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BitTorrent Admin Monitored by US Government, Forced to Dump Linux

torrentfreak.com — Sk0t, an ex-administrator of the EliteTorrents BitTorrent tracker is to have his internet connection forcibly monitored by the US Government. If that wasn’t bad enough, the monitoring software is Windows based - which means he is being forced to ditch Linux - or face being barred from the internet.

Who dugg this? Made popular Aug 23, 2007

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282 Comments

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  • dugglas, on 10/10/2007, -4/+243He should just get a copy of Vista or XP off Bit Torrent...
  • AmishRefugee, on 10/10/2007, -5/+182How is that legal for the government to force someone to shell out a couple hundred bucks for proprietary software?
  • miyamotofreak, on 10/10/2007, -10/+176The government forcing me to use windows? That's ***** up (especially when you have to pay for it.)
  • orangekid13, on 10/10/2007, -7/+103Cruel and unusual punishment!
  • SilenceGold, on 10/10/2007, -14/+98There we go...the US Government is supporting Microsoft's monopoly. Even Apple's OS X is not listed on the compatible OS list.
  • inactive, on 10/10/2007, -3/+57They arent forcing him to buy it, he has the option of no internet at all. I admit its ***** up though
  • dinostabOMG, on 10/10/2007, -0/+51Because DOJ = n00bs
  • djh816, on 10/10/2007, -6/+52can he not use wine?
  • zengonzo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+45Wait a minute .. they're monitoring his internet connection .. from a single terminal?

    Am I missing something or is that all too easy?
  • LordofShadows, on 10/10/2007, -8/+46That has to be violating some sort of inaliable right. I wouldnt stand for it.
  • spookywarrior, on 10/10/2007, -2/+40What a joke! A felony for copyright infringement?? I suppose I should know this information by now, but it's still shocking that you can be screwed out of a successful above ground job for uploading a damn movie. How many politicians have music that they don't own? Or how many copies of Windows does our government use that it doesn't pay for??
  • Ozmotear, on 10/10/2007, -3/+35Run the Monitoring App under Wine.
  • Coded1, on 10/10/2007, -4/+36I wonder whats so special about windows? I mean if I needed to track someones traffic and I really don't trust them why would I let them run my code off of their own private box? If anything I would put together a standalone unit and tell them to plug it in. Doesn't it seem strange to anyone else here?
  • elvenseven, on 10/10/2007, -2/+31This reason alone makes me want to switch to linux.
  • alciadanet, on 10/10/2007, -0/+29They go into your house, put your internet in a box and take the box away from your house.
  • DarkDragon, on 10/10/2007, -2/+31I think its obvious why they are forcing him to run windows... "NSAKEY" ring a bell to anyone?
  • ToadLeg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+29Wine's libraries are often better at doing what they're supposed to than Windows libraries. Because the libraries in Windows have glitches in them, a program for Windows can rely on the glitches in the Windows libraries to run. Also, programs for Windows are often not put to nearly the same scrutiny as open source programs, so they are often pretty funky.
  • IllBeBack, on 10/10/2007, -2/+27So why can't he just go to a friend's house? Is the government that stupid? Oh wait...
  • rauz, on 10/10/2007, -1/+26The hassle might be that he doesn't have a copy of Windows and I have a feeling they won't like it if he used a pirated version.
  • Motocompo, on 10/10/2007, -3/+25How can the government take away your internet forever?
  • capiCrimm, on 10/10/2007, -8/+29and give false warnings because the program relies on a glitch in a library and get him jailed. Good idea.
  • rabiddachshund, on 10/10/2007, -0/+18I understand the prison and the monitoring but what's with the ***** ankle bracelet? It's not like he ate a baby or something.
  • Cabal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17"I AM NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION THAT ISNT MONITORED. Which means I cant be on the computer unless I use windows… so partitioning a useless drive for 2 years is worthless.

    -sk0t"

    (via comments on the article)
  • richgustavson, on 10/10/2007, -7/+24These days, the government hasn't seemed to care too much what is "legal" or not...

    Seems like they only care how legal it is for purposes of knowing how much effort they need to put into covering it up...
  • Urusai, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16He also probably had the option of jail time instead of probation. All of those squirrelly sentences you hear handed out (like "wear a t-shirt that says 'I stole candy from a baby'" or whatever) are optional in lieu of jail time.
  • Daniel591992, on 10/10/2007, -9/+25Wow, that's an interesting story. (and this is a not-so-interesting comment)
  • omega1045, on 10/10/2007, -3/+18It is part of the terms of his probation. He can go back to jail...
  • BlueFalcon7, on 10/10/2007, -5/+19"In a society where ‘the punishment should fit the crime’, you can’t help but think that somewhere along the line there’s been a big miscalculation when regular citizens are turned into criminals for sharing files"

    great quote.
  • byrdgang, on 10/10/2007, -1/+15Go to a friend's house for casual Internet use? I don't think so.
  • Unnngh, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14He's a felon and it's a condition of his parole. He's lucky they're giving him the option, I've known people convicted of felony charges related to computers that were not given an option - they were not allowed to use a computer AT ALL. Do you have any idea how hard that is to comply with? You work at a restaurant, you have to get permission from your parole officer to use an electronic machine to clock in and clock out.
  • NJank, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12"how many copies of Windows does our government use that it doesn't pay for"
    very few. pretty much every department pays big bucks to MSFT for volume licensing. MS products are the govt standard. Ain't it great.
  • Coded1, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13cause it would likely have to monitor the site 24/7

  • SteveCUBE, on 10/10/2007, -3/+15I'd move if I got ***** banned from the internet.
  • MattTS, on 10/10/2007, -3/+15Run Windows in vmware with the monitoring software and the rest from the host OS? Or is it more complex than that?
  • astromodder, on 10/10/2007, -4/+16Can you say Windows 3.1
  • inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Judge: Having been found guilty of mopery I sentence you to thirty days of Windows Vista!
    That could be a real deterrent!
  • xezique, on 10/10/2007, -4/+15Microsoft KB314458 to the rescue!
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314458
    "How to Remove Linux and Install Windows XP"
  • championchap, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11He has to pay for a copy of Windows that he does not want. It's about that complex.
  • lengau, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11I'm sure you'd be bitching about it all over the place if you were forced to use Linux because of some piece of monitoring software the government wants you to use. Especially if you have to pay several hundred dollars for it.
  • mtekk, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11It's probably the newest version that many on digg own a legal copy of.
  • radiofrequency, on 10/10/2007, -2/+12Holy crap! Being forced to use Windows is cruel and unusual punishment!
  • fliz, on 10/10/2007, -3/+13All questions of legal rationality and principle aside, I find making him use windows as part of his punishment extremely practical. It's like mandating a child molester ditch the windowless van and drive a geo prizm, with square wheels.
  • Pixelpaws, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10NOTE: Windows XP and Linux can coexist on the same computer. For additional information, refer to your Linux documentation.

    I had to try really hard not to laugh at that line...
  • Coded1, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10Couldn't he just as easily install VMWare and XP?
  • trogdoor, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9What does 3.1 have to do with anything?
  • y0himba, on 10/10/2007, -4/+13He went to jail asswipe. This is on top of that. Read a little bit.
  • jonshipman, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Ugh, sounds like I'd rather take death
  • malliemcg, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8My guess is that if they just had a bridge/sniffer installed - it would be bypassed by using a VPN link to somewhere, and then they'd have nothing to track.
  • Cabal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8why should he even be forced to switch his OS? and don't call me Shirly.
  • ToadLeg, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11That's a curious comment. I run both Linux and Windows. Most of the big programs that run on Windows have superior Linux equivalents. The ones that don't will often run as well as on Windows under Wine. What are the "applications the rest of the world uses"? Honestly, I'd like to know. And are you implying that Linux users somehow don't know about Windows and it's programs?
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