============================================================================
			Revision 2.1.1  11/22/97
--- For the full-featured HTML version of this FAQ with working links ---
			visit: http://www.warezfaq.org
============================================================================
                     The Usenet Warez FAQ
                        -Introduction-

 
         Welcome to alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc and the other 
         warez-related groups. ABWI is the world's largest 
         software evaluation library and is dedicated to the 
         preservation of warez for EVERYONE. In the interest of 
         education, the Warez (pronounced "wares") Community 
         is bringing you these Frequently Asked Questions and 
         guidelines for acceptable conduct. We wish to recognize 
         the contributions of the Inner Circle to this document.
		
         Q: Why should I read this lengthy FAQ? 

         A: Because the warez groups are much more complicated 
         than most other newsgroups. Therefore, there are more 
         procedures to know and guidelines to observe. This FAQ 
         is your guide to survival in Usenet Warez.

         Q: Isn't distribution of copyrighted software illegal? 

         A:  If you want legal advice on this subject, you will 
         have to get it on your own as it is beyond the scope of 
         this document.

 
                  General Procedures

 
           Q: What is Rule #1? 

         A: Lurk, watch, read the FAQ and learn before 
         jumping in. If you are new here, this will require a 
         certain amount of restraint. Just relax, sit back, and pay 
         attention. The guidelines are for the benefit of all. Most 
         of all, you MUST learn to be patient. Warez are NOT 
         available on demand.

           Q: What is rule #2? 

         A: Get a well-connected server. Not only will this 
         benefit you (because you will be able to get complete 
         posts), but it will also benefit the group as a whole 
         (since you will have fewer repost requests). How good is 
         your present server? If you are missing more than 10% 
         or so of the parts of multi-part messages, not good. 
         Local ISPs have notoriously bad servers. You have two 
         upgrade paths: (1) Get a new ISP with a well-connected 
         news server. (2) Get an additional stand-alone 
         subscription to another news server. Whatever you have 
         to do or spend will be well worth it in the end. But still, 
         be patient. 

         (1) Mindspring  AT&T WorldNet  (2) Altopia/Altnet 
         Newscene  SuperZippo  Supernews

         Q: What is rule #3 

         A: BE PATIENT! The point is that, if you don't follow the 
         FAQ, no one has to be patient with you.

         Q: What is the proper way to post? 

         A: See Appendix A for posting techniques. Do not 
         experiment in the binary groups. Test post in alt.test or 
         alt.binaries.test. Violators of posting techniques, or 
         those who disregard the preferred conventions, generally 
         get flamed.

         Q: I've been flamed. What do I do about it? 

         A: Learn from your mistake. And don't take it 
         personally. Shooting off your mouth only compounds 
         your error and illustrates in clear detail how lame you 
         really are instead of merely inexperienced. This is a 
         rough and busy neighborhood, don't expect to have your 
         hand held.

         Q: What might I post in ABWI? 

         A: Reasonably current releases of IBM-PC compatible 
         commercial software applications- NO games! Older 
         commercial software applications (and even games too) 
         can safely be posted to alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.old 
         (see Appendix B for more warez news groups).

         Q: Can I start posting as soon as I read this FAQ and 
         learn how my newsreader works? 

         A: Well you CAN, but you should probably ease into it. 
         Most people, when they begin, do not have a great deal 
         of stuff to post. Perhaps the best thing to do is respond 
         to requests (REQ) from others if you have managed to 
         get pieces they have missed. If you have not been here 
         very long, even if you have something fairly new, you 
         wouldn't know that it was just posted two weeks ago. 
         The release version of Office97 was posted here almost 
         a month before it was in the stores. The idea is not to 
         show everyone how much you can post, but to post 
         useful things. With technology being what it is, many 
         newcomers have ISDN or cable modems (some even 
         have access to T1s or better) and can literally flood the 
         groups with posts. All this does is decrease the amount 
         of time the posts stay on the servers, so fewer people 
         get them and more repost requests are generated. If 
         you have a high-speed connection be conscious of the 
         fact that most people here do not, and shorter expire 
         times get everyone agitated. Start SLOWLY. If you are 
         not sure it will be welcomed, wait awhile. We know that 
         many are anxious to contribute, to pay back the group 
         for what they have been able to get. But another post of 
         the current Norton Utilities or Cleansweep will not really 
         help. They already get posted a couple of times a week. 
         If you are patient, you will eventually see everything you 
         wanted and more. And you will learn what is needed and 
         what is not. And NEVER post for the first time without 
         first posting to a test group to ensure that your settings 
         are adjusted correctly. If you screw up, you will be 
         flamed, and rightfully so for wasting so much bandwidth 
         with a useless binary. Even most long-time regular 
         contributors post to a test group first whenever they 
         upgrade their newsreader.

         Q: Should I post shareware or freeware? 

         A: NO. Shareware posting is inappropriate, unless the 
         version you have is cracked or otherwise unavailable to 
         the general public (instead just post a link to the 
         shareware site).

         Q: Should I post games? 

         A: NO. Games should be posted in alt.binaries.games 
         (or a similar group – see Appendix B ). Requests for 
         games should also be made there. If the game is unique 
         or of special interest, just post a simple message with a 
         subject line such as: "Attn all - New Game X posted in 
         a.b.games."

         Q: Should I post cracks or serial numbers? 

         A: NO. These should be posted in alt.binaries.cracks (or 
         a similar group – see Appendix B ). Requests for cracks 
         should also be made there. Check out the Crack FAQ.

         Q: How long should I wait to post a repost request? 

         A: DAYS, not hours. Anything LESS than a MINIMUM of 
         5 days will be ignored or flamed by most experienced 
         posters. No one owes you anything! The random nature 
         of NNTP propagation means that parts of messages may 
         come in days later. Posting requested files before they 
         have a chance to expire from servers only places 
         redundant files on the servers and drives up expiry 
         rates. Be patient (also see Rules#1, 2 & 3). Further, if 
         you have a weak news server, don't ask! Go get a new 
         server instead (see Rule#2). 

         Q: If I only have parts of a program, should I post 
         what I have with a request for the rest? 

         A: NO! Do this and and you will have your head handed 
         to you on a platter! This is known as a HWIH post 
         (Here's What I Have - fill in the rest). Do not post 
         partials except to fill a specific request for those pieces. 
         To do otherwise will simply result in more people 
         missing the same pieces you are, and that generates 
         more requests. But even more than that it is an 
         egregious waste of valuable bandwidth which clogs up 
         the group with worthless binaries that contribute to 
         pushing complete programs off the servers and 
         shortening expire times for everyone including you. If 
         you are missing pieces of a program, simply request the 
         parts you are missing. HWIH posts are THE supreme 
         irritant for almost everyone in the groups and is an 
         excellent way to be completely ignored by everyone 
         (after they're done roasting you) who can help you.

         Q: Can I ask for installation help? 

         A: First read any information files contained in the 
         program zips. These are generally .nfo (info) files, but 
         may be .txt or .doc. There may also be useful 
         information in the 0/ file. If it won't run, read the 
         information files again (RTFM). If it still won't run, ask 
         your question. Most of the readers are willing to offer 
         help and advice on installation or any other relevant 
         topic. Be aware that some groups on usenet have 
         companion groups for discussion. These normally have 
         the same name as the main group with an additional 
         ".d" at the end, or the word "discussion" in the group 
         name. If such a group exists it is appropriate to ask your 
         questions in that group, rather than the main one.

         Q: What are .nfo files and how do I open them? 

         A: .nfo files contain related info about the program, such 
         as install instructions or serial numbers, as well as 
         information on the release groups and couriers who so 
         graciously distribute the warez; people with access to 
         0-day (newly-released) warez ftp sites then post it to 
         Usenet. These files can be viewed with notepad, 
         quickview or any text editor. Inside a zip, they can also 
         be viewed with WinZip's Internal ASCII Text Viewer. 
         Always check file_id.diz for info as well. For easy 
         viewing, create an association with notepad for .diz and 
         .nfo files. It is considered a courtesy to leave these files 
         intact if you plan on posting the archives.

         Q: Should I worry about being embarrassed for 
         asking a newbie question? 

         A: No. So long as you have read this FAQ and done your  
         best to RTFM, most folks are willing to answer 
         questions not covered here or in your PC and newsreader 
         help files. Everyone here was a newbie once. If you 
         receive a facetious answer, ignore it. Most regulars in 
         these groups are genuinely interested in helping others. 
         Not every answer can be put into a FAQ, only the most 
         frequently asked questions are intended to be here. 
         However, if you fail to read your newsreader 
         documentation or this FAQ carefully, and you ask a 
         question answered in those places, you will get heated 
         responses. RTFM!!!

         Q: Should I respond to a "Warez FTP site" message? 

         A: No. Most are trolls designed to entice you in. By 
         responding with your "me too," you expose yourself to 
         the warez world as a total moron. At best you will begin 
         receiving commercial e-mail (junk mail), at worst you 
         may be subjected to harassment, mail bombing, or 
         worse. You should never post your personal e-mail 
         address anyway. You may be wondering, "But can ALL of 
         these people replying be wrong?" A: YES! Just check 
         this out!

         Q: Should I respond to a message offering to send me 
         anything via e-mail? 

         A: No. See the above question. Don't be foolish. Follow 
         the link for hoax information. 

         Q: Should I request that someone e-mail files to me? 

         A: NO. Think about this one for a minute. Is your 
         e-mailbox even large enough to hold the program? If 
         not, it will be returned to the sender, taking him just as 
         long to get it back from you as he did to send it. Why 
         should anyone do this anyway? It would be much better 
         for them to post it in the group, where everyone can 
         enjoy it. It is considered foolish and marks you as a 
         lamer even to ASK for files by e-mail.

         Q: How do I decompress .zip files? 

         A: Get WinZip. The file you will get is a self-extracting 
         archive. Setup is a snap. After downloading a .zip file, 
         just double-click on it. Easy. Get Pkzip for DOS Some 
         people prefer to work with the DOS version. If you take 
         the time to learn it, it can be more flexible.

         Q: How do I decompress these .arj and .a01, .a02, 
         etc. files? 

         A: Get Arj.exe. ARJ is not as easy to use as WinZip, 
         but is much more powerful. ARJ is typically used to split 
         a large file into smaller, more postable pieces. Don't 
         use WinARJ, use plain old DOS ARJ (widely available; 
         follow the link at the beginning of this answer). Open a 
         DOS box in the directory where the .arj files are located 
         (MS Powertoys Command Prompt Here is great for this 
         under Win95).

         Q: How do I decompress these .001, .002, .003, etc. 
         files? 

         A: That depends. They could be either ARJ files (see 
         above), RAR files (see below) or even JAR files (see 
         below). Try ARJ first. If they don't decode, then try RAR. 
         Some posters will tell you which format in the .nfo files 
         or the 0/ file of the post.

         Q: How do I decode these .rar, .r01, .r02, etc. files? 

         A: Get RAR (or more specifically, its companion 
         program, unrar) or WinRAR. The procedure and 
         commands are much the same as for ARJs. An example 
         might be: [unrar x -v -y msoffice.rar d:\temp]. if there 
         is no .rar file, use the lowest numbered extension. Also, 
         remember that unrar.exe must be in your PATH or 
         present in the directory.

         Q: How do I decode these Jar32 or Jar16 archive 
         files? 

         A: Get JAR32 or JAR16. This is a relatively new 
         archiving tool by the same author as ARJ. It is NOT in 
         general use in the groups as of this writing, but it 
         appears to have good compression and will preserve 
         long file names.

         Q: Why would someone zip an .arj file? 

         A: Three reasons are usually given: (1) it allows the 
         poster to enclose information files in the zip, (2) it is 
         rumored that zips transmit more reliably than .arjs, and 
         (3) damaged zips can sometimes be repaired (see 
         Appendix C). Of these, #1 is probably the most 
         accurate.

         Q: How do I unzip more than one zip file at a time? 

         A: Get Pkzip for DOS. An example might be: [pkunzip -o 
         -d *.zip d:\temp]. The [-o] switch ("oh" not "zero") 
         overwrites previously existing files such as duplicate 
         file_id.diz and .nfos. The [-d] switch restores/creates 
         directory structure stored in the .ZIP file. Remember that 
         pkunzip.exe must be in your PATH or present in the 
         directory.

         Q: I can't read the entire subject line. What should I 
         do? 

         A: There are several ways to solve this problem if you 
         are using Agent. First, make sure that Agent is 
         displaying the headers as a full screen, not the 
         multi-pane default view (just click on the maximize 
         window icon). Second, reduce the size of the browser 
         font [options | display preferences]. Third, make sure 
         that the browser font is not bold. Finally, if you still 
         can't read the entire subject line, just click the 
         send-follow-up-message icon. You can read the entire 
         line and scroll if necessary. Then, just click the close 
         window box. If you are using another newsreader, refer 
         to its documentation. And don't be part of the problem 
         when you post. Try to keep your headers under 55 
         characters.

         Q: I can't get a complete message in one group. Can I 
         join sections of the same message from two different 
         groups? 

         A: Usually. If using Agent, try this: Create a new folder 
         under "Groups." Call the new folder "temp," "scratch," or 
         anything you'd like. Use the "Manage Folder Menus" 
         option to bring this new folder into the list that appears 
         when you right click on a header. Then, simply retrieve 
         the headers (simple retrieve, not launch or save 
         attachments) from the different groups, right click on 
         them after you have retrieved them, and send them to 
         your "WORK" folder. You then can select them, right 
         click, and select "manually decode attachments" to put 
         them in the proper order. Note- this only works if they 
         are in the same message or, frequently, a repost of the 
         message BY THE SAME POSTER. If he/she has not 
         changed the line length of the attachment section, it will 
         generally work.

         Q: What are all these meaningless combinations of 
         letters I see in the articles? 

         A: They are a form of Internet Shorthand. Some common 
         ones are: TIA – thanks in advance. Plz – please, Thx – 
         thanks, <g> - grin, <BG> - big grin, <BFG> - big 
         fucking grin, RTFM – Read The Fucking Manual, FOAD 
         – Fuck Off And Die, ESAD - Eat Shit And Die, WTMKF – 
         Welcome To My Kill File, PLONK! – Person Leaving Our 
         Newsgroup: Killfiled (you have been kill filed), PITA - 
         Pain In The Ass, KUTGW – Keep Up The Good Work, 
         BTW – By The Way, IMHO – In My Humble Opinion, 
         LMAO - Laughing My Ass Off, ROTFLMAO - Rolling On 
         The Floor Laughing My Ass Off, [snip] – portions of the 
         original message to which I'm replying, and which are 
         unrelated to my reply, have been deleted. 

         For some of the more common acronyms you might see, 
         check this out.

 
                            Netiquette

 
         Q: What is the proper way to request? 

         A: ONCE per day, per newsgroup. Multiple requests 
         (i.e. one right after the other- sometimes called a 
         "billboard" or "vertical spam") are rude and will be 
         ignored or flamed by the most experienced readers. This 
         is very important! In extreme cases you may be added 
         to their kill filter which screens out all future messages 
         from you. As far as they are concerned you will simply 
         disappear. This is unfortunate as they are the ones most 
         likely to be able to provide the stuff you need. The 
         generally accepted format is "REQ: Program X version 
         #.# disk #, [archive name] filename.xxx"

         Q: Should I signify how desperate/urgently/badly I 
         want a program? 

         A: No. "Norton Utilities needed urgently" will totally 
         discredit you. No one dies from software deficiency. If 
         you need it that badly, then go out and buy it. Similarly, 
         requests that beg and plead or say "I will 
         eat/stuff/screw (fill in the blank) for XX prog", are the 
         mark of a lamer and are generally ignored or flamed.

         Q: iS it KewL tO Use fuNky TyPE or symbols in mY 
         SubjECt liNES? 

         A: Not even close to cool. It is difficult to read and 
         widely regarded as immature. For an example of a 
         particularly poor header, someone once blessed us with: 
         [Ð|Ð ÅÑ ;¥Øñë GÈT Â]_]_ 3Ð]\/[äx ßÿ Zög¿]. You are 
         much more likely to get a response using standard type.

         Q: IS ALL CAPS CONSIDERED OKAY? 

         A: NO. It is the Internet equivalent of SHOUTING. Use 
         it sparingly.

         Q: I have asked and asked, but no one has uploaded 
         my REQ. What gives? 

         A: It could be any one of several things. Perhaps no one 
         has what you asked for. Perhaps, before you got smart 
         enough to read and follow these guidelines, you pissed 
         everybody off and they kill filtered you. Perhaps nobody 
         feels like uploading anything right now. This is Usenet, 
         not real life. There is no "refund desk" or complaint 
         department. Nobody owes you anything, and you don't 
         owe them. If this fact is too hard for you, find another 
         hobby. We really don't want to hear it.

         Q: The Internet is a total anarchy, right? So is it okay 
         to use racial slurs and other patently offensive 
         language? 

         A: NO. This group is devoted to software. Not race, 
         politics, religion, sexual preferences, etc. Just software. 
         Period. End of discussion. Subject closed. Take it 
         somewhere else.

         Q: Is Intel better than Cyrix? Is the PC better than 
         the Mac? 

         A: We don't care here. Take it somewhere else. And 
         please don't cross post this kind of stuff to warez 
         groups.

         Q: Will I get a better response if I cross-post my REQ 
         to all of the warez groups and crack groups? 

         A: NO. Experienced usenet readers do not like excessive 
         cross-posts (ECP) and such posts can be detected by 
         some of the cancelbots, so they will be eliminated and 
         not reach any audience at all. There are always 
         exceptions, but generally, if you MUST cross-post, try 
         not to post to more than three groups at a time. ECP 
         will subject you to flaming and land you in kill files.

         Q: Do I have to follow all of these rules? 

         A: NO. No one owns the Internet and no rules are 
         mandatory. However, newsgroups are based on voluntary 
         association. If you don't like the folks here, simply 
         leave. If they don't like you, you will be ignored. If, 
         however, you are an intelligent and reasonable person 
         who wants to make the most out of the time spent here, 
         you would be well advised to stay within the yellow 
         lines. And by all means, BE PATIENT! (see Rule#1)

                This FAQ has been compiled by readers of 
         alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc and its companion discussion 
                   group alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.d.
                         Revision 2.1.1  11/22/97  

                                       
                         Domain Services Provided By
				www.skuz.net
                                       
 
                ©1997 www.warezfaq.org. Original document 
             published 2/21/96 by the Inner Circle. All information herein 
              has been written, compiled, and edited by the Inner Circle
 			and other members of the warez community.

============================================================================
			--- PART II --- APPENDICES ---
============================================================================

                                       

               		The Usenet Warez FAQ
                            -Appendices-

 
  
                             Appendix A
                         POSTING TECHNIQUES

 
 
 
         1) Get a suitable newsreader. Although some prefer 
         Anawave Gravity or WinVN, the overwhelming majority 
         of the folks around here use Agent. Get it. Learn it. 
         Read the help files.  
           
         Free Agent is a freeware off-line newsreader. It offers 
         limited send e-mail capability, but does not receive 
         e-mail. Agent is the commercial version of Free Agent 
         and contains many new features, including POP3 or SMTP 
         e-mail reception, address books, kill/watch lists, URL 
         launching, and cross-post management. Some of the 
         more popular newsreaders are:  
           
         Agent (Also see the unofficial  Agent FAQ  and  Agent 
         Modified FAQ and official  Forte Agent FAQ ) 

         Anawave Gravity   

         WinVN  

         2) Setting up Agent: Go to [Options | User and System 
         Profile | User] and fill in ALL the fields. Don't leave any 
         fields blank since friendly servers will put some default 
         info in them. Additionally, many servers will not allow 
         posting unless there is data in all fields. *’s work fine 
         for most, but some servers require something in the 
         format of [blahblah@blah.blah] in the e-mail address 
         field.

         3) Set your newsreader to post in 10,000 to 15,000 
         line messages. This is crucial! Any larger messages may 
         be refused by your server, or a gateway along the route, 
         any smaller messages just clutter screens. In Agent, go 
         to [Group | Default Properties | Send Files]. Make sure 
         that "send large messages as multiple messages is 
         checked." Set the number of bytes per section to 
         somewhere between 630000 and 945000. It is best to 
         start higher and go lower only if required due to timing 
         out when posting, but never go below 10,000 lines.  
         {Conditions of the Usenet sometimes create exceptions 
         to this situation- read the group carefully and you will 
         know when and why. At certain times a byte size of 
         500,000 (7936 lines) maximum is recommended.}  If 
         your server still refuses to cooperate, try changing these 
         settings in your agent.ini file (in your Agent directory):  

                   [Timing]

                   GetHostByNameTimeout=90  
                   ConnectTimeout=60  
                   ResponseTimeout=600  
                   PostResponseTimeout=600  
                   SendTimeout=300  
                   PostTimeout=600  
                   SplashTime=1  
                   SMTPSessionTimeout=300

         If your server still refuses to cooperate, get a better 
         server (see Rule #2 )! 

         4) Post in manageable pieces. The commonly accepted 
         size is 3½" floppy-sized pieces (for obvious reasons). 
         DO NOT post in one big zip (OBZ) or attach multiple 
         files to the same header (which is also an OBZ); this is 
         universally despised by experienced readers and they 
         will respond harshly for your waste of bandwidth with a 
         useless binary. The reason behind this is simple: NNTP 
         propagation is unreliable, especially on news servers 
         that are not well connected. If someone gets 12 out of 
         13 parts of an OBZ, it is nearly impossible to recreate. 
         There is NO way for you to repost this single segment. 
         On the other hand, if this same program were posted in, 
         say, 5 "disks," it would be a simple matter for you (or 
         someone else) to upload the missing "disk."  

         If you've got a program in disk-sized pieces or disks, 
         post it that way! If all you have is a CD or OBZ, use ARJ 
         to break it into manageable pieces (see Appendix C). 

         5) Test post to test groups ONLY.  (e.g. alt.test, 
         alt.binaries.test etc.) Do not test post to binary or 
         discussion groups.

         6) Use a descriptive and complete subject header. A 
         good header would include the disk number being 
         posted, the total number of disks, and the program's 
         name and version number. A good subject line might 
         read: "FILE:[or REPOST:] Program Name v3.0.5 -01 of 
         20- read 0/ file."  Another similar considerate idea is to 
         first post a message with a brief description of the 
         program, the .nfo file from the packager, or any other 
         information that a downloader might find useful. If you 
         want to shorten the number of disks, use 3\12 (i.e. the 
         backslash). Using the forward slash can confuse some 
         news readers into thinking it is part 3 of 12 for a single 
         segment and cause difficulty when decoding. But 
         remember, people with 14" monitors have to read this; 
         try to keep your headers under 55 characters and 
         spaces.

         7) Don't forget the serial #!  If one is required, and it 
         is not in the .nfo file, it is best included in the first zip 
         as "serial.txt." 

         8) Include the version number in the subject line. 

         9) Make sure that the program works. If you are new 
         and are unfamiliar with other ways to evaluate an 
         untested program, install and try it out first. You should 
         be aware, however, that people posting "zero-day/0-day" 
         warez seldom have the time to test these programs. 
         They bring you newly-released software often before it 
         even hits the shelves in stores. There are no guarantees 
         in warez and it does not ALWAYS work as advertized.  
         With experience, the seasoned posters have found  
         methods of evaluation which save time but are NOT 
         foolproof. Always read a poster's 0/file, it will often 
         mention whether or not a program has been tested. If 
         you don't like it, then don't download it.

         10) Scan the program for viruses. Even if you haven't 
         installed the program yourself, someone else will and 
         may infect their system. You then run the risk of 
         catching that same virus from one of their infected 
         uploads. (How much do you know about virii?) 

         11) Don't rename the files. There may be several 
         versions of the program floating around. For instance, 
         off9701.zip and MSO97_01.zip may actually be 
         incompatible. Renaming either file to a third name can 
         only make things worse.

         12) Wait a MINIMUM of five days before reposting 
         ANY files for ANY reason. Increased participation in 
         everything 'internet' has made traffic a big problem. 
         When a program is posted you may see pieces of it 
         almost at once, but some pieces MAY take different 
         routes and not arrive for days. Most (though not all) 
         servers expire binary posts in five days or less. If you 
         repost part or all of the app for some people in less time 
         than that, it will be a duplicate on most of the servers 
         which will then expire posts more quickly to make room 
         for it. As expire times shorten, repost REQs rise, so 
         everyone just has to WAIT. 

  
                              Appendix B
                           OTHER RESOURCES

 
 
         Usenet  

         There are many other newsgroups involved in the warez 
         scene. By looking at the groups that messages are cross 
         posted to, you can get a good idea of where the action 
         is. There are also some documents that you should have 
         read as soon as you came to the Usenet.  

                 Some General Usenet Information;  Omit this 
         material from your education at your peril.  

                   THE USENET FAQ
                   THE USENET POSTING FAQ
                   A PRIMER ON HOW TO WORK WITH THE 
                   USENET COMMUNITY

             Other Usenet Groups related to warez, games, and 
         cracks  

                   alt.2600.warez
                   alt.binaries.cracks
                   alt.binaries.cracks.phrozen-crew
                   alt.binaries.games
                   alt.binaries.misc
                   alt.binaries.pictures.leek
                   alt.binaries.pictures.utilities
                   alt.binaries.warez
                   alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.d (the "d" signifies a 
                   discussion group- even though the word 
                   "binaries" is there)
                   alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc  (This is the binary 
                   group for which the preceding one is the 
                   discussion group)
                   alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.dos
                   alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.games
                   alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.old
                   alt.binaries.warez.mac
                   alt.cracks
                   alt.warez
                   alt.warez.ibm-pc.apps
                   alt.warez.ibm-pc.games
                   alt.warez.ibm-pc.old



              Encrypted Groups: 

                   alt.binaries.cracks.encrypted
                   alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.encrypted
                   alt.binaries.games.encrypted
                   alt.ipl.discussion (start here)

         These groups require a solid working knowledge of PGP 
         encryption. If you haven't yet mastered both Usenet and 
         PGP, just forget it for awhile. Don't even attempt to post 
         there without first learning the ropes! Lurk in 
         alt.ipl.discussion and ask your questions there if you 
         are interested. There are several who will be more than 
         happy to help you out, and they will point you to their 
         FAQ. 

         WWW  

         Do a Web search (AltaVista is highly recommended) 
         using keywords such as: warez, cracks, crackz, serial 
         numbers, serials, serialz. There is a staggering variety of 
         information out there. 

         FTP  

         The best way to get reliable FTP information is to visit 
         the warez channels in IRC. If someone posts an FTP site 
         in the newsgroups, it is highly unlikely that it will be 
         profitable to even try to connect. There are at least 
         three reasons for this: (1) by the time the Usenet 
         message gets to your server, the site is cold, (2) if the 
         site is not cold, it will be jammed with hundreds of 
         warez hounds, and (3) they are often bait for the 
         ignorant. Don't waste your time. 

         ENCRYPTION & NYM CREATION  

         This is a complex subject that will require time and 
         patience to master. The following links contain excellent 
         information as well as additional links.  

         The best combined resource for PGP and Nym 
         creation from Thanatopsis (A truly great resource.)  

         Beginners' Guide to PGP and Internet Privacy  (Just 
         what it says.)  

         The MIT distribution site for PGP  (You can obtain PGP 
         here if you are a U.S. or Canadian citizen. It is free.  
         Current U.S. law prohibits distribution to other 
         countries.)  

         PGP & Remailers made simple  (An excellent starting 
         point for beginners.)  

         MIT Public Key Server  (You can find someone's PGP 
         Public key on a key server. All key servers exchange 
         information daily.) 

  
                               Appendix C
                           ARCHIVE PROCEDURES

 
 
         COMPRESSION UTILITIES  
           
         WinZIP, WinRAR, ARJ v. 2.60 (released 10/97), and 
         Jar32 will handle long file names; PKZIP and previous 
         versions of ARJ will NOT.  
          
           Pkzip for 
              DOS
                           WinZip
                                       ARJ 2.60 for 
                                           DOS
                                                       Archiver 
                                                     Comparisons
            RAR for 
             DOS & 
            WinRAR
                         JAR32/16 
                        for DOS and 
                         WIN95/NT
                                       ARJ User's 
                                         Manual
                                                          Less 
                                                       Common 
                                                       Archivers

          
         The basic ARJ Command Line: 

         Use the following command syntax to decompress: [arj x 
         -v -y filename.### (optional: destination path]. The [x] 
         command tells ARJ that you are extracting with paths 
         included, the [-v] switch tells ARJ that your are working 
         with a multiple-volume archive, and the [-y] switch tells 
         ARJ not to prompt you for confirmation of each 
         extraction. The ### extension represents the lowest 
         numbered extension of the ARJ archives, which may be 
         in the form of .a01, .a02, etc. or .001, .002, etc. If there 
         is a file present with an .arj extension, you do not have 
         to specify an extension (the .arj file is the first in the 
         archive by default). An example of this might be: [arj x 
         -v -y msoffice.a01 d:\temp], which would recreate the 
         Office archive in your d:\temp directory.  

         Note that arj.exe (and other DOS archive utilities you 
         use) must either be in your PATH (specified in your 
         autoexec.bat) or must be present in the same directory 
         where you are running it. If you don't have an 
         autoexec.bat at all, just copy arj.exe into the directory 
         with the .arj archive files or copy it into c:\windows or 
         c:\windows\command (which are in Win95’s default 
         PATH). 

          Testing Archives:  

         It's a good idea to test ALL compressed files as you 
         download them to check for CRC errors. From a DOS box, 
         issue the command [pkunzip -t *.zip] or [arj t *.a??]. Be 
         aware that if you are in the process of downloading a file 
         into that directory then the incomplete file will give you 
         an error message.  

         If you have a damaged zip file, try the procedures below. 
         If that doesn't work, you must obviously get another 
         copy. First try to download another copy to see if you 
         simply had a transmission error during the last 
         download. If the new copy is still corrupted, wait at 
         least 5 days before requesting a repost.
         Damaged Archives and CRC Errors:  

         The reason it's a good idea to zip an ARJ file is because 
         Pkzip comes with a utility called Pkzipfix, which will help 
         to reconstruct a damaged zip file under SOME 
         circumstances.  
           
         ARJ has no such utility. If you test an ARJ file with the 
         command [arj t filename.arj] and it comes back with a 
         CRC error, it cannot be repaired.  

         On the other hand, if you test a zip file with the 
         command [pkunzip -t filename.zip] and it reports errors, 
         you have a 50-50 chance that you can fix it with the 
         command [Pkzipfix filename.zip]. This procedure will 
         create a new file called pkfixed.zip.  

         Now you test this file with the command [pkunzip -t 
         pkfixed]. If it comes back with no errors, you give the 
         command [copy /y pkfixed.zip filename.zip] to rename it 
         back to the original filename. You may now erase 
         pkfixed.zip.  
           
         This is considerable effort to salvage just one file, but if 
         you've been searching for months for that last disk in a 
         50 disk set and you've finally found it and its got CRC 
         errors, the effort is well worth it.  

         Alternate Procedure for Damaged Archives:  

         Some CRC errors are the result of the way Agent 
         decodes the file. If the original arj file isn't damaged, 
         some CRC errors can be resolved by doing the 
         following:  

         In Agent, split the message into separate sections. 
         Retrieve the first part of the message, and save it as a 
         Unix text file with an extension of *.001. Next, retrieve 
         the remaining sections (in order), and when saving, 
         check the "Append to existing file" box, and save it to 
         the .001 file.  

         Now run the *.001 file through Wincode 2.6 or higher 
         (freeware), and it should yield a workable file. Test it to 
         be sure. For more information on using UUDECODE to 
         save binary file attachments also see UUDECODE 
         Creating a Postable Archive from One Big Zip (or any 
         archive): 

         ARJ is used to split large files into manageable pieces. 
         ARJ can archive an entire directory into floppy-sized 
         archive files called volumes. When the user on the other 
         end unarj’s your volumes the original files are recreated 
         with the directory structure intact.  
           
         If you issue the command [arj a -r -v1440 -y 
         c:\temp\filename d:\dirofprogram\*.*], ARJ will compress 
         all the files and sub directories into floppy sized pieces 
         and name them filename.arj, filename.a01, 
         filename.a02, etc. until the whole thing is compressed 
         into volumes.  

         To unarj it all you need to do is issue the command [arj 
         x -v -y filename c:\]. ARJ will decompress all files and 
         sub directories in the original order on your hard drive. 
         You may now run the setup program.  

         If you ever need a quick refresher of the commands just 
         type [arj] to view a list of frequently used commands 
         and switches or [arj -?] to view an exhaustive list of 
         every command and switches. A good reference site for 
         ARJ operations is John Poz's Unofficial ARJ Help File.
  
                   This FAQ has been compiled by readers of 
         alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc and its companion discussion 
                   group alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.d.
                         Revision 2.1.1  11/22/97  

                                       
                         Domain Services Provided By
				www.skuz.net
                                       
 
                ©1997 www.warezfaq.org. Original document 
             published 2/21/96 by the Inner Circle. All information herein 
              has been written, compiled, and edited by the Inner Circle
 			and other members of the warez community.

============================================================================
Do Not Edit This FAQ. Any errors may be directed to the
ATTN of www.warezfaq.org in alt.binaries.warez.ibm-pc.d
At their discretion, it will be taken into account at the next revision.
============================================================================
NOTE: The links in the preceding sections have not been reproduced in
this plain text version. You must visit http://www.warezfaq.org to get
the full working HTML version. But here are a few of them:

AGENT news reader: http://www.forteinc.com

USENET FAQ: 
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/usenet/faq/part1/faq.html

Crack FAQ: http://www.skuz.net/crackfaq

WinZip: http://www.winzip.com

Pkzip for DOS: http://www.pkware.com/

ARJ 2.60 for DOS: http://www.arjsoft.com/

RAR for DOS & WinRAR: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/2797/

---------------------------[end of file]------------------------------------


                                       
