{{multiple issues| {{update|date=March 2010}} {{more footnotes needed|date=March 2010}} }}

{{Infobox website | name = The iSONEWS | logo = Topbar logo.png | url = {{URL|http://www.theisonews.com/}} | commercial = No | type = Internet forum, a former Database | language = English | registration = Required for posting | author = orm<ref name="orm.nu">{{cite web |url=http://www.orm.nu/ |title=Early isonews about page |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19990427163808/http://www.orm.nu/ |archivedate=1999-04-27 }}</ref> | launch_date = {{nowrap|{{start date and age|1998|12|07}}}}<ref name="orm.nu" /> }}

'''The iSONEWS''' was a warez news website originally created by orm who later deferred management of the website to krazy8 and mandarin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theisonews.com/forums/index.php/topic,139550.msg2050826.html#msg2050826 |title=History Of ISOnews |author=inphi |date=2006-06-19 |website=The iSONEWS}}</ref> TheiSONews supplied release details and NFOs of warez games and programs, without actually supplying them, or supplying any information on where to find them.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/circuits/articles/29pira.html |title=Online Piracy: From Music to Film |date=1999-07-29 |first=Steve |last=Wilson |work=The New York Times |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191119/http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/circuits/articles/29pira.html |archivedate=2016-03-04 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref> {{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/1999/jun/17/onlinesupplement4 |title=Hacking away at our ethics |first=John |last=Sutherland |date=1999-06-17 |website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.laweekly.com/arts/invasion-of-piracy-2130811 |title=Invasion of Piracy |date=1999-06-23 |first=Jonathan |last=Vankin |website=LA Weekly |quote=ISO News includes a page of information about each release, listing quality of sound and picture, method of capture (i.e., screener or camera job) and basic production info about the film.}}</ref> Later it was also called ''a fan site that has become an unofficial hub of DivX news''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/2000/05/31/divx/ |title=The MP3 of movies? |date=2000-05-31 |first=Damien |last=Cave |website=Salon}}</ref>

==Domain seizure==

On February 28, 2003, the United States Department of Justice seized the isonews domain name ({{mono|isonews.com}}),<ref>BBC News [https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2803927.stm "US seizes bootleg games site"]</ref> however its servers remained intact. A number of iSONEWS mirrors sprung up as a result, including {{mono|izonews.com}}, {{mono|theisonews.com}}, and {{mono|stolemy.com}}, an expression of retaliation from the iSONEWS community caused by the Department of Justice's actions. The closure of the isonews.com domain brought more attention to the site, and after the site was back up on mirror sites, the membership and the user activity on the forums increased.

Approximately one year following the seizure, visitors to iSONEWS.com were redirected to the United States Department of Justice cybercrime.gov<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cybercrime.gov/|title=Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS)|work=cybercrime.gov}}</ref> website. As of November 16, 2004, the original domain, {{mono|isonews.com}}, is owned by DomainSpa LLC and used to advertise video game sales and rentals.

David "krazy8" Rocci got a sentence of 5 months in federal prison and a $28,500 fine for selling modchips on isonews.com.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQAAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA132 |title=Let your Xbox loose |first=David |last=Kushner |date=May 2004 |journal=Popular Science |page=132}}</ref> Krazy8 later indicated that ''modchips was the 'official' modus operandi, but every question I was ever asked related to ISONews and had nothing to do with modchips.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theisonews.com/forums/index.php/topic,132005.msg1870325.html#msg1870325 |title=New Busts (June 2005) |date=2005-07-05 |author=krazy8 |website=The iSONEWS}}</ref>

==Current status==

From being a release site for the warez community, the site has evolved into a broader message board, concentrating mostly on PC gaming. The PC games forum on the site contains everything from rumors, latest news, hints, tips and tweaks to various games. As of June 2007, the releases are never updated, however the forums are still (barely) in use.

== See also == * .nfo * Standard (warez)

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * [http://theisonews.com/ theisonews.com] * [http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,109610-page,1/article.html Site Returns After Piracy Crackdown] * The Register [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/02/26/doj_seizes_isonews_site_over/ DoJ seizes ISOnews site over Xbox mod chip sales] * [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/04/10/put_a_z_in_isonews/ Put a Z in ISONews - DoJ seizure is 'illegal and abusive'] * {{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-986225.html |title=U.S. crime-fighters seize Web sites |first=Declan |last=McCullagh |date=2003-02-26|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714203412/http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-986225.html|archivedate=2014-07-14}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.cybercrime.gov/rocciPlea.htm |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722173158/http://www.cybercrime.gov/rocciPlea.htm |archivedate=2011-07-22 |title=Justice Department Seizes Top Internet Site Involved in Copyright Piracy |date=2003-02-25 |author=U.S. Department of Justice}} - US DoJ press release on bust * {{cite web |title=Addressing Global Scope of Intellectual Property Law |first=Hedi |last=Nasheri |url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/208384.pdf |date=November 2004}} * {{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sega-wants-to-silence-advice-on-hacker-sites/2100-1023_3-246600.html |title=Sega wants to silence advice on hacker sites |first=John |last=Borland |date=2000-10-04 |work=CNET News}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Das-US-Justizministerium-uebernimmt-Websites-3428626.html |title=Das US-Justizministerium übernimmt Websites |first=Florian |last=Rötzer |date=2003-02-27}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/US-Justiz-besetzt-Domain-Namen-75329.html |title=US-Justiz besetzt Domain-Namen |first=Peter-Michael |last=Ziegler |date=2003-02-27}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:iSONEWS}} Category:Warez Category:Internet forums Category:Domain name seizures by the United States