"Warez" refers primarily to copyrighted works traded in violation of copyright law. The term generally refers to illegal releases by organized groups, as opposed to peer-to-peer file sharing between friends or large groups of people with similar interest using a darknet. It usually does not refer to commercial for-profit software counterfeiting. This term was initially coined by members of the various computer underground circles, but has since become commonplace among Internet users and the media. Not to be confused with copywriting. ... A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively few servers. ... File sharing is the activity of making files available to other users for download over the Internet, but also over smaller networks. ... A Darknet is a private virtual network where users connect only to people they trust. ...

Etymology

The word "warez" was coined to indicate more than one piece of pirated software, as "software" is a non-count noun and users found it natural to use a count noun to differentiate between one "ware" (one piece of software) and multiple "warez" (multiple pieces of software). Due to the relatively large amounts of time needed to transfer large files over slow telephone modems and bulletin board systems (BBSes), pirates would typically ask for one-for-one trades from other pirates. Hence, software pirates adopted a merchant-like attitude with their software collection(s) and the term "wares" was apt. In English, a mass noun is a type of noun that has a singular, but no plural form. ... A count noun is a noun which is itself counted, or the units which are used to count it. ... A modem (a portmanteau word constructed from modulator and demodulator) is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal (sound), to encode digital information, and that also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. ... A bulletin board system or BBS is a computer system running software that allows users to dial into the system over a phone line and, using a terminal program, perform functions such as downloading software and data, uploading data, reading news, and exchanging messages with other users. ... “BBS” redirects here. ...

Warez is used most commonly as a noun: "My neighbor downloaded 10 gigabytes of warez yesterday"; but has also been used as a verb: "The new Windows was warezed a month before the company officially released it". The collection of warez groups is referred to globally as the "warez scene" or more ambiguously "The Scene". In linguistics, a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of expressions. ... This article is about the computer terms. ... This article is about the unit of measurement. ... It has been suggested that Verbal agreement be merged into this article or section. ... “Windows” redirects here. ... 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. ...

History of warez

Product piracy

Piracy in its current form began during the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Industrial textile production was one of the important factors in economic growth. Plans for weaving machines were patented and the British government applied strict restrictions on exports of the technology. ^[1] A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... With the establishment of overseas colonies, the British Empire at the end of the 17th century/beginning of the 18th century had a vast source of raw materials and a vast market for goods. ...

At the time, patent law in the United States limited all patents to US citizens only and, protected by this act, several businessmen such as Francis Cabot Lowell began manufacturing without paying any compensation to the patent holders in Britain. Francis Cabot Lowell's mill was based on technology patented by Edmund Cartwright. ^[2] Such acts were condoned by the US government for over a century until the passing of the International Copyright Act. The United States patent law is a first-to-invent patent legal framework in contrast to all other national patent laws. ... , Waltham, Massachusetts Francis Cabot Lowell (April 7, 1775 - April 10, 1817) was the American business man for whom the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, United States is named. ... Edmund Cartwright Edward (Edmund) Cartwright (April 24, 1743 in Marnham, Nottinghamshire – October 30, 1823 in Hastings, Sussex) was an English clergyman and inventor of the power loom. ... The International Copyright Act is the first U.S. congressional act that extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations. ...

During the 1980s, and continuing into the 2000s, some of the most famous products targeted were Lacoste shirts. [1] This type of product counterfeiting was and still is done by organized crime groups often based in Eastern or Asian countries such as China, Thailand,and Russia^{[citation needed]}. These groups illegally produce millions of counterfeit copies of clothing, electronics, microchips, music CDs, VHS & DVD movies, and software applications. This article is about the clothing company. ... For other uses, see Counterfeit (disambiguation). ... Organized crime or criminal organizations are groups or operations run by criminals, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ... The Cathach of St. ... Integrated circuit of Atmel Diopsis 740 System on Chip showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery Microchips with a transparent window, showing the integrated circuit inside. ... “CD” redirects here. ... Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ...

While most copies of pirate software are manufactured in Asian factories, their distribution often begins in first-world nations such as the United States and Western European countries, where the largest international publishers of proprietary software are located^{[citation needed]}. These pirate copies are regularly sold on city streets throughout most of South America, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In some countries they are sold at retail price which can be worth several billion dollars annually. While the selling of pirate copies is less common in Western nations, its popularity is growing. In Western nations, pirate products are usually sold in specific areas, such as Chinatown in New York^{[citation needed]} and the Pacific Mall in suburban Toronto. Unlike Asian countries where pirate goods can even be sold in retailers, this kind of distribution is relatively rare in Western nations. The Cathach of St. ... The Cathach of St. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ... USD redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Pacific Mall is an Asian themed shopping centre located in Markham, Ontario, Canada. ...

Warez distribution

Warez is often distributed by the source (the cracker or cracking crew), it is then compiled and split into .rar or .zip files for compression. An nfo or file_id.diz is often made to promote who created the release. The release is then transferred to a courier or group of couriers who upload it to private FTP servers known as topsites. It is then either leeched (downloaded) by users of the FTP server and spread to IRC channels, sharing sites and to p2p protocols like BitTorrent. From there, it can be downloaded from millions of users all over the world. Often, one release is duplicated, renamed, then re-uploaded to different sites so that eventually, it can become impossible to trace the original file. In the early 1990's, warez was often traded on cassette tapes with different groups, and it was published on bulletin boards that have a warez section. . ... FILE_ID.DIZ is a plain text file containing a brief content description of the archive in which it is included. ... A courier is a person or company employed to deliver messages, packages and mail. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the protocol. ...

Rise of software piracy

Piracy has been an ongoing problem that started when high quality, commercially produced software was released for sale. Whether the medium was cassette tape or floppy disk, software pirates found a way to duplicate the software and spread it amongst their friends. Thriving pirate communities were built around the Apple II, Commodore 64, the Atari 400 and Atari 800 line, the ZX Spectrum, the Amiga, the Atari ST among other personal computers. Entire networks of BBSes sprang up to traffic illegal software from one user to the next. Machines like the Amiga and the Commodore 64 had an international pirate network, through which software not available on one continent would eventually make its way to every region via bulletin board systems. The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ... C-64 redirects here. ... Atari built a series of 8-bit home computers based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, starting in 1979. ... Atari built a series of 8-bit home computers based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, starting in 1979. ... The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ... The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... “BBS” redirects here. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ... C-64 redirects here. ... “BBS” redirects here. ...

It was also quite common in the 1980s to use physical floppy disks and the postal service for spreading software, in an activity known as mail trading. Particularly widespread in continental Europe, mail trading was even used by many of the leading cracker groups as their primary channel of interaction. Software piracy via mail trading was also the most common means for many computer hobbyists in the Eastern bloc countries to receive new Western software for their computers. For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). ... Software cracking is the modification of software to remove protection methods: copy prevention, trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, CD check or software annoyances like nag screens and adware. ... A map of the Eastern Bloc 1948-1989. ...

MC Double Def the "Disk Protector" in the "Don't Copy That Floppy" video.

Copy protection schemes for the early systems were designed to defeat the casual pirate, as "crackers" would typically release a pirated game to the pirate "community" the day they were earmarked for market. ImageMetadata File history File links Dontcopythatfloppy. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Dontcopythatfloppy. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... Copy prevention, also known as copy protection, is any technical measure designed to prevent duplication of information. ... Corey and Jenny are playing a video game. ... Software cracking is the modification of software to remove protection methods: copy prevention, trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, CD check or software annoyances like nag screens and adware. ...

A famous event in the history of software piracy policy was an open letter written by Bill Gates of Microsoft, dated February 3, 1976, in which he argued that the quality of available software would increase if software piracy was less prevalent. However, until the early 1990s, software piracy was not yet considered a serious problem by most people. In 1992, the Software Publishers Association began to battle against software piracy, with its promotional video "Don't Copy That Floppy". It and the Business Software Alliance have remained the most active anti-piracy organizations worldwide, although to compensate for extensive growth in recent years, they have gained the assistance of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), as well as American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI). For other persons named Bill Gates, see Bill Gates (disambiguation). ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), formerly known as the Software Publishers Association (SPA), is watchdog group that conducts investigations and audits to ferret out unlicensed software. ... Corey and Jenny are playing a video game. ... The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is a trade group established in 1988 and representing a number of the worlds largest software makers. ... The RIAA Logo. ... MPAA redirects here. ... The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is an organization known as a collecting society that protects copyright, ensuring that music which is broadcast, commercially recorded, or otherwise used for profit, pays a fee to compensate the creators of that music. ... Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) is a collecting society that protects composers intellectual property in the communications business, especially radio. ...

Today most warez files are distributed via bittorrent. Some of the most popular software companies that are being targeted are Adobe, Microsoft, Nero, Apple, Dreamworks, and Autodesk to name a few. It is estimated that in 2006 alone these companies lost over 78 billion US dollars because of piracy. It is very easy to download warez software—clients can include bitlord, bittorrent, bitcomet, azureus, and many more. To reduce the spread of pirating, some companies have hired people to release "fake" torrents, which look real and are meant to be downloaded, but while downloading the individual does not realize that the company that owns the software has received his IP address. They will then contact his/her ISP, and further legal action may be taken from the company/ISP. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Causes which have accelerated its growth

In the late 1990s, computers became more popular. This was attributed to Microsoft and the release of Windows 95, which made using an IBM PC compatible computer much easier. Windows 95 became so popular that in developed countries nearly every middle-class household had at least one computer^{[citation needed]}. Similar to televisions and telephones, computers became a necessity to every person in the information age. As the use of computers increased, so had software and cyber crimes. This article is about the machine. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. ... The Columbia MPC was one of the many IBM PC compatibles offered on the US market. ... For other uses, see Telephone (disambiguation). ... A university computer lab containing many desktop PCs The transition of communication technology: Oral Culture, Manuscript Culture, Print Culture, and Information Age Information Age is a name given to a period after the industrial age and before the Knowledge Economy. ... Cybercrime is a term used broadly to describe activity in which computers or networks are a tool, a target, or a place of criminal activity. ...

In the mid-1990s, the average Internet user was still on dial-up, with average speed ranging between 28.8 and 33.6 kbit/s (with a maximum speed of 56 kbit/s becoming possible in early 1999 with the advent of V.90). If one wished to download a piece of software, which could run about 200 MB, the download time could be longer than one day, depending on network traffic, the Internet Service Provider, and the server. Around 1997, broadband began to gain popularity due to its greatly increased network speeds. As "large-sized file transfer" problems became less severe, warez became more widespread and began to affect large software files like animations and movies. In telecommunication, the term dial-up has the following meanings: Dial-up access, typically to the Internet A service feature in which a user initiates service on a previously arranged trunk or transfers, without human intervention, from an active trunk to a standby trunk. ... “KBPS” redirects here. ... V.90 is an ITU-T recommendation for a modem, allowing 56 kbit/s download and 33. ... ReBoot character, see Megabyte (ReBoot). ... “ISP” redirects here. ... Broadband in telecommunications is a term that refers to a signaling method that includes or handles a relatively wide range of frequencies, which may be divided into channels or frequency bins. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ... This article is about motion pictures. ...

In the past, files were distributed by point-to-point technology: with a central uploader distributing files to downloaders. With these systems, a large number of downloaders for a popular file uses an increasingly larger amount of bandwidth. If there are too many downloads, the server can become unavailable. The opposite is true for peer-to-peer networking; the more downloaders the faster the file distribution is. With swarming technology as implemented in file sharing systems like eDonkey2000 or BitTorrent, downloaders help the uploader by picking up some of its uploading responsibilities. In addition many sites with links to Rapidshare, Megaupload and other sites where you can upload files attribute to the growing amount of warez. Point-to-Point telecommunications is most recently (2003) referenced regarding wireless data communications for Internet or Voice over IP via radio frequencies in the multi-gigahertz range. ... -1... A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively few servers. ... File sharing is the activity of making files available to other users for download over the Internet, but also over smaller networks. ... eDonkey2000 was a peer-to-peer file sharing application developed by MetaMachine, using the Multisource File Transfer Protocol. ... This article is about the protocol. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

Types of warez

There is generally a distinction made between different sub-types of warez:

• Apps / Appz - Applications: Generally a retail version of a software package.
• Cracks / Crackz - Cracked applications: A modified executable or more (usually one) and/or a library (usually one) or more and/or a patch designed to turn a trial version of a software package into the full version and/or bypass anti-piracy protections.
• Games / Gamez - Games: This scene concentrates on both computer based games, and video game consoles, though the latter are more often referred to as ISOs and ROMs.
• Moviez - Movies: Pirated movies generally released while still in theaters or from CDs/DVDs/HD-DVDs prior to the actual retail date.
• NoCD/NoDVD/FixedExe - A file modification that allows an installed program to be run without inserting the CD or DVD into the drive.
• TV-Rips - Television programs: Television shows generally released within a few hours after airing, with all commercials edited out. DVD Rips of television series fall under this sub-type.
• mp3 - MP3 audio: Pirated albums, singles, or other audio format usually obtained by ripping a CD or a radio broadcast and released in the compressed MP3 audio format.
• E-Bookz/ebooks/e-books - Books: These include pirated ebooks, scanned books, scanned comics, cartoons etc.
• Scriptz - Scripts: These include pirated scripts coded by companies in PHP, ASP, and other languages. (such as vbulletin, invision power board, etc)
• Templates - Templates: These include pirated website templates coded by companies.
• DOX - Computer game add-ons: These include nocds, cracks, trainers, cheat codes etc.
• 0-Day Warez (pronounced as zero day warez sometimes as "O days") - This refers to a crack which has been released on the same day as the original.
• MVids (Music videos) - Often ripped from TV, HDTV and DVD. Distributed in XViD format.

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Software cracking is the modification of software to remove protection methods: copy prevention, trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, CD check or software annoyances like nag screens and adware. ... “Computer and video games” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A ROM image, or simply ROM, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video games cartridge or from an arcade machines main board. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band European networks National In much of Europe television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. ... For other uses, see MP3 (disambiguation). ... For the process of sawing wood along the grain, see Rip saw. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with ripping. ... For other uses, see MP3 (disambiguation). ... [1]#redirect Book ... An eBook (also: e-book, ebook) is an electronic (or digital) version of a book. ... Scripting languages (commonly called script languages) are computer programming languages that are typically interpreted. ... For other uses, see PHP (disambiguation). ... ASP is a three-letter acronym with numerous meanings in different contexts. ... A web template is an element of a web template system that is used to rapidly generate and mass-produce web pages through a pre-defined schematic, layout, or finite number of programming language instructions. ... Dox may refer to: dissolved oxygen dox, an ISO/FDIS 639-3 code for Bussa language in warez scene, dox is a short for documents and it refers to variety of computer game add-ons, mainly NOCDs, trainers, cracks and crackfixes, cracked updates, keygens, cheat codes, saved games, bonus or... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ...

Movie piracy

Main article: Pirated movie release types

Movie piracy was looked upon as impossible by the major studios. When dial-up was common in early and mid 1990s, movies distributed on the Internet tended to be small. The techniques that were usually used to make them small were to use compression software and lower the video quality. At that time, the largest piracy threat was software. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Copyright_infringement_of_audio-visual_works. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... The Cathach of St. ... In telecommunication, the term dial-up has the following meanings: Dial-up access, typically to the Internet A service feature in which a user initiates service on a previously arranged trunk or transfers, without human intervention, from an active trunk to a standby trunk. ... Video compression refers to making a digital video signal use less data, without noticeably reducing the quality of the picture. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ...

However, along with the rise in broadband internet connections beginning around 1998, higher quality movies began to see widespread distribution – with the release of DeCSS, ISO images copied directly from the original DVDs were slowly becoming a feasible distribution method. Today, movie sharing has become so common that it has caused major concern amongst movie studios and their representative organizations. Because of this the MPAA is often running campaigns during movie trailers where it tries to discourage people from copying material without permission. Unlike the music industry, which has had online music stores available for several years, the movie industry has only moved to online distribution in 2006 with the launch of Amazon Unbox Broadband in telecommunications is a term that refers to a signaling method that includes or handles a relatively wide range of frequencies, which may be divided into channels or frequency bins. ... DeCSS is a computer program capable of decrypting content on a DVD video disc encrypted using the Content-Scrambling System (CSS). ... ISO 9660, a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization, defines a file system for CD-ROM media. ... The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is a non-profit trade association formed to advance the interests of movie studios. ... Amazon Unbox is an Internet video on demand service offered by Amazon. ...

Copyright infringement of audio-visual works, often referred to as piracy, occurs when unauthorized copies are made of music, movies and similar works. ... Cam or Camming (also CAM and meaning simply, Camera) is a specific method of motion picture copying, usually infringing upon a copyrighted work. ... In the scale of quality of pirated movie release a VHS-RIP is a pretty poor version of a movie ripped off a VHS tape. ... Telesync is one of the multiple terms used by movie pirates to describe the source material that was used to make a bootlegged pirate copy, normally distributed in Video CD, SVCD, DVD, or DivX/XviD format. ... The term telecine is sometimes used to refer to a less common form of pirated copies of films created using a telecine machine, as opposed to recording the projected image with a video camera (the camera method with a direct audio source is called a telesync). ... A workprint is a rough version of a motion picture, used by the film editor(s) during the editing process. ... R5 refers to a specific format of DVD released in DVD Region 5, the former Soviet Union, and bootlegged copies of these releases that are distributed on the Internet. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ripping (also referred to as digital audio extraction) is the process of copying the audio or video data from one media form, such as DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray or CD, to a hard disk. ... A disk image is a computer file containing the complete contents and structure of a data storage medium or device, such as a Hard drive, CD or DVD. The term has been generalized to cover any such file, whether originated from an actual physical storage device or not. ... HDTV-Rip is a method of backup that involves recording broadcast television shows or movies. ...

Distribution of warez

This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. Please help recruit one or improve this article yourself. See the talk page for details. Please consider using {{Expert-subject}} to associate this request with a WikiProject

Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...

Distribution methods

There are several methods in which warez material could be distributed. The methods include, but are not limited to: Mail, Modem (Modem), File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and File eXchange Protocol (FXP), Usenet, Xabi Direct Client Connection (XDCC, read Direct Client-to-Client (IRC / Direct Client-to-Client (DCC))), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Peer-to-peer (P2P) clients such as eMule (ED2K) Limewire, Warez P2P (iP2P) and BitTorrent (BT), and of course the unstoppable Sneakernet. Forums are a modern community method to distribute warez as well. For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Modem (disambiguation). ... This article is about the File Transfer Protocol standardised by the IETF. For other file transfer protocols, see File transfer protocol (disambiguation). ... File eXchange Protocol (FXP) is a method of data transfer which uses the FTP protocol to transfer data from one remote server to another without routing this data through the clients connection. ... Usenet (USEr NETwork) is a global, decentralized, distributed Internet discussion system that evolved from a general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name. ... XDCC (Xabi DCC or eXtended DCC) was initially a script written in 1994 for ircII by Xabi. ... Direct Client-to-Client (DCC) is an IRC-related sub-protocol enabling peers to interconnect using an IRC server for handshaking in order to exchange files or perform non-relayed chats. ... Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a communications protocol used to transfer or convey information on the World Wide Web. ... A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively few servers. ... eMule is a peer-to-peer file sharing application for Microsoft Windows. ... LimeWire is a peer-to-peer file sharing client for the Java Platform, which uses the Gnutella network to locate and share files. ... Released in January of 2004, Warez P2P is a proprietary P2P filesharing service that uses the Ares network, and offers a service similar to that of Kazaa. ... This article is about the protocol. ... In a non-network environment, the floppy disk was once the primary means of transferring data between computers. ...

File formats of warez

For more specific information see Standard (warez)

A CD software release can contain up to 737 megabytes of data, which presented challenges when sending over the Internet, particularly in the late 1990s when broadband was unavailable to most home consumers. These challenges apply to an even greater extent for a single-layer DVD release, which can contain up to 4.7 GB of data. The warez scene made it standard practice to split releases up into many separate pieces, called disks, using several file compression formats: (historical TAR, LZH, ACE, UHA, ARJ), ZIP and most commonly RAR. The original purpose of these "disks" was so that each .rar file could fit on a single 1.44 MB 3 1/2 inch floppy disk. With the growing size of games, this is no longer feasible, as hundreds of disks would need to be used. Most groups will now release a title with disks sized 15,000,000 bytes (14,3 megabytes) or 50,000,000 bytes (47,7 megabytes) in bigger release. This section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... “CD” redirects here. ... ReBoot character, see Megabyte (ReBoot). ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... GB may stand for: // Gordon Brown, the new British Prime Minister George W. Bush, the US President Gb (digraph), a digraph in the Latin alphabet Government and binding, theory by Noam Chomsky Sarin, nerve gas (NATO designation: GB) Gigabit (symbol: Gb or Gbit) Gigabyte (symbol: GB) Game Boy line, a... In computing, tar (derived from tape archive) is both file format (in the form of a type of archive bitstream) and the name of the program used to handle such files. ... LHA is a freeware compression utility and associated file format. ... In computing, ACE is a proprietary data compression archive file format with superior compression compared to the ZIP file format, but at the cost of a lower compression speed. ... ARJ is a tool for creating compressed file archives. ... The ZIP file format is a popular data compression and archival format. ... REDIRECT RAR (file format) ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... In computer science a byte (pronounced bite) is a unit of measurement of information storage, most often consisting of eight bits. ... ReBoot character, see Megabyte (ReBoot). ... In computer science a byte (pronounced bite) is a unit of measurement of information storage, most often consisting of eight bits. ... ReBoot character, see Megabyte (ReBoot). ...

This method has many advantages over sending a single large file:

• The two-layer compression could sometimes achieve almost a tenfold improvement over the original DVD/CD image. The overall file size is cut down and lessens the transfer time and bandwidth required.
• If there is a problem during the file transfer and data was corrupted, it is only necessary to resend the few corrupted RAR files instead of resending the entire large file.
• This method also creates the facility of downloading from many sources.

With the rise of modern peer-to-peer programs, which automatically break files up for partial downloads, compression via RAR, ZIP, and KGB is still commonplace but the breaking up of files is less so. A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively few servers. ...

Releases of software titles often come in two forms. The full form is a full version of a game or application, generally released as CD or DVD-writable disk images (BIN or ISO files). A rip is a cut-down version of the title in which additions included on the legitimate DVD/CD (generally Portable Document Format (PDF) manuals, help files, tutorials, and audio/video media) are omitted. In a game rip, generally all game video is removed, and the audio is compressed to MP3 or Vorbis, which must then be decoded to its original form before playing. These rips are very rare today, as most modern broadband connections can easily handle the full files, and the audio is usually already compressed by the original producer in some fashion. A nuke is stand-alone version of a game or application, in which the installer has been removed or replaced and the program is modified to execute without installation into a particular directory. A disk image is a computer file containing the complete contents and structure of a data storage medium or device, such as a Hard drive, CD or DVD. The term has been generalized to cover any such file, whether originated from an actual physical storage device or not. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... ISO 9660, a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization, defines a file system for CD-ROM media. ... “PDF” redirects here. ... For other uses, see MP3 (disambiguation). ... Vorbis is an open source, lossy audio codec project headed by the Xiph. ... Broadband in telecommunications is a term that refers to a signaling method that includes or handles a relatively wide range of frequencies, which may be divided into channels or frequency bins. ... This article refers to global scene nukes. ...

Motivations and arguments

Software Pirates generally exploit the international nature of the copyright issue to avoid law enforcement in specific countries. The Cathach of St. ... Not to be confused with copywriting. ...

The production and/or distribution of warez is illegal in most countries. However, it is typically overlooked in poorer third world countries with weak or non-existent IP protection. Additionally, some first world countries have loopholes in legislation that allow the warez scene to continue to operate in a limited fashion. For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ...

For arguments, see List of pro and anti-warez arguments

This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Legality

Warez is often a form of copyright infringement punishable as either a civil wrong or a crime. The laws and their application to warez activities may vary greatly from country to country. Generally, however, there are four elements of criminal copyright infringement: the existence of a valid copyright, that copyright was infringed, the infringement was wilful and the infringement was either for commercial gain or substantial (a level often set by statute). Often public sites such as pages hosting torrent files claim that they are not breaking any laws because they are not offering the actual data, but only link to other places or peers which contain the infringing material. The Cathach of St. ... Not to be confused with torte, an iced cake. ... Not to be confused with copywriting. ... The Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ...

Depending on the country, in some cases, software piracy might become legal and encouraged. As a dispute between Iran and USA over membership in WTO, and subsequent blocking of Iran's attempts at full-membership in the organization by the USA, has led Iran to encourage US software piracy. Subsequently, there has been a surge in Iranian "warez" and "crackz" websites, as unlike other countries, the Iranian laws do not forbid hosting them inside Iran. See: Iran and copyright issues For other uses of the initials WTO, see WTO (disambiguation). ... Examples of popular pirated items in Iran. ...

For more information, see article about copyright infringement

The Cathach of St. ...

Terminology

Warez (intended to be pronounced like the word wares [weə(ɹ)z] but sometimes incorrectly like the English pronunciation of Juárez [wɑɹɛz]) is a derivative of the plural form of "software". Juárez - slang referral to Warez ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Computer program. ...

Piracy like all other words has different shades of meaning. Some denotative, others connotative, some implying social acceptability, others pejorative. Whoever controls access to the discourse is able to pick the words with meanings that frame the reader's response. While the term 'piracy' is commonly used to describe a significant range of activities, most of which are unlawful, the relatively neutral meaning in this context is "...mak[ing] use of or reproduc[ing] the work of another without authorization" ^[3]. Some groups (including the Free Software Foundation) object to the use of this and other words such as "theft" because they represent a partisan attempt to create a prejudice that is used to gain political ground. "Publishers often refer to prohibited copying as "piracy." In this way, they imply that illegal copying is ethically equivalent to attacking ships on the high seas, kidnapping and murdering the people on them" (FSF). The FSF advocate the use of terms like "prohibited copying" or "unauthorized copying", or "sharing information with your neighbor." In semiotics, denotation is the surface or literal meaning encoded to a signifier, and the definition most likely to appear in a dictionary. ... This word has distinct meanings in logic, philosophy, and common usage. ... Discourse is a term used in semantics as in discourse analysis, but it also refers to a social conception of discourse, often linked with the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) and Jürgen Habermas The Theory of Communicative Action (1985). ... In media studies, sociology and psychology, framing is a process of selective control over the individuals perception of the meanings attributed to words or phrases. ... The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit corporation founded in October 1985 by Richard Stallman to support the free software movement (free as in freedom), and in particular the GNU project. ...

On the other hand, many self-proclaimed "software pirates" take pride in the term, thinking of the romanticized Hollywood portrayal of pirates and sometimes jokingly using "pirate talk" in their conversations. Although the use of this term is controversial, it is embraced by some groups such as Pirates With Attitude. PWA ASCII art logo by R.Noble of MiRAGE. Pirates With Attitude (PWA) was a major international warez release group between 1992 and 2000. ...

DDL Sites or better Direct Download Sites are sites where warez is submitted. It indexes the warez & gives links to the pages where the download links are available. These often contain massive advertisement and may contain spyware and trojans. They often just infinitely redirect users to other sites.

See also

• Software copyright
• Copyright infringement of software
• Crack introduction
• Piracy
• List of warez groups
• .nfo - information on the text file that is almost always included in warez releases.
• Grey hat - includes details on the anti-piracy.se case, allegedly linking Swedish anti-piracy organisation and Swedish authorities to criminal actions.
• Leet

Software copyright, the relatively recent extension of copyright law to machine-readable software, has allowed a market for proprietary software to flourish for some time. ... The copyright infringement of software refers to several practices when done without the permission of the copyright holder: Creating a copy and/or selling it. ... A typical crack intro has a text running at the bottom of the screen. ... This article is about maritime piracy. ... This is an incomplete list of warez groups. ... . ... A Grey Hat in the computer security community, refers to a skilled hacker who sometimes acts legally, sometimes in good will, and sometimes not. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Notes

1. ^ Textile infringments
2. ^ Cartwright patent
3. ^ The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition "Pirate".

References

• 2600 A Guide to Piracy – An article on the warez scene (ASCII plaintext and image scans from 2600: The Hacker Quarterly)
• "The Shadow Internet" – An article about modern day warez "top sites" at Wired News.
• The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution
• BSA - Global Piracy Study - 2005 (PDF)
• BSA - Global Piracy Study - 2004 (PDF)
• Ordered Misbehavior – The Structuring of an Illegal Endeavor by Alf Rehn. A study of the illegal subculture known as the "warez scene". (PDF)

Fall 2004 (21:3) 2600 Issue 2600: The Hacker Quarterly is a traditional (printed) magazine named for the fact that phreakers in the 1960s found that the transmission of a 2600 Hertz tone (which could be produced perfectly with a plastic toy whistle given away free with Capn Crunch... Wired News, online at Wired. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ...

External links

• Piracy Textfiles – A historical collection of documents released by warez-related individuals.
• Warez Trading and Criminal Copyright Infringement – An article on warez trading and the law, including a recap of US prosecutions under the No Electronic Theft Act.
• A Guide To Internet Piracy Insider report about "the warez scene"
• Seminar paper on Warez - 1999
• Warez.com – The first Warez site released on the Internet, released in 1994.