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#REDIRECT [[Fairlight (group)]]
{{Short description|Swedish demo group}}
{{other uses|Fairlight (disambiguation)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=October 2008}}
{{primary sources|date=October 2008}}
{{original research|date=October 2008}}
}}
 
{{Infobox organization
| name          = FairLight<br /><small>aka FLT</small>
| bgcolor      = <!-- header background color -->
| fgcolor      = <!-- header text color -->
| image        = Fairlight group logo.png
| image_border  =
| size          = 180px
| alt          = <!-- alt text; see [[WP:ALT]] -->
| caption      = FairLight [[ANSI art|logo]] by JED of [[ACiD]].
| map          = <!-- optional -->
| msize        = <!-- map size, optional, default 250px -->
| malt          = <!-- map alt text -->
| mcaption      = <!-- optional -->
| map2          =
| abbreviation  =
| motto        =
| predecessor  =
| successor    =
| formation    = 1987
| extinction    =
| type          = <!-- [[Governmental organization|GO]], [[Non-governmental organization|NGO]], [[Intergovernmental organization|IGO]], [[International nongovernmental organization|INGO]], etc -->
| status        =
| purpose      = [[Warez]] and [[Demo (computer programming)|demo]]
| headquarters  =
| location      = [[Sweden]]
| coords        = <!-- Coordinates of location using a coordinates template -->
| region_served =
| membership    = Strider, Black Shadow, Gollum, Bacchus, Pantaloon and [http://csdb.dk/group/?id=20 others]
| language      = <!-- official languages -->
| general      = <!-- Secretary General -->
| leader_title  = Origin
| leader_name  =
| leader_title2 = Platforms
| leader_name2  =
| leader_title3 = Founders
| leader_name3  = Strider and Black Shadow
| leader_title4 = Products
| leader_name4  =
| key_people    =
| main_organ    = <!-- gral. assembly, board of directors, etc -->
| parent_organization = <!-- if one -->
| affiliations  =
| budget        =
| num_staff    =
| num_volunteers =
| website      = http://www.fairlight.to/
| remarks      =
| former name  =
}}
 
'''FairLight''' ('''FLT''') is a [[warez]] and [[demoscene|demo]] group initially involved in the [[Commodore 64 demos|Commodore]] [[demoscene]], and in [[software cracking|cracking]] to illegally release games for free, since 1987. In addition to the [[Commodore 64|C64]], FairLight has also migrated towards the [[Amiga]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] and later the [[IBM PC compatible|PC]].<ref name=idg>{{cite web |url=http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.444716/we-might-be-old-but-were-still-the-elite |title=We might be old, but we're still the elite |work=IDG |date=2012-04-20 |first=Daniel |last=Goldberg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421163751/http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.444716/we-might-be-old-but-were-still-the-elite |archive-date=2012-04-21 |translator=Anders Lotsson }}<!-- http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.444383/vi-ma-vara-gubbar-men-vi-ar-fortfarande-elit--></ref> FairLight was founded during the [[Easter]] holiday in 1987 by Strider and Black Shadow, both ex-members of West Coast Crackers (WCC). This "West Coast" was the west coast of [[Sweden]], so FairLight was initially a Swedish group, which later became internationalized. The name was taken from the [[Fairlight CMI]] synthesizer which Strider saw [[Jean-Michel Jarre]] use on some of his records.
 
== Beginning ==
FairLight became known for their fast cracks. The secret was that Strider worked in a computer store where he got the latest games. He then bribed a train conductor to transport the games from Malmö to Ronneby where Gollum cracked the game and sent it back in the same way. That way they could get releases out faster than other groups.<ref name=idg/>
 
==Operation Fastlink==
Several high-ranking members of the group were caught on April 21, 2004, 8 months after the group returned from their temporary "retirement" that began on June 9, 2003 and ended on August 30, in an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] operation called ''[[Operation Fastlink]]''.
 
Police forces from eleven countries were involved, [[arrest]]ing about 120 people and seizing more than 200 [[computer]]s (including 30 servers). One [[file server|server]] from the U.S. raid contained 65,000 pirated titles which were alleged to be in the archive repository of the group.<ref name="inbrief" />
 
The operation was coordinated by the FBI, the British [[National Hi-Tech Crime Unit]], the German [[Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)|Bundeskriminalamt]] (BKA) and the [[Business Software Alliance]], and took place in 27 U.S. states. In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], seven computers were seized and three arrests made in Belfast, Manchester and Sheffield. In [[Singapore]], three people (22, 30 & 34 years old) were arrested. In the [[Netherlands]] two servers owned by students on 2 universities were investigated by police officers. Other arrests and seizures were made in [[Belgium]], [[Denmark]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Hungary]], [[Israel]], and [[Sweden]] for a total of 11 countries.
 
According to rumor, the raid occurred just before the warez group would have released the game ''[[Hitman: Contracts]]''. The game was released by other groups (iNSOMNiA, for [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] and [[PlayStation 2|PS2]], and [[Razor 1911]], for [[IBM PC compatible|PCs]]) a few days later.
 
Shortly after the Operation Fastlink raids, council member [Bacchus] writes:<ref name="BasamanowiczBouchard11" />
{{quote|Protections of today are ones that *very* few can penetrate and those who do, should be worthy the respect. Downloading them fast is just a matter of a fast line in combination to access to a site. Skills stay, whereas the access can be revoked instantly!}}
 
The last massive warez-related raid prior to Fastlink was ''[[Operation Buccaneer]]'' which targeted [[DrinkOrDie]] (amongst others) in December 2001.
 
==Game ISO==
Since October 2006 the ISO division of FairLight has started releasing again. Their PC game ISO division started in late 1998 and by 2011, it was the first group to reach 1000 game ISO releases.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scene Group FAiRLiGHT (FLT) Surpasses 1000 PC Game ISO Releases |author=TEAM FILEnetworks |date=2011-04-04 |url=https://filenetworks.blogspot.com/2011/04/scene-group-fairlight-flt-surpasses.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123041521/https://filenetworks.blogspot.com/2011/04/scene-group-fairlight-flt-surpasses.html |archive-date=2023-11-23}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Total_War_Shogun_2_READNFO-FLT |date=2011-03-20}}</ref>
 
==Records==
FairLight had a short-lived collaboration with [[Tristar and Red Sector Incorporated|TRSI]] with their cooperative endeavor, ''TRSi and Fairlight Recordz'', formed by member Zinkfloid (also known as Uyanik) and Raven from FairLight. The groups released several albums under their brand name "TRSI & FairLight Recordz", including ''[[Muffler]]'' (2000) [https://web.archive.org/web/20050222112126/http://www.fusecon.com/products/scenecds/muffler.shtml] [http://www.lynnemusic.com/muffler.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208145856/http://www.lynnemusic.com/muffler.html |date=2017-12-08 }} and ''CNCD'' (1995). [http://www.cncd.fi/music/]
 
== Later lives ==
{{As of|2012}}, Magnus "Pantaloon" Sjöberg works as lead software engineer at [[Digital Illusions]]. Pontus "Bacchus" Berg works in telecom. Fredrik "Gollum" Kahl is now professor in mathematics at [[Lund University]]. Per "Zike" Carlbring is a professor in clinical psychology at [[Stockholm University]].<ref name=idg/> Tony "Strider" Krvaric emigrated to the United States in 1992 and is chairman emeritus of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] of [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]].<ref name=tf-krvaric /><!-- accurate in 2016: "Tony Krvaric is a business owner and volunteer chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County. Croatian by blood, Swedish by birth, American by choice!" https://twitter.com/tonykrvaric --><ref name=rawstory-krvaric /> Krvaric later received criticism for an old screen recording on [[YouTube]] where he is allegedly shown alongside other Fairlight members in an Amiga demo containing [[swastika]]s and [[Nazi]] imagery; he denied any association with far-right groups and dismissed the video as part of an "internal GOP smear campaign".<ref name="nazi">{{Cite news |last= |last2= |last3= |date=2020-08-25 |title=San Diego County GOP head explains old video showing him with Nazi images |language=en-US |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-24/old-video-shows-local-gop-head-with-images-of-hitler |access-date=2023-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406015231/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-24/old-video-shows-local-gop-head-with-images-of-hitler |archive-date=2024-04-06}}</ref>
 
==See also==
{{Portal|Amiga}}
* [[United Software Association]] &mdash; IBM PC-warez organization which released cooperatively with FairLight during the early 1990s.
* [[List of warez groups]]
 
==References==
<references>
 
<!-- Peer Reviewed Journals -->
<ref name="inbrief">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S1361-3723(04)00061-2 | title = In brief | journal = Computer Fraud & Security | volume = 2004 | issue = 5 | page = 3| year = 2004 }}</ref><!--
In brief, Computer Fraud & Security, 2004, Vol.2004(5), pp.3-3
"UK NHTCU crack piracy gang
The UK National Hi-tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) has penetrated an international piracy gang which has led to the arrest of three British men suspected of being members of the software piracy gang, ‘FairLight.’ The NHTCU seized 200 computers globally and 30 computer servers, one of which contained 65, 000 pirate titles. The operation, concentrated on the online distribution of games, music and movies. The crackdown, which was conducted in alliance with the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the FBI and the US Department of Justice targeted piracy distributors such as Kalisto, Echelon, Class and Project X."-->
 
<ref name="BasamanowiczBouchard11">{{Cite journal | last1 = Basamanowicz | first1 = J. | last2 = Bouchard | first2 = M. | doi = 10.2202/1944-2866.1125 | title = Overcoming the Warez Paradox: Online Piracy Groups and Situational Crime Prevention | journal = Policy & Internet | volume = 3 | issue = 2 | pages = 79–103 | year = 2011 | ssrn = 652702 | url = https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=652702| url-access = subscription }}</ref>
 
<!-- news articles -->
<ref name=tf-krvaric>{{cite web |url=https://torrentfreak.com/warez-leader-is-chairman-of-san-diego-republican-party-080502/ |title=Warez Leader Is Chairman Of San Diego Republican Party |first=Andy |last=Maxwell |date=2008-05-02 |website=[[TorrentFreak]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406072308/https://torrentfreak.com/warez-leader-is-chairman-of-san-diego-republican-party-080502 |archive-date=2024-04-06 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-02-26}}</ref>
<ref name=rawstory-krvaric>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502150040/https://www.rawstory.com/news/2008/San_Diego_GOP_chairman_cofounded_international_0425.html |archive-date=2008-05-02 |url=https://www.rawstory.com/news/2008/San_Diego_GOP_chairman_cofounded_international_0425.html |url-status=dead |title=San Diego GOP chairman co-founded international piracy ring |first=Miriam |last=Raftery |date=2008-04-29}}</ref>
 
</references>
 
==External links==
* [http://www.fairlight.to/ The World of FairLight] (official website)
* [https://hugi.scene.org/online/hugi38/hugi%2038%20-%20demoscene%20reports%20jazzcat%20fairlight.htm The history of FairLight] by Jazzcat
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/April/04_crm_263.htm "Operation Fastlink" press release] published by the [[United States Department of Justice]]
* [http://noname.c64.org/csdb/group/?id=20 Fairlight on C64] (group entry in the C64 scene database)
* {{YouTube|channel=UCdHiji77FlppuNK6xemrsVA}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:FairLight (Group)}}
[[Category:1987 establishments in Sweden]]
[[Category:Demogroups]]
[[Category:Warez groups]]

Latest revision as of 17:04, 21 December 2025

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FairLight (FLT) is a warez and demo group initially involved in the Commodore demoscene, and in cracking to illegally release games for free, since 1987. In addition to the C64, FairLight has also migrated towards the Amiga, Super NES and later the PC.[1] FairLight was founded during the Easter holiday in 1987 by Strider and Black Shadow, both ex-members of West Coast Crackers (WCC). This "West Coast" was the west coast of Sweden, so FairLight was initially a Swedish group, which later became internationalized. The name was taken from the Fairlight CMI synthesizer which Strider saw Jean-Michel Jarre use on some of his records.

Beginning

FairLight became known for their fast cracks. The secret was that Strider worked in a computer store where he got the latest games. He then bribed a train conductor to transport the games from Malmö to Ronneby where Gollum cracked the game and sent it back in the same way. That way they could get releases out faster than other groups.[1]

Operation Fastlink

Several high-ranking members of the group were caught on April 21, 2004, 8 months after the group returned from their temporary "retirement" that began on June 9, 2003 and ended on August 30, in an FBI operation called Operation Fastlink.

Police forces from eleven countries were involved, arresting about 120 people and seizing more than 200 computers (including 30 servers). One server from the U.S. raid contained 65,000 pirated titles which were alleged to be in the archive repository of the group.[2]

The operation was coordinated by the FBI, the British National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, the German Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) and the Business Software Alliance, and took place in 27 U.S. states. In the UK, seven computers were seized and three arrests made in Belfast, Manchester and Sheffield. In Singapore, three people (22, 30 & 34 years old) were arrested. In the Netherlands two servers owned by students on 2 universities were investigated by police officers. Other arrests and seizures were made in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, and Sweden for a total of 11 countries.

According to rumor, the raid occurred just before the warez group would have released the game Hitman: Contracts. The game was released by other groups (iNSOMNiA, for Xbox and PS2, and Razor 1911, for PCs) a few days later.

Shortly after the Operation Fastlink raids, council member [Bacchus] writes:[3] Template:Quote

The last massive warez-related raid prior to Fastlink was Operation Buccaneer which targeted DrinkOrDie (amongst others) in December 2001.

Game ISO

Since October 2006 the ISO division of FairLight has started releasing again. Their PC game ISO division started in late 1998 and by 2011, it was the first group to reach 1000 game ISO releases.[4][5]

Records

FairLight had a short-lived collaboration with TRSI with their cooperative endeavor, TRSi and Fairlight Recordz, formed by member Zinkfloid (also known as Uyanik) and Raven from FairLight. The groups released several albums under their brand name "TRSI & FairLight Recordz", including Muffler (2000) [1] [2] Template:Webarchive and CNCD (1995). [3]

Later lives

since 2012Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Magnus "Pantaloon" Sjöberg works as lead software engineer at Digital Illusions. Pontus "Bacchus" Berg works in telecom. Fredrik "Gollum" Kahl is now professor in mathematics at Lund University. Per "Zike" Carlbring is a professor in clinical psychology at Stockholm University.[1] Tony "Strider" Krvaric emigrated to the United States in 1992 and is chairman emeritus of the Republican Party of San Diego County.[6][7] Krvaric later received criticism for an old screen recording on YouTube where he is allegedly shown alongside other Fairlight members in an Amiga demo containing swastikas and Nazi imagery; he denied any association with far-right groups and dismissed the video as part of an "internal GOP smear campaign".[8]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

External links

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=FairLight&oldid=5093798"