The history of the admin tracker, planted for laying out a movie

Varezna scene has always existed as a thing in itself - releases never had to leave their closed environment. At least so supposed. But not all sceners agreed with this, for example, Scott McCausland, who about 10 years ago organized a torrent tracker EliteTorrents with a group of friends.

The tracker became one of the most famous, which turned out to be very dangerous, considering that Scott lived in the USA and registered the domain in his own name. In 2005, an ad appeared on the tracker site. It read:

This site is closed by the FBI. The owners and all those who used it are under investigation. Distributing copyrighted material is illegal, even if you do it for free on the Internet.

Seeing such a picture, many did not believe it, and decided that this was the work of hackers (the message looked very strange). Later it turned out that this was the result of the D-Elite operation. Scott, like many others, was arrested and after a year and a half of the trial was sentenced to a real prison term.
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Under the cut - a translation of an interview with him in July 2007, when he was just released, and briefly about his future fate.

Interview

Tell us about the events before and after May 25, 2005, when a closing message appeared on your website.

We laid out Star Wars ... and then there was a game over. I woke up in the morning and saw an FBI statement on EliteTorrents. I thought, “Damn, cover for us.” At that moment I didn’t think that I could be their target. I didn't do a lot of hands, just a couple of movies. But one of them was Star Wars, yes ... And then one day at 6 am I was awakened by the noise of people approaching the house: 6 FBI cars, 6 ICE cars (immigration and customs police) and two more, the local police. They entered, all confiscated, and so began my two-year saga.

What were the goals and objectives of EliteTorrents when it was created?

The goals were, like any other torrent site of those times - to provide as much content (not necessarily exclusive) in the best possible quality. As far as I know (and I was one of the main admins), we had the best uploaders and the best administration, which is why we got Star Wars, and many other films, very quickly, if not faster than anyone.

You were convicted of creating a distribution of "Star Wars, Episode 3". Did you think about the consequences of your actions when you made this decision?

1) I was convicted of copyright infringement and conspiracy to violate copyright.
2) Have I thought about the consequences of laying out this film? I can not say that today I think differently than on that very day. I still firmly believe that if I can share something, I have to do it.

Did you not know about lawsuits and other actions of the authorities against file-sharing networks and sites that took place then? Did you believe that EliteTorrents has copyright immunity?

It's not about immunity. We just could not stop. We were going to become the best tracker. And it seems to me that no one could compare with us. The actions of the authorities to this were attached as self-evident. Of course, we knew what we were going.

When you see how other sites, such as Pirate Bay, scoff at copyright, how do you feel?

I feel that I have been made a case in point. And after talking with the few who were arrested for company with me, I know they feel the same way. I don’t complain about how the feds treated me, but I don’t think I deserve it.

Authorities claim that server logs (which allegedly contain information about users) have been confiscated. What can be contained in these logs, and how are they going to use them?

Not much user information was stored on the servers (as far as I know). They received email-addresses, program logs, and even any garbage. Perhaps a list of IP addresses. They used logs to gather information, they needed admins and uploaders. So ordinary users have nothing to worry about.

Tell us what happened between your arrest and the sentencing on December 19, 2006.

Well, the usual story. I lived in dismay and was afraid to get time. He tried to concentrate on his studies, not to lose heart. I stayed away from the stage and tried to stay away from my obsessive hobby. And then came the fateful day, I was sentenced to 5 months in prison and the next 5 months of house arrest.

In your blog, you wrote that most of the convicts in your prison were for drugs. How were prisoners and / or guards generally perceived that you were there for violating copyright?

The prison was located in Morgantown (West Virginia). This is the number 1 prison for drugs throughout the country. They have a 500-hour program for the rehabilitation of drug criminals, and according to it the term is reduced (for me, no such program is suitable). Be that as it may, mostly among the guards and prisoners there was an opinion that my sentence went far beyond the limits of justice. They laughed at me, considered me a nerd. There were people who had been sitting for 20 years already, and they did not like that some people drove in there for only 5 months ... nothing pleasant.

What advice would you give to a person living in the USA if he is going to open a torrent tracker?

I would not recommend anyone in the US to keep trackers. I think with the current state of affairs, this is an unjustified risk. Hold on to places such as Sweden and other countries where less tough anti-piracy policies.

What lessons have you learned from your experience?

I realized that you can not defeat the feds. And although they stopped me, they could not stop them all, I was just a minor player in an immense game. And it will never end, because they will not be able to stop it.

If you could do something different, what would you change?

If I could change only one thing, I would not get involved in this matter from the very beginning.

What restrictions are placed on you during your 5-month house arrest?

I have a bracelet on my ankle, I am allowed to go only to church, to work or study. For the rest, I'm tied to the house (150 feet from the monitor, controlled by a bracelet).

What do you think about peering networks, file sharing and bittorrent?

About peering I can say the following: I am not a typical scener, I use P2P with both hands I think that torrents are great. And it seems to me that the future is with them. What is happening now is just the beginning.

What advice would you give to users of torrents who think closed trackers and sites are safer?

There is no difference. No matter how good you are (and among us there are very good specialists), they will find you. With their unlimited resources, they can do anything!

Subsequent events

After leaving prison and serving 5 months of house arrest, Scott's misadventures did not end. A “trial period” was assigned for 2 years, during which he had to periodically report to the police, and all his online activity had to be monitored using special software that had to be installed on his computer. The problem was that he used ubuntu , and the tracking software was only for windows. The officer said so to him: "Or buy a Windows , or say goodbye to the Internet." They also wrote about this story then.

And in August 2009, the former administrator of EliteTorrents was finally able to feel like a free person. His life gradually improved, although the work could not be found. Then he decided to try himself in programming and now sells a couple of some unpretentious applications in the App Store.

In conclusion, I would like to return to the last question of the interview, that “they will find everyone”. The trials lasted for several years, 2 people received sentences, the rest got off with fines and conditional detention. But, despite the enormous importance of this case, and all the resources that the FBI threw into the investigation, the person who actually handed them the pre-release copy of the film was never found.