We have been interviewing Russell McOrmond. The interview is in three parts. Parts 1 and 2 are already available. We now conclude our three part interview. We have been interviewing Russell McOrmond in a three part interview. In part 1, we discussed the complexity of Bill C-32, copyright terms and anti-circumvention provisions. In part 2, [...]

There’s a bit of commotion with a new patent request by Apple over on Slashdot today. The claim is that Apple is creating a new patent to stop jailbreaking. About a month ago, we reported that a review of the DMCA put forth the possibility of jailbreaking ones phone without breaking anti-circumvention laws (though this [...]

Open source has been in the media for quite some time whether directly or indirectly. With ACTA leak and the ASCAP letter two big news items that affects open source, we decided to sit down with the Free Software Foundation and talk about these and other things related to the open source movement. There are [...]

It was a deal that had plenty of people talking. A “Pay What You Want” deal was launched a while ago now and the sale is now over. The results are definitely great.

The deal would last a little over a week. A pack of games for whatever the price you set. In the first 24 hours, the Humble Indie Bundle managed to get a little over a quarter of a million dollars. Since our initial report, the story spread like wildfire and the deal scored over a million dollars in less than a week – thus beating out, well, everyone’s expectations.

The deal was extended, but is now closed and the results are just as impressive as our earlier reports. The deal earned a grand total of nearly $1,275,000 dollars with close to 140,000 contributors pitching in. While we previously reported that the pot was sweetened, that wasn’t the only things that were happening during the sale.

On the back of the bundle’s overwhelming success, Wolfire also made a couple of their games open-sourced. One of those games that went open source was Lugaru and within hours of the release of the source code, a patch was released by someone which allowed Windows users to play the game (not previously possible).

If this taught anyone anything, it’s that respecting your fans can yield positive results. Instead of putting DRM all over games, Wolfire took the opposite rout and open sourced some of their games and let people set the price and the results were amazing. One things for sure, these developers actually “got it” and did what other developers seem to think would never be possible, let alone successful. One can only hope that this experience can help set a more positive future for other game developers.

Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at drew@zeropaid.com.

Understandably it can be a bit confusing when looking for movies to download what you are actually downloading before the file finishes. Maybe you don’t want a CAM release and would prefer a TELESYNC or vice-versa. What it really comes down to is preference and availability of the file. This guide will walk you through the different names, qualities and filetypes you’ll typically encounter when downloading movies via bittorrent.

Filename Structure

The easiest place to start is to look at the typical filename, although they may vary greatly, they usually follow a specific structure, let’s take a look at this title for example: RocknRolla.2008.DvDRip-aXXo

The filename actually gives you all the information you need, lets break it down:

• RocknRolla – The name of the movie.
• 2008 – The year the movie was released.
• DVDRip – The type of release it is (quality), in this case it is ripped from a DVD.
• aXXo – The release group/person.
• Occasionally you will also see the language/subtitles the film is in in the filename as well

Release Types

Typically there are 6 types of release you will encounter:

• CAM
• TELESYNC (TS)
• DVD-SCREENER (DVDSCR)
• R5 LINE (R5)
• DVD RIP (DVDRip)
• BLU RAY RIP (BRRip)

Typically, these are ranked from worst (CAM) to best (BRRip) quality. Here is each one in a bit more detail. We’ll give each a score out of 10 so you have an idea of their total quality.

CAM: 1-3/10

A cam is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. Sound is taken from the on board microphone of the camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the film. Due to these problems picture and sound quality are usually quite poor.

TELESYNC (TS): 4/10

A TELESYNC is the same as a CAM except it uses an external audio source. A direct audio source does not ensure a good quality audio source, as a lot of background noise can interfere. A lot of the times a TELESYNC is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving a better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically. A high percentage of TELESYNC’s are CAM’s that have been mislabeled.

DVD-SCREENER (DVDSCR): 6-7/10

A advanced DVD, sent to rental stores, and various other places for promotional use. The main draw back is a ticker (a message that scrolls past at the bottom of the screen, with the copyright and anti-copy telephone number). Usually letterbox, but without the extras that a DVD retail would contain. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.

R5 LINE (R5): 6-7/10

R5 refers to a specific format of DVD released in DVD Region 5, the former Soviet Union, and bootlegged copies of these releases that are distributed on the Internet. In an effort to compete with movie piracy, the movie industry chose to create a new format for DVD releases that could be produced more quickly and less expensively than traditional DVD releases.

The image quality of an R5 release is generally comparable to a DVD Screener release, except without the added scrolling text and black and white scenes that serve to distinguish screeners from commercial DVD releases. The quality is better than Telecine transfers produced by movie pirates because the transfer is performed using professional-grade film scanning equipment.

DVD RIP (DVDRip): 8-10/10

A copy of the final released DVD. Should be excellent quality. DVDrips are released in SVCD and DivX/XviD.

BLU RAY RIP (BRRip): 10/10

A copy of the final released Blu Ray, typically 720p. BRRip’s are usually released in H264/MP4.

How to Play These Files?

DivX and XviD files can be played in your standalone DivX player (if you have one). If not you’ll need specific Codecs to play them which you can find all you’ll need in hour Helpful Software List. These Codecs will also work for H264/MP4 files.

As far as SVCD files go, they can be burned or the video files can be extracted (whatever your preference).

Sources

Wikipedia
WarezTeacher

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This tutorial was originally posted by 4nd, (a member) at Suprbay forums, and can be read here.

Please read the First Part to this Tutorial before proceeding.

Maximum Security Using TrueCrypt

You possess files that are highly illegal, or that could get you in big trouble just for possessing. You believe that someone may try to break into your TrueCrypt volume in order to access your secret files. This someone may be an individual hacker or a group of them, possibly under the employ of a rival company (if you have company secrets, of course). Alternately, this someone could be working for the government. Whoever the attacker is, it’s imperative that you keep them out. That’s where hidden volumes come in.

What is a hidden volume?

Think of it like this:

• First, TrueCrypt creates Overall Volume A, which is 1 GB. This is separated into two parts: Visible Volume B (800 MB) and Hidden Volume C (200 MB).
• Visible Volume B and Hidden Volume C have different passwords. Depending on which password is used to mount Overall Volume A, either Visible Volume B or Hidden Volume C will be mounted.
• Because of the nature of TrueCrypt volumes, proving the existence of Hidden Volume C, even if one is aware of Overall Volume A and Visible Volume B, is extremely hard if not possible.
• You, the user, puts 800 MB of fairly incriminating files in Visible Volume B, such as porn. You put 200 MB of really incriminating stuff in Hidden Volume C. If someone forces you to give up the password for your TrueCrypt volume, you tell them the password to Visible Volume B. They see the porn and think that’s all you have. Since they can’t prove Hidden Volume C’s existence, your data is protected. You have what is called plausible deniability.
• Even if you don’t fill the volume with your porn/incriminating files, because of the nature of TrueCrypt volumes, it still looks completely full.

Creating a hidden volume follows a similar procedure as creating a normal volume. Start TrueCrypt and hit Create Volume.

To begin, first select “Create an encrypted file container”

Now select “Hidden TrueCrypt volume” and hit Next.

Select the location of the volume. You can overwrite an existing file (thus destroying it, so be careful!) or create your own. Example: C:\Documents and Settings\yourusername\My Documents\truecrypt_volume

Choose your encryption algorithm.

Choose the size of the overall volume.

Choose a password for the volume.

Uncheck the “Show” box and move your mouse around the screen as randomly as possible. After a satisfactory amount of time (at least a minute), hit Format.

Now the wizard will tell you to add files to the storage volume. Use this opportunity to add files that you want people to think are the reason you have the TrueCrypt volume; porn, pirated movies, plots to take over the world, whatever. You have to add at least one file before moving on.

Once you finish adding files, TrueCrypt will scan the volume to see how much space is left. Hit Next.

Now you can select the encryption algorithm for the hidden volume, which need not be the same as for the outer volume.

Select the size of your hidden volume, which is the overall volume’s size minus the total size of those files you added. The maximum size is displayed for you.

Choose a password for the inner volume. This password must be different (preferably significantly different) from the password you used for the overall volume. As before, follow the guidelines listed above, or in the TrueCrypt wizard window, for creating a good password.

Choose a file system for the hidden volume.

Now, as before, generate the cryptographic key for the hidden volume by moving your mouse around the window for a little while. Uncheck “Show” if you like. When you’re done, hit Format.

TrueCrypt will give you a popup when complete notifying you that it’s done, along with providing some helpful information and a warning about hidden volumes.

You’re done! Skip below to learn how to use your new file system.

How to Use Your TrueCrypt Volume

Here’s a pic of TrueCrypt’s interface.

To mount and decrypt a storage volume:

* Highlight an empty slot
* Press “Select File…” and navigate to your TrueCrypt volume.
* Hit Mount.

TrueCrypt will ask for the volume’s password.

* If you created a hidden volume: Enter the outer volume’s password to mount the volume with your “dummy” files. Enter the hidden volume’s password to mount the hidden volume, with your real sensitive data.

TrueCrypt will decrypt your volume and mount it as though it were, say, a flash drive. Windows users can go to My Computer and double-click on the “truecrypt1″ device to access their mounted volume, or just double-click on the mounted volume in the TrueCrypt window. Linux users: TrueCrypt mounts the volume in /media/ but you can also just use the TrueCrypt window to access the volume.

Use your file browser to add, remove, or run/display files that you keep in your storage volume. Leave TrueCrypt running while doing so.

When you’re finished, right-click the volume and hit Dismount (alternately, hit Dismount All at the bottom) and then click Exit. Make sure you dismount the volumes before exiting TrueCrypt!

Additional Reading on TrueCrypt

• While TrueCrypt is a very good application, it is not perfect. Its Wikipedia entry details a few vulnerabilities that someone can use to get to your protected data. Most of these vulnerabilities, however, either require physical access to your computer, or simply point to possible TrueCrypt volumes (but doesn’t decrypt them).
• The TrueCrypt FAQ answers some common questions about TrueCrypt and provides some helpful extra info.
• It’s worth pointing out that in addition to creating volumes that appear to be files, TrueCrypt can encrypt entire partitions of storage devices, such as hard drives and flash drives. It can even create hidden volumes within these partitions. The FAQ has more information on that.
• Furthermore, if you run Windows, TrueCrypt can be used to encrypt your entire operating system. Again, consult the FAQ.

Special Thanks

A big special thanks to 4nd at Suprbay forums for writing this fantastic tutorial!

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This tutorial was originally posted by 4nd, (a member) at Suprbay forums, and can be read here.

Using TrueCrypt to Protect Sensitive Files

Do you have incriminating or otherwise sensitive files that you want to keep secret? Perhaps you merely have a porn collection on a shared computer that you need to keep secret from the rest of the family. On the other hand, perhaps you possess files that, depending on your country of residence, could get you arrested and jailed simply for having them. Whatever your specific needs are, encrypting your data so that only you can read it goes a long way towards protecting your privacy. In this hopefully noob-friendly tutorial, I’ll describe how to use a program called TrueCrypt to protect your sensitive files.

What is TrueCrypt?

TrueCrypt is an open-source, cross-platform program that allows you to create protected storage volumes, in which you can safely keep your secret files. It’s important to understand that TrueCrypt does not selectively encrypt files; rather, it creates a sort of encrypted folder that protects anything in it. This folder, known as a storage volume, must be mounted with TrueCrypt and requires a password to be accessed.

I know that there are plenty of different applications for selectively encrypting single files, which vary from platform to platform. So why did I choose TrueCrypt? Because:

• TrueCrypt is open source. Matters of computer security are best left up to software in which it is an established fact that there are no backdoors, significant vulnerabilities, etc.
• Consequently, TrueCrypt is free to download and use.
• TrueCrypt is cross-platform. It runs on Windows, OS X and Linux.
• If you choose the maximum security options, TrueCrypt is exceptionally good at not only protecting the files you want to keep secret, but hiding their very existence. Even with “weaker” security settings, TrueCrypt is great for protecting your files.

Step 1: Get it!

Download the TrueCrypt installer for your operating system. Run it. While I only have experience with the Linux version of the installer, I assume that the installers for other systems are as relatively painless as the Linux version. Install TrueCrypt and open it.

Now it’s time to create an encrypted storage container. Run TrueCrypt and hit “Create Volume.” I have spoiler’d the following sections because they’re quite large, and contain screenshots of the volume creation process (y’know, for noob friendliness).

Setup: Moderate Security

Note, Maximum Security section is located on the next page.

If you want to keep your porn stash safe from your parents, this is your section. Additionally, you can use this method if you have a reasonable belief that nobody with serious hacking skill is going to try to get at your private data. If, however, your information is inappropriate or illegal enough to get you prosecuted simply for possessing it, you may want to play it safe and skip to the I want Maximum Security Tutorial. Otherwise, read on.

In the TrueCrypt Volume Creation Wizard, select “Create an encrypted file container.”

Select “Standard TrueCrypt volume.”

In this screen you select the location of the storage container. You don’t have to have a pre-existing file for this step. For example, if you’re on Windows XP, you can put “C:\Documents and Settings\yourusernamehere\My Documents\truecrypt_volume” into the Select File dialog and TrueCrypt will create a file in your My Documents folder. This file will be your storage container.

If you wish to use a different cryptographic algorithm than AES, you can select it here. If you don’t, leave these options the way they are and hit Next.

Here you determine the size of your storage volume. Obviously this sets the limit for how much you can store; if you make your volume 500 MB, you won’t be able to fit a 700 MB movie rip in it. Remember: The larger the volume is, the more difficult it will be to move between devices (separate computers, flash drives, etc), but the more you can store in it.

Enter the password you will use to decrypt the volume. You want to make sure this is a fairly strong password. While there are guides all over the Internet for creating a good password, I’ll list a few tips:

• Try to base your password off something that you, and only you, would know.
• Don’t just make it a single word. Multiple words are better, though inserting some misspellings, numbers instead of letters, or random punctuation characters helps thwart dictionary attacks (where someone runs a program that tries all the words in the dictionary in order to guess your password).
• Don’t use a password that you’re using for something else (such as your user account on the computer, or your email password). Create an entirely new one.
• Do not forget this password. If you do, you’re screwed if you want to access your protected files.

Choose your file system here. If you don’t know what this means, or if you don’t care about the specific file system being used, hit Next.

Spend about a minute or so moving your mouse as randomly as possible within this window. TrueCrypt uses this method to determine how strong the cryptographic key is. The longer you move your mouse, the stronger the key. When you’re finished, hit Format and then wait. TrueCrypt will create the storage volume in the location you specified and notify you when it’s complete. Depending on the size of the volume you specified, and how strong the key is (how long you moved your mouse in this window), it might take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes.

You’re done! Hit Exit in the next screen. Now you’re ready to start adding files to your protected storage volume.

Part 2 – Maximum Security Using TrueCrypt

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Free Security Software

The need for security software is essential when downloading files from random users via bittorrent. Regardless of how many good users and quality uploaders there are in the scene, there are still malicious users who try to spread viruses, and adware via bittorrent and you should do what you can to prevent yourself from being infected!

P2P Protection

Blocklist Pro	Blocklist Pro is your number one download resource for reguarly updated Firewall IP Block Lists, Free Host File Management Tools and Blocklist Security applications developed and maintained by B.I.S.S..
PeerGuardian 2.0	PeerGuardian 2 is Phoenix Labs’ premier IP blocker for Windows. PeerGuardian 2 integrates support for multiple lists, list editing, automatic updates, and blocking all of IPv4 (TCP, UDP, ICMP, etc), making it the safest and easiest way to protect your privacy on P2P.

Firewall Software

ZoneAlarm 9	An effective and easy-to-use firewall program, ZoneAlarm does a great job of keeping your PC safe from a variety of threats. ZoneAlarm uses a simple wizard to make configuring a firewall, which seems like a daunting task to many computer users, incredibly easy.
Comodo Firewall + Antivirus	Download this free Firewall and AntiVirus to take the first step in protecting your PC from malware, viruses, worms, and more.
Outpost Firewall	Outpost Firewall gives peace of mind from any virtually every Internet danger. Unlike other personal firewalls, Outpost starts protecting against all kinds of internal and external attacks as soon as it’s installed.

Anti-Spyware Applications

A-Squared	Emsi Software provides the Malware scanner a-squared Free completely free of charge for private use. But it is not a very limited version, it is a full tool to clean your computer from Malware. Not only Spywares, as detected by classic Anti-Spyware programs, but also especially Trojans, Backdoors, Worms, Dialers, Keyloggers and a lot of other destructive pests, which makes it dangerous to surf the web.
Spybot Search & Destroy	Spybot – Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies.
Trend Micro HijackThis 2.0.2	If persistent spyware is bogging down your computer, you might need HijackThis. The tiny program examines vulnerable or suspect parts of your system, such as browser helper objects and certain types of Registry keys.

Add More?

Know of some free security software that isn’t on this list? Leave a comment or post in our forum. Remember, prevention is always the best solution.

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How to: run uTorrent in Linux

Here’s a brief tutorial that was requested in our forum. uTorrent is a very lightweight and easy to use bittorrent client, that unfortunately is unmatched by some of the Linux clients out there today. You can still have functioning WebUI and Automated RSS Downloading with uTorrent running in Ubuntu Linux, so if let’s get started!

Install Wine (Windows Emulator) in Ubuntu Linux

Wine is an open source software that allows you to run Windows software under different operating systems. With Wine you can run Windows software applications in Linux similar to how you would run them in Windows.

Provided you are running Ubuntu Linux; Open up a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt-get install wine

This will install Wine from Ubuntu’s software repositories along with all of the packages required to run it.

Download uTorrent (uTorrent.exe)

Since installing Wine in Ubuntu Linux may take a few minutes, in the meantime you can grab a copy of uTorrent (for windows), I’d recommend a stable release, (at the time of writing this the newest stable release is 2.0).

Open up another terminal and enter the following commands:

cd ~

This should bring you to your home directory (if you aren’t already there).

sudo mkdir utorrrent

This creates a /utorrent/ directory

cd utorrent

Change into the uTorrent directory

sudo wget http://download.utorrent.com/2.0/utorrent.exe

This begins downloads the utorrent.exe file into the new directory you just created, you should see the progress bar on the download.

Run uTorrent using Wine under Linux

By now Wine should be fully installed, we’re going to create a launcher and then run uTorrent using it. On your desktop right click and goto Create Launcher…

A new window will popup asking you to fill in the details for your new launcher, fill in the fields as follows:

Type: Application
Name: uTorrent
Command: wine “/home/USERNAME/utorrent/utorrent.exe /NOINSTALL”

** NOTE **
Where it says USERNAME fill in your Linux username!
Where it says /NOINSTALL is because you don’t want to install uTorrent in Linux, you don’t need to! It still saves your settings

And that’s it! You should now have a new launcher for uTorrent on your desktop!

Need a uTorrent Icon for Your Shortcut?

Yep, we think of everything open up a Terminal again and jump to your ~/utorrent/ directory:

cd ~/utorrent

And download this image:

sudo wget http://tipst3r.com/download_images/utorrent_icon.png

Next just goto Properties for the Launcher shortcut you made and click on the current icon, and browse your way to the utorrent_icon.png and use this as your new icon.

Now it looks all pretty on your desktop.

Follow-up Configurations: Beef up your new uTorrent Linux Install!

Learn how to setup uTorrent WebUI and access your Torrents Anywhere!
Learn how to setup Automated RSS Downloading

What are .r00, .r01, .r02 files?

These files are part of a RAR archive. If you look at the details of the file, you’ll notice the majority of the files are the same size, as they comprise a larger file (usually) packed inside of them. This makes it easier to transfer using FTP/FXP which is why they are usually packed this way in the first place. Usually for bittorrent purposes packing this way doesn’t have much benefit other than reducing overall filesize.

How to Open .r00 .r01 .r02 Files(.rar archives)

Tools you’ll need

We reccommend using WinRAR from our Helpful Software List.

You’ll also need to be sure that you have the required disk space for the file(s) you are extracting.

Extracting Files From a RAR Archive

If you allowed WinRAR to associate itself with .rar files then the icon for these files should change to the WinRAR icon logo. And should basically look like this:

If you double-click on one of the files it will bring WinRAR and will show the contents of the .rar archive. Simple click the extract button:

Lastly, tell WinRAR where you want to extract the files contained in the archive to:

And that’s it!  Depending on the size of the archive and the number of files it contains this could be quickly or take a few minutes.  After that, check the path you told it to extract to, and you should have your extracted files!

Enjoy

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