An anonymous interview with a former member of the warez scene. Part 1

On a habr there were already articles about sceners who were eventually arrested. Today I am publishing a translation of an interview with a man who was never caught. Obviously, he is American, and all this happened in the USA. The interview took place in 2010, anonymously, for obvious reasons, he does not name the group in which he was. Therefore, as a picture for the article, I used a randomly selected site logo through which pirated files passed.

An incredible number of questions were asked, the entire branch amounted to more than 1000 messages. In addition to questions, there were a lot of simply thanks that I did not translate. But even when I discarded the recurring and most obvious topics, there were too many questions for one post. Therefore, I decided to translate them in parts, without sorting, in the order as they were asked, and today I present to you the first part. The questions were very different, about everything related to the scene, piracy in general, and in particular films.

The topic began with a short “resume” of the author:

For about 5 years, from 2003 to 2009, I was a member of one of the largest pirate groups in the world. Since I retired, quite a lot of time has passed, and due to the statute of limitations and other reasons, I can now openly talk about it.

A bit of detail:

Our group released over 500 movie releases before the official release of the DVD. Releases of various types - camrip / TS / DVD / DVDscr / TC, etc., in different formats. I happened to be the guy who makes the movie in the cinema (cammer), and those who get the sound, and the encoder, and more specifically, a pretty good specialist in MPAA watermarking technology.

During this time, six of my close acquaintances, colleagues, were arrested, two went to prison, two became informants, and one committed suicide.

I must say that I am impressed with the responses, and of course I did not expect so many questions. I will try to answer everything, it will take a lot of time, but why not, it is like a return to the past for me, and I was pleased to know that there is an audience interest in the subject. Good questions! I will not go into details on some topics, you understand. I will do what I can :)

How did you find out about informants?

How did you find out? In the first case, we suspected that something was wrong with the dude, and we knew enough about him to make some correct calls, and find out that he was taken away from work at the FBI.

In the second case, the dude went to the IRC when they did not follow him, and honestly said that he was under the supervision of the FBI, asked for advice on what to do now, wished us all good luck and changed nicknames as soon as possible.

Why did that person commit suicide (if you know)?

It was probably the most famous pirate in the world;) The sad story of a little Frenchman in Canada. Google Geremi Adam, he really was an example for all.

(approx. translation). Dark history. He was sentenced, and began to take drugs in prison, eventually died from an overdose, after he left. There was a rather lengthy discussion about whether he would take drugs if it weren’t for the prison, and from which he actually died, but the fact remains, they put him in prison, which ultimately led to his death.

Was there a case when you were very close to arrest?
What were the security measures?

I know a dude who was discovered by some granny the first time. I'm not sure that she understood why he was doing this, but she simply smiled and continued to watch the film. I have heard of other “contacts” with the audience. Usually no one is particularly interested in surrendering you.

However ...

I know a kammer who was spotted because he began to run away from the cinema. He rushed through the parking lot, trying to destroy the material on the run, he was caught between some cruisers, and he broke his leg. The classic case.

There was one more time when another dude got caught, and when the cinema employees began to surround him, he got up, shouted “I have a BOMB!”, Broke through to the fire exit and ran away.

Thanks for the story, but what about security measures? Do you keep magnets at home or something?

Truecrypt and hidden safe.

Was there any kind of hierarchy? What position did you occupy in it?

I will not go into details, but yes, there was a hierarchy. It was based on “experience” and on who showed himself during the release period. Most of the participants somehow did something for the scene, and therefore their opinion was more or less taken into account.

What were your motivations? Were they purely financial or idealism motivated you?

Idealism. Oh yeah. Silly ideas in the name of silly ideas.

How much money do you estimate you have received during your years on stage?

Not at all. As I said, I didn’t have a desire to get profit, I knew that what I was doing was stupid and risky enough, and if we add money to this, a degree of greed will be added, in which I am not at all interested.

Money has never been the cause. I will repeat this one more time - do not think that it was a massive underground scheme for the sake of profit. This is not true. Your suspicions are clear, there are such schemes. I have no doubt about it when I see discs sold on the streets east of Canal Street. Someone makes them, and someone makes money on it. As for the scene, I think there is not a single release of the group that does this in its entirety, rather individuals. And it’s regrettable, because it shames everyone else.

I can say honestly and frankly, of all those with whom I have dealt with at one time, I could probably count on the fingers of one hand those who were motivated by an interest in money. The vast majority, hundreds or even thousands, are just normal people who live their own lives, who have an online alter ego that makes toothaches for many corporations.

How did you manage not to get caught when everyone around you was arrested or even imprisoned?

What precautions did you take at each stage: shooting, downloading, etc.?

How? Luck. Cunning. I do not know. My location has been very influential. The fact that I was smart enough not to give out too much information about myself.

You see, when a person is caught, everything connected with our existence is erased. New BNCs, new servers, new ripbox, that's all. This is the only way to survive.

I saw so many caught for very stupid reasons.

As for precautionary measures, during that period of my life I moved a lot, my location changed all the time. But even without it, it would be difficult for me to find. In addition, BNCs, VPNs, proxies, and free wifi points.

I saw so many caught for very stupid reasons.

Can I have some examples?
One of my friends worked in a movie theater and once there they caught a kammer, because he did not stick all the indicators on the camera, and their light was noticed. But I would like to hear other reasons.

Use of tripods. Some run away from the cinema at the end of the session. Once people scolded with his girlfriend until the police arrived (yes, that was in the process of illegal shooting).

Can you tell me how the whole process went, from planning and filming to the release of the film?

Good. Group meeting. Let's make a release.

First, you need to decide what to choose. This weekend 3 premieres, 1 hit, comedy and some kind of youth bullshit. We will have competitors. Maybe we are some of the best, but there are always others :) If someone is at risk, he wants to be sure that it's worth it, right? Many times, competitors made a plan in advance so as not to cross the roads in one film.

We choose who will shoot, he goes to the cinema, returns home. The most difficult thing is to manage to capture the entire screen area.

Ideally, he uploads the dump directly to the ripbox, where the encoders do it. Angles, colors, distortion, then this, everything is fixed. The next step is to remove the watermarks. Ideally, this is done by several people who look at the material, mark the points, and compare with each other. After a couple of good guys look at all this, you can be almost sure that you got rid of all the marks. They are removed in the final render pass.

The audio is merged by other guys, or even from another group. Then the sound is synchronized with the video, and the final product is obtained. This can be difficult, due to the fact that not all projectors work the same way - if some of them gradually accelerates or slows down during operation, the synchronizer may take many hours!

Then the file is packaged, uploaded to the sites, and announced. And then ... goes for a walk around the world.



Here is a brief explanation, but the whole process, however, can take anywhere from 3 hours to 3 days. And each film can have its own little problems that have to be sorted out. Anything can happen ...

Have you ever been associated with a person in a projection booth? Getting this place is incredibly easy, and they all hate their job.

This is a big risk for the employee. All copies for movie theaters are labeled and can be VERY easy to track. Imagine this as the serial number on the copy. If you want to know more, google Kodak Cap Codes or look for an old branch on VCDQ, everything is well described there.

In general, a cinema employee -> a big risk. But also a great provider of the right movies;)

I ask because I used to work there and it seems to me it would be incredibly easy to get at least high-quality camry with a clear sound. On weekdays, there was no one upstairs in the booth except me. I just sat and smoked, played a movie, smoked again, played another movie. Installing a recording system, I think, would be simple. Point the camera through the window, plus set the microphone. But in general, I worked there for a long time, maybe something is forgotten in terminology.

You're right. But even sound is flagged in inaudible areas. The films themselves contain from 3 to 25 watermarks, which appear on 3 frames out of 24. There is often glass in the booth, which will cause terrible glare. If possible, you can get the best picture by placing a tripod in the middle of an empty room.

And these watermarks, are those black ovals, orange at the edges, which sometimes flicker briefly on the screen?

Not. These are bobbin change marks, each bobbin is approximately 18-20 minutes.

How long does the movie take from the stage to where anyone can download it?

It used to take a lot of time. But 2010 came, and now at the most it is a few hours.

Why did you leave?

Because everyone I really liked talking to for many, many years went to jail, and all the newcomers - dibiloids appearing in our area seemed to be going there too. Honestly, at some point I realized that my time was gone.

How do people like you get on stage?

How did I get there? Through a friend. He participated in the work of one software group ... introduced me to some people ... I realized that I have something to offer them.

Have you observed any changes in your “business” since you started?

Changes? Yes. P2P has changed everything. Accessibility has changed everything.

How do you see the future of piracy?

The future of piracy ...
People engaged in the illegal trade in alcohol and tobacco. They will pirate movies. This is a feature of the crime "without sacrifice," so people treat him normally.

Do you think Hollywood specifically releases shitty films to keep track of how you will pirate them?

Not. I think they release them, because most of the population does not really shine with intelligence and they like it: D

Since the FBI is now reading this forum, do you think they will extract anything from this thread, not about you personally, but any information / tips for themselves? And if so, does this fact bother you now that you are already out of the game?

Why do I say that, just when about a month ago an idiot posted a picture of a bug that the FBI put on his "friend "’s car, which showed the serial number, they somehow found out about it. Apparently they have some poor thing sitting and reading here all day.

hmmm ... maybe. But if the things that I'm telling you here will help them, then they really are much further from the goal than I imagined: D

Will it bother me? As far as I can see, there are very few “respected” bands left on the stage, and most of them will now be released via P2P, so probably not.

Is it hard to get on stage?

No comments. There is no "explicit" entrance. We are talking about people gathering online to commit massive organized violation of copyright at the international level.



Do you happen to know why there is still no normal Inception screener? Maybe you have some kind of theory? So much time has passed.

I can’t say for sure, but screeners have been slowly disappearing since the acting guild took tough measures after the OBUS leak. They (DVDSCR) usually appear during Oscars (every year), and after a few months those who were their sources go to jail. And this process is repeated with enviable constancy year after year.

(from discussion) Leak OBUS - sensational in 2004 leak of films nominated for an Oscar.

Apart from the komripy, I always told friends that the piracy of films helps that people involved in this, do not get enough money for their work. Is it true?

Materials that could not be obtained in other ways, were you provided by dissatisfied studio workers, or did you somehow get access to their servers?

Absolutely right. No one thinks DVDSCR can be obtained from a wealthy film producer. Not. Rather, his offended secretary, whom he fucks for bonuses.

And can you elaborate on watermarks, and methods for their removal? Obviously, they are somehow hidden and invisible to the naked eye. Do they look like those yellow dots that laser printers quietly add to printed pages?

How does this knowledge leak onto the stage? I think this is valuable information.

If you look carefully, you will find this information on the net. She tends to remain secret. Essentially, these are small dots that flash briefly on the screen, which make up a sequence, a serial number that identifies a copy, and from it you can find out where it came from. If 3-4 pirated films magically leave the same cinema ...

MPAA is known to come and begin to put pressure on staff. I know that once in the theater where we worked, they threatened to dismiss all staff completely if this did not stop. They were so sure that it was one of the employees.

Audio ... I am not special in sound, I have never succeeded in synchronizing. In the range above the audible, they record vibrations (similar to those points) that correspond to the number of the audio disc. This can be determined by comparing multiple audio tracks from the same movie.

Which groups would you say are still respected?

Dear? Fuck ... There's almost no one left, my friend. It has already been said somewhere “show me a good fresh telesync” - and this is difficult to do.

2-3 years ago, it was still possible. The spread of P2P and fragmentation between groups is growing, they are losing touch and therefore the ability to share knowledge, resources and experience ...

Some of the coolest things that I knew, I learned from people who tried to destroy me: D

You would not want to share your experience and knowledge with the opposite side: people who are trying to stop piracy? Like “catch me if you can”

Yes. I think in our time, with this peering, arrests and special operations, toughening laws, etc., everything led to the fact that most of the "real" scenic groups were cut. As a result, now piracy of films is supported, as I believe, by what can be called quite criminal elements. You wonder why there has been a sharp decline in quality telesync in the last few years? This is because there are fewer and fewer people left who have a desire to do this from an idea, the risks are too high. It’s easier to pay some drug addict $ 200 to do it. And rummage among what is sold on drives on the street. As a result, these discs are uploaded to the Internet, after someone buys them, quickly rips them, checks the pirate bay, and says: “damn it, no one posted it yet, go nuts !!!”

What did you do to not get caught in the cinema? Can it be that a person who sits nearby will not notice, especially in a full hall, as happens on the night of the premiere?

Literally every cammer seems to have its own unique camera design. I saw incredible tripods, I saw jackets, fastened systems, handbags, banks ... that you just don’t call a damn, people have already tried it.

Were you tormented by paranoia while you were in business? I would probably constantly look in the rearview mirror, checking if they were watching me.

Still would. I looked over my shoulder. Afraid when crossing borders. Once I was detained and invited to go into a small room. I already thought that the end was extraditing me now. It turned out to be a minor paper mistake. Uhhh!

Continued: Part 2