Pirate Banned From Using Linux 698
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"
Re:Why... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:3, Interesting)
Linux is my life man (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Why... (Score:4, Interesting)
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?
Re:Why... (Score:1, Interesting)
You're confined to house arrest and required to wear an ankle bracelet. But...you have no legs so they chain you into the radiator instead.
Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:1, Interesting)
Nothing to see here.
Re:Oh My God!!! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Major security breach (Score:1, Interesting)
I expect the ideal software package for the first purpose would have an installer, an uninstaller(the sentence will end sometime) and report back periodically with reports on large-scale network activit (torrents and the like).
The ideal software for the latter package is basically a worm or a virus with a rootkit included, which would maintain network silence for long stretches of time(allowing itself to spread) before "stealthily"(of course there's practically a limit as to how stealthily this can be done) reporting all collected information—the contents of incoming and outgoing emails, the contents of "interesting" local files, and so on.
The two don't really overlap all that much.
Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:1, Interesting)
Of course eventually I'll upgrade to an Intel Macintosh and those can run Windows directly.
Hmm couldn't he just get a live Linux CD and boot his monitored computer using that? The government can install Windows and monitoring software all they want, there's no way a monitoring program can work if it's not being run. Of course if he is caught using the internet and the monitoring software isn't running then he would be in worse trouble...
Instead, Why not... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Why... (Score:5, Interesting)
Hmm...I wonder how lucrative starting such a business to provide these things to authorities would be, seems like a fun project.
Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. (Score:4, Interesting)
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
Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't see what the big deal about ME was. It worked as well as anything for the tasks it was intended.
Re:So? Can't he use a Windows box to route? (Score:3, Interesting)
This appears to be not a key logger but an Internet traffic monitor. As such, it may be able to capture anything of intrest such as logging into email regardless of whatever you did to defeat a key logger. Booting a live CD and not loading anything from the hard drive will work against this mandatory software. The risk is if he got busted for being online and the log doesn't compare with an upstream log.
More needs to be known about the mandatory software.
With luck the ISP will protect his records. If ISP shares the list of traffic times, IP address, MAC address and such and it doesn't jive with the report from the mandatory software, then he is screwed.
His best bet is to use the mandatory software and not log into any personal accounts of any kind to prevent disclosure. I wouldn't even use any old passwords/username for the windows install. It would all be new for the monitor to protect any accounts existing they may be trying to access.
It's time for a new gmail account with a username like FBImonitored@gmail.com
Re:A better solution (Score:3, Interesting)