Protecting Yourself Legally

Yes, you have been warned. The providers can and do collect information that you post. If you don't believe me, you might want to talk to people who were around during the HU days who found everything they ever posted sitting in a box in an attorney's office. If you think I'm trying to scare you, you are correct. Too many people post without considering the ramifications of their words. Follow these guidelines and you have a much smaller chance of finding yourself in the hot seat.

1. Do NOT admit that you hack television.

That is Rule #1 if you don't want to raise questions. Don't ever say things like "I'm getting **** on my Viewsat" or "I just loaded the keys and everything is working great!". Speak in broad generalities and only speak theoretically about how one would go about modifying their receivers-- just don't ever use language that says directly that you do it yourself.

Don't Say: I loaded the latest bin and waited for autoroll and now I'm watching TV!
Say: The latest autoroll bin can take a few minutes, but it does work.

Don't say: I'm watching Charlie with a Dish 500
Say: Dish500 works for Charlie

If you write guides and FAQs, explain what you need to explain WITHOUT relating any personal experience. This is probably more important than any of the above because it's those guides that Charlie probably has filed away in his office.

Stating how to do something illegal is not illegal. Saying that you do something illegal is a confession to a crime. Just be aware of that.

2. Never call the authorities when it's possible they might need to come into your home.

If you do, be sure to factory flash your receiver or have a non-hacked receiver to swap out as a backup. Crappy receivers like the Spacestar or the Ariza Xtreme work great for this purpose

3. Don't brag.

Don't tell co-workers or people you don't know very well about your activities. Tempting as it is to tell people at the water cooler that you watched the De La Hoya fight the other night for free, don't do it.

4. Don't sell.

One thing that may happen if you start telling friends, etc about what you do is that they might start to become interested. You may be tempted to earn a couple bucks by getting their receivers up and running. Not only is annoying whenever there is an ECM and your phone rings off the hook, should they do something stupid and end up in the hot seat, they may just point their finger at you to protect themselves.

5. Always remember first and foremost that it is a CRIME to modify your receiver to watch unauthorized pay TV.

Many people forget this FACT. Treat your hacked FTA just as you would treat your stash of marijuana.

Finally, unless the providers can prove that your legal receiver is being used for anything illegal, there is nothing they can do. There is no such thing as a signal sniffer. You will not see vans driving through the neighborhood trying to detect unauthorized signals because the fact is that it is impossible. Fortunately, FTA receivers are legal to buy and sell (just as bongs are). It's what you do with it after the sale that makes it illegal (like putting pot in the bong instead of tobacco). The same is not true of cards, which is most likely what is being cracked down on. Card dealers have been busted left and right. FTA hackers have never been busted.