Usenet Warez FAQ

Introduction

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Well, these newsgroups are the epitome of what the internet is, that is, unadulterated, unmoderated, universal, most of all unruly. In the interest of education the Inner Circle is bringing you these frequently asked questions.

What is alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc?

This is a newsgroup dedicated to trading, exchanging, and posting commercial software for pc/intel/windows/dos/ibm computers.

No, I said, what is alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc?

(What is this group all about, why is it so popular?)

This newsgroup is a lot of different things to different people. Some users treat it as an evaluation territory for a product they cannot evaluate in any other way. Most products you buy from a store can be returned if you are unsatisfied with them. Software, due to arcane licensing agreements, cannot. The a.b.w.i. newsgroup provides an alternative route for many software users, allowing them to "try before you buy" commercial software.

Many users of this group use it for one purpose only: pirating software. One philosophy behind this is that software companies charge too much for their products, and by getting software from the newsgroup, they are getting back at software companies. Another, most likely more prevalent philosophy is that most computer users simply cannot afford to buy expensive software and games, and therefore, they use this group to satisfy their needs, urges or entertainment.

Other users of this group believe it to be a true expression of the internet: a free for all, free from rules and regulations that are imposed on them in the real world: a kind of anarchy. The a.b.i.w. newsgroup helps them in this escape from reality.

Is this newsgroup illegal?

Why aren't software companies more concerned with it?

Technically, in North America, most of Europe, and in parts of Asia, this group violates copyright laws. Questions have been raised in courts around the world about licensing agreements, so this is really a gray area. A lot of users do use this newsgroup to EVALUATE software only, and they tend to buy the products they are most satisfied with. As for software companies, they, for the most part, turn a blind eye to this newsgroup, as far a prosecution of individuals goes, because some companies (such as Microsoft) view the transfer of warez as a necessary evil. Internal memos at Microsoft have stated that their company would not be anywhere near as successful as they are today if Windows 3.1 was not the most copied software in history.

Can I get in trouble by downloading software from here?

No you cannot, as long as you keep it to yourself. If you call up Microsoft and say "Hey, I just got Office95 from the internet, and didn't pay a cent for it! My name is Joe Loser, 123 Main Street, etc." well, you might get in trouble then. As far as any secret internet police lurking around and checking out your downloads, it's impossible for them to know. Your server might, if they are actively tracking each and every file you access, but then again if they did, they would cease to be the "blind midstation" holding the warez unknowingly on their hard drives, and therefore would be as accountable as you for possession of the warez.

Is software from here safe from viruses?

Can it harm my computer in any other way?

For the most part software in this group is safe from viruses, as most of the regular contributors are conscientious of their uploads, and they have checked them previously for viruses. BUT, you MUST scan each and every file you download from this group as a precaution. Viruses have been spread in this group on occasion, and you alone are responsible if you forget to scan the software.

As far as programs "hurting" your computer, many programs can change the nature of your computer -- you just have to be aware of the possible changes. For example, Adobe PhotoShop is notorious for changing certain .dll files in your windows/system directory, without notifying you. Other programs install a 32 bit subset under Windows 3.xx without telling you. These changes do not necessarily hurt your computer, but they do affect it. The bottom line, don't download something just for the sake of downloading it, be aware of the program first so you know what it can and should do.

How do I post?

Well the best thing to do is to lurk and watch the group for awhile. Then when you are ready it must mean that you have compiled all the necessary tools.

  1. Pkzip and WinZip are the utilities used to compress files and make them manageable.
  2. Agent news reader is the choice of many, including the Inner Circle. Agent can be fetched by ftp at ftp://ftp.forteinc.com/pub/forte/agent.
  3. If you don't use Agent, make sure you have the tools necessary to split up files if the reader you use doesn't do it for you, UUencode will be required.
  4. A good ISP or News server that allows posting binaries in full. The Inner Circle highly recommends alt.net
  5. ONLY POST IN SINGLE DISKS. Posting "One Large Zip" will result in a large number of articles, increasing your chances that the post will never make it complete to many servers.
  6. Test post in alt.test, NOT IN THIS GROUP!!! "alt.test" is the news group where you can do any testing you might want to do.
  7. General newsgroup ettiquette is to post with a header of REQ: to request specific software, FILE: when posting a file, and ATTN: when trying to write to a specific person.
  8. Keep in mind that the scene is supported by people who care. You are not owed anything, nor do YOU owe anything to this group.

What is the best setting for posting?

  1. For Agent goto options/ preferences/ attachments and choose a setting of anywhere between 10K and 15K lines. This will average one floppy disk into two to three pieces, easily managable.
  2. If you are using WinVn I believe the posting preference is in K-size in which you will want it to be about 909k not to be confused with lines. In the config menu of WinVn, chose attachement and for the size of "Article Split Length" fill: 944950. You will get post of about 15000 lines. Be sure to select UU for the encoding process.

How do I post anonymously?

  1. Most news readers have a "Preferences" section. In this area you should eliminate your real name and use a nickname that you have made up. Make sure that this information is changed under "Group Properties" is you are using Agent.
  2. To further hide yourself while using Agent goto group/ default properties/ posting and be sure to fill in most of the fields, those most important are the from, reply to, organization and sender. Be sure to put something there (at least an * ) so that your ISP doesn't tag it.
  3. As far as your ISP tagging a time stamp ,IP #, or an access dial-in IP that identifies your geographical location the only recourse is to use a public server that doesn't do this or a news-to-e-mail gateway (size is limited with that one). Your on your own as far as finding these servers, and gateways, and we DO NOT suggest you ask in the group. Your only hope may be that someone takes you under their wing and or you happen to stumble across this info elsewhere.(try a search engine)
  4. Be aware that there is no such thing as true anonymous posting. Someone will always have a record of what you have posted. You can minimize this risk by following newsgroup ettiquette and NOT angering those people in a position to find out who you are.

What is "cypherpunk"

Or "How do I remain anon and still get e-mail feed back?"

  1. Ask yourself? Do I really want this?
  2. Am I gonna screw up and fill the group with flames and gripes?
  3. Read the Remailer FAQ!!!
  4. Also read the Anonymity and privacy on the Internet pages!!!
  5. You can always use the somewhat undependable anon.penet.fi re-mailer service, but it is not as secure. Read the Instruction for Anon.Penet.Fi contact service pages!!! DO NOT try to send binaries through anon.penet.fi (or any of the other re-mailers for that matter) it will NOT work (there is about a 32k file size limit that it will allow you to send)

Where is all this stuff found?

  1. PGP262 Mit version is readily available from many a web and ftp site: http://web.mit.edu/network/pgp-form.html this web site is a good starting point.
  2. So you want to try to get the cypherpunks going: here are a couple places to start http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm/ items and info you find here are priceless in particular, Private Idaho, this is a mailer app that will help you send mail through a cypherpunk Re-mailer and chain them as well. Another good feature is that it will help you to set up a "nym" with a nym-server.
  3. If you really get into the pgp thing and decide to have a second key for anon reasons you better be good at key management. And you might want to put your key on a server, or acquire a key that is there so you can respond to someone who does use PGP here is the place to go http://www-swiss.ai.mit.edu/~bal/pks-commands.html.
  4. Where do I find info about ISP available in my area? http://www.thelist.com/ as for weather they carry the groups you need is another question.
  5. Another source for PGP is The international PGP Home Page( this is added for our non US friends) (or anyone else for that matter) http://www.ifi.uio.no/pgp/.
  6. Both Free Agent and Agent news readers can be found at ftp://ftp.forteinc.com/.
  7. Another good site for PGP is ftp://ftp.informatik.uni-hamburg.de//pub/virus/crypt/.

What are some good tips?

  1. It's not polite to beg.
  2. Ask for something only after posting.
  3. If you e-mail someone about a post have all you facts straight.
  4. Don't continuously e-mail a posting contributor.
  5. If you post something do it right.
    1. If it's a CD RIP make sure it works.
    2. If you got it from somewhere else and never installed it, make sure it works.
    3. I don't have to tell you the importance of anti viri software.
    4. Post sensibly in large posts 10000 to 15000 lines.
  6. You saw a post you want, did you give the server enough time to make sure all parts arrived ? Wait a couple days before flaming and begging, it might just show up.
  7. You want to reply to an an### ID but don't want to be assigned an ID yourself, do it this way TO: -- NA######@anon.penet.fi .
  8. We all get upset at times but it's best not to do it in the group.
  9. No one controlls the group, don't assume they do, your isp decides whether or not to keep it available to you.(messages scroll, disk space is precious)
  10. If something is missing that does not mean there is a deleter!
  11. Servers time out and things end up missing, it happens, just relax a repost will usually show.
  12. Don't post public server addresses to the groups and don't ask for them.
  13. Don't post ftp sites to the groups and don't ask for them.
  14. If you stumble upon someones real id or think you know who they are it's a really bad idea to post such info as well. Unless they are a real screw up.
  15. Read the doc's that come with your winsock apps they are generally very thorough. "RTFM"
  16. There is no crime in asking questions.
  17. IRC is a good place to look for sites, YES irc has warez too!
  18. Don't expect someone to do all the work for you.

What warez groups are available?

Here are a few that we know of but not all of them are on every server:

There are many other shareware groups as well as other discussion groups that deserve mention.

Not all these groups are available on all servers and not all are good or used but they are out there, as well as some private sites and groups that are specific to you isp or news server only.

Inner Circle Disclaimer

The Inner Circle in no way assumes to be a moderator nor expert in the warez field. We do not claim the responsibility for any thing posted using the name "Inner Circle". Nor do we store warez on our machines, or possesion. Software developers have families, and should be able to support them. Piracy is against the law, and we don't encourage it nor deny it's existence. Copyright laws are meant to protect the income of software companies, just as they do others, and we don't encourage breaking them either. The collection of software is nothing more than a pissing contest but the warez groups are a good place to find copies of items you have rightfully purchased that may have become corrupt as well as a place to find something you might want to evaluate before purchasing, Remember when you purchase something you get the manuals and doc's that support as well as technical support and there is a better chance it will install and work.

Document last edited 2/21/96. All information herein has been written, compiled, and edited by Mad Hatter, Wolf, Irrelevant, Clickety-Clack, Zero Da Hero, and SpiffDoodz.