PARADOX (warez)
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| PARADOX | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot from a demo by 'Alien' |
|
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Category | warez / demo |
| Founder(s) | Bad Boy BlackHawk Olivier Clash |
| Website(s) | http://www.paradogs.com |
PARADOX (PDX) is a warez/demo group; an anonymous group of software engineers that devise ways to defeat software and video game licensing protections, an illegal process known as cracking. They distribute cracks (software patches), keygens (key generators), and precracked versions of entire programs. Over the years distribution methods have changed, starting out with physically transported floppy disks and BBS distribution. With the expansion of the internet they moved on to Usenet. Today most of their files reach the public over various peer to peer file networks.
Paradox was originally formed in late 1989 by members of the Danish group Trilogy (Bad Boy, Black Hawk, Tas, Pcsu, Qrd) and the french group M.A.D (Olivier, The Surge, Clash). They began by cracking Amiga software. The group was reorganized under the leadership of 'Maximilien' in 1993 and moved in to the Sega Genesis and SNES console scenes. They started cracking PC software in 1994. [1] Other consoles/handheld devices they cracked for include the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Game Boy, Xbox, PSP, Wii, and PlayStation 3.[2][3]
Paradox has been noted to crack challenging dongle protections on many debugging and software development programs. Most recently, the team has successfully found a method of bypassing activation in Windows Vista[4]. This was accomplished by emulating an OEM machine's BIOS-embedded licensing information and installing an OEM license.[5]
Contents |
[edit] KeyGen Graphical Interface and Design
PARADOX keygens are known for their aesthetically pleasing designs. Often these GUIs include impressive transparencies and override the Windows Minimize, Maximize, Close button bar at the top of all windows applications. The Paradox graphics and coding team consists of many different people who work together to design and code the windows that you see in the sceenshots below. They are also known for adding futuristic music reminiscent of chiptunes to most of their key generators.
 Keygen for Adobe Photoshop CS2 version 9.0 |
 Keygen for Corel WordPerfect 12 |
 Keygen for Soundforge |
Keygen screenshots from the website of PARADOX graphic designer 'Alien' [6].
[edit] Demoparty Awards
- First place in the Wild Compo category at Euskal 2001 [7]
- First place in the Amiga 64 category at Saturne 1994 [8]
- First place at Alcatraz Pentcost 1990 [9]
[edit] Raids and Arrests
One of their members going by the alias 'Rokman' was arrested in 1990 for using stolen credit card numbers to make $1 million in long distance calls to other Paradox members for the purpose of file transfers. [10] Another of their members, alias 'tyson', was raided in 2001 as part of Operation Buccaneer. [11]
[edit] Trivia
PARADOX' slogan Mess with the Best, Die like the Rest!, was quoted by the film Hackers.
[edit] References
- ^ Scenery: History of Paradox, old and new - Compiled by Glenn Lunder (2004)
- ^ Paradox releases first warez for Wii
- ^ Paradox PS3 loader confirmed
- ^ Article covering crack of Windows Vista
- ^ Bannan, James. "It's official: Pirates crack Vista at last", APC Magazine, 4th March 2007. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
- ^ http://alien.untergrund.net/
- ^ http://www.euskal.org/euskal9/english/scene/results.html
- ^ http://www.pouet.net/results.php?which=33&when=94
- ^ http://www.pouet.net/party.php?which=512&when=1990
- ^ Paradox member arrested in New York State - archived version of 1990 Washington Post article
- ^ http://parazite.greatnow.com/scenebusts72.htm
[edit] External links
- Official Website - Paradogs.com
- Official Community
- An archive of Paradox demos at Pouet
- List of over 150 PARADOX releases
