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This is an incomplete list of warez groups. Such groups typically tag their releases with NFO files. Due to the nature of the scene, not much is known about these groups. Listed here are many of the more significant warez groups, with a short introduction of when they were formed and what have done. Note that there are many other warez groups that are not included here. For more general information about these groups, see the main article Warez. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... . ... The Scene is a term used by people belonging to various communities like the Demoscene, Artscene, Software cracker community, Reverse engineering community as well as the wider warez community, to describe the greater community they collectively belong to. ... Warez refers primarily to copyrighted works traded in violation of copyright law. ...

Historical groups

These groups have existed for several years, or have already disbanded.

• Australian Crackers United (also known as ACU)

Australian Crackers United were primarily based in Melbourne, Australia. They existed between 1987 and 1992 largely importing warez from overseas via standard dialup modem. They focused on Commodore Amiga games and applications. ^[1]

• Bentley Sidwell Productions

Bentley Sidwell Productions is said to have made some of the earlier IBM PC cracktros, because they credited themselves with CGA animations in their cracks. Bentley Sidwell Productions' history

• Canadian Pirates Inc

Canadian Pirates Inc were a Toronto, Ontario based cracking group started in 1987 releasing Apple products. ^{[citation needed]} The group history

• SHOCK

SHOCK was founded in July 1996 from the defunct group CiA by someone going by the alias Outbreak. In October 1996, SHOCK successfully merged with The Corporation (CORP). In 1998, SHOCK surpassed 1000 releases and founded an ISO division (SHOCKiSO). By 1999, SHOCK had 1500 releases and 2000 releases by May 30, 2000. The group history

• DrinkOrDie (also known as DoD)

DrinkOrDie released a pirated copy of Windows 95 before it was released at retail stores. They were subject to a raid in Operation Buccaneer. ^[2]

• EViL

The iSO division (EViLiSO) was one of the first groups to release movies, eventually leading to many topsites accepting VCD releases. ^{[citation needed]} Released American Pie on the internet 3 months before its theatrical release. [6]

• FiRM

The FiRM was a notable PC cracking group from 1989 to the early 1990s. They mainly released cracked games but also created several utilities such as PkUnlite which unpacked executables which were compressed using Phil Katz PkLite. The group history

• International Network of Crackers (also known as INC)

INC was one of the premier cracking/releasing warez groups for the IBM PC during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The majority of their releases during 1993 were educational games for children. By early 1994, INC had completely disappeared from the warez scene.^[3]

• National Elite Underground Alliance (also known as NEUA)

National Elite Underground Alliance was an IBM PC warez release organization largely based out of New York which operated during the early 1990s.^[4]

• PARADOX (also known as PDX)

PARADOX was founded in 1989, mainly cracking/release games for the Amiga. They have since spread to the PC and other consoles. They are one of the major warez groups still around today.^[5]

• Pirates With Attitude (also known as PWA)

Pirates With Attitude were a major international warez release group from 1992 until 2000. The group was formed by two former INC members known by the pseudonyms Orion and Bar Manager. PWA made global headlines by releasing Microsoft Windows 98 four weeks before it hit store shelves. PWA members were raided close after the passing of the No Electronic Theft or "NET" Act. ^[6]

• Radium (also known as RDM)

Radium is known primarily for cracking and releasing high dollar audio editing software such as Cubase VST and Pro Tools. One of their greater accomplishments was to actually speed up the Fraunhofer MP3 codec as well as cracking the copy protection. ^{[citation needed]} Radium were said to have offered better support for their releases than the companies who actually manufactured the programs. ^[7] Several verses of the rap song Hackers and the Crackers" by Zearle are devoted to the group Radium. In 2004, it was discovered that some of the sounds included with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, such as WMPAUD1.WAV, were authored using a pirated version of Sound Forge which was supplied by Radium. ^{[8] [9]}

Radium was disbanded in 2001 to avoid the BSA, who had them listed as their "number one target." Since then, attempts have been made to restart the group. ^{[citation needed]}

• Razor 1911 (also known as RAZOR)

Razor 1911 was founded in 1985 on the Commodore 64 but also had a major presence on the Commodore Amiga and the IBM PC. They were subject to raid in Operation Buccaneer and Operation Fastlink. Since July 2006, they have started releasing games again. [7]

• SubZero Warez (also known as SubZero)

SubZero Warez was founded in 1998 and had a major presence for several years until 2003, when the group was forced to shut down by federal authorities.

• The Dream Team (also known as TDT)

The Dream Team was active between 1989 and 1996.

A late 1980s, early 1990s, games release group. ^[10]

• The Humble Guys (also known as THG)

The Humble Guys were the first warez group to make use of NFO files to document their releases. ^[11]

• Tristar and Red Sector, Inc. (also known as TRSI)

TRSI began as an alliance between two warez groups: Tristar and Red Sector, Inc. They were formed in 1990 as a cooperative Commodore 64 demo coding and cracking group. TRSI migrated from the Commodore 64 release platform to the Amiga and IBM-PC, and eventually branched off into the console gaming scene before finally disbanding their warez division. ^[12] In late 2003, TRSI became inactive and remains so today. ^[13]

• United Software Association (also known as USA)

The United Software Association was a prominent IBM PC games and applications warez group during the 1990s. USA formed an alliance with the PC warez division of Fairlight which was known as "USA/FLT". In late January of 1992, several members of USA were arrested by the United States Secret Service and the Farmington Hills, Michigan police for credit card fraud. ^[14]

Amiga is the name of a range of home/personal computers using the Motorola 68000 processor family, whose development started in 1982. ... A typical crack intro has a text running at the bottom of the screen. ... The 640×200 2 color mode with its default foreground color — Arachne Internet suite. ... Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Look up Alias in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The term alias may refer to— an assumed name, or pseudonym. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... DrinkOrDie ASCII NFO header. ... On December 11, 2001, in an international operation known as Operation Buccaneer, law enforcement agents in six countries targeted 62 people suspected of software piracy, with leads in twenty other countries. ... American Pie is a 1999 film, the first by director Paul Weitz, written by Adam Herz. ... An DOS BBStro for INC created by RaD Man and Grimm of Aces of ANSI Art. ... Neua pad prik (Thai pepper steak). ... PARADOX (PDX) is a warez/demo group; an anonymous group of software engineers that devise ways to defeat software and video game licensing protections, an illegal process known as cracking. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ... PWA ASCII art logo by R.Noble of MiRAGE. Pirates With Attitude (PWA) was a major international warez release group between 1992 and 2000. ... Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is a graphical operating system released on June 25, 1998 by Microsoft and the successor to Windows 95. ... The United States No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act), a federal law, provides for criminal prosecution of individuals who engage in copyright infringement, even when there is no monetary profit or commercial benefit from the infringement. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Fraunhofer might stand for Joseph von Fraunhofer, the physicist Fraunhofer society, the research society Fraunhofer diffraction, Far-Field diffraction This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... For other uses, see MP3 (disambiguation). ... Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is a trade group established in 1988 and representing a number of the worlds largest software makers. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... C-64 redirects here. ... Amiga is the name of a range of home/personal computers using the Motorola 68000 processor family, whose development started in 1982. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ... On December 11, 2001, in an international operation known as Operation Buccaneer, law enforcement agents in six countries targeted 62 people suspected of software piracy, with leads in twenty other countries. ... Operation Fastlink was a coordination of four separate, simultaneous undercover investigations by the FBI, the FBI Cyber Division, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division and Interpol. ... An intro by Hard Core for The Dream Team. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... . ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... C-64 redirects here. ... A screenshot from the USA and Fairlight cracktro for Wordtris. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Counter Assault Team. ... Farmington Hills is the most populous city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. ...

Application (ISO) groups

RiSE

FXP Scene Group focuses on warezing applications developed by members of The Business Software Alliance. ^{[citation needed]} [8]

RogueWarriorz (RWZ)

Twelve "Operation Bandwidth" Software Pirates Enter into Group Guilty Plea

We Love Warez (WLW)

WLW was subject to raid during Operation Buccaneer, Operation Fastlink, and Operation Safehaven. Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Copyright Infringement.

The Bitter End (TBE)

TBE is one of the leading Industry Application (CAD/CAM) Cracking group in the scene.

RogueWarriorz - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... On December 11, 2001, in an international operation known as Operation Buccaneer, law enforcement agents in six countries targeted 62 people suspected of software piracy, with leads in twenty other countries. ... Operation Fastlink was a coordination of four separate, simultaneous undercover investigations by the FBI, the FBI Cyber Division, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division and Interpol. ... Operation Safehaven was a fifteen month investigation conducted by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in conjunction with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut and the Department of Justice against those affiliated with the warez scene. ...

Cracking groups

Challenge of Reverse Engineering (CORE)

Known for their amazingly small ASCII videos and high quality keygens.

Phrozen Crew (PC)

Phrozen Crew was founded in 1993 as a one of the first software cracking groups by the Keyboard Caper (tKC). ^{[citation needed]} Phrozen Crew received much public scrutiny. ^{[citation needed]} Although not as active as they were in the mid to late 1990s Phrozen Crew is still alive as of 2006. ^{[citation needed]}

Zero Waiting Time (ZWT)

Zero Waiting Time was founded in 1998 by group leader ygeR. ^{[citation needed] [citation needed]} The keygens released by ZWT usually contain "oldschool" tracker music and detailed artwork. ^{[citation needed]} As of June 2007 ZWT is still operating.

Phrozen Crew web site screenshot (March 2005) The Phrozen Crew (PC) is a group of computer software crackers. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ModPlug Tracker in Fast Tracker 2 colors mode Tracker is the generic term for a class of software music sequencers which, in their purest form, allow the user to arrange sound samples stepwise on a timeline across several monophonic channels. ... For other uses, see June (disambiguation). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

PC games groups

• CLASS (also known as CLS)

Class was a prolific game warez group which has been the repeated target of federal raids such as Operation Fastlink. They are a global group and have many members worldwide, often releasing "rip" games. ^{[citation needed]} Class was notorious for releasing a game, followed by a "fix" release to fix problems with running the cracked game. ^{[citation needed]} Technically defunct but occasionally making releases (they supposedly stopped after their 1,234'th release). ^{[citation needed]}

• DEViANCE

Subject to raid in Operation Fastlink. Many members are now releasing under the group name HATRED. ^{[citation needed]}

• Fairlight (also known as FLT)

One of the oldest groups in warez scene, founded in 1987, and still active. ^{[citation needed]} Fairlight was subject to raid in Operation Fastlink, which almost killed their ISO division. ^{[citation needed]} Their Demoscene division was not affected by the raid. Group NFO after the bust.

• TSRh

In the beginning "The Sabotage Rebellion hackers" got bad reputation, because one of their active members who called himself "aZZaZZello" released cracks and keygens from other groups as his own releases after changing a bit of code to make the keymakers and patchers look like his own work. After banning this member from the group it took some time to let TSRh appear as a respectable group again. Today they release almost quality cracks and keymakers. Class (CLS) was a notorious and prolific warez group that existed between January 1, 1997 and January 9, 2004. ... Operation Fastlink was a coordination of four separate, simultaneous undercover investigations by the FBI, the FBI Cyber Division, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division and Interpol. ... Operation Fastlink was a coordination of four separate, simultaneous undercover investigations by the FBI, the FBI Cyber Division, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division and Interpol. ... Fairlight logo by JED of ACiD. Fairlight (FLT) is a warez and demos group initially involved in the Commodore demoscene, and in cracking to illegally release games for free, since 1987. ... Operation Fastlink was a coordination of four separate, simultaneous undercover investigations by the FBI, the FBI Cyber Division, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division and Interpol. ... The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes itself on producing demos, non-interactive audio-visual presentations, which are run real-time on a computer. ...

• Hoodlum

Hoodlum mainly focused on cracking Safedisc and Securom. ^{[citation needed]} Released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. [9] Targeted as part of Operation Site Down raids in 2005. [10] Group history.

• Myth

• RELOADED

Major game release group, formerly one of the biggest in the scene. ^{[citation needed]}

SafeDisc is a CD/DVD copy protection program for Windows applications and games, developed by Macrovision Corporation, aiming to prevent software piracy, as well as resisting home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and reverse engineering attempts. ... SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection product, most often used for computer games, developed by Sony DADC. SecuROM aims to resist home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and reverse engineering attempts. ... Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is the fifth video game in the Grand Theft Auto series. ... Operation Site Down was the umbrella name for a law enforcement initiative conducted by the FBI and other law enforcement agents from ten other countries which resulted in a raid on targets on June 29, 2005. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Group specializes in PC-Game Rips, games that have been directly modified to reduce file size. ... Reloaded redirects here. ...

Console games groups

Echelon

Echelon is a warez group which specializes in the release and distribution of console games, such as Dreamcast ISOs.^[15] Between September 4, 2000 and April 30, 2002 they released 188 games and 34 other various fixes, tutorials, trainers, and loaders. ^{[citation needed]}

Kalisto

Kalisto is a warez group which specializes in the release and distribution of console games, predominantly PlayStation and PlayStation 2. ^{[citation needed]}

Echelon ASCII art logo designed by Rotox of ART. Echelon is a warez group which specializes in the release and distribution of console games, such as Sega Dreamcast and Sony PlayStation 2 ISO images. ... “Game console” redirects here. ... The Dreamcast , code-named White Belt, Black Belt, Dural, Dricas, Vortex, Katana, Shark and Guppy during development) is Segas final video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. ... ISO has many meanings: Iso is the stem of the Latin transliteration of the Greek word ίσος (ísos, meaning equal). The iso- prefix in English derives from this and means equality or similarity. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Kalisto logo by eNf. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... “PS2” redirects here. ...

Courier groups

Motiv8 (M8)

Motiv8 was born in early 1991 in the Commodore 64 Scene as a Demo/Release group. In 1994, lead by Mason and Xerox, it split off to create the Motiv8 PC Section. In February 1998 Mason disbands the group. June 29, 1998 Motiv8 was reborn under the leadership consisting of Dogan and Highlandr. As of 2005, Motiv8 is currently still active. The group history and member list.

Rise in Superior Couriering (RiSC)

RiSC was one of the largest courier groups during BBS era. Targeted as part of Operation Site Down raids in 2005 and Operation Jolly Roger (Which targeted RiSCiSO) raids of 2006. [11]

Motiv8 was born in early 1991 in the underground Commodore 64 scene as a Demo/Warez group. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... C-64 redirects here. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Operation Site Down was the umbrella name for a law enforcement initiative conducted by the FBI and other law enforcement agents from ten other countries which resulted in a raid on targets on June 29, 2005. ...

Footnotes

DrinkOrDie ASCII NFO header. ... An DOS BBStro for INC created by RaD Man and Grimm of Aces of ANSI Art. ... Neua pad prik (Thai pepper steak). ... PARADOX (PDX) is a warez/demo group; an anonymous group of software engineers that devise ways to defeat software and video game licensing protections, an illegal process known as cracking. ... An intro by Hard Core for The Dream Team. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A screenshot from the USA and Fairlight cracktro for Wordtris. ...

References

• AboutTheScene − Well known release groups.
• Commodore 64 Scene Database − A comprehensive catalogue of Commodore 64 warez and demo crews of the past and present.
• Defacto2
• iSONEWS
• United States Department of Justice