The informal community of Internet software pirates has been ripped apart by the recent international law-enforcement raids on many of its elite crackers, members of the shadowy scene said this week.
"This is a bad hit for warez," one self-described 18-year-old programmer, who has been a member of the community for four years, wrote in an online chat with CNET News.com. "Right now, every scene is at a standstill. Every one of them."
Warez is the generic online name for digital content such as games, movies or software whose copy protection has been defeated by skilled programmers. The programs can then be used on any PC without first buying the software.
The chaos is the result of what has been billed as the largest action against online software pirates to date.
News source: ZDnet
