The Scene is known for its aversion to public file-sharing, but nonetheless it’s in large part responsible for much of the material out there today.

The goal of most Scene groups is to be the first to release a certain title, whether that’s a film, music or software. While there is some healthy competition The Scene is also a place where lifelong friendships are started.

A few days ago, on October 17, the Scene lost Goolum, a well-respected member and friend. Only in his late thirties, he passed away after being part of the Scene for more than a decade.

As a cracker Goolum, also known as GLM, was of the more experienced reverse engineers who worked on numerous releases.

Through the years Goolum was connected to several groups which are now retired, some for more than a decade. To honor their fallen friend, the groups ZENiTH, Lz0, SLT and MiDNiGHT have made a one-time comeback.

Below is an overview of their farewell messages, which honor him for his cracking skills but most of all as a friend. Our thoughts go out to Goolum’s friends and family.

ZENiTH: THUNDERHEAD.ENGINEERING.PYROSIM.V2014.2.RIP.GOOLUM-ZENiTH (NFO)

ZENiTH, a group that retired around 2005, mentions Goolum’s loyalty and the love for his daughter.

“Goolum has been in and around the scene since the Amiga days but had never been a guy to jump from group to group, but stayed loyal and dedicated to the few groups he was involved in.”

“We are all proud to have been in a group with you, to have spent many a long night sharing knowledge about everything, learning about your daughter who you where very proud of, and all the projects you were involved in.”

Lz0: CEI.Inc.EnSight.Gold.v10.1.1b.Incl.Keygen.RIP.GOOLUM-Lz0 (NFO)

Lz0 or LineZer0, split from the Scene last year but many of its members are still actively involved in other roles. The group mentions the hard time Goolum has had due to drug problems. LzO also highlights Goolum’s love for his daughter, and how proud he was of her.

“We all knew that he struggled in life – not just economical but also on a personal level and not the least with his drug issues. One of the things that kept him going was his wonderful daughter whom he cherished a lot. He often talked about her, and how proud of her he was. He was clear that if there was one thing in life he was proud of – it was that he became the dad of a wonderful girl.”

“We’re shocked that when finally things started to move in the right direction, that we would receive the news about his death. It came without warning and we can only imagine the shock of his family. It’s hard to find the right words – or words for that matter. Even though it might have appeared as that he was lonely – with few friends, he knew that we were just a keyboard away.”

SLT: PROTEUS.ENGINEERING.FASTSHIP.V6.1.30.1.RIP.GOOLUM-SLT (NFO)

SLT or SOLiTUDE has been retired since 2000 but returns to remember Goolum. The group notes that he will be dearly missed.

“You will be missed. It is not easy to say goodbye to someone who you have known for over a decade, trading banter, laughs, advice and stories. You leave behind a daughter, a family and a group of friends, who will miss you dearly.”

“As the news have spread, the kind words have poured in. Solitude is releasing this in honor of you, to show that the values we founded the group on is the exact values you demonstrated through your decades of being in the scene. Loyalty, friendship and hard work. Our thoughts are with you, wherever you may be.”

MiDNiGHT: POINTWISE_V17.2.R2_RIP_GOOLUM-MIDNIGHT (NFO)

MiDNiGHT hasn’t been active for nearly a decade but have also honored Goolum with a comeback. The group mentions that he was a great friend who was always in for a chat and a beer.

“Life won’t ever be the same again my friend. We could sit and chat for hours and hours, and even then we knew each other well enough that nothing more was required than a beer, a rant and a small *yarr* and we’d know it would all be good.”

“This time it’s not good mate. I am here, you are not. I can’t even begin to express how this makes me feel – except an absolute sadness.”

…

RIP Goolum 1977 – 2014

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Of course, when the Internet took off things changed massively. Free software became available to anyone willing to persevere, not just those with access to a private BBS. Applications for just about any purpose were uploaded to the Internet thick and fast and as a result manufacturers had to think even more about their copy protection mechanisms.

But while software houses were applying anti-piracy measures to their products, plenty of groups were at work stripping them out and sharing DRM-free versions with close friends and associates online. Inevitably though, so-called “cracked” software leaked out, meaning that pretty much everyone could gain access to zero cost software, often on the day of release – 0day as it’s known.

Created way back in 1999, one such group was LineZer0. More commonly known by the characters Lz0, the group has operated for an incredible 14 years and to say they have been prolific would be a massive understatement.

During that time Lz0 has delivered an incredible 30,000 software and games releases for desktop machines and handhelds (including iPhone and iPad), each designed to be enjoyed only by the reclusive ‘warez’ scene.

“We do not wish for our releases to be widely spread across web boards, P2P networks and the like. While we do know that occurs we strongly urge people to not share these titles at such places,” Lz0 stated in their releases. Few took any notice.

Typing the term ‘Lz0′ into any search engine or torrent site reveals endless streams of cracked software from hundreds of companies, for anyone to download and enjoy, for free. But for Lz0 and their countless fans, the final curtain came down prematurely yesterday.

Over the weekend someone in the warez scene released information that was obtained as part of a security breach against Lz0 in 2009. While assuring people that much of the data was related to closed sites and individuals who have since left the piracy scene, Lz0 felt it had no option other than to close down the group and retire completely.

“We’ve shared a long and fun road, and we’re sad that this is how it ends,” Lz0 said in a statement.

The group confirmed that the names Lz0 and Lz0PDA will be put completely to rest – no one will ever be able to genuinely use those tags again. Additionally, hundreds of software companies will be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief, at least until other groups take up the slack. But annoying companies was never LzO’s stated aim.

“Our releases are made to make sure that the end-user is able to fully test a title before going into a purchase as well as give the end-user an opportunity to make backup copies of titles he or she already owns,” the group said. “Please do respect our stance on this and make sure that you buy the required licenses upon deciding to buy the product. Respect the software authors that have put time, money and effort into creating the title you now have in your hand.”

Finally, for some the joy of cracked software was not the tools themselves, but the entertainment value of the additional items groups like Lz0 packaged with their releases. For many – piracy dramas aside – the kind of music and graphics illustrated below provided the most intoxicating mix.

Lz0: 1999-2013

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.