Dorrin
Level: 6


POSTS: 5/8
POST EXP: 872
LVL EXP: 530
CP: 0.0
VIZ: 8470

Reportedly there has been a group of people joined by some talented hackers have started a peaceful rebellion in the U.S. and all over the world preaching for freedom of information and the bill of rights.  They say they are fighting on behalf of the American people and need help.  They have openly admitted to hacking Sony, The World Bank, and the F.B.I.  So the question is what do you think?  Modern day non-violent freedom fighters or possible terrorist?  Even the media has started backing them and in some cases *feel free to look into it* even spreading the message of Anonymous.  I can't wait to hear your replies!

Funguar
Newbie
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Newbie
Since: 11-14-11
Last Post: 280 days
Last Active: 255 days

AuraBlaze
Level: 79


POSTS: 2054/2916
POST EXP: 208471
LVL EXP: 4579024
CP: 71.1
VIZ: 61432

I am torn between calling them either fighters for good or a risk to national security. It all has to do with the sensitive information they collect and make public. On the one hand, they may be making things public that the government does not want us to see --I am not really trusting of the government. On the other hand, there is always reason to be concerned that such information could fall into the wrong hands. What we see is only what Anonymous wants us to see of them. If they have a secret agenda, we could be in trouble. I know they teamed up with Lulz Security (LulzSec) earlier this year on various projects.

Marowak
Beautiful Letdown
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Elite
Since: 01-23-11
Last Post: 1 day
Last Active: 19 hours

thenumberone
Level: 102


POSTS: 3006/5275
POST EXP: 258089
LVL EXP: 10754454
CP: 2106.6
VIZ: 131569

Dorrin :
AuraBlaze :
They repeatedly shut down psn, its my ps3,if i want to play online but they shut it down,theyre attacking me. They had no right to do it and im glad they cant hack sony anymore.scumbags.

in my end is my begining
Affected by 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'

Position: Elite
Since: 03-22-11
From: Scotland(the cold,wet place)
Last Post: 7 hours
Last Active: 7 hours

rcarter2
Level: 109


POSTS: 1670/6285
POST EXP: 507077
LVL EXP: 13623866
CP: 16172.1
VIZ: 750366

I don't have time to look up their actions right now. Making psn unavailable does suck for those who use it. Just wondering, what exactly did they do to the F.B.I when they hacked them?

Star Mario
Dominating RGR Competition Hall of Fame Table!
Affected by 'Trooperness'

Position: Site Staff
Role: Game Reviewer

Since: 05-01-11
From: Kansas
Last Post: 37 min.
Last Active: 20 min.

Dorrin
Level: 6


POSTS: 6/8
POST EXP: 872
LVL EXP: 530
CP: 0.0
VIZ: 8470

There are a few things I would like to address.   First to Aura Blaze for the good sense it takes to look at the other side of the coin.  It can be very worrisome to have an unknown group with unknown numbers acting against the government's of the world and also against independent corporations.  I have always said take everything you see, hear, or read with a grain of salt.  As for the attack on the Play Station Network there were tapes released by Anonymous explaining their actions.  Sony was suing a hacker for jail breaking and releasing information on how to do so.  Anonymous attacked Sony to stop the suit because somebody hacked their own system to "make it do what it should do anyway".  Anonymous did not stop the PS3 Network from functioning, it was shut down by Sony in an attempt to stop them.

Funguar
Newbie
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Newbie
Since: 11-14-11
Last Post: 280 days
Last Active: 255 days

JigSaw
Level: 136


POSTS: 6327/6996
POST EXP: 450729
LVL EXP: 29829107
CP: 253.8
VIZ: 5878

I'm pretty sure these hackors are shills working for some government agency who deals with national security and cyber security threats. What better way to establish cyber security bills then staging false flag attacks on giant corporations in order to make it possible to put TSA and MKULTRA in our own homes. Working for Americans? No they are working for big brother, that is why their hub is located on facebooks and twitters. Real Americans don't attack their own country and as a result imprison everybody because of the stupid actions that they take. That is what government and CIA do.

Don't trust people in groups especially if they go to great lengths to hide their identity much like the CIA. Maybe they are not apart of CIA... but they are definitely not who they claim to be. What benefits does this serve to Americans? I can't see any benefits. Ask the same question when 9/11 happened, what happened after a few foreigners hacked some jets and flew it into the WTC? Nothing good happened.

The only difference between this and 9/11 is its online, and now the war on terror begins online. Remember they attacked us for our freedoms as Bush once said, and now 10 years later its happening again except this time they are claiming to be Americans.

Shao Kahn

Vizzed Elite
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Elite
Since: 04-06-06
Last Post: 1 day
Last Active: 55 min.

Dorrin
Level: 6


POSTS: 7/8
POST EXP: 872
LVL EXP: 530
CP: 0.0
VIZ: 8470

I understand what you are saying and it has merit.  My only question lies with the fact that you say they are attacking our freedoms if they are real but everything they have claimed to have done was in response attacks on freedom all over the world.  Why would they attack those making the rules and the companies who support them?  Again this is following the logic that they have actually taken the action they said they have.  If they were a government agency then they would not seem so amiable, the countries goals are not to create an enemy the American people would identify with but to create an enemy we would want to see defeated.  If we hated the enemy our government was fighting we would be happy to see an example made of them.  In this case the it would appear Anonymous does not work for a government agency from any country, but also believe they have their own goals in mind as any organization does. 

Funguar
Newbie
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Newbie
Since: 11-14-11
Last Post: 280 days
Last Active: 255 days

thenumberone
Level: 102


POSTS: 3012/5275
POST EXP: 258089
LVL EXP: 10754454
CP: 2106.6
VIZ: 131569

JigSaw : what an interesting...theory.
Dorrin : they attacked ps3 directly.they knew sony would turn off the servers yet they kept doing it,ergo they consciously did it.i paid for my ps3,and i didnt care about the features they removed,so anonymous had no right to pursue a course which would effect me.

in my end is my begining
Affected by 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'

Position: Elite
Since: 03-22-11
From: Scotland(the cold,wet place)
Last Post: 7 hours
Last Active: 7 hours

JigSaw
Level: 136


POSTS: 6350/6996
POST EXP: 450729
LVL EXP: 29829107
CP: 253.8
VIZ: 5878

The only conclusion to such attacks is the result of more cyber security being shoved up our butts. Their attacks won't accomplish more freedoms, it won't kill a corporation, all it will do is take away freedoms from the American people through cyber security measures.

Who are they to dictate the freedoms of customers, employees, and corporate policies? Everyone has freedom to walk away and say no but they dont because its their choice & their freedom to stay. People who seek absolute freedom (especially over others in this manor) are usually corrupt, kinda like these guys.

They are no different then their corporate buddies, look no further then their smug faces and corporate suits:

Shao Kahn

Vizzed Elite
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Elite
Since: 04-06-06
Last Post: 1 day
Last Active: 55 min.

thenumberone
Level: 102


POSTS: 3014/5275
POST EXP: 258089
LVL EXP: 10754454
CP: 2106.6
VIZ: 131569

JigSaw : the pic is kinda ironic since those are guy fawkes masks,and he was a revolutionary

in my end is my begining
Affected by 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'

Position: Elite
Since: 03-22-11
From: Scotland(the cold,wet place)
Last Post: 7 hours
Last Active: 7 hours

Elara
Level: 100


POSTS: 2723/3252
POST EXP: 267953
LVL EXP: 10296500
CP: 348.0
VIZ: 146247

They chose the masks for that reason... they see themselves in the same light.

I really don't know what to think about them. I think they have good intentions, but I don't know about their methods.

As to the terrorist/freedom-fighter thing... well, honestly, that all comes down to perspective. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. This has been true for as long as we have had such concepts. For example, the Sons of Liberty are seen as freedom fighters and heroes in American historical canon... but the British considered them terrorists. It all depends on how you look at it, and how well you understand and identify with their cause.

Vitreous
Dark Elf Goddess
Penguins Fan
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Elite
Since: 12-08-04
Last Post: 4 days
Last Active: 1 hour

kakmybro
Level: 8


POSTS: 9/16
POST EXP: 1072
LVL EXP: 1496
CP: 3.0
VIZ: 9496

Anonymous is not all that bad. The news portrays them as horrible people. I heard that they commenced an operation that looks for child pornography sites and they attacked them. Anonymous also works for the Occupy protesters because they want equal treatment, AKA tax the rich people. That is why every time I watch the news, I don't care about what the news say about Anonymous, the news is biased towards those with small bits of power joined together. Have you guys heard that Anon has only attacked Sony, but not Xbox? I thnk their motive is to make people pay for DLC or something like that

Metapod

Member
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Member
Since: 11-18-11
Last Post: 381 days
Last Active: 175 days

rcarter2
Level: 109


POSTS: 2126/6285
POST EXP: 507077
LVL EXP: 13623866
CP: 16172.1
VIZ: 750366

First, I loved the picture of the masks. Fits so well. Second, has there been anything done lately by this group. I haven't heard anything since this was first posted, and I did look things up once in a while.

Star Mario
Dominating RGR Competition Hall of Fame Table!
Affected by 'Trooperness'

Position: Site Staff
Role: Game Reviewer

Since: 05-01-11
From: Kansas
Last Post: 37 min.
Last Active: 20 min.

tonetone714
Level: 48


POSTS: 810/823
POST EXP: 38078
LVL EXP: 805708
CP: 0.0
VIZ: 16093

I could never figure out why they chose a Guy Fawkes(catholic terrorist) mask.

Rapidash
"So nice, they named him twice."
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Trusted
Since: 03-10-10
From: BIG BAD Orange County, CA
Last Post: 435 days
Last Active: 393 days

smotpoker86
Level: 35


POSTS: 243/465
POST EXP: 90944
LVL EXP: 267627
CP: 18.3
VIZ: 18677

I think they wear the Guy Fawkes mask because of V for Vendetta. In the movie the hero gives the masks out to literally everyone so they can wear it to a big protest and remain anonymous. Of course in that movie it represents the face of change as the hero wears it the entire movie, but in the end it represented anonymity.

The groups name is Anonymous and they wear masks that are associated with anonymity, makes sense to me. Besides they are probably hipsters.

I agree with Jigsaw, there is literaly no benefit to what they are doing. This will probably lead to stricter laws for you and me, which is where his theory comes from I assume. I don't agree that it is ran by the government in some form, but I won't completely rule that out either. In my opinion, send them to jail.

Geldman
maximus extraordinarius
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Trusted
Since: 06-06-11
From: Edmonton
Last Post: 43 days
Last Active: 14 days

thenumberone
Level: 102


POSTS: 3331/5275
POST EXP: 258089
LVL EXP: 10754454
CP: 2106.6
VIZ: 131569

smotpoker86 : thats what i figured the masks were for too,i didnt expect anyone else to have seen that.
personaly, i blame people like them for ps3 being taken down, they opened the door for OTHER criminals to follow,i dislike how they steal credit card details and personal info, then publish it to prove the inadequacy of the sites, who do they think theyre helping, wasnt an issue till they published it.

in my end is my begining
Affected by 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'

Position: Elite
Since: 03-22-11
From: Scotland(the cold,wet place)
Last Post: 7 hours
Last Active: 7 hours

scootheman
Level: 36


POSTS: 364/436
POST EXP: 13947
LVL EXP: 282936
CP: 7.3
VIZ: 16769

Besides the attacks and everything..
The true thing that sucks..
I recently bought a V for Vendetta mask..
Not knowing that 2 weeks later..
It will be illegal to even wear it soon D:

~And Im not a Hacker~

Abra

Trusted Member
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Trusted
Since: 09-25-10
From: pallet town
Last Post: 12 days
Last Active: 12 days

thenumberone
Level: 102


POSTS: 3334/5275
POST EXP: 258089
LVL EXP: 10754454
CP: 2106.6
VIZ: 131569

scootheman : i cant see why that would be made illegal, robbers wear kenedy masks, thats not banned.

in my end is my begining
Affected by 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'

Position: Elite
Since: 03-22-11
From: Scotland(the cold,wet place)
Last Post: 7 hours
Last Active: 7 hours

Lazlo Falconi
Level: 69


POSTS: 109/2525
POST EXP: 183322
LVL EXP: 2827200
CP: 2059.2
VIZ: 126329

First off, let's talk about this "hacking" Anonymous does. It's not what it sounds like. The news media and politicians like to make us think that these kids were able to break into a secured facility and steal credit card information. This is not the case. In the majority of instances, the hacks are little more than a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. This just means that they overload a web server with bogus requests so that real users can't access it. Another common "hack" employed by the so-called group, if it can so be called, is to alter the home page or redirect traffic to goatse or something similar. This is akin to graffiti, and whilst unnerving, shouldn't be as much of a problem as people make it out to be. All they did was a brute force dictionary attack, trying hundreds of thousands of passwords in order to find one that lets them into the web server (Not the same place where money and transaction records are stored) and alter the web pages themselves. That's it. These kids are pranksters!

Now, as for this "Anonymous" name... There is no such organization "Anonymous". Clearly, the very fact that they are supposed to be anonymous renders this impossible and contradictory. How can anonymity be organized? "Anonymous" is just the name given to anyone who posts on a chan, and more specifically, on 4chan. Any act attributed to "Anonymous" is actually being performed by a small subset of these users. I've seen these things in the makings. One person asks if anyone would be interested in a prank, or in an attack, or in anything, and the vast majority of Anonymous says no. But there are a few that will do it, either "For the lulz" or because they believe in the just, and righteous reasons the OP said they would be doing the attack. And these few people then split themselves off from the rest of Anonymous to plan their actions. 

And that's why popular media is so afraid of them. Because there is no "them". It's not us against them, it's us against... Someone. Somewhere. Maybe. But there's no reason to be afraid of them. These people are worse than the Occupy Movement. They have no agenda other than general mayhem, and they're not even good at what they try to do! You would be surprised to see how many protests and pranks and attacks fail before they even get off the ground, due to lack of interest.

As you can see from this post, I'm actually pretty experienced with this aspect of internet sub-culture. I've been posting on different chans for several years now, and I can assure you, it's not what a lot of people think it is. This sort of thing is only on the rise right now because it's being reported on the news, and would-be hackers want to find a new, cool hacking community. It will die down eventually, and become a vague memory. If you do have any questions about Anonymous, I'd be happy to answer them.

Electrode
CHAMPION
Hit Ravering Syndrome on March 24th 2012
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Elite
Since: 01-07-12
From: Cartoon Hell
Last Post: 29 days
Last Active: 15 days

catfight09
Level: 75


POSTS: 968/2325
POST EXP: 74947
LVL EXP: 3819516
CP: 64.1
VIZ: 20297

I don't know yet as it's too early to tell. What I CAN say however, is that whatever their goal is, they've got a lot of people's attention. I just hope it's for good things.

Larry Koopa
Final Fantasy XIII player
Affected by 'Laziness'

Position: Trusted
Since: 03-14-10
Last Post: 91 days
Last Active: 2 days