The iSONEWS was a

warez Warez is a common computing and broader cultural term referring to pirated software (i.e. illegally copied, often after deactivation of anti-piracy measures) that is distributed via the Internet. Warez is used most commonly as a noun, a plural ...

news

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

. It was originally created by orm who later deferred management of the website to krazy8 and mandarin. TheiSONews supplied release details and NFOs of warez

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

s and programs, without actually supplying them, or supplying any information on where to find them. Later it was also called ''a fan site that has become an unofficial hub of DivX news''.

Domain seizure

On February 28 2003, the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

seized the isonews domain name (), however its servers remained intact. A number of iSONEWS mirrors sprung up as a result, including , , and , an expression of retaliation from the iSONEWS community caused by the Department of Justice's actions. The closure of the isonews.com domain brought more attention to the site, and after the site was back up on mirror sites, the membership and the user activity on the forums increased. Approximately one year following the seizure, visitors to iSONEWS.com were redirected to the United States Department of Justice cybercrime.gov website. As of November 16, 2004, the original domain, , is owned by DomainSpa LLC and used to advertise video game sales and rentals. David "krazy8" Rocci got a sentence of 5 months in federal prison and a $28,500 fine for selling

modchip A modchip (short for modification chip) is a small electronic device used to alter or disable artificial restrictions of computers or entertainment devices. Modchips are mainly used in video game consoles, but also in some DVD or Blu-ray players. ...

s on isonews.com. Krazy8 later indicated that ''

s was the 'official' modus operandi, but every question I was ever asked related to ISONews and had nothing to do with

s.''

Current status

From being a release site for the warez community, the site has evolved into a broader message board, concentrating mostly on PC gaming. The PC games forum on the site contains everything from rumors, latest news, hints, tips and tweaks to various games. As of June 2007, the releases are never updated, however the forums are still (barely) in use.

References

External links

theisonews.com

*

The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information tec ...

br>DoJ seizes ISOnews site over Xbox mod chip sales

Put a Z in ISONews - DoJ seizure is 'illegal and abusive'
* * - US DoJ press release on bust * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:iSONEWS Warez Internet forums Domain name seizures by United States

Domain seizure

Current status

See also

References

External links