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Warez All that Pirated Software Coming From?

Nov 1, 2002

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Obtaining Warez

"PARADiGM is looking to fill its ranks. Contact us now if:-you can supply unreleased new games"

This is a portion of a text file that was included with a warez'd game. The warez group, PARADiGM, uses the nfo file (nfo for information) included with the release of a game to gather supporters for its group. This example illustrates the value that unreleased games have within the warez community. If a group can release a game before it hits the shelves, it will "one up" the other groups. However, this takes having connections with the right people in the right places. A mole in a software-development shop or at the CD factory can easily, with low risk, pass the program on to the warez group. In return, the mole gets access to an infinite supply of free software provided by other such moles; they're all free, and fully operational (with the right crack).

However, if a software release is not well-known, or if there are no moles waiting to pass on the goods, the next obvious place to get free software is from a slightly crooked software store employee. All it takes is one night with a CD, which is typically a perk of working in a software store, and a program can be copied and uploaded to a waiting warez group. While this method may not carry the same weight as "pre-release," if a group can get the program to the warez underground first, it can still gain some respect points. However, this takes having a cracker on staff that can quickly take a protected CD and strip off any protection schemes built into it.

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