8 ms·

> Using wget is enough to get you thrown in federal prison for accessing public web resources. Example?

aspenmayer 6y ago
Aaron Swartz remains a prominent example. RIP https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/when-programmers-scrape-by https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/when-pro... His JSTOR code (below) calls wget: https://osf.io/bnd2h https://osf.io/bnd2h
- moonchild 6y ago
  So, had he opened a browser and used the javascript console to download everything instead, he would have gotten off scot free?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - _jjkk 6y ago
    What's a javascript console? Sounds like a hacker tool, off to prison with him.
- wafflesraccoon 6y ago
  Nitpick, on page three of the document you posted it states that his script used curl and not wget
  - aspenmayer 6y ago
    I was interpolating, the article implies wget but I didn’t mean to imply I had verified that or anything. I’ll admit I did make a stronger statement than intended and was relying on third party interpretations of the code. Thanks for the clarification! I think weev may have used wget in his AT&T work where he discovered links or interactions between customer data and iOS in an AT&T subsite? http://madisonian.net/2013/04/09/academics-go-to-jail-cfaa-edition/ http://madisonian.net/2013/04/09/academics-go-to-jail-cfaa-e...
- nsgi 6y ago
  Were those public resources, though?
  - Thorentis 6y ago
    Nope, you needed to be on the MIT network. He argued that they should be public, which is very much NOT the same thing as actually being public in the eyes of the law.
- PurpleFoxy 6y ago
  The crime was not that he used wget, it’s that after he was banned from the service he used a server closet he was not permitted to access to continue downloading. Still bullshit but it’s not even close to wgetting a public resource
  - aspenmayer 6y ago
    Isn’t MIT a public university? Edit: no, it’s a private land grant university. What kind of socialism is this, anyway? How is this structure even valid, if not for historical precedent? Nothing against socialism or even my point, really. Just very odd to see how blatantly discriminatory and contradictory this seems to have a private university performing a necessary public service, with free land from the state. Not that the work isn’t well done, or anything. Just bears strict scrutiny.
    - PurpleFoxy 6y ago
      If I go to a public park and bust open the lock on the utilities shed and mess with the tools, it’s still a crime.
greensamuelm 6y ago
United States v. Swartz?
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
bo1024 6y ago
weev? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weev#AT&T_data_breach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weev#AT&T_data_breach
- superkuh 6y ago
  Yes. That's what I was thinking of.

Aaron Swartz remains a prominent example. RIP https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/when-programmers-scrape-by https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/when-pro... His JSTOR code (below) calls wget: https://osf.io/bnd2h https://osf.io/bnd2h

moonchild 6y ago
So, had he opened a browser and used the javascript console to download everything instead, he would have gotten off scot free?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- _jjkk 6y ago
  What's a javascript console? Sounds like a hacker tool, off to prison with him.
wafflesraccoon 6y ago
Nitpick, on page three of the document you posted it states that his script used curl and not wget
- aspenmayer 6y ago
  I was interpolating, the article implies wget but I didn’t mean to imply I had verified that or anything. I’ll admit I did make a stronger statement than intended and was relying on third party interpretations of the code. Thanks for the clarification! I think weev may have used wget in his AT&T work where he discovered links or interactions between customer data and iOS in an AT&T subsite? http://madisonian.net/2013/04/09/academics-go-to-jail-cfaa-edition/ http://madisonian.net/2013/04/09/academics-go-to-jail-cfaa-e...
nsgi 6y ago
Were those public resources, though?
- Thorentis 6y ago
  Nope, you needed to be on the MIT network. He argued that they should be public, which is very much NOT the same thing as actually being public in the eyes of the law.
PurpleFoxy 6y ago
The crime was not that he used wget, it’s that after he was banned from the service he used a server closet he was not permitted to access to continue downloading. Still bullshit but it’s not even close to wgetting a public resource
- aspenmayer 6y ago
  Isn’t MIT a public university? Edit: no, it’s a private land grant university. What kind of socialism is this, anyway? How is this structure even valid, if not for historical precedent? Nothing against socialism or even my point, really. Just very odd to see how blatantly discriminatory and contradictory this seems to have a private university performing a necessary public service, with free land from the state. Not that the work isn’t well done, or anything. Just bears strict scrutiny.
  - PurpleFoxy 6y ago
    If I go to a public park and bust open the lock on the utilities shed and mess with the tools, it’s still a crime.

greensamuelm 6y ago

United States v. Swartz?

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

bo1024 6y ago

weev? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weev#AT&T_data_breach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weev#AT&T_data_breach

superkuh 6y ago
Yes. That's what I was thinking of.