Forced To Use Windows
By: Dan Morrill
One of the unexpected outcomes of a Bittorrent system admin from elite torrents is the courts order to use Windows.
The reason for this is that their tracking software that is used only works on windows, and not on Linux, which the hacker would prefer. Scott McCausland, who’s tag is sk0t, has been ordered to install windows if he wants to use his computer while he is on probation.
Many people have been talking about it, but so far the only ones that have offered any kind of solution is here.
We seriously doubt that the government or police agency is going to make a Linux port of the monitoring software, but he might be able to use a virtual machine to solve his problems. Load up a raw Windows OS and then the monitoring software, and if possible tell it to monitor all IP addresses for the machine at the card level by using something like WinPCap to solve that problem. Most of this depends on the capability of the software that the government is using to monitor the computer. Source: Techwag
Essentially to make the court ordered software work, he has to use windows because that is what the lowest bidder software was run under. I think that the windows with a linux virtual machine idea might work out.
Sk0t either has to do this, or not use a computer while he is on probation as he states on his blog here.
Torrent freak is reporting that sk0t’s lawyer is going to fight the issue.
I think that the state will prevail because there are ways of making things happen, and depending on how the monitoring software was written, they at some point will need a packet capture, or some way to work on the NIC card to see where he is going. Once you are there, the virtual machine has to use the name NIC, even if it is a different protocol stack, and it is possible to monitor all traffic coming in and out of a virtual machine by monitoring the Host NIC card using WinPCap or other low-level packet drivers.
They will probably loose the appeal because there is a way that he can use Linux, even if it is a virtual machine. The idea that was proposed will work, and it is doubtful that the state will change their mind, it would be easier for the state to say do without the computer while he is on probation.
This is probably the first court ordered mandate to use a particular operating system that I know of, if anyone knows of another one, let me know.