4 ms·

> We found through the IP addresses tracked that the particular cracker had used Chrome to contact our servers so we decided to capture his information directly

> We found through the IP addresses tracked that the particular cracker had used Chrome to contact our servers so we decided to capture his information directly The issue is that IP/computer != single person. If they dump and steal the Chrome credentials of the computers using pirated serials, they are most probably stealing the credentials of law-abiding partners, parents, siblings, children, etc. who also use that computer. Which is, of course, illegal. In fact, probably more serious offence than copyright infringement, if these credentials are related to protected information such as financials, healthcare, etc.

shaki-dora 9y ago
No, the problem is that even copyright-infringing people enjoy the protection of the law, and that it's illegal to distribute malware. Also note that receiving a pirated copy is not a crime in most jurisdictions I know, just a civil law injury. Stealing their passwords, however, is a crime.
- jopsen 9y ago
  Also as far as I can see he was just cracking it to build a serial generator... I'm not sure that's even illegal to distribute, since there is no copyright violation. There are some places that forbid breaking DRM, but telling other people how to break DRM is even weaker.
24gttghh 9y ago
>The issue is that IP/computer != single person. This brings up a thought I've had lately: The endgame of IPv6 -let's say, 100% adoption, and the retirement of IPv4- will be IPv6=single device, no? I would think that ends (in however many years it takes to get there) what little anonymity IPv4 currently provides.
- teraflop 9y ago
  In principle the situation isn't that different from IPv4. A device on an IPv6 network can cycle through a series of random "temporary addresses" which it generates itself, without contacting a DHCP server. Someone who gets your IPv6 address can track it down to a specific network, but there's no record of which device on that network initiated it, similar to IPv4+NAT. (A couple of caveats. One is that attackers can still correlate different connections within a short period of time, between temporary address rotations. Another is that temporary address support is broken on some Windows versions, so you may be leaking your MAC address all over the ace without knowing it.)
  - 24gttghh 9y ago
    I think my idea was that IPv6 easily could be permanent per device as the address space is so enormous, for now :)
- JorgeGT 9y ago
  While this is true (although most IPv6 devices rotate addresses by default) the fact remains that a single device != single person, and this is legally a very important distinction.

shaki-dora 9y ago

No, the problem is that even copyright-infringing people enjoy the protection of the law, and that it's illegal to distribute malware. Also note that receiving a pirated copy is not a crime in most jurisdictions I know, just a civil law injury. Stealing their passwords, however, is a crime.

jopsen 9y ago
Also as far as I can see he was just cracking it to build a serial generator... I'm not sure that's even illegal to distribute, since there is no copyright violation. There are some places that forbid breaking DRM, but telling other people how to break DRM is even weaker.

24gttghh 9y ago

>The issue is that IP/computer != single person. This brings up a thought I've had lately: The endgame of IPv6 -let's say, 100% adoption, and the retirement of IPv4- will be IPv6=single device, no? I would think that ends (in however many years it takes to get there) what little anonymity IPv4 currently provides.

teraflop 9y ago
In principle the situation isn't that different from IPv4. A device on an IPv6 network can cycle through a series of random "temporary addresses" which it generates itself, without contacting a DHCP server. Someone who gets your IPv6 address can track it down to a specific network, but there's no record of which device on that network initiated it, similar to IPv4+NAT. (A couple of caveats. One is that attackers can still correlate different connections within a short period of time, between temporary address rotations. Another is that temporary address support is broken on some Windows versions, so you may be leaking your MAC address all over the ace without knowing it.)
- 24gttghh 9y ago
  I think my idea was that IPv6 easily could be permanent per device as the address space is so enormous, for now :)
JorgeGT 9y ago
While this is true (although most IPv6 devices rotate addresses by default) the fact remains that a single device != single person, and this is legally a very important distinction.