Movie pirate forced to ditch Linux

Originally Posted by The Register

A BitTorrent admin convicted of uploading movie files is being forced to ditch Linux if he wants to use his PC.

Scott McCausland (AKA sk0t), the ex-admin of the EliteTorrents BitTorrent tracker, was sentenced to five months imprisonment after he confessed to uploading copies of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith just before its theatrical release. He was also sentenced to a further five months of home confinement and slapped with a monitoring order after he was convicted of "conspiracy to commit copyright infringement" and "criminal copyright infringement".

McCausland, of Virginia, has served his time but his problems are far from over. The monitoring software the government plans to use to keep tabs on his internet connection only works on Windows PCs, so McCausland faces the choice of switching from Ubuntu Linux to Windows or being prevented from using his PC.

Using monitoring software and wearing a monitoring bracelet were bitter enough pill but switching to Windows is just too much for the Tux-lover, who intends to fight the decision.

"It isn’t the fact that I have to be monitored that bothers me, it is the fact that I have restructure my life (different OS, different software on that OS) and that they would require (force) me to purchase software while I a currently unemployed and relatively unemployable with the two felonies that they gave me," McCausland told TorrentFreak.

"I think that this whole situation is just one more way that they can impose their will onto me. I have contacted my attorney, and we are going to fight this," he added. ®

Well out of order.....The lid did his time!!

Tis a weird one, but I suppose it can only be considered a part of the penalty that is a result of him breaking the law.

I wonder if they will be paying for his edition of Windows, since after all it is not his fault that the tracking software is limited to this OS at present...

Hmmmmm....Tis.

I will watch what happenz next with interest...

Put in the slammer for not installing Windoze when requested to by a law enforcement Officer....World gone mad!!

I wonder how they are going to monitor whether he puts Ubuntu back on anyway, if you think about it, it doesnt take a minute to remove a hot swap hard drive, in fact it doesnt even take a minute to swap over a hard drive in a half decent PC case (Antec, Lian Li etc). Even quicker in a lot of laptops lol.

All he has to do is install Ubuntu on another HDD, and then use that one. Get a cheap ass security cam over his door, and when someone knocks, see who it is, and if its the enforcement officer, swap the hard drive to the Windows one and hide the Ubuntu HDD hehe.

I hope he wins to be honest, because if they can't monitor the OS he uses, they shouldnt then remove his right to freedom of choosing what OS he wants to run, they should instead develop the monitoring software to work with the OS he chooses to use.

Tis deffo gonna be interesting to see what happens.

i just dunno what to say except please post the results of this lol

Where was this? America i`m guessing?

Quote

McCausland, of Virginia

Id assume so lol.

they could always install Wine and get it to work.. Although i dont aggree with the authrouties monitoring my computer.. What right does someone have to read my emails what right does someone have the right to Look at my bank balance what right does the law have to Look at my Passwords cause the monitoring software will obviously have Keystroke log as well... I dont aggree and i hope he suceeds.. if they wanted to monitor his computer then monitor his connection and give him a static IP address then they can monitor the traffic to a specific number of ports and outgoings cause they will now if he starts to upload or download from torrent and thats all they need to monitor.. But this guy has served his time so i dont see why they should do that.. Terrible...