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LEFT: The Red Herring magazine cover in August 2002. John Fanning finally made the front of a business publication, which credited him for “creating” Napster. His nephew and other Napster loyalists were incensed. RIGHT: The Time magazine cover in October 2000. Shawn Fanning became the best-known hacker in the world, but said as little as possible to the press. (Time Pix.)

“I swear I wasn't looking at smut—I was just stealing music.”

From the New Yorker, February 2002. Napster became the most-searched-for term on the Internet, as tens of millions of users decided that it was morally acceptable to download digital music from strangers.

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