Editing Warez (section)

===Automated warez distribution via IRC bots===
As the ability to compromise and attain full remote control of business servers became more developed, the warez groups would hack a server and install an [[IRC]] bot on the compromised systems alongside the [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]] service, or the IRC bot would provide file sharing directly by itself. This software would intelligently regulate access to the illicit data by using file queues to limit bandwidth usage, or by only running during off-hours overnight when the business owning the compromised hardware was closed for the day.<ref name="Koziol 2003 72"/>

In order to advertise the existence of the compromised site, the IRC software would join public IRC ''warez'' channels as a ''bot'' and post into the channel with occasional status messages every few minutes, providing information about how many people are logged into the warez host, how many files are currently being downloaded, what the upload/download ratio is (to force users into contributing data of their own before they can download), which warez distributor is running the bot, and other status information.<ref>{{cite book |title=Software Piracy Exposed: How Software is Stolen and Traded Over the Internet |author1=Paul Craig |author2=Ron Honick |author3=Mark Burnett |publisher=Syngress |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-932266-98-6 |chapter=Chapter 7 - The Distribution Chain |pages=[https://archive.org/details/softwarepiracyex0000crai/page/145 145–148] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/softwarepiracyex0000crai/page/145 }} ([https://books.google.com/books?id=cA3qL9PBR0kC&dq=warez+IRC&pg=PA145 View cited pages] using [[Google Books]])</ref>

This functionality still exists and can still be found on IRC ''warez'' channels, as an alternative to the modern and streamlined [[Peer-to-peer|P2P]] distribution systems.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Goldman|first=Eric|date=2004|title=Warez Trading and Criminal Copyright Infringement|journal=SSRN Working Paper Series|doi=10.2139/ssrn.487163|issn=1556-5068|url=https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/facpubs/185}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ericgoldman.org/presentations/roadtonowarez.htm|title=A Road to No Warez: The No Electronic Theft Act and Criminal CopyrightInfringement, 82 Or. L. Rev. 369 (2003)|website=Eric Goldman|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-23}}</ref> The opportunity to find and compromise poorly secured systems on which to create an illicit warez distribution site has only increased with the popular use of broadband service by home users who may not fully understand the security implications of having their home computer always turned on and connected to the Internet{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}