As of about a month ago, I was able to take advantage of the fact that CodeRed is still out there wasting bandwidth. I benefitted from it because it's continually trying to spread itself, which generates zillions of unanswered ARP requests.
I was looking for an unused IP address to *borrow* (for use on a non-DHCP-enabled laptop), so I started a packet sniffer and waited for an unanswered ARP to go by -- in less than a minute, I had my new IP address.
I made a few minor grammar corrections to your letter; here's the body of the changed version:
I am deeply concerned with a recent ruling concerning the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The ruling was made by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York. The case this ruling pertains to is Universal City Studios, Inc, et al. vs. Shawn C. Reimeredes, et al. In this case, Mr. Reimeredes, et al. are accused of violating the DMCA by providing the computer source code for a program called DeCSS, which provides the base for a program which allows the user of this program to play movie DVDs on their home computer. The plaintiffs claim that the program, DeCSS, violates the anti-circumvention provision of the DMCA. This prohibits the unauthorized offering of products that circumvent technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. However, DeCSS was created by a 15 year old Norwegian boy to provide a means for increasingly popular operating systems like Linux, which do not have commercial DVD player programs, to play DVDs. This is clearly allowed by the DMCA under the interoperability clause. It is also upheld by "fair use" copyright law.
Judge Kaplan, however, has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs by saying that the DeCSS program only facilitates copyright infringement. This ruling is a terrible blow to consumer rights and shows that the DMCA is just a judicial tool for corporate conglomerates such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to limit individual, private use of legally purchased copyrighted material. This ruling grants the MPAA a Federally enforced monopoly over the DVD format. This is contrary to what a copyright and copyright law is supposed to provide. Copyrights exist to protect the author of the copyrighted material, and to encourage the spread of information and the arts. This ruling prevents users from playing DVDs unless they use a DVD player that is sanctioned by the MPAA and DVD consortium. This prevents users from watching a product, which they purchased, on their computer if it uses an operating system that does not have a commercial sanctioned DVD program. Furthermore, this ruling prevents independent film-makers and home users from creating DVDs which will be playable in legally purchased DVD players. It also prevents users from creating backup copies of the DVDs, which they legally purchased, something which was protected under "fair use" copyright laws.
I am asking that you investigate whom the DMCA is really helping, the individual artists or the large corporate conglomerates' monopoly of media formats. I am also asking that if you feel in a similar way that I do on this issue that you tell your fellow congressional representatives about this. You could also sponsor or co-sponsor legislation which will reform the DMCA so that it protects the individual artists and the consumers and not corporate conglomerates. For further information on the subject, please visit http://www.opendvd.org. Thank you for your time.
Why don't I write some piece of work, copyright it, and then encrypt it via the ultra-unbreakable ROT-1 encryption scheme. Then someone should break my encryption scheme and post it on a website so that Linux users can then read any copyrighted works published by me.
Finally, I'll take the author of the illegally reverse-engineered ROT-1 code to court and sue them under the DMCA for $1.
(I could even add region coding to my ROT-1 encryption scheme by adding 1 for every timezone offset from GMT!!!)
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As of about a month ago, I was able to take advantage of the fact that CodeRed is still out there wasting bandwidth. I benefitted from it because it's continually trying to spread itself, which generates zillions of unanswered ARP requests.
I was looking for an unused IP address to *borrow* (for use on a non-DHCP-enabled laptop), so I started a packet sniffer and waited for an unanswered ARP to go by -- in less than a minute, I had my new IP address.
Thanks CodeRed!
I made a few minor grammar corrections to your letter; here's the body of the changed version:
I am deeply concerned with a recent ruling concerning the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The ruling was made by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York. The case this ruling pertains to is Universal City Studios, Inc, et al. vs. Shawn C. Reimeredes, et al. In this case, Mr. Reimeredes, et al. are accused of violating the DMCA by providing the computer source code for a program called DeCSS, which provides the base for a program which allows the user of this program to play movie DVDs on their home computer. The plaintiffs claim that the program, DeCSS, violates the anti-circumvention provision of the DMCA. This prohibits the unauthorized offering of products that circumvent technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. However, DeCSS was created by a 15 year old Norwegian boy to provide a means for increasingly popular operating systems like Linux, which do not have commercial DVD player programs, to play DVDs. This is clearly allowed by the DMCA under the interoperability clause. It is also upheld by "fair use" copyright law.
Judge Kaplan, however, has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs by saying that the DeCSS program only facilitates copyright infringement. This ruling is a terrible blow to consumer rights and shows that the DMCA is just a judicial tool for corporate conglomerates such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to limit individual, private use of legally purchased copyrighted material. This ruling grants the MPAA a Federally enforced monopoly over the DVD format. This is contrary to what a copyright and copyright law is supposed to provide. Copyrights exist to protect the author of the copyrighted material, and to encourage the spread of information and the arts. This ruling prevents users from playing DVDs unless they use a DVD player that is sanctioned by the MPAA and DVD consortium. This prevents users from watching a product, which they purchased, on their computer if it uses an operating system that does not have a commercial sanctioned DVD program. Furthermore, this ruling prevents independent film-makers and home users from creating DVDs which will be playable in legally purchased DVD players. It also prevents users from creating backup copies of the DVDs, which they legally purchased, something which was protected under "fair use" copyright laws.
I am asking that you investigate whom the DMCA is really helping, the individual artists or the large corporate conglomerates' monopoly of media formats. I am also asking that if you feel in a similar way that I do on this issue that you tell your fellow congressional representatives about this. You could also sponsor or co-sponsor legislation which will reform the DMCA so that it protects the individual artists and the consumers and not corporate conglomerates. For further information on the subject, please visit http://www.opendvd.org. Thank you for your time.
Why don't I write some piece of work, copyright it, and then encrypt it via the ultra-unbreakable ROT-1 encryption scheme. Then someone should break my encryption scheme and post it on a website so that Linux users can then read any copyrighted works published by me.
Finally, I'll take the author of the illegally reverse-engineered ROT-1 code to court and sue them under the DMCA for $1.
(I could even add region coding to my ROT-1 encryption scheme by adding 1 for every timezone offset from GMT!!!)