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This is a list of some notable warez groups. Such groups typically tag their releases with FILE_ID.DIZ and NFO files.
| APPZ / CRACKING / GAMEZ Groups | ||
| AGES | A trainer group for the IBM PC (Windows) formed in 2004. Early intros from Ages which accompanied their release made use of an inverted Sega logo. | |
| Bentley Sidwell Productions | Bentley Sidwell Productions is said to have made the first IBM PC cracktros, because they credited themselves with CGA animations in their cracks. | |
| CiA > The Corporation (CORP) > SHOCK | Born July 1996 out of the defunct group CiA, SHOCK was founded by Outbreak. In October 1996, SHOCK successfully merged with the group The Corporation (CORP). In 1998, SHOCK surpassed 1000 releases and also saw the birth of SHOCK's ISO division (SHOCKiSO). In 1999, SHOCK passed the 1500 release barrier. May 30, 2000, SHOCK passed the 2000 release milestone. History | |
| CLASS (CLS) | Class is a prolific game warez group which has been the repeated target of federal raids such as Operation Fastlink. They sometimes have elaborate art in the release (Music, 3D Animation, Logo designs, et cetera). They are a global group and have many members worldwide. | |
| Challenge of Reverse Engineering (CORE) | CORE is a software cracking group for the IBM PC which has released more than 10,000 cracks. They tend to release primarily keygens and include a cracktro or installer with music on most releases. | |
| DEViANCE (DEV) | Subject to raid in Operation Fastlink. | |
| DrinkOrDie (DoD) | Subject to raid in Operation Buccaneer. | |
| Echelon | Echelon is a warez group which specializes in the release and distribution of console games, such as Sega Dreamcast ISOs. Between September 4, 2000 and April 30, 2002 they released 188 games and 34 other various fixes, tutorials, trainers, and loaders. | |
| EMPORiO | Emporio is a game-specialised group. They released Half-Life 2 one day before it hit the stores. | |
| Fantastic Four Cracking Group (F4CG) | Fantastic Four was a warez release group that also cracked copy protected games on the Commodore 64. Founded circa 1983, they typically included a cracktro with their releases. | |
| Fairlight (FLT) | Subject to raid in Operation Fastlink. | |
| FANAiON | ||
| Fastlane | Nine Indicted in Chicago in $1 Million "Fastlane" Software Piracy Conspiracy | |
| FiRM | FiRM is believed to be an acronym for First in Releasing Most and was a notable PC cracking group of the early 1990s. They also released several utilities such as PkUnlite which unpacked executables which were compressed using Phil Katz PkLite. | |
| Fusion | Internet Distributor of Pirated Software Pleads Guilty to Criminal Copyright Infringement | |
| H2O (H2O) | H2O is the leading audiowarez group today. | |
| HOODLUM | Mainly focused on cracking Safedisc and Securom. They are currentuly at war with RELOADED | |
| International Network of Crackers (INC) | INC was one of the premier cracking/releasing warez for the IBM PC during the very late 1980s and early 90s. The majority of their releases during 1993 were educational games for children. By early 1994, INC had completely disappeared from the warez scene. | |
| Kalisto | Kalisto is a warez group which specializes in the release and distribution of console games, predominantly PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Founded in 1998 they remained active until 2003. | |
| MYTH | Game-specialised group. | |
| National Elite Underground Alliance (NEUA) | National Elite Underground Alliance was an IBM PC warez release organization largely based out of New York which operated during the very early 1990s. | |
| (Original Gangsters) | ||
| ORiGiN (OGN) | Members went on to form Myth. | |
| Paradigm (PDM) | ||
| PARADOX (PDX) | ||
| Public Enemy (PE) | Public Enemy was a highly competitive cracking group during the early 1990s. In 1990, PE formed a coop with Red Sector, Inc., similar to that of the Tristar and Red Sector, Inc. (TRSI) coop. | |
| Phrozen Crew (PC) | Phrozen Crew one of the first strictly software cracking groups to evolve; they were consistantly declared the best. Phrozen Crew received much public scrutiny. Founded in 1993 by Aphex Twin it would become infamous under the leadership of member the Keyboard Caper (tKC). Although not as active as they were in the mid to late 1990s Phrozen Crew is still active as of 2005. | |
| Pirates With Attitude (PWA) | They were a major international warez release group from 1992 until 2000. The group was formed by two former INC members known by the pseudonyms Orion and Bar Manager. PWA made global headlines by releasing Microsoft Windows 98 4 weeks before it hit store shelves. PWA members were raided close after the passing of the No Electronic Theft or "NET" Act. | |
| Radium (RDM) | Intentionally disbanded in 2001 to avoid the BSA who had them listed as their #1 target; attempts have been made to restart it. Known primarily for high dollar audio editing software such as Cubase VST and Digidesign Pro-Tools. Several verses of the rap song "Hackers and the Crackers" by Zearle are devoted to the group Radium. In 2004, someone discovered that the sounds included in Windows are made with tools by this group. | |
| Razor 1911 (RZR) | Subject to raid in Operation Buccaneer and Operation Fastlink. They disbanded after this. | |
| Rebels (RBS) | History of Rebels | |
| RogueWarriorz (RWZ) | Twelve "Operation Bandwidth" Software Pirates Enter into Group Guilty Plea | |
| RELOADED | ||
| The Dream Team (TDT) | A late 1980s, early 1990s, games release group. Later became known as The Dream Syndicate (TDS). | |
| TDU-JAM! | An early PC games/cracking group. | |
| The Humble Guys (THG) | IBM PC group which released the very first "NFO files". | |
| Triad | One of the leading Commodore 64 groups. | |
| Tristar and Red Sector, Inc. (TRSI) | TRSI began in 1990 as a cooperative Commodore 64 demo coding and cracking group. The alliance between Tristar and Red Sector, Inc. was formed after different group members met up at KewL Party in Denmark. TRSI naturally migrated from the C64 release platform to the Amiga and IBM-PC, and even branched off into the console gaming scene before finally disbanding their warez division. In late 2003 TRSI became inactive and remains so today. | |
| United Cracking Force (uCF) | The uNITED cRACKING fORCE also known as uCF2000, is a warez group specializing in software cracking. Established in February 1994, by its founder mARQUIS dE sOIRE, it was run by him until he left the group in October 1998. The group celebrated their 10th year in operation in 2004. As of 2005 uCF is still active and has released more than 5000 cracks. | |
| United Software Association (USA) | The United Software Association was a prominent IBM PC warez (gamez and appz) group during the 1990s. USA formed a co-op with the PC warez division of Fairlight which was best known as "USA/FLT". In late January of 1992, several members of USA were busted by the United States Secret Service and the Farmington Hills, Michigan Police for credit card fraud. | |
| ViRiLiTY | This cracking group recently celebrated their 5,000th release on May 15, 2005. | |
| We Love Warez (WLW) | Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Copyright Infringement. WLW was subject to raid during Operation Buccaneer, Operation Fastlink, and Operation Safehaven. | |
| Whiskey Kon Tekila (WkT!) | Whiskey Kon Tekila - The Original Spanish Reversers. WkT was a spanish cracking group, which was last seen active back in 2001 | |
| X-Force (X-F) | An appz from the early/mid-90s, disbanded in 2001, reformed in 2005. Some former members were busted in Operation Fastlink. | |
| XiSO | This warez group is most famous for the 2003 of the first completed Microsoft Windows DVD set. Although they are famous for releasing All-in-One CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs along with cracks (such as to bypass serial keys and Windows Product Activation), they do not produce any of the cracks. They often attack large corporations, releasing every version and edition of products for names such as Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia, Symantec, and a few others. | |
| MP3 / MOVIEZ Groups | ||
| AniVCD | AniVCD was a major TV-rip group responsible for capturing and distributing (cartoon animated) television episodes such as Family Guy, Futurama and The Simpsons to the internet. The group was very well received by countries outside of the United States or those which would not otherwise receive FOX television programming. | |
| aPOCALYPSE pRODUCTION cREW (aPC) | aPC was a major MP3 warez organization founded by two individuals known under the pseudonyms acid^rain and Viper in May of 1997. aPC operated well into the mid 2000s and was subject to raid during Operation Buccaneer. The group disbanded sometime after the raid. | |
| Centropy | Centropy founded in January 1999 is a warez group specializing in the piracy of films. Touting many "0-day" and "negative day" releases, Centropy has notoriously released (and pre-released) numerous films, such as The Matrix Reloaded, before it was released to movie theaters in 2003. As of 2005 they are currently still active and specialised in high quality SVCDs | |
| EViL | The iSO division (EViLiSO) released American Pie on the internet 3 months before its theatrical release. | |
| SAOSiN | Relatively new group specializing in high quality film releases. | |
| COURIER Groups | ||
| AMNESiA (AMN) | ||
| pHASE (pHASE) | One of oldest and best courier Groups. | |
| Angels on Drugs (AOD) | FTP courier group, founded in the late 90s. One of the top groups in the post-BBS era (it never experienced the BBS scene). Competed with DMS, RiSC, and various incarnations of DEV and AMN. | |
| The Boulevard (BLV) | ||
| Devotion (DEV) | ||
| DiMENSiON (DMS) | ||
| fATE | ||
| MiLLENiUM (MNM) | ||
| Motiv8 (M8) | Motiv8 was born in early 1991 in the Commodore 64 Scene as a Demo/Release group. In 1994, lead by Mason and Xerox, it split off to create the Motiv8 PC Section. In February 1998 Mason disbands the group. June 29, 1998 Motiv8 was reborn under the leadership consisting of Dogan and Highlandr. As of 2005, Motiv8 is currently still active. History Member List | |
| Request to Send (RTS) | ||
| Rise in Superior Couriering (RiSC) | ||
| Special Warez Acquisition Team (SWAT) | Arguably the first organization formed for the sole purpose of spreading files (first dedicated courier group). | |
| United Piracy Service (UPS) | The largest and most prolific AOL based warez group. Responsible for the creation of some of the first warez "mass mailing" apps (On AOL warez was e-mailed en masse). History of AOL warez scene (Mentions UPS) RCN Issue #23 Contains an interview with Sweet (UPS Council Member). | |