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Pirate Banned From Using Linux

Posted by samzenpus on Thu Aug 23, 2007 04:24 PM
from the take-that dept.
United States Linux
dsinc writes "A guy who uploaded the latest Star Wars movie got arrested, pleaded guilty to 'conspiracy to commit copyright infringement' and 'criminal copyright infringement' and got jail and home confinement. As part of his home confinement, he agreed to install some tracking software on his computer. The problem is He's an Ubuntu Linux user and the gov't doesn't have any tracking software for Linux. So he's been told that he must use Windows for the term of his confinement. Looks like a case of cruel and unusual punishment to me"
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  • And have Linux boxes behind it?

    • Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Absorbed (1122443) on Thursday August 23, @04:28PM (#20335959)
      He could always use VMWare.
      [ Parent ]

      • Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:5, Funny)

        by maxwell demon (590494) on Thursday August 23, @04:44PM (#20336177) Journal
        Or he could have offered them to port the tracking tool to Linux. :-)
        [ Parent ]

      • A better solution (Score:5, Informative)

        by heretic108 (454817) on Thursday August 23, @06:16PM (#20337361)
        The Windows cracking community often creates thin shims that convincingly emulate the Windows runtime environment and change its behaviour. For example, a relatively little-known framework called 'VXmon'. This is the basis of a lot of the 'loader' style cracks, that mess with API calls and responses, to fool a shareware program into thinking the trial period lasts forever, or disabling nag screens and other trialware behaviour.

        It shouldn't be too hard to put together a 'loader' for this monitoring program to make it turn a blind eye to certain classes of network access. That is, if such a loader hasn't already been written. But if not, that'd be a good assignment for the various 1337 cR4ck1ng Cr3\/\/z out there.

        Of course, the shim would need to heavily disguise its own existence. If the guy got caught using it, he'd better order a healthy supply of KY Gel ready for a holiday in Club Fed.
        [ Parent ]

      • Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:5, Funny)

        by Jugalator (259273) on Thursday August 23, @06:18PM (#20337395) Journal
        Careful now... Windows gateways, virtual machines, ... ? This is voodoo for an average gov't worker. It's technologies that can be used for terrorist activities too!
        [ Parent ]

    • Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ajs (35943) <ajs AT ajs DOT com> on Thursday August 23, @04:32PM (#20336021) Homepage
      One presumes that he has been required to surrender his hardware (all of it) to the authorities for the installation of the tracking software which phones home to indicate what he's doing (at whatever level of granularity it tracks such things).

      He could probably get away with VMWare or the like running Linux under Windows, but that would just run the risk of landing him in jail.

      His best bet is Cygwin [cygwin.com], the suite of open source tools for Windows that includes everything you need to essentially subvert a Windows desktop and make it think it's a Unix-like OS. It's not 100% perfect, but it's a far cry better than pure Windows. I regularly use a Windows laptop with X running under it, ssh to my office with X-forwarding and several gnome-terminals running on my work desktop.

      Other than that, the only native Windows apps I use are Firefox and Thunderbird, so it's often hard to tell what OS it actually is.
      [ Parent ]

  • Wow (Score:4, Funny)

    by rolfwind (528248) on Thursday August 23, @04:28PM (#20335973)
    I'm glad my tax dollar are so hard at work protecting the poor corporations. I was worried there for a second.

  • Transcript from Court Case (Score:5, Funny)

    by eldavojohn (898314) * <my/.username@@@gmail.com> on Thursday August 23, @04:29PM (#20335985) Homepage Journal
    United States Magistrate Judge Carla Woehrle: After pleading guilty, you are hereby sentenced to confinement at your house ...
    Marc Hoaglin: No change in lifestyle there.
    Judge Carla Woehrle: ... and to serve up to 6 months jail time ...
    Marc Hoaglin: Sure, why not? I'll get a chance to lift some weights.
    Judge Carla Woehrle: ... and to install government monitoring software on your computer ...
    Marc Hoaglin: I guess that's only fair.
    Judge Carla Woehrle: ... that only runs on Windows.
    Marc Hoaglin: DO NOT WANT!!!

  • Damn them! (Score:5, Funny)

    by eln (21727) * on Thursday August 23, @04:30PM (#20335989)
    This is clearly a Ninja plot.

  • Jail for movie piracy? WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rjshields (719665) on Thursday August 23, @04:32PM (#20336023)
    I read comments on here about video cameras in the UK and why don't we stick up for our rights. Here is a case of someone being sent to to jail for pirating a movie. This is not an offence worthy of jail time at tax payers' expense. When are you guys going to say enough of this bullshit?

    • Re:Jail for movie piracy? WTF? (Score:5, Informative)

      by everphilski (877346) on Thursday August 23, @04:46PM (#20336221) Journal
      Not just pirating, but releasing it before the theaters did. That's a key bit of information you and the summary missed out on. And he admits complete guilt. Game over, man.
      [ Parent ]

      • Re:Jail for movie piracy? WTF? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Hatta (162192) on Thursday August 23, @05:15PM (#20336573) Journal
        It's still not worthy of jail time. Copyright infringement is a non-violent act, imprisonment is a violent act. The punishment should fit the crime, economic consequences for economic crimes and imprisonment for violent ones.
        [ Parent ]

        • Re:Jail for movie piracy? WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by SydShamino (547793) on Thursday August 23, @05:21PM (#20336649)
          So as long as a white-collar criminal stashes his money away where the government can't get at it, there should be no punishment?

          Sorry, jail time is appropriate for some economic crimes. Maybe not in this case, no, but your blanket statement just doesn't work in all blanket cases.
          [ Parent ]

  • And on the seventh day, he recompiled from source (Score:5, Funny)

    by richdun (672214) on Thursday August 23, @04:34PM (#20336053)

    The problem is He's an Ubuntu Linux user

    And here I was hoping God used Mac OS X (yes, I'm sure there's a "daemon" joke in there, but I'll leave it at one bad joke per post).

  • Good to know (Score:5, Funny)

    by hax0r_this (1073148) on Thursday August 23, @04:34PM (#20336057)
    I've been wondering if that software works on Linux. Good to know that it doesn't.

    sudo apt-get install evil-government-monitoring-program

  • The utlimate penalty (Score:4, Funny)

    by Skiron (735617) on Thursday August 23, @04:34PM (#20336061) Homepage
    You will install MS Vista and install tracking software; you will also pay $300.00 licence fee to MS. You will also install MSOffice2007 _and_ also pay the licence fee. Once this is done, you will ALWAYS vote yes for ooxml.

  • Why can he use a computer at all? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Oz0ne (13272) on Thursday August 23, @04:37PM (#20336089) Homepage
    See, if I was the judge, I'd say he wasn't allowed to use a computer, period, for the duration of whatever sentence is being carried out.

    • Re:Why can he use a computer at all? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by kosmosik (654958) <konrad@nOspam.kosmosik.net> on Thursday August 23, @05:01PM (#20336407) Homepage
      Maybe because the judge wanted him to be punished (home arrest) but not exactly make him a retard.

      I mean nowdays Internet access is *essential*. It is like having a phone or a car. Imagine you have a job and do DUI. You will be only allowed to use car like 8-9am and 4-5pm (so you can go to work). Without your car you wouldn't be able to work and thus you will loose your job and become a citizen that parasites on others. I don't think that law system is built to punish citizens this way that they loose their jobs and became parasites on others. That would be stupid.

      So with that in mind the judge allowed the man to use Internet (maybe for working from home - quite usual) but he wishes to monitor his activity.

      I don't see anything wrong here.

      But I don't know why don't they force him (if he wishes to use the Internet) to just use a special broadband service for convicts which is monitored server-side. Such setup would not require any client side software.

      [ Parent ]
  • Sounds like the latest "Catch a Hacker" episode of Dateline NBC. Ace investigative reporter Michelle Madigan uncovers a new operating system used by hackers, pirates and cybercriminals to go on an internet crime spree. What is Ubuntu and why is the government helpless to stop it?

  • Best reason of all to swtich (Score:5, Funny)

    by Torodung (31985) on Thursday August 23, @04:37PM (#20336097) Journal

    the gov't doesn't have any tracking software for Linux
    Gee. That sounds like a bulletproof marketing slogan for any distro.

    "Linux: The only operating system the NSA doesn't 0wn."

    --
    Toro

  • Linux is my life man (Score:5, Interesting)

    by kentrel (526003) on Thursday August 23, @04:38PM (#20336109) Journal
    "It isn't the fact that I have to be monitored that bothers me, it is the fact that I have [to] restructure my life (different OS, different software on that OS)"

    In jail for 5 months and he thinks changing Operating System needs more of a life restructuring.

    Perhaps, this sentence will give him the perfect opportunity to finally find a life outside of his linux box.

  • So can he use a pirated version of Windows? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Kazoo the Clown (644526) on Thursday August 23, @04:39PM (#20336119)
    Or are they going to buy a legit copy for him?

  • The happy ending (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 23, @05:47PM (#20337011)
    So he decides to break down and install Windows. After he's finished, he calls up the FBI and says "OK, I've installed Windows. How do I install the monitoring software?" and the operators says "OK. Here's what you've got to do..." and gives a loooong list of instructions. So the guy says "Holy crap! I've got to do all that?!" and the FBI operator says, "I'm just kidding. It came with the OS. Have a nice day."

    • Re:Why... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 23, @04:30PM (#20335993)
      Take it in context...

      They probably offered him a deal to spend home time versus all jail time if he agreed to certain terms. They are not FORCING him to use windows, they are saying that if he wants the easy path of punishment, he has to abide by certain rules.

      Also the requirement would only be for if he uses a computer at all. He's perfectly welcome to simply not use one at all.

      All in all, he got off easy and just has to fullow the very simple rules in order to get the easy version of punishment.
      [ Parent ]

    • Re:Why... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by shogarth (668598) on Thursday August 23, @04:30PM (#20335999)

      Why? Because he's a convict still serving his sentence (that's why he's under home confinement). If he doesn't like the terms of home confinement, he can always go back in the slammer and have even more restricted access.

      [ Parent ]

      • Re:Why... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by db32 (862117) on Thursday August 23, @04:55PM (#20336309) Journal
        Yeah, damn dirty rapist murdering prick...oh wait...he uploaded the new Star Wars. Well, I guess this is the joy of treating copyright infringement as a criminal offense. Unless of course the infringement wasn't the offense, and that subjecting that many people to the latest Star Wars is considered a crime against humanity.
        [ Parent ]

    • Re:Why... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by gad_zuki! (70830) on Thursday August 23, @04:38PM (#20336111)
      >are they even allowed to do this? "Oh, well, we can't be bothered to make a system for your operating system, so we'll just force you to use something else!" Duh...

      No, the taxpayers cant be bothered to pay for more coding software. Hell, considering his crimes it just be better to not allow him computer use during probabtion, if he doesnt like that he cant spend those 5 months in prison. I know what I'd pick. Incredible how we coddle our criminals. Whats next a personal butler and compensation for jail time spent? Hot chocolate?
      [ Parent ]

      • Re:Why... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by SCHecklerX (229973) <slshdt@freefall.homeip.net> on Thursday August 23, @05:41PM (#20336961) Homepage
        installing software is the wrong way to go about this anyway. The gvt. should have an appliance that they stick between his router and the ISP connection. Have that box run whatever it is they want for monitoring and reporting. It'd be easy to make sure it isn't tampered with, and is always running that way too.

        Hmm...I wonder how lucrative starting such a business to provide these things to authorities would be, seems like a fun project.
        [ Parent ]

    • Re:Virtual machine (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Chandon Seldon (43083) on Thursday August 23, @04:34PM (#20336065) Homepage

      People have made this comment on every single thread on this topic everywhere (Slashdot is the third site I've seen this story on), and it's still wrong and (frankly) nonsensical.

      The requirement is that they run software that can monitor his computer activities. The complication is that the software is Windows-only so it won't run on his Linux system. Your suggestion accomplishes neither party's goal: It wouldn't let them monitor his computer activity, and it wouldn't let him run Linux as the OS on his machine (he'd have to run Windows, and then screw around, and then maybe run some Linux apps in a VM while still paying for a Windows license and dealing with Windows crap).

      [ Parent ]

    • Re:Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Chandon Seldon (43083) on Thursday August 23, @04:41PM (#20336137) Homepage

      Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

      Sure, but he's done the jail time, and he's not complaining about the probation term at all.

      Just because someone has committed a crime does not mean that the government gets to impose arbitrary terms on them without an explicit court ruling. It especially doesn't mean that the government should be mandating specific non-optimal technical choices that interfere the livelyhood of an expert in a technical field.

      Mandating Windows to a computer expert so they can be tracked for piracy is like mandating a Chrysler mini-van to a farmer because he beat his wife. Sure, you can carry produce to market in a mini-van, but making the farmer buy a new Chrysler mini-van to replace his perfectly functional Toyota pickup truck is absurd.

      [ Parent ]

            • Re:Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. (Score:5, Informative)

              by Entropius (188861) on Thursday August 23, @06:17PM (#20337383)
              Some laws are grounded in reality while others are just on the books... If they are on the books they should be enforced.

              This is where I lose you. You think that the Alabama police should be arresting people for sodomy or (until a few years ago) marrying someone of a different race?

              There are many checks on dumb laws. The first is the intelligence of legislators. Since that often fails, we have other checks: the people can just not obey them, and if they don't, the police can choose to not enforce them, the judges can choose to not sentence for them... you might have heard of the Scopes trials?

              This power, to selectively enforce the law, is used more often than you might think.
              [ Parent ]

              • This power, to selectively enforce the law, is used more often than you might think.
                I'm sure everyone here is aware that it is used a lot. That doesn't itself make it a good thing and you don't seem to have presented any valid arguments why it is a good thing.

                Maybe the parent was suggesting that it might be good to move towards a concept called equality before the law. If laws had to be enforced equally, the legislators would have to get rid of the plethora silly minor offences on the statute books that criminalise stuff that everyone does (including those same legislators). Then the police might have to spend their time going after real criminals as opposed to selectively enforcing such statutes against people they don't like the look of. I can see how that would be a terrifying dystopia..uhhh...wait

                [ Parent ]

          • Re:Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. (Score:4, Interesting)

            by bigstrat2003 (1058574) on Thursday August 23, @06:32PM (#20337553)

            Mandating operating system *is* an arbitrary term (regardless of their excuse)
            It really isn't. They don't have monitoring software, except on Windows, so he uses Windows. That's not arbitrary at all, that's merely a necessary consequence of the tools they have available. I'm glad they're making him use Windows, too, because I'd rather not have my tax dollars wasted on development of new ones just so criminals don't have to use an OS they don't like.
            [ Parent ]

    • Re:It's not the having to use windows (Score:5, Insightful)

      by dougmc (70836) <dougmc+slashdot@frenzied.us> on Thursday August 23, @04:47PM (#20336237) Homepage

      Now, a $100 fine atop 5 months in jail doesn't seem excessive to me, but the felony rap making him unemployable does.
      Having the `indirect' penalties assigned to you for a crime being much worse than the `official penalties' is hardly a new thing.


      By `indirect' I mean things like not being able to get a good job, being shunned/tormented/killed by people merely because you're a registered sex offender, etc.

      By `direct' I mean going to jail, paying fines, probation, even having to register as a sex offender.

      [ Parent ]

      • Parole violation (Score:4, Informative)

        by droopycom (470921) on Thursday August 23, @06:07PM (#20337253)
        All of which would probably be considered a violation of his parole.

        Ie: You are not allowed to use a computer if we cant see what you are doing with it.

        The point is not that he cannot do it. The point is he is not allowed to do it. He is probably not allowed to get a linux shell somewhere else either.

        When the parole officer inspect his computer and see his VMware installation with a linux VM, they would probably put him back in jail.

        But hey it could be worse, they could forbid him to use any computer. He probably should anyway, and try something else.
        [ Parent ]
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