Zero day information

Underground content releases typically contain a numerical time index that indicates the offset of time of an underground release date in comparison to the official public release date of the product.
Format
The indicator will contain an optional positive or negative sign, concatenated with an integer or floating point value, concatenated with a measurement of time greater than or equal to the measurement of a day. No spaces reside between the sign, the numerical value, and the measurement of time.
Sign: The sign preceding the integer value indicates whether the release is being made before or after the official public release. A negative sign indicates the underground release is being made before the official release date. A positive sign indicates the underground release is being made after the official release date.
Numerical Value: The numerical value represents the offset magnitude.
Measurement of time: The measurement of time indicates the unit of time being used to describe the offset, typically abbreviated as a single letter unless it is a 0day release.
Examples of valid indicators:
-5d
-1.2w
-2m
0day
+2w
+1.5m
A -5d release is one that is released 5 days before the official release date.
A 0day release is one that is released within 24 hours of official release date.
A +1.5m release is one that is released 1.5 months after the official release date.
Warez Standards
Similar to the IETF's standards described in Request for Comments, Warez releases have different standards for releasing content. Depending on the release offset indication of a content release, different standards are followed. Typically, warez groups will agree to very loose standards for negative offset indicators, mainly because any release prior to the official release date is welcomed with open arms. A 0day release will have slightly tighter standards than a negative offset release, but will be slightly looser than a positive offset release. A positive offset release, on the other hand, has the highest standard requirements for releases.
Archived and Shared Content Listings
A similar offset indicator is used to indicate the age of shared content in archives and listings. Often confused with the Warez release offset indicator, the age is a comparison between the current date and the release date of a Warez or shared content release. The age offset indicator can never be negative and therefore the positive sign is generally not used at all. Large hosting sites will typically archive their release content and index the archives with an age offset, thereby allowing users to easily search for content if they know the general release date. When using search engines on content hosting sites, the results are usually returned with an associated age offset indicator. This is done so that if a warez group releases multiple, but slightly different, versions of a particular piece of content, users can identify which one is most recent.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu