Talk To a Convicted Warez Guy 1404
Chris Tresco is one of those evil "software pirates" cybermoms warn you about. He was a sysadmin at MIT, and also a member of "the secretive Internet software trading ring known as 'DrinkOrDie'" who got caught by the DoJ's Operation Buccaneer, got convicted, and was sentenced to 33 months in prison on August 16. Chris has a little time left on the outside before he goes away and has agreed to spend some of it answering your questions, so ask away. (Usual Slashdot interview rules.)
Re:Just one question... (Score:1, Informative)
Re:How did they catch you? (Score:1, Informative)
Patents and DMCA (Score:3, Informative)
Why do people copy, or want to copy, proprietary software illegally when they can legally obtain copies of Free and Open Source software more easily
Because the features essential for their work are patented, and the patent holders do not license the patents for use in free software. That's one reason why GIMP doesn't support CMYK, Pantone, or GIF writing and why the LAME project does not distribute binaries.
Or because the proprietary software uses a proprietary encrypted file format. In the United States, it's a crime [cornell.edu] to distribute software that decrypts a proprietary encrypted file format [cmu.edu].
Re:How serious was your crime? (Score:3, Informative)
While owning copies of software illegally isn't the right thing to do, I doubt you're gonna end up in Oz [hbo.com] anytime soon. Start hacking into other people's systems, setting up warez serves, cracking apps for illegal purposes -- well, maybe you'll get to enjoy some conjugal visits from your friendly jailhouse pimp for those "horrific crimes".
If it wasn't about the money, what was it about? (Score:5, Informative)
So if it wasn't about the money, what was it about? Prestige is one option, but people in these groups need to keep hidden, so that doesn't fit. Was it for the ideals? If so, what ideals are there in ripping off software?
I can understand why people who can't afford software rip it off.. they have stuff to do, and can't afford $500 for Photoshop or whatever.. but tell me why someone with a decent salary will work in secret to beat the software companies.. what is the motivation?
Re:How serious was your crime? (Score:3, Informative)
The jury's still out on that, as far as I see it. "Releases" start on the uber-elite "topsites" and slowly filter down to the 13 year old with the fserve on irc.
Yet "Releases" will be packaged and for sale on the streets of Russia, China, Hong Kong oftentimes long before they hit the online geek "scene".
There is alot of money in the illegitimate sale of pirated software, and various mobs have their hands elbow deep in it.
Someone pays for all their equipment. Someone gives organized crime access to the "topsites" (which exist only in legend to your run-of-the-mill 'warez' scener).
No, I'm not spreading gov'ment FUD or trolling, but where there's money to be made by violating a law, organized crime will show up to make sure it's done right.
The scene's changed since the early days of kids trading c64 disks through the mail.
Re:Do you wish you'd raped someone instead (Score:5, Informative)
Homicide 149/71
Rape 117/65
Kidnaping 104/52
Robbery 95/44
Sexual assault 72/35
Assault 61/29
Re:Do you wish you'd raped someone instead (Score:3, Informative)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't 117 months (avg. rape sentence sassigned) larger than 33 months (this person's warez sentence assigned)?
Re:Just one question... (Score:1, Informative)
In any case, the sytems I reported were cleaned up, but AFAIK, they never went after any of the drink or die folks that had made the mess.
One of the reasons I quit working for the government as a sysadmin was the totally lax attitude about security and system administration in general. Low pay, no budget to do anything like buy a firewall, that wasn't important. The UNIX vendor we have a contract with says their systems are secure "out of the box." Yadda yadda, decided to get a Real Career instead.
I worked for an agency in dept. of Interior. So funny now to read about the judge cutting off internet access to DOI networks because they were completely insecure, and people had hacked the BIA payment databases.
It's all true; the security of every system in DOI was a complete joke. And I have no reason to believe that despite the lawsuits, it's no better now. They're still using the same late 80's/early 90's hardware and operating systems they were when I worked there - no money to upgrade. One agency even did a nice cost savings move in the 'reinventing government' period where they cut their entire IT department. So now individual users in the agency are responsible for running and securing their own machines. Brilliant!
Re:The Economics Of Warez (Score:3, Informative)
That's precisely why its not called theft when you obtain/distribute commercial software without paying for it, its called copyright infringement. They are completely seperate concepts under the law, although they both deal with the unauthorized use or duplication of someone else's property (whether it be intellectual or otherwise).
Re:"The Bust", WarGames or Matrix? (Score:4, Informative)
This happened in Belgium:
I was with a friend that did major warez when a bust happened. They questioned me for 5 hours long while I was only there to go out to the disco that evening. (Apparantly the entire bust spoiled our weekend).
They take mousepads, monitors, systems, all floppy's and cd-roms and everything that hangs on a PC system. They also take away all money they find that could be as result of trading/selling warez.
They enter with 3 cops, somebody that notes everything down ("deurwaarder" in dutch) and 2 cops from internal affairs. The "deurwaarder" notes everything down that gets taken. Even stupid boxes get taken away, the rooms where being checked for evidence.
The guy now has to pay for over 50000 US$ to the BSA and needed to betray friends where he worked with or he would face jailtime (because he could not pay it).
3 weeks later they tried to check my house though I didn't had anything that was illegal; they did took a lot of writable CD's with them with personal pictures and sourcecode of programs I have written in that time. I am still waiting for them to get them back.
So far of being legal and still loosing a lot of yourself. They took my backups and personal pictures and never had them back.