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Anti-piracy Vigilantes Tracking P2P Users
brevard writes "From SecurityFocus comes news that a pair of coders with a deep hatred of software pirates have gone public with a months-old experiment to trick file sharers into running custom spyware they wrote that scolds users and phones home to a server. They circulated the program disguised as sought-after downloads like Unreal Tournament 2004 and Microsoft source code, and they have a website that updates in real time whever someone executes it. They've logged IP addresses for over 12,000 'pirates' since January. The EFF says the vigilantes may be committing a crime."
By design.
clifgriffin > blog
A bunch of software pirates complaining about illegal online activity!
Oh the irony! It is great! Way to go guys!
Ah well - I am a software developer - I pay for the software I use and expect people to pay for mine (well, my company's anyway) in return so that I can put food in my son's mouth.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
If we have to explain this to you then your sense of morality has obviously not developed to an adult level. There is no point in wasting time trying to illustrate to you what should be an obvious dichotomy.
Let's be honest. If these guys were, say, DOSing the RIAA or SCO websites, they'd be hailed as heroes. But harrassing Warez users on the sacred P2P networks? Oh, THOSE ASSHOLES.
Lots of self-righteous anger about the evil of this being a Trojan, and abusing MY PROPERTY and such, and.....hey, these complaints sound familiar. Where have I heard them before, hmmm?
For the people outraged about this, isn't getting hosed downloading warez comparible to, oh say, getting robbed in a crack house?
Life is hard, and the world is cruel