WAREZ GROUPS

Read and memorize the following words:

piracy — пиратство

warez — краденное програмное обеспечение

obtain — получать

copyrighted software — защищенное авторским правом программное обеспечение

profit — прибыль

instead — взамен

releasing — "заливать", выкладывать

commonplace — банальность

electronic bulletin board systems — электронные доски объявлений

peer-to-peer — от одного к одному

suppliers — поставщики

to determine — определять

copy protection — защита от копирования

tracking — отслеживание

encoders — кодеры

 

Warez groups are organized bands of software pirates. Warez groups illegally obtain, crack, and make copies of copyrighted software, movies, and music. These files are known as ‘‘releases’’ in the warez community. The groups are not typically motivated by financial profit. Instead, warez groups compete with one another to be first in releasing pirated software onto the Internet and to the community of users who participate in ‘‘the warez scene.’’ Releasing illegally acquired (i.e., pirated) software is considered a game among group members. Winners gain respect and prestige. The term ‘‘warez’’ was originally slang for software, but later expanded to include music and movies. Warez groups have been commonplace since the early 1980s and have used a variety of different file transfer technologies. Initially they used electronic bulletin board systems to share releases. Later, as Internet access became available to the public, other methods such as Internet Relay Chat and USENET newsgroups were used. Currently, releases most commonly are provided to end users through peer-to-peer software.

Warez members are typically categorized according to their primary role within the group. Leaders manage and direct other group members, determining which types of software, music, and movies to crack and release. Suppliers locate and provide copies of releases. Releases are more highly valued by warez groups if they have not yet been made available commercially. Crackers remove the copy protection from the release. This allows the release to be used without a legitimate license.

If the release is a movie or music file, encoders compress the raw movie and music releases into smaller files, such as MP3s or AVIs before release. Packagers compress the release and split it into smaller files to make it easier to transfer online. Packagers also add additional information about the release in.nfo (pronounced ‘‘info’’) files that can include group name, file size, and license information. Couriers then enter information about the release into a group database for tracking prior to distributing the releases between top-level servers.

Many people distribute illegally acquired music, movie, or software files on their own, independent of any warez group, but are still considered part of the warez scene. There are a wide variety of different types of warez groups, many specializing in different types of software. Razor 1911 is widely considered to be the oldest surviving warez group, having been established in 1985. In contrast, the warez group known as Drink or Die (DoD) was disbanded after an anti-online piracy campaign known as Operation Buccaneer was carried out by the U.S. Department of Justice in December 2001. Prior to this, the Pirates with Attitude (PWA) group were rivals of DoD and became well known for releasing Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system software before its commercial release. PPWA was also later disbanded after members were prosecuted under the federal No Electronic Theft (NET) Act of 1997.

Questions:

What are the warez groups?

What is the 'warez scene'?

How are Warez members typically categorized?

Who are crackers?

Name the oldest surviving warez group. When was it established?

Do you know people distributing illegally acquired music, movie, or software files on their own? What do you think about this problem?