Linux user forced to use Windows as part of home confinement

If you think doing five months of hard time in the slammer for uploading a feature film to the internet is tough, try using Windows for nearly half a year when your heart belongs to Linux. Unfortunately, this heartbreaking scenario is indeed true, as the "ex-administrator of the EliteTorrents BitTorrent tracker" is now being forced to use an operating system in which the US government can install monitoring software on. According to Sk0t, who has served his jail time and is now sitting through five months of home confinement, he believes that the government "should have software that conforms to [him]," especially considering how expensive it would be to replace all of one's software... sans a job. Of course, his alternative seems to be just living out the sentence without using a PC at all, but c'mon, we all know that ain't happening.

[Via Slashdot]

[Xavier Gill @ Aug 24th 2007 1:59PM]

poor bastard

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:53PM]

BTW, that picture is just downright wrong. The Penguin should be angry and trying to squash the Windows logo...

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:55PM]

BTW, that picture is just downright wrong. The Penguin should be angry and trying to squash the Windows logo...

[soniiic @ Aug 24th 2007 2:01PM]

oh noes, he'll find a way round it though :) Finally, a condition where WebOS's could be useful!

why are 'US' and 'software' linked in this article? that's utterly useless and i would love to see a click count please engadget! you know my email address ;)

[soniiic @ Aug 24th 2007 5:41PM]

do you think he had to pay for the license too? :D

[R1cebrner @ Aug 24th 2007 2:01PM]

Vmware?

[NewJohnny @ Aug 24th 2007 2:08PM]

Yes, or a live cd.

[Hugh @ Aug 24th 2007 2:02PM]

Thats hilarious, but it sucks to be him.

Mac OSX FTW!

[Anthony @ Aug 24th 2007 2:07PM]

Just say using Linux is a part of his religious practice. They'll have to comply.

To be quite frank, however, I'm surprised (though not really) that he's saying the US Gov should accommodate his OS desires when he wouldn't accommodate the law.

[Richard Cartwright @ Aug 24th 2007 2:46PM]

I don't think so about the religious practice. I doubt he could meet the "sincerly held" and "regular practice" prongs of the test. I agree with the rest of it. They could have Miternicked him and he would have no computer at all. Or pull the balance of his time at the appropiate Club Fed. Then he might have something to whine about.

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:41PM]

"regular practice" = rituals every night when you sit at your PC and pray you don't screw something up.

"sincerely held" = Linux laptop. ;)

[Kevin @ Aug 24th 2007 3:42PM]

I have a hard time disputing the "regular practice" comment. I worship at my Altar of Linus daily, for hours on end...

[JC @ Aug 24th 2007 2:14PM]

Didn't they use to ban guys like from using computers altogether? I guess the laws have gotten more lax.

[peshue @ Aug 24th 2007 2:19PM]

Whoever thought that a usb stick with dsl could be considered contraband.

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:42PM]

Apparently my place of work :o

[coffee @ Aug 24th 2007 2:19PM]

There are only 5,000 ways around it.

just monitor his broadband connection, not his OS. silly feds.

[Mike D @ Aug 25th 2007 5:47PM]

ssl, proxy, vpn, tor, various other forms of encrypted communication.. how would monitoring his connection be any more secure?

[uberfu @ Aug 24th 2007 2:23PM]

WTF Ever !!

Poor baby - boo-hoo !!

I have to go thru this every day when I go into work_ I'm stuck on a crappy "top of the line" Win Box_ ( hours per day 5 days per week_ For the past year_

Tough Shit Co-Cheese - suck it up_

Buy an iPhone or something that is technically classified as "not a computer" then install Linux or whatever on it_ The OS is versatile enough_ I've seen it running on RAZRs and BlackBerries and iPAQs_

[Eric @ Aug 24th 2007 3:42PM]

Who knows what your typing?

Keep the l337 Wow type to yourself, kthxbye.

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:48PM]

If I leave only the words with underscores attached...

work_ Box_ week_ year_ up_ it_ enough_ iPAQs_

You do what with an IPAQ for a week out of the year? Work your box enough??

[Arcaynn @ Aug 24th 2007 2:23PM]

If I could stop laughing at him, I might care.

Wait, I don't like Linux or criminals, so I don't.

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:44PM]

"I don't like Linux or criminals"

Linux, check
criminal ---scratch--- Microsoft, check

So your a Mac user?

[Miles @ Aug 26th 2007 5:08AM]

No, Apple is criminal too.

He must be using Amiga or DOS.

[Leroy Vargas @ Sep 23rd 2007 11:40AM]

>> He must be using Amiga or DOS

Dude, DOS was Microsoft's first OS. So if he considers Microsoft a criminal, then he would definitely NOT be using DOS.

[Andrew @ Oct 25th 2007 6:56PM]

Actually.... DOS was Microsuck's first PURCHASE. Get it right.

[Eric @ Aug 24th 2007 2:23PM]

So, let me get this right?

A criminal wants the US government to conform to his standards of punishment?

Right.....

Cause this scenario sounds acceptable?

Sir, you are convicted of the slaying of 5 people.
Where do you want to go to prison?

Disney Land

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:49PM]

It could be worse... he could be a pedophile living in Neverland Ranch...

[Yo @ Aug 24th 2007 2:25PM]

-----There are only 5,000 ways around it. Just monitor his broadband connection, not his OS. silly feds.---
Do you have any idea how much more expensive that would be, in terms of manpower alone? They need something readable by the parole officer. That said, the LiveCD option would make a hell of a lot more sense than even Windows.

[coffee @ Aug 24th 2007 3:22PM]

It's not like they're monitoring his Windows usage with an assigned person, they'll throw their software on it and wait for remote alerts that will prob never make it out of his system.

It's called a log file - log where he went, size of downloads, uploads, transfers, etc. Won't matter what OS he uses if you intercept all his internet usage at the connection.

[Rainier @ Aug 24th 2007 2:36PM]

Pwned!

[Thane @ Aug 24th 2007 2:37PM]

Or VirtualBox his Linux install...

[djroot2 @ Aug 24th 2007 2:52PM]

Just run their software in WINE...

[fistpittingnork @ Aug 24th 2007 3:00PM]

What, why? He DOESN'T want to use Windows, he's NOT allowed to use Linux, and he's FORCED to use Windows. Not the other way around.

[uagent @ Aug 24th 2007 3:08PM]

@fistpittingpork
What I got from the entry was that the gov't just mandated they be able to install monitoring s/w on his computer. If the s/w worked in WINE (pretty doubtful tbh), then he would be in compliance with the court order. Though he probably already tried that and found it didn't work.

[fistpittingnork @ Aug 24th 2007 3:10PM]

uagent, makes sense. I read the entry wrong, sorry djroot.

[Randy @ Aug 24th 2007 3:58PM]

They mandate that he install Windows? And to that I say he run Windows in a Xen or Vmware vm(player and Server is free, btw.) And he will be in compliance.

He doesn't have to wipe out his Linux Install just for this.

[paragraph @ Aug 24th 2007 2:55PM]

haha, well, i think they should provide him with the replacement software ;)

that or he could just pirate it, get sent back to jail and repeat ;)

[John @ Aug 26th 2007 10:51PM]

you're right... the U.S. government should pay criminals for monetary losses related to their punishment. "Oh, you couldn't work while in prison? Well, how much would you have been making?"

[KC @ Aug 24th 2007 2:59PM]

I'm more interested in the fact that the US government only has monitoring software for Windows.

Attention Terrorists, save money and keep the US government out of your business by switching to linux today! Act now and pay nothing! Hurry though, this is a limited time offer! Hundreds of distros are standing by!

Seems the US government should be able to accommodate any OS as the hundreds of groups that do not like the US probably can. Sounds like a hole in national security to me especially for groups operating outside the US where the government has no power to monitor their connection and the only option would be to discretely install monitoring software.

Or maybe they do have that ability but just want to further punish this guy by making him switch to Windows.

[zorg @ Aug 24th 2007 4:22PM]

When Linux is outlawed, only outlaws will run Linux.

I am so stoked that the gov't can't figure out how to monitor a Linux user at a reasonable cost!

There is a silver lining here!

[ChrisG @ Aug 24th 2007 3:03PM]

that really sucks and its seem unconstitutional!!

[Ari B. @ Aug 24th 2007 4:30PM]

How is it unconstitutional? Cruel and unusual punishment? The guy's under house arrest and it was mandated that his computer needs to be monitored. That he needs to use Windows hardly seems unconstitutional.

[JD @ Aug 24th 2007 3:19PM]

Lol, government conforming to his desires. That's like me saying, if I were convicted of Murder, "Well guys, I don't like this whole 'prison' idea, could we go for home confinement instead? Or maybe a tropical island? And also, let's reduce the sentence, please. Thank you!"

Seriously, don't bitch about what OS you're being forced to use on your computer- in your house, as in, not in prison. What a moron. Here's an idea- don't break the law in the first place. Idiot.

[Dr Buzz0 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:41PM]

Well at least we'll know what he's doing with windows...


Yes, he won't be any threat if Windows is the OS he is forced to use. Obviously, the windows-based monitoring software cannot be backdoored, hacked, disabled, spoofer or otherwise compromised. With that iron-tight OS I'm sure there's no possibility he could telnet to another machine (running Linux) while circumventing the protection measures and restrictions.

Afterall! This is what we use to run our voting machines!

[Wwhat @ Aug 24th 2007 4:27PM]

You make no sense arcaynn, how is that random? or insulting?

[Arcaynn @ Aug 24th 2007 3:55PM]

That's quite possibly the most random yet insulting thing I have ever heard.

[idk @ Aug 24th 2007 3:45PM]

This guy is a MORON! In most cases, they will take your pc, force you to buy another one, and do routine check ups to make shure you have no way of getting internet connection. This guy got lucky, the fact that he was even given the chance to use a PC at ALL is good enough.

btw, if this guy had to use OSX, he'd probebly hang himself

[Adrian Williams @ Aug 24th 2007 4:07PM]

He shouldn't be using shait he's a criminal

[Skippy @ Aug 24th 2007 4:09PM]

I thought there were laws against cruel and unusual punishment.

[LJKelley @ Aug 24th 2007 4:25PM]

Oh whatever... he commited a crime and now he is forced to use Windows. Sounds like a punishement to fit the crime since all his illegal behaviour was on Linux.