easily duplicate identical versions of my car, house, girlfriend and wallet you'd be more than welcome to have these as I would still have them also.

I think the only program I have an 'official' version of is my operating system. Everything else is 'dodgy' due to the exhorbitant cost of the programs I wanted. For example, one of the music programs I use retails at 999 dollars for the basic version. I'd be silly to pay that for it.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
It's ludicrous that Metallica, of all bands, is leading the charge against piracy.

I Will not listen to Metallica at all! I can't believe that someone that showers in a bathroom bigger than my whole house is p!ssing and moaning about losing a bit of money! Without the fans they are nothing!

d/l software??? Like what? D2? Yes, I have the time and energy to stay online for 4 days d/l D2. Or HL2? Yes, I have no life, I can spend 2 weeks d/l HL2, or not..... I think everything I have software wise is legal but XP, well, maybe, got it from a friend since he is the one who put it onnhere, not sure if he had a disk or a burned one. Of course, I also have a 56k modem, not cable, but that is besides the point.

Originally posted by DeusEx
There are certain kinds of piracy I condone, others I do not.

I support music piracy, because I figured out at a young age that most bands would have their hit song, maybe one or two other ones worth listening to on a CD, and the rest filler. Then, they'd charge 12-20$ for that. Well, we're forcing change now!

Same with movie piracy. 12$/ticket for Catwoman? Kiss my firm Canadian a$$.

However, software piracy I DO NOT condone. It's hard enough to make a living in that business. I poured a fortay out on the curb for Black Isle. I don't mind stealing abbandonware like Sam and Max, but Doom 3? No, that's not kosher. I shelled out 150$ to get the Baldur's Gate series, and I still feel like I ripped them off. 1500+ hours of entertainment right there. That's a piece of art, man. Software is either good or bad- if it's bad, you won't download it anyways. If it's good, than the makers deserve your money. I'm a proponent of ICE- black as sin. Lullaby and goodnight, script kiddies.

DE

I agree with everything you said, right down the line. The quality developers deserve money, and they make it. Hand over fist, because fans appreciate good games.

I also favor agressive built in code protections if that's what the company thinks will help make it more money. Talented people will still finds cracks and exploits and will still make their own key generators. Anyone who simply goes to a file sharing service and clicks a button might be in for a surprise, people who just google warez and start pounding random links will be (digitally) ass over teakettle. Of course, companies could get a bad reputation for stuff like that, and it could hurt sales. In the end it's up to the company in question to make that decision based on experience, sales, and their core audience.

You're right about good and bad software, but I enjoy taking everything I buy for a test drive. If it doesn't perform adequately I'm not going to pay money for it, simple. Sometimes demos suffice, but usually you need a full copy to make a detailed analysis, especially for the more pricey, specialized software that could see you shelling out a few grand.

Ultimately, if we fostered a more responsible society through dialogue and logical/reasonable conflict resolution, instead of aggressive legislation and loud-mouthed hate mongering backed up with civil lawsuits using government gathered data, all delivered to a background tenor that delights in calling computer geeks terrorists, well then maybe people wouldn't be so inclined to try and rip off 'the system' at every turn. People feel abused by the system. They lash out in retaliation.

It's not necessarily 'right', but then again, what is these days? There is a pattern here that can be discerned with a minimum amount of effort. Lemme put it this way; in domestic situations where the husband beats his wife, wives often become abusive of the children, and the children become violent towards each other and household pets. In the same way the government beats its citizens, the citizens beat each other, and their children, in response to the trauma.

It's actually an instinctual, heirarchy defning social behavior identified in primates and many other mammals. In almost every way the behavior of the US Justice system is identical to the behavior of a male chimpanzee inducting a newcomer into the tribe. Violence abounds in nature...

I cry $649 tears of guilt everytime I use my ill-gotten copy of Adobe PhotoshopCS. I may need a support group.

Four words:

Sucks.
To.
Be.
Them.

lol

-wD