"History of the Development of Piracy"
WAREZ/0day Invisible Empire
It was late at night and they fell asleep. If you look at a dark window in any building, you might see a white computer lying quietly on the owner's desk. If the owner sleeps deeply enough, you open his drawer. What do you see now? Oh, I don't mean his personal diary, nor do I let you look through his photo album and pencil case. As a result, didn’t you see a few pictures of pirated software?
Who dares to say that none of the software in his personal computer is illegal? It is a huge invisible piracy empire that supports us into the IT era. It doesn't seem like an exaggeration to say that. So, do you want to know the identity and origin of their originator? Do you want to know about their organizational structure and system? Do you want to know the truth? It was by chance that we learned all this and wanted to make it public. Now, we do just that.
2
The earliest software piracy organizations appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was a strange spontaneous non-governmental organization born abroad. Its members are teenage computer enthusiasts. They are a purely technical group that uses their own technology to crack software running on various types of machines (including personal computers and video game consoles) and spread it illegally, but not for profit. In the early days when there was no Internet, they used telephone lines to transmit games and some self-run demonstration programs (DEMO), and conducted irregular technical exchanges. Members were also frequently exchanged between organizations in the same region. These organizations can be found in North and South America, Europe and South Africa. In the 1990s, the global popularity of PCs and the increasing development of the Internet created good soil for the growth of these organizations. This organization is invisible. They have their own beliefs and established rules. They do not have their own website and do not make money. They only use FTP to upload cracked games for downloading and exchange information through BBS. The members of its organization are very dedicated and are proud to be members of the "WAREZ" or "0DAY" organization. In some universities in the United States, if a student is a member of "0DAY", his computer teacher will even consider adding points to his transcript - because joining this kind of piracy organization means that you are technically excellent. Some of the early leaders of these organizations have now become the backbone of society such as lawyers, doctors, and government officials.
Here we would like to explain the meaning of "WAREZ", which is a collective name for foreign software piracy producers. "WARE" means cracking the software, and "Z" means zero (ZERO), which means cracking the software in less than a day. Then the meaning of "0 D AY" is self-evident.
Let’s introduce the process of this type of organization to crack genuine software.
Three
First, the providing group is responsible for purchasing games or obtaining information, and then the decryption group is responsible for decrypting the software. This group often has the largest number of members and is also the most technical. Next is the packaging group. Here, the "rules" of the CD cracking organization and the hard disk cracking organization are different. The hard disk version requires 2.8×65, that is, it cannot exceed 65 compressed packages, and the size of each compressed package cannot exceed 2.8 MB. They believe that if it exceeds this standard, it cannot be considered a hard disk version, which is a kind of deception to downloaders. The optical disc version does not have this limitation. There is a 15 MB ISO disc image package. After the user downloads all the files and then decompresses and burns it to a disc, he can play the complete disc game. The general rules for specific compression are as follows: an ISO package contains a ZIP package, and the multimedia files contained in the ZIP package are compressed using ACE. This ensures a compression ratio of 1:12 and facilitates online dissemination - the above is entirely a consideration of the interests of players. Finally, there is the publishing team, which is responsible for uploading the cracked game software on FTP.
Games cracked by these organizations are usually placed on foreign underground sites. When downloading through FTP, you need to verify your IP to see if you are a member of it. After the IP passes the verification and enters FTP, you will see a welcome message. and words such as "This site is the XX organization's XX distribution site in North America". It will also tell you which games were uploaded today, which games were uploaded yesterday, how many games you have uploaded, how many games you have downloaded, and how many interesting DEMO programs you have created. If you have not cracked the game upload record for a long time, your IP record will be cancelled.
Various organizations do not have their own dedicated FTP download base. You can voluntarily provide resources. Of course, webmasters can also join various organizations. Regardless of whether they are members of the organization or the webmaster, anyone who voluntarily joins this organization has a considerable sense of responsibility. When a game cracked and uploaded by a member is cracked and uploaded by others on other sites, then the game you cracked will be CANCEL. And if the hard disk version he makes is not as perfect as yours, then he will automatically CANCEL his own version. This rule ensures the survival of the fittest and ensures that all cracked software has only one version, but it is definitely the most perfect.
The peripheral members of major organizations come from all over the world. As long as they are willing and technically able, they can join several piracy organizations at the same time. And when you graduate from school and have a legitimate career, and no longer have the energy to do this kind of voluntary labor, you will automatically fade out of the organization.
It can be seen that this kind of organization completely relies on a self-improvement mechanism from joining to management to exit. It's loose and very reasonable at the same time. However, due to its open nature, there may sometimes be a shortage of personnel in certain areas. If you use WordPad to open the .NFO file in the pirated software, you are likely to see words such as "We currently lack personnel in the decryption team and the provision team, and we sincerely invite interested parties to join...".
In addition to this illegal dissemination of pirated games, members of the "0DAY" organization are also keen on creating a small DEMO program that automatically plays animations and music. They use it to promote their organization, show off their technology, and sometimes attack competitors through such small programs - this is really a very civilized approach. The smaller the byte count and the longer the playback time of this kind of program, the better. The record in this regard is a program of a member of the CLASS group, which is only 27K. The executable file decompressed in the PC hard disk version of the game is also a way to crack the organization's competition technology. The installation interface of MYTH, a long-established British organization, even provides a Tetris game to pass the time while you are installing the game. Currently, internationally renowned PC game software piracy organizations specialize in cracking and producing CD versions, including RAZOR1911, FA IRLIGHT, and DEVIANCE, and those specializing in hard disk versions include CLASS, MYTH, and DD. CORE, FOREST, ING and PARADIGM are the most famous among application software piracy organizations. Among them, FOREST specializes in cracking graphics software. Almost all pirated graphics software currently in circulation in the world has been cracked by this organization.
Four
This section will briefly introduce the experience of the RAZOR1911 organization from 1985 to the present on Commodore64, Amiga and PC (C64 and Amiga are both 4-bit/8 in the 1980s) Game Console), because it is the most representative one in the development history of this type of organization.
On a rainy evening in October 1985, three young Norwegian computer enthusiasts decided to form a computer team to crack the game software of the Commodore64 model. They didn't know exactly what it took to set up a group, but they got a lot of inspiration from famous software cracking groups such as 1941, Section 8, Jedi2001, Hellmates, and SCC.
A good organization needs a good name. A friend named them RAZOR2992. They didn't like the name and soon changed their name to RAZOR1911. Many people asked them why they used this name, and they replied that it was because there were too many brainless children in the C64 game console cracking organization who used numbers like 666 on their DEMOs, letterheads and disk boxes. They thought it was very strange. Childish, they need a sense of mystery. 1911 can be converted into 777 in hexadecimal arithmetic, which is a satire of 666. Later, they also used the name Project$777 to create a DEMO for the Amiga game console. The C64 era was short-lived. They did many DEMOs and some software cracks, and became one of the famous groups in Norway. There are not many of their masterpieces, some of which are still circulating on Commodore64 commemorative CDs (C64 can be simulated in MS-DOS and UNIX systems). Later, some members of the group split and entered TCC and egaforce. The rest decided to join the Active CrackingCrew (ACC) organization. There they learn how to work like a professional software cracker and set their sights on the world for the first time. They publicized themselves widely, and six months later they participated in an international gathering of people called "top elites" held in Denmark. Another name for this gathering is "COPY-PARTIES." At the meeting, they selected the best decryption expert of 1987. Mr.Z from the TRIAD team narrowly defeated Laffen from RawDeal by a narrow margin and won the title of "Best Decryption Master of the Year". At that time, FAIRLIGHT also cooperated with ACC on-site to crack a James. Bond's 007 game. Returning to Norway from Denmark, the excited young man reorganized RAZOR1911, cooperated with RAW DEAL on AMIGA models, and made a comeback.
The development on AMIGA started very slowly. It was only in 1988 that some DEMOs were made one after another and there were some members around the world. Many of the DEMOs at the time were quite primitive, but had good ideas, good graphics, and beautiful music, and most of them were later lost. Unlike what many new members imagine, the old members of RAZOR1911 understand that what they really want to be is the best game cracking organization, not just a DEMO production team. When they became famous in DEMO production, they often contacted many specialized game software cracking organizations. In 1989, when some organizations disbanded, their members were absorbed into RAZOR1911. Among them, Zodact and Onyx are the main game cracking organizations in the United States and Europe respectively. Due to the joining of these experienced members, RAZOR1911 quickly transformed into a real game cracking organization - in the later PC era, the members absorbed at that time were still He is the best and most powerful member of RAZOR1911. They also mastered a vast array of techniques for spoofing telephone lines, allowing them to easily expand their network of contacts around the world. In the last two weeks of 1989 they had two world number one hacks - Pocket Rockets and StripPoker II. At the same time, they are also subject to vicious competition from other organizations. By April 1991, they had cracked 50 AMIGA game software. After this, the AMIGA model software became very difficult to crack. Each of its disks had a password lock. You had to face various new problems again and again. The difference between the two formats of NTSC/PAL made it difficult for Americans to crack the software without patches. Can't play European games. Moreover, there are too many groups competing now, and everyone often competes secretly to crack the same game. The pressure has increased. At this time, the entire social economy is in a weak state, and many organizations do not have enough money to support it.
There is not enough clear direction for future RAZOR creators. But at this time, Darwin, a talented PC software cracker, brought the PC into their sight.
RAZOR quickly closed the AMIGA line. They completely reorganized the organization, including anonymous investors and a group of past elites such as DoctorNo, Onyx, Zodact, etc. Together, they have cracked a large number of computer game software and have a good reputation in the industry. They quickly transformed from a compact, capable and efficient team into a huge invisible game cracking organization. RAZOR has become a big company-like thing. They continue to crack games, make modifiers, and extract game animations... In 4 years, they have cracked almost 600 games and countless other products.
The international Internet has developed greatly after 1995. The RAZOR organization has taken full advantage of it and has a wider distribution channel. They can reach more hungry people faster than ever before. This year they also entered the CD-ROM field. At first, I only cracked some CD-ROM games sporadically in the name of RAZOR1911. They didn't pay much attention to this field at first, until there were fewer and fewer floppy disk games, and they really paid attention to CD-ROM games and achieved a dominant position in this field. At present, they are still the largest PC disc game piracy organization in the world and are deeply worshiped by some young people. They are also obsessed with cracking game technology and like to wear jackets with the RAZOR1911 logo to show off.
As such a large organization, they also have problems of one kind or another. They had two major splits in 1994 and 1995, and some people were even arrested and filed by the police. But they weathered the storm and continued to grow. More detailed historical material about these piracy groups is in the .nfo files attached to the PC games they have cracked over the years, where you can learn many of their forgotten secrets.
Five
We have a preliminary understanding of foreign piracy production organizations, but how do foreign governments treat these organizations? As we said before, pirated producers have a hacker spirit: pursuing absolute technology and pursuing complete enjoyment. This has objectively violated the interests of software manufacturers. What's more, just because you don't want to make a profit doesn't mean that others don't want to make a profit either! In places such as Canada, Germany and South Africa, the sale of pirated software is rampant, but in Russia everything is almost public. In fact, Russia's DD organization is directly engaged in profitable sales. Almost all piracy organizations have been taken to court by large companies. The most recent example is about the game FIFA 2000 produced by EA. As members of the "Provider Group" of the piracy organization infiltrated into EA, the master disk was leaked. As a result, the pirated version of FIFA 2000 was released one month earlier than the original version. In anger, EA took DD, MYTH and CLASS to court in Russia, the UK and Germany respectively. Members of the Russian DD organization were arrested and sentenced. Later, the judicial department accepted bribes and released the members of the organization. The British court believed that MYTH only disseminated the hard disk version online and had no website or advertisements, no links to the World Wide Web (WWW), and no profit, so it ruled that the MYTH organization was not guilty. Germany's CLASS only fined the company and did not pursue any criminal liability. But today's piracy organizations don't dare to touch big companies like EA. They always wait for EA's genuine games to be released before making cracked versions. Because the power of this kind of company is too great. In other cases, pirated versions are always released faster than genuine ones. The pirated version (cracked CD version) of "Diablo II" was released two days earlier than the official version in the United States and was cracked perfectly! The reason for this is as mentioned above. Some of the genuine practitioners are members of "WAREZ" themselves.
These are just game software. To some extent, cracking of application software abroad is much more difficult and risky than cracking of game software. Taking North America as an example, the highest price of any genuine game is only US$49.9, while the price of genuine application software is more than US$100, while a copy of pirated software only sells for US$9. This price difference sounds very reminiscent of the current situation of piracy in our country.
How do the branches of piracy organizations spread everywhere in our country?
Six
The earliest individual "WAREZ" organization volunteer in China and the webmaster of China's "Chinese Decryption Base" website once wanted to establish his own "CHINA 0DAY" organization, and he was in the country There are also many like-minded people, but they soon discovered that it is impossible to create a "0DAY" organization in China. Many people simply attribute the reason to some kind of "national" obstacle, which is wrong. There are huge economic, social and technical factors. Economically speaking, the IT and telecommunications industries in European and American countries are already developed. Every year, whether individuals spend money on software, hardware or network services, they are minimal compared to per capita income. The development of the economy has led to the development of society and the improvement of education levels, which means that in developed countries more young people with computer talents can be qualified to engage in this hobby. In China, if a computer genius is born in a mountainous area, he will never be a computer genius. You won't be able to prove yourself. And even when a Chinese young man can finally afford to invest money in computers, he no longer has the conditions and energy to join "0DAY". When it comes to technology, my country's current network bandwidth is difficult to satisfy. How can the speed of more than ten K per second compare with the speed of 50 Mbit/s abroad? Not to mention 0 DAY, even uploading and downloading may take more than 5 DAY. Putting aside all these constraints, it is unfair to just say that "Chinese people do not have this kind of quality and awareness." At present, some young people in China who yearn for the "WAREZ" organization hope to go abroad to display their "talents" in this area. If the above young people are just obsessed with computer technology, then the GAMEZ88 organization is not like that. It is said that it is a purely profit-making organization established in China by an 18-year-old member of FAIRLIGHT who is studying at Stanford University. The specific distribution of members is unknown. GAMEZ88's games are all cracked abroad and then pressed into disks in China. The really good technology is abroad, and domestic piracy organizations have almost no cracking capabilities. It is said that FAIRLIGHT has a dedicated foreign team responsible for cracking multi-lingual game software. The hard disk version of the Simplified Chinese version of "Heroes of Might and Magic III" was probably cracked by a foreign team. This is a well-established piracy organization in China. Some other sporadic organizations use the method of stealing from each other or downloading from foreign WWW websites to produce pirated CDs. In addition, Hong Kong is also a pirate paradise, and many pirated software from mainland China flow in from there.
There is a big strange circle here: pirate merchants hate counterfeit genuine merchants because they have made more huge profits than themselves. The cost of a pirated disk is 2 yuan, and the profit is only 1 yuan. This 1 yuan is divided among the wholesalers. The counterfeit genuine publishers are likely to collude with some insiders of genuine manufacturers to obtain pictures, strategies and manuals for a thousand yuan, and then reprint them and sell them to players who support genuine games at the cost of piracy and the price of genuine copies. On the other hand, pirate producers are eager for the country to make efforts to catch piracy. The sales of pirated copies are restricted, and the pirates lose money. However, due to the reduction of CDs, producers will find rare goods and earn more! This is the tip of the iceberg of my country's piracy market.
Seven
The article ends here. Due to the limitations of information sources, we have no way to verify the authenticity of some specific details. Interested readers are welcome to continue to exchange views with us. . Finally, the purpose of writing this article is not to glorify piracy. It is disrespectful to labor, and it is a cancer that hinders the normal operation of the economy. No matter what the original intention of the pirates is, they will always be the target of our crackdown.
As mentioned in the article, WareZ is a "pure technology group that does not aim at profit." "They have their own beliefs and established rules. They do not have their own website and do not make money. They only use FTP to upload cracked games. for downloading and exchanging information through BBS.
The members of the organization are very dedicated and are proud to be members of the 'WAREZ' or '0 DAY' organizations." However, their results were used by those businessmen to create today's so-called "pirated software."
This is the difference between what everyone calls "hacker" now and what it used to be like as "Hacker".
I hope this article will help you understand WareZ.