# articles

feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125744
title: BREIN Settles With Prolific Usenet Uploader for €15,000
uri: BREIN-Settles-With-Prolific-Usenet-Uploader-for-15-000
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ocmssIJKfNM/
content:
<p><img src="media/18851468.usenet.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/usenet.jpg" alt="usenet" width="250" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-119213">Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has targeted operators of pirate sites for more than a decade, and more recently it started going after uploaders as well.</p>
<p>The rightsholder-backed group doesn’t target random file-sharers but mostly focuses on prolific uploaders.</p>
<p>Over the past few months the group has gone after several torrent site uploaders, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-kickasstorrents-uploader-stung-for-e7500-160505/">with some success</a>. However, BREIN&#8217;s enforcement actions go further than BitTorrent alone, they also keep an eye on Usenet. </p>
<p>This week the anti-piracy group announced that it has settled a dispute with a large-scale Usenet uploader, who shared over 18,000 music albums, discographies, and compilations. </p>
<p>The man agreed to pay €15,000 in damages and stop his activities effective immediately. If not, an ex-parte court order requires him to pay an additional fine up to €50,000</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.ie-forum.nl/artikelen/inbreuk-door-grootschalig-uploaden-en-tegelijk-spotten">court records</a>, BREIN used the message-id of NZB files to confirm that the man was indeed the uploader, and also linked these to posts he made on NZB spot-sites.</p>
<p>After he received the court order, the uploader posted a message on one such site informing fellow users that he had been forced to quit.</p>
<p>&#8220;This morning I was &#8216;honored&#8217; with a visit from the bailiff on behalf of BREIN. To cut a long story short, I am sentenced to pay a hefty sum of money for my work as a spotter / poster. Perhaps there are people who would just continue, but I&#8217;m out,&#8221; the uploader wrote.</p>
<p>BREIN director Tim Kuik is happy with the outcome and stresses that they have their sights set on pirates of all kinds.</p>
<p>&#8220;BREIN previously announced that it would expand its actions against illegal uploaders. This doesn&#8217;t only affect BitTorrent uploaders as in previous cases this year, but also uploaders to Usenet and file-hosters or cyberlockers&#8221; Kuik says.</p>
<p>&#8220;In addition to the present case, there are still more investigations ongoing. We don&#8217;t warn illegal uploaders, but immediately offer them a settlement. If someone does not want to settle, a court proceeding will follow, to recover the full damages and costs,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>It’s clear that the anti-piracy group is becoming more active against uploaders. For many years the Netherlands was considered a relative safe haven for file-sharers, but if left up to BREIN this will no longer be the case.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, BREIN is planning to go after uploaders on a much larger scale to increase the catch-rate.</p>
<p>The anti-piracy group has started to systematically monitor IP-addresses of torrent swarms, in order to identify the IP-addresses of prolific sharers. They then hope to identify the account holders through their Internet providers.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125769
title: Popular KAT “Mirror” is in Reality a Dressed Up Pirate Bay Mirror
uri: Popular-KAT-Mirror-is-in-Reality-a-Dressed-Up-Pirate-Bay-Mirror
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/HawLb1qPnWE/
content:
<p><img src="media/2279eece.kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" alt="kickasstorrents_500x500" width="222" height="222" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-99785" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png 300w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-150x150.png 150w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px">Last month KickassTorrents (KAT) was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">shut down</a> by the U.S. Government, following the arrest of the site’s alleged owner.</p>
<p>Soon after the official site went offline various mirrors and copies launched to take its place, attracting hundreds of thousands of users.</p>
<p>One of the most popular mirrors started as KAT.am. The site was featured in several news reports with some suggesting that it’s an official reincarnation of KAT.</p>
<p>While the site has nothing to do with the original site, Hollywood was not happy, which resulted in a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/movie-studios-go-popular-kat-mirror-160729/">swift domain suspension</a>. However, at the time of writing, the site continues to operate from the kickass.cd and kickass.mx domain names. </p>
<p>Those who visit the site will notice that it does indeed look a lot like the original KAT site. However, upon closer inspection is doesn&#8217;t even appear to be a mirror. Not of KAT at least. </p>
<p>Instead, the site is merely serving content from another well-known torrent site, The Pirate Bay. </p>
<p>This is best illustrated by comparing searches on both sites. Without exception, these return the exact same results in the same order, with the same numbers of seeds and peers. </p>
<p>For example, a search for &#8220;TPB AFK&#8221; returns 64 results on the Kickass.mx &#8220;mirror,&#8221; with the uploads from &#8220;SimonKlose&#8221; and MVGroup listed on top. These are all torrents that were originally added years ago. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/1ebe7ec0.katnomirror.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katnomirror.jpg" alt="katnomirror" width="600" height="296" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125796"></center></p>
<p>The same search on The Pirate Bay returns identical results, without exception. Even the upload timestamps are exactly the same as on the KAT &#8220;mirror&#8221;. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/5429855c.tpbresults.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpbresults.jpg" alt="tpbresults" width="600" height="222" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125797"></center></p>
<p>As if that&#8217;s not enough, the recent torrents listings also show the same torrents, uploaded by the same usernames. </p>
<p>Of course, there is no recent KAT content to mirror, so the site has to use an external source for these. However, as far as we can see, all torrents on the site are being pulled from TPB, not KAT. </p>
<p>For comparison, a search for &#8220;TPB AFK&#8221; on a real KAT mirror shows a widget with movie details, which KAT had in place, as well as entirely different torrents uploaded by different users.</p>
<p>The screenshot below is taken from the Kickasstorrents.to mirror, which is a true mirror and doesn&#8217;t have any recent torrents. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/bf084c14.truemirror.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/truemirror.jpg" alt="truemirror" width="600" height="455" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125817"></center></p>
<p>With the above in mind it&#8217;s clear that the operators of the Kickass.mx and Kickass.cd mirrors are not being entirely truthful, as they are no longer relying on a database of KAT torrents as previously claimed. </p>
<p>It could be that they started out this way, but at the moment it&#8217;s little more than a dressed-up TPB mirror. </p>
<p>These type of misleading claims are not new of course. The same happened when YIFY disappeared last year. With millions of estranged users it can be quite lucrative to &#8220;hijack&#8221; a popular brand such as KAT. </p>
<p>In any case, former KAT users should be aware that not everything they see on the Internet is what they believe it is, but I guess that&#8217;s no surprise by now.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125833
title: Megaupload 2.0 Will Link File Transfers to Bitcoin Transactions
uri: Megaupload-2-0-Will-Link-File-Transfers-to-Bitcoin-Transactions
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/AzsEj48RIts/
content:
<p><a href="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg"><img src="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg" alt="dotcom-laptop" width="233" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-76556"></a>Following a few hints dropped early last month, Kim Dotcom later confirmed he was working on a brand new file-sharing platform with a familiar name.</p>
<p>Now partially confirmed as Megaupload (or possibly Megaupload 2.0), the site is set to launch in January 2017, an event that will coincide with the 2012 closure of the original site and the massive police raid against its operators.</p>
<p>Over the past few days Dotcom has taken to Twitter to drip feed various nuggets of information about his upcoming service. The first came on Tuesday when he said that he couldn&#8217;t wait to launch &#8220;groundbreaking innovations&#8221; that will take Bitcoin &#8220;mainstream.&#8221;</p>
<p>After concentrating on his usual array of political tweets, a few hours ago Dotcom stepped on the Megaupload gas, underlining its links to Bitcoin.</p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Every <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Megaupload?src=hash">#Megaupload</a> file transfer will be linked to a tiny <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash">#Bitcoin</a> micro transaction. Get ready for Bitcache. <a href="https://t.co/0viV2sJ9ax">pic.twitter.com/0viV2sJ9ax</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/761377836271894528">August 5, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>The suggestion that there will be currency changing hands for people sharing files using Megaupload 2.0 is certainly an intriguing one. Dotcom previously said the site will launch with <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-2-0-to-launch-with-original-megaupload-user-database-160708/">Megaupload 1.0&#8217;s user database</a>, which could amount to 100 million users. That&#8217;s a lot of users, a lot of files, and potentially lots of money.</p>
<p>The term &#8216;Bitcache&#8217; also raises questions. A project of the <a href="https://www.drupal.org/project/bitcache">same name</a> already exists but Dotcom appears to have something else in mind.</p>
<p>&#8220;Nobody will upload to any other cloud after Megaupload&#8217;s Bitcache goes live. 100 million Bitcache wallets,&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/761380995824168960">said</a> this morning.</p>
<p>For now, Dotcom doesn&#8217;t seem interested in revealing solid information about Bitcache. However, in response to a user who asked whether Dotcom had considered Bitcoin&#8217;s block size issues, the German suggested that &#8216;bitcache&#8217; would solve the problem.</p>
<p><Center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/CryptoGambleh">@CryptoGambleh</a> The &#39;cache&#39; in Bitcache solves the problem. It eliminates all blockchain limitations. Wait for it :-)</p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/761382152759943168">August 5, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>The links between the under-development file-sharing platform and Bitcoin are clearly ones Dotcom is keen to promote. The entrepreneur often suggests that his followers should invest in this, or avoid that, but this morning his message was clear. Buy Bitcoin. Now.</p>
<p>&#8220;Buy Bitcoin while cheap. Like right now. Trust me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Bitcoin = $2000+ 2017.&#8221;</p>
<p>Further details will be revealed on January 20, 2017, during the launch of Megaupload 2.0, an event that is already developing an interesting guest list.</p>
<p>This morning, financial journalist and guru <a href="http://www.maxkeiser.com/">Max Keiser</a> said he will be in attendance, <a href="https://twitter.com/maxkeiser/status/761395474284867584">declaring</a> the project &#8220;Big news for Bitcoin.&#8221;</p>
<p>Also of interest is new information which suggests that developers will be able to build their open projects using the cloud-storage features of Dotcom&#8217;s new platform.</p>
<p>&#8220;Megaupload 2.0 will be available &#8216;white label&#8217;. You can use any domain, free of charge, for your cloud sharing needs. Bitcache enabled,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>The launch date for Megaupload 2.0 is a little over five months away so Dotcom and those collaborating with him certainly have their work cut out if they are to deliver as promised. That being said, if they can pull this rabbit out of the hat it could be the shot in the arm the file-sharing world has been longing for.</p>
<p>&#8220;Megaupload 2.0 takes decentralization, anonymity &#038; encryption to the next level. A nightmare for those who want to mass surveil &#038; censor,&#8221; Dotcom concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125828
title: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell
uri: Torrentz-Shuts-Down-Largest-Torrent-Meta-Search-Engine-Says-Farewell
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/DzH8KiyJkGA/
content:
<p><img src="media/b724b30b.torrentz-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentz-1.png" alt="torrentz" width="189" height="57" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125836">Founded in 2003, Torrentz has been a stable factor in the torrent community for over 13 years. </p>
<p>With millions of visitors per day the site grew out to become one of the most visited torrent sites, but today this reign ends, as the popular meta-search engine has announced its shutdown. </p>
<p>A few hours ago and without warning, <a href="https://torrentz.eu">Torrentz</a> disabled its search functionality. At first sight the main page looks normal but those who try to find links to torrents will notice that they&#8217;re no longer there.</p>
<p>Instead, the site is now referring to itself in the past tense, suggesting that after more than a decade the end has arrived.</p>
<p>&#8220;Torrentz was a free, fast and powerful meta-search engine combining results from dozens of search engines,&#8221; the text reads.</p>
<p>The site&#8217;s user are no longer able to login either. Instead, they see the following message: &#8220;Torrentz will always love you. Farewell.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>Torrentz.eu says farewell</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/85349e53.torrentz-farewell.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentz-farewell.png" alt="torrentz-farewell" width="600" height="143" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125850"></center></p>
<p>TorrentFreak was contacted by one of the operators of Torrentz earlier today, who prefers not to comment at the moment. It&#8217;s clear, however, that another major torrent site is shutting down, leaving a gaping hole.  </p>
<p>Torrentz itself never hosted any torrent files but did have a takedown procedure in place, allowing copyright holders to take down infringing links.</p>
<p>Not all rightsholders were happy with the site though. Both RIAA and MPAA have reported the site to the U.S. Government in recent years, which repeatedly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-govt-targets-torrent-sites-and-other-piracy-havens-151218/">placed it</a> its annual “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets.”  </p>
<p>With Torrentz.eu and <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">KickassTorrents both shutting down</a>, the torrent comunity lost two of the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">largest sites</a> in a period of three weeks. This means that millions of users will have to find new homes.</p>
<p>Founded a few weeks before The Pirate Bay, Torrentz was one of the oldest torrent sites still around. When Torrentz first came online the site was hosting torrent files, but it swiftly reinvented itself as a meta-search engine, the biggest of its kind. </p>
<p><em>Breaking story, more updates will follow</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125885
title: Torrentz Gone, KAT Down, Are Torrent Giants Doomed to Fall?
uri: Torrentz-Gone-KAT-Down-Are-Torrent-Giants-Doomed-to-Fall
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/7quIJ52nLIs/
content:
<p><img src="media/ca3fd692.bomb-explosion-atomic.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bomb-explosion-atomic.jpg" alt="bomb-explosion-atomic" width="300" height="157" class="alignright size-full wp-image-123056">At TorrentFreak we have been keeping a close eye on the torrent ecosystem for more than a decade. </p>
<p>During this time, many sites have shut down, either voluntarily or forced by a court order. </p>
<p>This week meta-search engine Torrentz joined this ever-expanding list. In what appears to be a voluntary action, the site waved its millions of users farewell without prior warning.</p>
<p>The site&#8217;s operators have yet to explain their motivations. However, it wouldn&#8217;t be a big surprise if the continued legal pressure on torrent sites played a major role, with KAT as the most recent example. </p>
<p>And let&#8217;s be honest. Running a site that could make you the target of an FBI investigation, facing over a dozen years in prison, is no joke.</p>
<p>Looking back at the largest torrent sites of the past 15 years, we see a familiar pattern emerge. Many of the sites that make it to the top eventually fall down, often due to legal pressure. </p>
<h3>Suprnova (2004)</h3>
<p>Suprnova was one of the first ever BitTorrent giants. Founded by the Slovenian-born Andrej Preston, the site dominated the torrent scene during the early days. </p>
<p>It was also one of the first torrent sites to be targeted by the authorities. In November 2004 the site&#8217;s servers were raided, and a month later Preston, aka Sloncek, decided to shut it down voluntarily. The police investigation was eventually <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/sloncek-uncovers-the-truth-about-suprnovaorg/">dropped a few months later</a>.</p>
<h3>Lokitorrent (2005)</h3>
<p>When Suprnova went down a new site was quick to fill its void. LokiTorrent soon became one of the largest torrent sites around, which also attracted the attention of the MPAA.</p>
<p>LokiTorrent’s owner Ed Webber said he wanted to fight the MPAA and actively collected donations to pay for the legal costs. With success, as he raised over $40,000 in a few weeks.</p>
<p>However, not long after that, LokiTorrent was shut down, and all that was left was the iconic &#8220;You can click but you can&#8217;t hide&#8221; MPAA notice. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/ae94cce6.clickhide-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/clickhide-1.jpg" alt="clickhide" width="500" height="244" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125901"></center></p>
<h3>TorrentSpy (2008)</h3>
<p>In 2006 TorrentSpy was more popular than any other BitTorrent site. This quickly changed when it was sued by the MPAA. In 2007 a federal judge ordered TorrentSpy to log all user data and the site opted to ban all U.S. traffic in response. </p>
<p>March 2008 TorrentSpy owner Justin Bunnell decided to shut down completely and not much later his company was ordered to pay the Hollywood studios <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/torrentspy-slapped-110-million-080507/">$110 million in damages</a>.</p>
<h3>Mininova (2009)</h3>
<p>After TorrentSpy&#8217;s demise, Mininova became the largest torrent site on the net. The name was inspired by Suprnova, but in 2008 the site was many times larger than its predecessor.</p>
<p>Its popularity eventually resulted in a lawsuit from local anti-piracy outfit BREIN, which Mininova lost. As a result, the site had to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mininova-ordered-to-remove-all-infringing-torrents-090826/">remove all infringing torrents</a>, a move which effectively ended its reign. </p>
<p>Today the site is still online, limiting uploads to pre-approved publishers, making it a ghost of the giant it was in the past. </p>
<h3>BTJunkie (2012)</h3>
<p>In 2012, shortly after the Megaupload raid, torrent site <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/btjunkie-shuts-down-for-good-120206/">BTJunkie shut down voluntarily</a>. </p>
<p>Talking to TorrentFreak, BTjunkie’s founder said that the legal actions against other file-sharing sites played an important role in making the difficult decision. Witnessing all the trouble his colleagues got into was a constant cause of worry and stress.</p>
<p>&#8220;We’ve been fighting for years for your right to communicate, but it’s time to move on. It’s been an experience of a lifetime, we wish you all the best,” he wrote in a farewell message.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/f9ff8c0b.rip-btjunkie.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rip-btjunkie.jpg" alt="btjunkie"></center></p>
<h3>isoHunt (2013)</h3>
<p>The <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isohunt-shuts-down-after-110-million-settlement-with-the-mpaa-131017/">shutdown of isoHunt</a> a year later wasn&#8217;t much of a surprise. The site had been fighting a legal battle with the MPAA for over a decade and eventually lost, agreeing to pay the movie studios a $110m settlement.</p>
<p>As one of the oldest and largest sites at the time, the torrent ecosystem lost another icon. However, as is often the case, another site with the same name quickly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isohunt-resurrected-less-than-two-weeks-after-110-million-mpaa-deal-131029/">took over</a> and is still operating today. </p>
<h3>EZTV (2015)</h3>
<p>The story of EZTV&#8217;s demise is quite different from the rest. The popular TV-torrent distribution group shut down last year <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/eztv-shuts-down-after-hostile-takeover-150518/">after a hostile takeover</a>. </p>
<p>Strangely enough, many people don&#8217;t even realize that it&#8217;s &#8220;gone.&#8221; The site continued to operate under new ownership and still releases torrents. However, in solidarity with the original founders these torrents are banned on several other sites. </p>
<h3>YIFY/YTS (2015)</h3>
<p>What started as a simple movie release group in 2010 turned into one of the largest torrent icons. The group amassed a huge following and its website was generating millions of pageviews per day early last year.</p>
<p>In November 2015 <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-we-shut-down-ytsyify-and-popcorn-time-151103/">this ended abruptly</a>. Facing a million dollar lawsuit from Hollywood, the group&#8217;s founder decided to pull the plug and call it quits. Even though various copycats have since emerged, the real YIFY/YTS is no more.</p>
<h3>KickassTorrents (2016)</h3>
<p>Three weeks ago Polish law enforcement officers <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">arrested Artem Vaulin</a>, the alleged owner of KickassTorrents. The arrest resulted in the shutdown of the site, which came as a shock to millions of KAT users and the torrent community at large.</p>
<p>Out of nowhere, the largest torrent index disappeared and there are no signs that it’s coming back anytime soon. The site&#8217;s community, meanwhile, has found a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-community-resurrects-without-torrents-160725/">new home at Katcr.to</a>.</p>
<h3>Torrentz (2016)</h3>
<p>Torrentz is the last torrent site to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/torrentz-shuts-down-largest-torrent-meta-search-engine-says-farewell-160805/">cease its operations</a>. Although no official explanation was given, some of the stories outlined above were probably weighed into the founders&#8217; decision.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>So what will the future bring? Who will be the next giant to fall? It&#8217;s obvious that nearly nothing last forever in the torrent ecosystem. Well, apart from the ever-resilient Pirate Bay.</p>
<p>And there are several other alternatives still around as well. ExtraTorrent has been around for a decade now and continues to grow, and the same is true for other <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">popular torrent sites</a>.</p>
<p>At least, for now&#8230;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125768
title: Noisia Handle Their Album Leak Without Blaming Fans
uri: Noisia-Handle-Their-Album-Leak-Without-Blaming-Fans
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/AqsKZpDJchc/
content:
<p><a href="media/3bf5fac7.outer-edges.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/outer-edges.jpg"><img src="media/3bf5fac7.outer-edges.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/outer-edges.jpg" alt="outer-edges" width="250" height="250" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125779"></a>For closing on 20 years, online piracy has been the bane of the music industry. Starting off relatively small due to limited speed Internet connections, the phenomenon boomed as broadband took hold.</p>
<p>In the years that followed, countless millions of tracks were shared among like-minded Internet users eager to keep up with their favorite artists and to discover those they never knew existed.</p>
<p>But with 2016 almost two-thirds done, legal music availability has never been better and the excuses for obtaining all content illegally are slowly disappearing over the horizon, for those who can afford it at least. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, one type of piracy refuses to go away, no matter how well-off the consumer. By definition, pre-release music is officially unavailable to buy, so money is completely out of the equation. Such leaks are the ultimate forbidden fruit for hardcore fans of all standing, including those most likely to shell out for the real thing.</p>
<p>This means that the major labels regularly cite pre-release leaks as the most damaging form of piracy, as they are unable to compete with the unauthorized copies already available. Release plans and marketing drives are planned and paid for in advance, and record companies are reluctant to change them.</p>
<p>As a result, such leaks are often followed by extreme outbursts from labels which slam leakers and downloaders alike. That&#8217;s perhaps understandable but there are better ways of getting the message over without attacking fans. Last week, drum and bass, dubstep, breakbeat and house stars <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noisia">Noisia</a> showed how it should be done after their long-awaited album Outer Edges leaked online six weeks early.</p>
<p>&#8220;Friday night, while we were in the final minutes of setting up the stage for our first ever Outer Edges show, we received the news that our album had been leaked. We think you can imagine how bad we felt at that moment,&#8221; the trio told fans on Facebook.</p>
<p>&#8220;We realize it&#8217;s 2016, and things like these happen all the time. Still, it&#8217;s quite a setback. All the plans we&#8217;ve made have to be scrapped and replaced by something less ideal, because we have to react to this unfortunate situation.&#8221;</p>
<p>In the DnB scene <a href="https://www.noisia.nl/">Noisia</a> are absolutely huge but despite their success have chosen to stay close to their fans. The trio run their own label (<a href="https://store.visionrecordings.nl/">Vision Recordings</a>) so have more control than many artists, thus allowing them to give fans unprecedented access to their music.</p>
<p>&#8220;So far in releasing this album, we&#8217;ve made a conscious effort to make every track that&#8217;s available somewhere, available everywhere. If you pre-ordered the album on Itunes or our webstore, you received the new track the same day it was first premiered on Soundcloud,&#8221; Noisia continue.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe that users of all platforms should be able to listen to our music pretty much the minute it&#8217;s available anywhere else. In this philosophy, the availability of our whole album on illegal download sites means that we have to make it available on all platforms.&#8221;</p>
<p>So, instead of going off on a huge rant, Noisia leapt into action.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have immediately changed all our previous plans and made the whole album available to buy on our web store right now,&#8221; the band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/noisia/">announced</a> on the day of the leak.</p>
<p>Sadly, other digital platforms couldn&#8217;t move as quickly, so most only got the release on Friday. Physical products couldn&#8217;t be moved either due to production limitations, so they will appear on the original schedule.</p>
<p>&#8220;Even though we are unhappy about this leak, we&#8217;re still really happy with the music. We really hope you will enjoy it as much as we&#8217;ve enjoyed making it,&#8221; Noisia said.</p>
<p>With this reaction to what must&#8217;ve been a hugely disappointing leak, Noisia showed themselves to be professionals. No crying, no finger pointing, just actions to limit the impact of the situation alongside a decision to compete with free, both before and after the leak. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, Thijs, Martijn and Nik are human after all, so they couldn&#8217;t resist taking a little shot at whoever leaked their music. No threats of lawsuits of course, but a decent helping of sarcasm and dark humor.</p>
<p>&#8220;Thanks to whoever leaked our album, next time please do it after the album is out, maybe we can coordinate? Oh wait, that wouldn&#8217;t really be leaking&#8230; And besides, we don&#8217;t negotiate with terror..leaking persons,&#8221; they said.</p>
<p>&#8220;No, instead we will fold, and adjust our entire strategy. Take that! We hope you get stung by a lot of mosquitoes this summer, and maybe also next summer.&#8221;</p>
<p>Noisia&#8217;s next album will probably take years to arrive (Outer Edges took six years) but when it does, don&#8217;t expect to be warned months in advance. The trio are already vowing to do things differently next time, so expect the unexpected.</p>
<p>Noisia make a lot of their music available for free on <a href="https://soundcloud.com/noisia">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/NoisiaTV">YouTube</a> and ad-supported <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/4YWj8sohRDjL9deiuRvEEY">Spotify</a>. </p>
<p><Center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8Pb-MQCPQsc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125981
title: Nintendo Takes Down Fan-Made Metroid 2 Remake
uri: Nintendo-Takes-Down-Fan-Made-Metroid-2-Remake
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/eGuV6Hk36zc/
content:
<p><a href="media/20e29041.am2r-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/am2r-logo.jpg"><img src="media/20e29041.am2r-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/am2r-logo.jpg" alt="am2r-logo" width="250" height="188" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125997" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/am2r-logo.jpg 250w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/am2r-logo-200x150.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px"></a>An astonishing three decades have passed since Nintendo first unleashed Metroid on a still-young video gaming market. Debuted in Japan in 1986 on the now-classic Famicom system, Metroid gained a dedicated and passionate following.</p>
<p>For those interested in the game&#8217;s development, Kotaku has decent <a href="http://kotaku.com/30-years-of-galactic-bounty-hunting-with-metroid-1784925749">potted history</a>. However, this weekend, with Metroid turning 30, another big event reignited the fires. </p>
<p>AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) has been in development for more than 10 years. Based on Metroid II: The Return Of Samus, it&#8217;s a game written by fans, for fans. After a demo version was released in 2014, this Saturday the full version landed, free of charge.</p>
<p>&#8220;Finally. This is the first full release of AM2R. You&#8217;ll be able to complete Metroid 2 like you never did before,&#8221; a post by developer DoctorM64 <a href="http://metroid2remake.blogspot.dk/2016/08/am2r-10-released.html">revealed</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was a long journey. I grew up both as a person and as a developer along this project. Today I can start sharing with you the rest of the game. There&#8217;s lots of improvements and features planned for a near future.&#8221;</p>
<p>The release delighted the gaming press, with shouts of &#8220;<a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/free-metroid-2-remake">brilliant</a>&#8221; and &#8220;<a href="https://www.destructoid.com/this-metroid-2-remake-is-hot-hot-hot-and-you-can-play-the-whole-thing-now-378973.phtml">hot hot hot</a>&#8220;. But now it appears that Nintendo is attempting to pour cold water on the flames using the DMCA.</p>
<p>According to an announcement this morning by leading Metroid fansite Metroid-Database, Nintendo took exception to the site hosting the game files and filed a complaint with its webhost.</p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Friends: Nintendo has hit us (meaning, our website host) with a DMCA takedown notice. We can no longer host the AM2R file. Sorry!</p>
<p>&mdash; Metroid Database (@MetroidDatabase) <a href="https://twitter.com/MetroidDatabase/status/762432458641936388">August 7, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.metroid-database.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&#038;t=5353&#038;start=60">follow-up</a>, Metroid Database lead designer Infinity&#8217;s Edge published the full email, which was sent to the site&#8217;s web host by a lawyer acting for Nintendo of America.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Dear Copyright Agent,</p>
<p>We represent Nintendo of America Inc. (Nintendo) in intellectual property matters. Nintendo recently learned that content hosted by SoftLayer at http://www.metroid-database.com/files/AM2R_10.zip infringes copyrights owned by Nintendo. This notice is provided pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 USC Â§ 512, and SoftLayer&#8217;s DMCA Policy.</p>
<p>The above URL provides access to a software file that makes unauthorized use of Nintendo&#8217;s copyrighted material from its Metroid video game franchise, including but not limited to the images and fictional character depictions from U.S. Copyright Reg. Nos. PA0000356142, supp. by PA0000547461 (Metroid); VA0000474073 &#038; TX003221317 (Metroid II: Return of Samus); PA0000720157 (Super Metroid); PA0001275461 (Metroid Prime); PA0001275460 (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes); PA0001633666 (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption); PA0001915118 (Metroid Prime Hunters); and PA0001791606 (Metroid: Other M).</p>
<p>I have a good faith belief that this use is not authorized by the intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law. I hereby state that the information herein is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that I am authorized to act on Nintendo of America Inc.&#8217;s behalf.</p>
<p>We would appreciate your expeditious removal of all infringing content. Please contact me immediately with any questions.</p>
<p>This notice is not intended to and shall not waive or prejudice any rights and remedies that Nintendo may have at law, in equity, or otherwise. Any and all such rights and remedies are hereby expressly reserved.</p>
<p>Best regards,</p>
<p>Brian Sniffen<br>
Attorney for Nintendo of America Inc.</p>
<p>Miller Nash Graham &#038; Dunn LLP<br>
3400 U.S. Bancorp Tower | 111 S.W. Fifth Avenue | Portland, Oregon 97204<br>
Office: 503.224.5858 | Fax: 503.224.0155</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Why Nintendo appears to have targeted Metroid Database with a takedown and not yet the official site is unclear. However, the official site is currently only linking to files hosted elsewhere (Mediafire, Filedropper), so it could be that the third party sites will receive notices directly. That being said, no files have yet been taken down. (Update: Both files have been removed by Nintendo)</p>
<p>TorrentFreak has reached out to Brian Sniffen for comment but in the meantime a DMCA notice <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/dmca/nintendo-entertainment-system-famicom-a-visual-compendium-submit">published by Kickstarter</a> in June confirms that the lawyer has acted for Nintendo in earlier Metroid copyright cases.</p>
<p>Of course, fans of the remake and indeed the whole Metroid series are pretty upset that Nintendo appear to be spoiling the party, but with the game already widely distributed, Nintendo isn&#8217;t going to be able to do much to stop things now. </p>
<p><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mY-Viss9u-s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125955
title: Defense Asks U.S. to Drop Case Against Alleged KickassTorrents Owner
uri: Defense-Asks-U-S-to-Drop-Case-Against-Alleged-KickassTorrents-Owner
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/FjmDci0ad6s/
content:
<p><img src="media/2279eece.kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" alt="kickasstorrents_500x500" width="222" height="222" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-99785" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png 300w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-150x150.png 150w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px">Last month Polish law enforcement officers <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">arrested Artem Vaulin</a>, the alleged founder of KickassTorrents, who&#8217;s been held in a local prison since. </p>
<p>The Polish authorities acted on a criminal complaint from the U.S. Government. In the indictment, the 30-year-old Ukrainian is charged with criminal copyright infringement and money laundering.</p>
<p>According to Vaulin&#8217;s legal defense team, lead by <a href="http://www.techfirm.com/">Ira Rothken</a>, these allegations are baseless. While not addressing whether their client is indeed the owner of the site, they argue that the changes don&#8217;t hold up. </p>
<p>In a letter sent to the Department of Justice (<a href="media/eac9d82e.Ltr2USAtty-Rothken-KAT-Vaulin-160801-FINAL.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/Ltr2USAtty-Rothken-KAT-Vaulin-160801-FINAL.pdf">pdf</a>), they request the authorities to dismiss the criminal complaint against Vaulin and release him from prison as soon as possible.</p>
<p>One of the main arguments is that the alleged KickassTorrents owner can&#8217;t be held responsible for the potentially infringing actions of the site&#8217;s users. The defense team argues that criminal secondary or indirect copyright infringement does not exist under U.S. law.</p>
<p>&#8220;This alleged criminal copyright case arises out of an erroneous theory of criminal copyright law advanced by the United States that attempts to hold Artem Vaulin criminally liable for the alleged infringing acts of KAT&#8217;s search engine users,&#8221; the defense team writes.</p>
<p>The lawyers point out that the KickassTorrents website itself never hosted any infringing material. It only stored torrent files, and possible copyright infringements would take place once the visitors had left the site.</p>
<p>&#8220;By the time any possible primary infringement by a former KAT visitor could ever occur the visit to the site is long over,&#8221; the defense argues.</p>
<p>&#8220;Defendants cannot be held criminally responsible for what users do after they leave the KAT search engine behind. The Copyright Act does not criminalize secondary copyright infringement,&#8221; they add.</p>
<p><center><strong>Letter to the U.S. Department of Justice</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/d84f659b.katdismiss.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katdismiss.png" alt="katdismiss" width="523" height="186" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125974"></center></p>
<p>The affidavit also contains other &#8220;incorrect, misleading and irrelevant allegations&#8221; regarding BitTorrent technology and how KickassTorrents operated, according to the defense. </p>
<p>In addition, it lacks specific examples linking the alleged site operator to infringing downloads. In fact, the only relevant infringement quoted is one committed by an agent from Homeland Security Investigations.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Affidavit fails to identify even one specific infringement committed within the last 180 days by someone in the United States of America, other than by HIS Special Agents,&#8221; Vaulin&#8217;s defense argues.  </p>
<p>The absence of any specific allegations is not an oversight according to the defense. Rather, it is a side effect of how far the alleged site owner is removed from potentially copyright infringing acts, they note. </p>
<p>Given the weakness of the criminal claims, Vaulin&#8217;s lawyers ask the U.S. Department of Justice to drop the charges against their client and release him from prison as soon as possible. </p>
<p>The letter further urges the authorities not to question, interrogate, or interview Vaulin, and allow the defense to immediately speak with him in prison so he can assist with his defense.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125942
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 08/08/16
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-08-08-16
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/aIRza-46rjY/
content:
<p><img src="media/9b0eb317.legendtarzanl.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/legendtarzanl.jpg" alt="legendtarzanl" width="300" height="184" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125950">This week we have two newcomers in our chart. </p>
<p>The Legend of Tarzan is the most downloaded movie.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-pirated-movies-week-080116/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_legend_of_tarzan">The Legend of Tarzan</a> ()Subbed HDRip </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918940/">6.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLmKio67pVQ">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/independence_day_resurgence/">Independence Day: Resurgence</a> (Subbed HDRip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1628841/">5.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbduDRH2m2M">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/warcraft/">Warcraft</a></td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0803096/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhFMIRuHAL4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_jungle_book_2016">The Jungle Book</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3040964/">7.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkm22yO-bs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jason_bourne/">Jason Bourne</a> (CAM/TS)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4196776/">7.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71ce1Dqqns">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nice_guys/">The Nice Guys</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3799694/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyR-UqRom-c">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/batman_the_killing_joke/">Batman: The Killing Joke</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4853102">7.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeNi4PfNMqI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/central_intelligence/">Central Intelligence</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1489889/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxEw3elSJ8M">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(7)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_secret_life_of_pets/">The Secret Life of Pets</a> (HDTS)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2709768/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-80SGWfEjM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/x_men_apocalypse/">X-Men: Apocalypse</a> (Subbed HDRip) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3385516/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jer8XjMrUB4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125742
title: KickassTorrents Domain Goes Up for Sale
uri: KickassTorrents-Domain-Goes-Up-for-Sale
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/rDc-Jt34D1E/
content:
<p><a href="media/ef8f6ae4.katcomm.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katcomm.jpg"><img src="media/ef8f6ae4.katcomm.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katcomm.jpg" alt="katcomm" width="289" height="209" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125315"></a>It&#8217;s been two and a half weeks since <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">the shutdown</a> of KickassTorrents, the world&#8217;s leading torrent site, but beyond the US criminal complaint and the arrest of its owner, little fresh news has been made available.</p>
<p>In the background, however, the wheels turn.</p>
<p><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-alleged-owner-retains-kim-dotcoms-lawyer-160728/">As revealed last week</a>, Ira Rothken, Kim Dotcom&#8217;s lawyer, will be representing KAT founder Artem Vaulin in his battle with US authorities. Rothken sees parallels with the Department of Justice&#8217;s battle against Megaupload, so in some respects the cases will compliment each other.</p>
<p>But as Vaulin languishes in a Polish jail, the work of US law enforcement continues. Part of the KickassTorrents complaint supports seizure warrants against several of the site&#8217;s domains, as listed below.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/eca24dc0.kat-domains.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kat-domains.png"><img src="media/eca24dc0.kat-domains.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kat-domains.png" alt="kat-domains" width="600" height="327" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-125803"></a></center></p>
<p>KickassTorrents.com has already been seized and currently displays the familiar Homeland Security/Department of Justice seizure banner. </p>
<p>Kastatic.com, a domain utilized for some technical aspects of the site, is also in the hands of the United States government.</p>
<p>Thekat.tv has been taken too and is being directed to the familiar SeizedServers.com. It does not currently display the banner, however.</p>
<p>All three of these domains were under the control of the US-based Verisign registry, which might explain why they were seized so rapidly. That being said, the Tonga-based Kickass.to also fell quickly into US hands, despite the ccTLD being a famous hold-out for all kinds of pirate sites. It too displays the seized banner.</p>
<p>Others are taking longer to process, such as the Philippines-based Kat.ph. That domain hasn&#8217;t been used for some time though, despite being involved in <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kat-ph-goes-down-following-domain-issues-switches-to-kickass-to-130613/">earlier legal disputes</a>.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Kat.cr, the site&#8217;s main domain, and Kickass.cr, a memorable backup, are both sitting dormant and not yet directing to a seizure banner. The Costa Rican domain registry in control of them is staying tight-lipped over their status, informing TorrentFreak that local legislation forbids them from providing details.</p>
<p>&#8220;According to the Republic of Costa Rica Law on Protection of Persons against the use of their Personal Data (Law No. 8968), we are not authorized to provide information of any kind about .cr domains to third parties who are not the owners of the domain,&#8221; the registry told TF.</p>
<p>However, we can see from the domains&#8217; WHOIS entries that one of them is sporting an unexpected update.</p>
<p><Center><a href="media/f9e2d7d3.kickass-cr-sale.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickass-cr-sale.png"><img src="media/f9e2d7d3.kickass-cr-sale.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickass-cr-sale.png" alt="kickass-cr-sale" width="600" height="337" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-125784"></a></center></p>
<p>Despite all its troubles, somehow Kickass.cr has been put up for sale. Those interested in purchasing the memorable domain are directed to the SEDO marketplace where they are invited to submit an offer. After two bids the price being asked is a ridiculously low $230, but anyone is free to offer as much as they like.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/ec2cf32d.kickass-cr-offer.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickass-cr-offer.png"><img src="media/ec2cf32d.kickass-cr-offer.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickass-cr-offer.png" alt="kickass-cr-offer" width="600" height="263" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-125794"></a></center></p>
<p>While someone may be tempted to offer real cash (rather than our Monopoly money), it seems unlikely any sale will go through to completion. Firstly, the US government is determined to get its hands on the domain but separately it also shows some unusual markers in its status which suggest any sale won&#8217;t be a smooth one.</p>
<p><Center><a href="media/d242f8d9.kickass-status.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickass-status.png"><img src="media/d242f8d9.kickass-status.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickass-status.png" alt="kickass-status" width="600" height="406" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-125799"></a></center></p>
<p>In the meantime, many other KickassTorrents-owned domains appear to have been overlooked or are of no interest to the United States. At least a dozen separate domains owned by KAT-related entities remain active. Crucially, however, none point to a useful torrent website.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125655
title: Ninjavideo Uploader Featured on Interpol’s “Wanted” Criminals List
uri: Ninjavideo-Uploader-Featured-on-Interpol-s-Wanted-Criminals-Li
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/v1x71mx0o2s/
content:
<p><img src="media/c38b574c.ninjavideo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ninjavideo.jpg" alt="ninjavideo" width="238" height="229" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125725">Five years ago, several people connected to the video streaming and download site NinjaVideo <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/ninjavideo-admins-and-uploaders-indicted-by-grand-jury-110910/">were indicted by the U.S. Government</a> on copyright infringement and conspiracy charges. </p>
<p>The landmark case resulted in several convictions, including a 22 month prison sentence for one the site&#8217;s founders, the outspoken Hana Beshara. </p>
<p>The convictions date back several years ago. Beshara, who received the longest sentence, served her time and was released last summer. However, that doesn&#8217;t mean that the case is closed.</p>
<p>One of the indicted NinjaVideo members, Zoi Mertzanis from Greece, is still at large. Mertzanis, AKA &#8220;Tik,&#8221; was allegedly one of the most active uploaders on the site.</p>
<p>&#8220;Mertzanis supervised most of the European-based uploaders, including directing uploaders to locate specific infringing copyrighted content for the NinjaVideo.net website,&#8221; the DoJ wrote in the indictment.</p>
<p>However, despite several successful convictions and plea agreements, the Greek resident still hasn&#8217;t been caught.</p>
<p>As a result, the now 40-year-old woman is currently featured on Interpol&#8217;s <a href="http://www.interpol.int/notice/search/wanted/2011-59074">&#8220;wanted&#8221; list</a>. Interpol issued a so-called &#8220;red notice&#8221; for the former Ninjavideo uploader, indicating that she&#8217;s wanted for extradition.</p>
<p><center><strong>Mertzanis&#8217; Red Notice listing on Interpol&#8217;s wanted site</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/bb93a0fb.interpolzoi.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/interpolzoi.jpg" alt="interpolzoi" width="600" height="607" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125726"></center></p>
<p>According to our knowledge, Mertzanis is the only person associated with a streaming or download site listed on Interpol&#8217;s website. </p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to someone close to the Ninjavideo case who informed us that Mertzanis&#8217; fugitive status has negative consequences for the convicted co-conspirators who already served their time. Because the case remains open, they are still waiting for the return of several personal items that were seized.</p>
<p>The Ninjavideo case has been one of the most prominent successes of the U.S. Government&#8217;s &#8220;Operation in Our Sites&#8221; campaign. If Mertzanis is caught and extradited, she is facing a prison sentence of at least several months, based on the previous convictions.</p>
<p>The harshest sentence was handed to NinjaVideo founder Hana Beshara, 22 months in prison and a payment of $210,000 in damages to the MPAA. Fellow admin Matthew Smith received 14 months in prison and was ordered to pay back just over $172,000.</p>
<p>Ninjavideo uploader Joshua Evans received 6 months in prison and $26,660 in restitution. Justin Dedemko was not listed as part of the NinjaVideo conspiracy, but was sentenced to 3 months in prison and ordered to repay the MPAA $58,004.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126014
title: Denuvo Properly Cracked, “Rise of the Tomb Raider” First Victim
uri: Denuvo-Properly-Cracked-Rise-of-the-Tomb-Raider-First-Victim
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/oE3DK2V59xg/
content:
<p><a href="media/fe5f698e.denuvo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/denuvo.jpg"><img src="media/fe5f698e.denuvo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/denuvo.jpg" alt="denuvo" width="210" height="109" class="alignright size-full wp-image-116067"></a>Over the years, many anti-piracy systems have ruffled the feathers of video game pirates but none have done so to the extent Denuvo has.</p>
<p>Not a DRM technology its own right, Denuvo is software that acts as an anti-tamper mechanism, thwarting the efforts of so-called crackers who want to make games available for free.</p>
<p>Before this weekend, just one Denuvo-protected title had appeared online. FIFA 16&#8217;s protection was bypassed, not cracked (a subtle but important detail), by Turk DM. Nevertheless, pirates never take even a bypass for granted &#8211; free games are free games, after all.</p>
<p>Then this weekend, the floodgates opened. A cracker known as Voksi found a loophole in Steam which allowed many Denuvo-protected titles to be played for free. It was another bypass, one powered by a secret sauce.</p>
<p>&#8220;His secret method for defeating Denuvo was beer, tons of it,&#8221; Voksi colleague Royalgamer06 told TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>Royalgamer06 confirms that Voksi hails from Bulgaria and the pair met on a forum where they shared a passion for cracking games.</p>
<p>&#8220;Voksi has been cracking for a number of years now. We met each other on [a Russian forum]. We both were releasing so-called &#8216;Steamworks fixed&#8217;, which allowed pirates to play cracked games online through Steam,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>&#8220;Somehow he found out about this exploit. At first, he couldn’t believe it himself. But after several tests it really worked. And then he got really excited and released it. This got the whole piracy community excited, which motivated Voksi even more.&#8221;</p>
<p>And exciting it was too. After the Doom release came several other titles including Return of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 3, Homefront: The Revolution, ABZU, INSIDE and Total War WARHAMMER.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s a Denuvo bypass technically,&#8221; Royalgamer06 explains</p>
<p>&#8220;It relies on an exploit using the DOOM Demo Denuvo activation. Voksi had to make different memory patches for each game to work. But the principle remained the same. So many pirates have been able to play and finish these games.&#8221; </p>
<p>Indeed, according to stats provided by Voksi, an estimated 650K people used his bypass method over the weekend. It apparently somehow calls back home to him, hence the figures.</p>
<p>But then yesterday, as thousands of pirates celebrated the surprise fall of Denuvo, misery struck. Voksi&#8217;s workaround was defeated.</p>
<p>&#8220;Voksi’s exploit has been patched by Denuvo now,&#8221; Royalgamer06 told TF last night.</p>
<p>&#8220;They disabled activations for the DOOM demo, which the bypass relied on. It took them three days to do it. Seems the Denuvo guys don’t work at the weekend.&#8221;</p>
<p>But as the storm clouds gathered over pirate haunts everywhere and the sun beamed down on Denuvo in Austria, even bigger news appeared on the horizon. A single line of text on so-called pre-databases (sites that signal pirate releases) indicated that a big name in the piracy scene had made amazing progress. </p>
<p>&#8216;Rise.Of.The.Tomb.Raider.READNFO-CONSPIR4CY&#8217; references a release by a &#8216;Scene&#8217; group known as CONSPIR4CY, a reported collaboration between CPY and CODEX.</p>
<p>More than a bypass of Denuvo, this release of the latest Tomb Raider game appears to contain the Holy Grail &#8211; a bona fide crack of Denuvo.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/3b07fb46.denuvo-cpy.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/denuvo-cpy.jpg"><img src="media/3b07fb46.denuvo-cpy.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/denuvo-cpy.jpg" alt="denuvo-cpy" width="560" height="213" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126025"></a></center></p>
<p>Predictably and despite its size, the 31GB file is now hot property on file-sharing sites. It comes updated with the latest patch and includes three DLCs including Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch, Cold Darkness Awakened and Endurance Mode.</p>
<p>But while CONSPIR4CY (whose motto is &#8220;Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned) have undoubtedly achieved something amazing in pirate terms, the Denuvo battle is probably far from won.</p>
<p>Thus far only Tomb Raider has fallen, and that was released in January this year, meaning that the title had more than six months clear run at piracy-free sales. That being said, no one knows when CONSPIR4CY began working on Denuvo.</p>
<p>In any event, optimism is high for more Denuvo titles being released soon.</p>
<p>&#8220;Who knows what more Denuvo games get released now,&#8221; Royalgamer06 says.</p>
<p>&#8220;Denuvo’s reputation will get crushed at this rate for sure. First they let this big [Voksi] exploit happen and now their infamous protection gets fully cracked by CONSPIR4CY.</p>
<p>&#8220;Seems like there really is no way to beat piracy,&#8221; he concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126079
title: Court Affirms $25m Piracy Verdict Against Cox, Rejects Spying Request
uri: Court-Affirms-25m-Piracy-Verdict-Against-Cox-Rejects-Spying-Request
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/03yeRTuuP28/
content:
<p><a href="media/1082974f.cox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/cox-logo.png" rel="attachment wp-att-68146"><img src="media/015f41e0.cox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cox-logo.png" alt="cox-logo" width="200" height="99" class="alignright size-full wp-image-68146"></a>Last December a Virginia federal jury ruled that Internet provider Cox Communications was responsible for the copyright infringements of its subscribers.</p>
<p>The ISP was found guilty of willful contributory copyright infringement and ordered to pay music publisher BMG Rights Management <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/cox-is-liable-for-pirating-subscribers-ordered-to-pay-25-million-151217/">$25 million in damages</a>.</p>
<p>The verdict was a massive victory for the music licensing company and nothing short of a disaster for Cox. </p>
<p>Hoping to escape the jury verdict, the Internet provider renewed its motion for judgment as a matter of law. Alternatively, the ISP asked the court to grant a new trial.</p>
<p>For its part, BMG <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-should-expose-pirating-subscribers-court-hears-160127/">asked the court</a> to issue a permanent injunction against Cox, requiring the Internet provider to terminate the accounts of pirating subscribers and monitor and prevent future infringements.</p>
<p>After a review, the court ruled on the matter this week. In his opinion Judge Liam O&#8217;Grady affirms the $25 million judgment against Cox, while denying the motions for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial.</p>
<p>In the verdict, the court upholds the conclusions of the jury. Among other things, it rules that there is sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that Cox is responsible for the infringements that occurred on its network.</p>
<p>The fact that the ISP chose not to forward BMG&#8217;s notices and settlement requests to its customers to protect them from extortion-like practices, doesn&#8217;t change this.</p>
<p>&#8220;Whether or not Cox’s effort to protect its customers from Rightscorp was noble or well-intentioned, Cox could not also turn a blind eye to specific infringement occurring on its network,&#8221; Judge O&#8217;Grady writes.</p>
<p>The court acknowledges that his decision will have widespread consequences for other ISPs and Internet services, and hints that further litigation could help to clarify what&#8217;s allowed and what not.</p>
<p>&#8220;In reaching this conclusion, the Court acknowledges that the application of traditional contributory infringement to large intermediaries like Cox magnifies the uncertainties in this area of the law and raises the specter of undesirable consequences that may follow.</p>
<p>&#8220;This case may provide the vehicle for consideration of those questions,&#8221; Judge O&#8217;Grady adds.</p>
<p>The above means that the $25 million judgment against Cox is upheld. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/601a5657.cox25.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cox25.png" alt="cox25" width="506" height="266" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126094"></center></p>
<p>While the ISP will be disappointed with this outcome, it will be pleased to see that BMG&#8217;s request for a permanent injunction was also denied. </p>
<p>The music licensing group requested a permanent injunction against Cox, requiring the Internet provider to expose the personal details of pirating subscribers, and monitor their actions to limit or prevent further infringements.</p>
<p>The court rules that the requested injunction is too vague. BMG failed to explain what actions the ISP would have to take, and Judge O&#8217;Grady notes that &#8220;limit&#8221; and &#8220;prevent&#8221; are two entirely different things.</p>
<p>Among other things, BMG suggested that the ISP could &#8216;spy&#8217; on its subscribers by using deep packet inspection, but it failed to provide more specifics.</p>
<p>&#8220;Perhaps, as BMG suggests, Cox could require a subscriber to remove BitTorrent from their computers in order to remain on the network. Aside from the obvious point that this does not appear in the injunction, there was minimal testimony about deep packet inspection or its viability as a court-ordered solution here,&#8221; O&#8217;Grady writes.</p>
<p>In addition, the court also rejects BMG&#8217;s request to receive email addresses, phone numbers and other personal details of repeat infringers, which would put the privacy of Cox subscribers at risk.</p>
<p>In his decision to deny the permanent injunction, Judge O&#8217;Grady weighs in the fact that BMG waited for several years to take action.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Court does not question the harm BMG suffers each time a work becomes available on BitTorrent, but BMG has not sufficiently articulated how maintaining its years-long status quo outweighs the burden it wishes to place on Cox.&#8221; </p>
<p>Both sides have yet to comment on the court&#8217;s ruling but considering the importance, it is likely that Cox will appeal the case to a higher court.</p>
<p>A full copy of Judge O&#8217;Grady&#8217;s memorandum of opinion is available <a href="media/00e44cd6.cox1.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cox1.pdf">here (pdf)</a>. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125820
title: Facebook Removes ExtraTorrent Page, Deletes User Profiles, Flags Links
uri: Facebook-Removes-ExtraTorrent-Page-Deletes-User-Profiles-Flags-Links
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/rL7_zLAmlsQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/15660387.etfacebook.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/etfacebook.png" alt="etfacebook" width="299" height="196" class="alignright size-full wp-image-105720">It&#8217;s no secret that <a href="http://facebook.com">Facebook</a> frequently removes copyright-infringing links shared by its users. </p>
<p>However, it sometimes goes a step further by removing entire pages. This is also what happened to <a href="http://extratorrent.cc/">ExtraTorrent</a>, one of the largest torrent sites around. </p>
<p>Even though the site stopped sharing links to copyrighted material on Facebook years ago, it was still being reported by copyright holders, music industry group IFPI in particular. </p>
<p>As a result, Facebook flagged the ExtraTorrent page as a repeat copyright infringer. This recently resulted in the removal of its fan page, which had tens of thousands of followers.</p>
<p>According to ExtraTorrent operator SaM, it didn&#8217;t stop there either. </p>
<p>&#8220;They blocked multiple ExtraTorrent pages,&#8221; he says. &#8220;First our main page, and after some fans made new pages, these were removed every other day as well.&#8221; </p>
<p>Roughly a half dozen fan-made pages were removed by Facebook. On top of that, the user profiles and groups associated with the official ExtraTorrent page were disabled as well.</p>
<p>&#8220;They even disabled profiles of those who were moderating the page. All groups were removed and profiles of admins were disabled,&#8221; SaM tells us.</p>
<p>The complaints were sent to Facebook on behalf of IFPI, according to ExtraTorrent&#8217;s operator. However, since his profile was deleted he no longer has access to the messages in question.</p>
<p>Although the ExtraTorrent page did not post any updates linking to infringing material, it did list the site&#8217;s URLs and official mirrors in its profile. Perhaps this was enough for Facebook to warrant its actions. </p>
<p>That would make sense, as the social networking site is actively flagging all ExtraTorrent links on its service. Anyone who wants to post an ExtraTorrent link, with or without torrent, has to go through a &#8220;security check.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>Facebook&#8217;s security check</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/d0a9885a.fbseccheck.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fbseccheck.png" alt="fbseccheck" width="542" height="398" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126002"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;It looks like a link you&#8217;re sharing might be unsafe. If you can, please remove this link: extratorrent.cc,&#8221; Facebook warns, adding &#8220;If you can&#8217;t remove this link and you still want to share it, please complete the security check below.&#8221;</p>
<p>The same warning also pops up for private messages, making it impossible to share an ExtraTorrent link without having to go through an additional check. </p>
<p>Whether the ExtraTorrent URL filter is piracy related is unknown, but the page removal certainly is. </p>
<p>Also, this is not the first time that ExtraTorrent has lost its Facebook following. The same happened last year, as well as a few years earlier. </p>
<p>Shortly before publishing this article a new unofficial ExtraTorrent Facebook page was registered, again started by fans. However, ExtraTorrent informed us that they&#8217;ll stay away from the social network for the time being.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126050
title: Scammers Take Over Popular KickassTorrents ‘Mirror’
uri: Scammers-Take-Over-Popular-KickassTorrents-Mirror
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/fYAXJ9wU1Ag/
content:
<p><img src="media/2279eece.kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" alt="kickasstorrents_500x500" width="222" height="222" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-99785" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png 300w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-150x150.png 150w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px">After losing two of the largest torrent sites, KickassTorrents and Torrentz.eu, there&#8217;s a lot of uncertainty and doubt in the torrent community. </p>
<p>Many people are looking for alternatives to their favorite sites and a natural response is to look for mirrors. </p>
<p>KAT.am was one of the first sites to present itself as a replacement. While it <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/popular-kat-mirror-is-in-reality-a-dressed-up-pirate-bay-mirror-160805/">misleadingly claimed</a> to have a copy of KAT&#8217;s database, a flurry of news reports helped the site to gain traction. </p>
<p>This ended abruptly last week. The mirror&#8217;s domain name was suspended <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/movie-studios-go-popular-kat-mirror-160729/">after a complaint</a> from the Motion Picture Association, forcing the operators to move elsewhere. </p>
<p>However, for the past few days KAT.am has been back in action. At first glance it appears to be a fully working mirror, but people who try to download something will be prompted to register a &#8216;free&#8217; account. </p>
<p>&#8220;Free Account Required. You must create a Free Account to access KickassTorrents,&#8221; the popup notification reads.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/eea7e5fc.katscamaccount.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katscamaccount.png" alt="katscamaccount" width="599" height="378" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126056"></center></p>
<p>The signup page redirects to a scammy portal, and requires people to enter their credit card details if they want a free trial. </p>
<p>Needless to say, this has nothing to do with the original KickassTorrents site, and has all the signs of a classic pay to download scam, which usually ends in disappointment for those who sign up.</p>
<p>So how can it be that scammers managed to get hold of the popular domain?</p>
<p>Well, as it turns out the .AM domain registry simply made the domain available for registration again after it was suspended. This allowed the scammers to pick it up, and link it to their KickassTorrents ripoff. </p>
<p>The &#8220;register to download&#8221; mirror scam isn&#8217;t anything new. Several other &#8220;mirrors&#8221; employ the same tactics and have been doing so for years. However, with the current confusion created by KickassTorrents&#8217; demise, they can do a lot more damage now. </p>
<p>For this reason, we can probably expect many more scammy sites to appear during the days and weeks to come. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126066
title: Russia Plans Social Media Piracy Crackdown
uri: Russia-Plans-Social-Media-Piracy-Crackdown
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/byIIITD1F7w/
content:
<p><a href="media/53585337.people.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/people.jpg"><img src="media/53585337.people.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/people.jpg" alt="people" width="250" height="177" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126096"></a>Despite a reputation for not doing enough to thwart online piracy, Russian authorities have become unusually keen to make amends in recent years.</p>
<p>Site-blocking, for example, is now a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/280-pirate-sites-have-been-restricted-in-russia-150925/">common occurrence</a>, with sites that infringe multiple times now being subjected to a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/russias-rutracker-blockade-has-just-seriously-backfired-160126/">permanent lifetime injunction</a>, actioned by local ISPs.</p>
<p>But while users continue to flock to torrent sites and streaming portals, copyright holders and local authorities are concerned that social networking platforms are a potentially more serious threat.</p>
<p>In many cases, users are allowed to upload content at will, thereby creating huge libraries of infringing material, a serious headache for copyright holders.</p>
<p>To tackle this problem, authorities and entertainment industry groups are now in the process of drafting fresh legislation aimed at those social media platforms that allow users to upload content.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://izvestia.ru/news/626183">Izvestia</a>, the Ministry of Culture and groups including the National Federation of the Music Industry (NFMI) and the Association of Producers of Cinema and Television (APKIT), believe that a change in the law will make it harder for social platforms to evade liability.</p>
<p>Under Article 1253.1 of the Civil Code, social media sites are considered &#8220;information brokers&#8221;, meaning that sites like vKontakte (Russia&#8217;s Facebook) can avoid being held liable for infringing content uploaded by their users.</p>
<p>Rightsholders would like that legislation to be removed or rewritten in a way that would provide them with more useful options to enforce their intellectual property rights.</p>
<p>Also under consideration are changes to the law that would further punish sites that have already been ordered to be blocked by the Moscow City Court. Currently, local ISPs currently put Internet blockades in place but rightsholders foresee a situation where the finances of infringing sites are put under pressure too.</p>
<p>On the table are proposals to ban those sites from carrying advertising. In the West, advertisers are working on <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-government-video-urges-advertisers-to-boycott-pirate-sites-160329/">voluntary schemes</a> that aim to keep their funding away from &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites but it appears that Russia is considering enshrining those principles into law.</p>
<p>Additionally, rightsholders are asking for sites that run on a subscription basis to be forbidden from accepting payments from their users. Again, voluntary agreements with companies such as <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/paypal-visa-and-mastercard-discuss-pirate-site-blacklist-150911/">Visa, MasterCard and PayPal</a> are already in place in the United States and Europe, but legislation could compel Russian companies to comply.</p>
<p>Also continuing its path through the system is another bill designed to tackle the rise of so-called mirrors, sites that crop up after a site is blocked in order to facilitate access to the same content.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/draft-law-orders-google-to-remove-site-unblocking-advice-160523/">draft bill</a>, which also proposes an obligation to have search engines <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/search-engines-need-regulating-to-reduce-piracy-russia-says-151211/">strip content from results</a> and measures to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/copyright-holders-want-site-block-circumvention-advice-banned-160319/">tackle VPNs and proxies</a>, has already been sent to the Ministry of Communications.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126117
title: PIPCU Raids ‘Pirate’ TV Streaming Operation, Three Arrested
uri: PIPCU-Raids-Pirate-TV-Streaming-Operation-Three-Arrested
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/KewjVDvHGgw/
content:
<p><a href="media/31176dbb.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg"><img src="media/31176dbb.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg" alt="cityoflondonpolice" width="200" height="82" class="alignright size-full wp-image-71397"></a>Last month saw the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">shutdown of KickassTorrents</a> and the arrest of its alleged founder, a development which sent shockwaves through the file-sharing community.</p>
<p>That was followed by the surprise <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/torrentz-shuts-down-largest-torrent-meta-search-engine-says-farewell-160805/">shutdown of Torrentz</a>, the world&#8217;s largest torrent meta-search engine. It&#8217;s not known why the site chose to close its doors but its departure from the scene was somewhat more orderly than that of KAT.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, and as revealed in our <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/streaming-sites-dominate-movie-and-tv-show-piracy-160727/">earlier report</a>, streaming continues to prove increasingly popular with Internet users, a fact the authorities are well aware of.</p>
<p>With that in mind, the UK&#8217;s Police Intellectual Property Unit (PIPCU) has just carried out a new operation against individuals it believes are involved in streaming content online and distributing set-top boxes modified to receive it.</p>
<p>Following a series of dawn raids carried out yesterday morning in Lancashire, PIPCU arrested three men aged 36, 40 and 58, on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering offences.</p>
<p>PIPCU say that the operation received assistance from local police and a forensic investigator from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).</p>
<p>While previous operations against streaming pirates have usually resulted in the seizure of Kodi-enabled Android set-top boxes, this operation appears to have gone a step up the chain.</p>
<p>Photographs provided by PIPCU show what appears to be a somewhat sophisticated operation, beginning with satellite TV reception.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/8672d0d3.satellites.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/satellites.jpg"><img src="media/8672d0d3.satellites.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/satellites.jpg" alt="satellites" width="640" height="854" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126131"></a></center></p>
<p>The PIPCU operation spanned three residential addresses and an as-yet-unnamed business premises. It seems likely that the photograph of the server room shown below was taken in the latter location. Thus far, PIPCU say they have seized approximately 30 servers.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/d06f52fa.servers-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/servers-1.jpg"><img src="media/d06f52fa.servers-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/servers-1.jpg" alt="servers" width="640" height="848" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126132"></a></center></p>
<p>In addition, PIPCU say they also recovered set-top boxes which had been modified so that users could access hundreds of premium subscription-only channels.</p>
<p>&#8220;Some of the channels available on the devices include pay-per-view sports, the latest movies and UK broadcast television only available to UK licence fee payers. Officers have also identified 15 satellites,&#8221; PIPCU report.</p>
<p>Neither the police nor FACT have provided any information which allows us to easily identify those arrested or their operation. However, there are a number of clues which point us in a particular direction.</p>
<p>Firstly, PIPCU claims that the devices were being sold as legitimate products that could provide content to users anywhere in the world for an annual fee of around £400. Second, the unit also identified a small town with a population of just 41,000.</p>
<p>So, given the location of the raids and the specific nature and size of the business, TorrentFreak sources familiar with IPTV operators in the UK told us that one company in particular stands out as the most likely candidate.</p>
<p>The outfit has not yet responded to our requests for comment so naturally we won&#8217;t name them, but we do know that they offer IPTV packages to the expat market and those abroad for just a few pounds less than the £400 mentioned by PIPCU.</p>
<p>The packages (and indeed the hardware) are also marketed and sold as entirely legitimate. We&#8217;re also aware that a staff member at the company was previously involved in another business dealing in satellite communications.</p>
<p>At the time of writing their website is still up and running and registered to a business premises in Chorley, Lancashire, the town mentioned by PIPCU. Furthermore, a posting discovered online by TF indicates that the IPTV operation had been established for a number of years and was recently running 30 servers.</p>
<p>In a statement, head of PIPCU, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Ratcliffe, described the outfit as &#8220;a significant and highly resourced operation to distribute pirated television on an industrial scale&#8221; to tens of thousands of people across the globe.</p>
<p>&#8220;Operations like this remain an integral part of protecting livelihoods supported by the entertainment industry and the law abiding public who pay for their channels with their hard earned cash,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Director General of the Federation Against Copyright Theft, Kieron Sharp, said his organization will continue to pursue those engaged in this growing area of piracy.</p>
<p>“Illegally modified set-top boxes, along with infringing apps and add-ons, have created new opportunities for criminality and piracy. Tackling these threats and the people behind them is one of our highest priorities and therefore today’s multi-agency action is another great result for law enforcement and the creative industries,&#8221; Sharp said.</p>
<p>“We will continue to work with our members and partners, such as the City of London Police, to crack down on those involved in the illegal supply of these boxes so that both the content and its creators are protected.”</p>
<p>When TF has solid information concerning the identity of the company involved we will post an update.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126133
title: KickassTorrents Crew Ask For Donations to Rebuild The Site
uri: KickassTorrents-Crew-Ask-For-Donations-to-Rebuild-The-Site
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/1RObPTagnJA/
content:
<p><img src="media/2279eece.kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" alt="kickasstorrents_500x500" width="222" height="222" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-99785" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png 300w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-150x150.png 150w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px">With an active community and millions of regular visitors, KickassTorrents (KAT) was much more than a site to leech the latest torrents from. </p>
<p>Many considered it to be their virtual home where they gathered with friends on a daily basis.</p>
<p>This ended abruptly last month. When the site&#8217;s alleged operator <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">was arrested</a> following a criminal investigation of the U.S. Government, the official site went down with him.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s unlikely that the original site will return anytime soon, a group of KAT-crew members have been working hard to keep the community together. </p>
<p>Within a few days a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-community-resurrects-without-torrents-160725/">new forum</a> was launched at <a href="https://katcr.co/community/index.php">Katcr.to</a>, supported by several high ranking moderators of the original site. In the weeks that followed thousands of members returned to the community, which now has plans to expand. </p>
<p>The site started a <a href="https://katcr.co/fundraiser.php">fundraising</a> campaign asking for money to repair and rebuild the &#8220;authentic KAT site code.&#8221; The team is accepting donations through PayPal and a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/2r4k82hs">Gofundme campaign</a>, hoping to collect several thousands dollars.  </p>
<p>&#8220;This site we now inhabit is costing money: Money that a few individuals put up to ensure the survival of this Community. This is still not the Kat we all remember but on a daily basis it is getting closer,&#8221; Johnno23 says.</p>
<p><center><strong>Katcr.to fundraiser</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/344d9099.kat-donations.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kat-donations.jpg" alt="kat-donations" width="600" height="579" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126148"></center></p>
<p>The big question is whether this means that the torrent download and upload functionality will be returned to its former glory. For the time being, this appears to be one of the long-term goals. </p>
<p>To find out more TorrentFreak spoke with Mr.Gooner aka the President, a long time KAT-crew member and one of the top admins at the original site. </p>
<p>Mr. Gooner explains that many of the original site staffers have returned to the community, but that funds are needed to develop and maintain it during the months to come. </p>
<p>While the initial focus will be on the community element, torrents are expected to return as well in the future. </p>
<p>&#8220;At this stage, it very much depends on pending legal action and rulings in regards to the legality of torrents in the US. However the community can be reassured that in one way or another, KAT will return to its former glory,&#8221; Mr. Gooner says.</p>
<p>That said, fully restoring the old site with the original database is not an option at this moment. </p>
<p>The site administrators and crew, all regular users at one point, were clearly separated from the people who technically and financially ran the site. This means that the people in charge of Katcr.to don&#8217;t have access to the original code and data.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is our understanding that the databases have been secured in such a way that the information inside would become useless if an unauthorised attempt was made to access them,&#8221; Mr. Gooner says. </p>
<p>So, if torrent sharing is added to the current community site, it has to be coded by new people. This will take time and money, obviously, and the current crew is not certain if that will happen anytime soon.</p>
<p>Fundraisers are always welcomed with a healthy dose of scepticism, which is no different this time around. </p>
<p>From the information we have gathered so far, it&#8217;s safe to say that people shouldn&#8217;t expect the original KAT functionality to be restored fully in the near future.  </p>
<p>In that regard, Mr. Gooner and others still encourage people to continue uploading in the meantime, even when that&#8217;s on other torrent sites.</p>
<p>&#8220;Run those seedboxes and torrent clients 24/7 where possible. Just because uploading stopped at KAT we are all still pirates and we will always encourage uploading,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126232
title: Rightscorp Threatens Every ISP in the United States
uri: Rightscorp-Threatens-Every-ISP-in-the-United-States
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/OK2mjnVzyGw/
content:
<p><a href="media/96cc090f.rightscorp.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightscorp.jpg"><img src="media/96cc090f.rightscorp.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightscorp.jpg" alt="rightscorp" width="180" height="71" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85915"></a>This week was one to forget for United States service provider Cox Communications after a federal court in Virginia <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/court-affirms-25m-piracy-verdict-against-cox-rejects-spying-request-160810/">found it liable</a> for copyright infringements carried out by its customers.</p>
<p>The ISP was found guilty of willful contributory copyright infringement and ordered to pay music publisher BMG Rights Management <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/cox-is-liable-for-pirating-subscribers-ordered-to-pay-25-million-151217/">$25 million in damages</a>.</p>
<p>The case was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-communications-sued-for-not-disconnecting-pirates-141128/">filed in 2014</a> after it was alleged that Cox failed to pass on cash settlement demands to customers that were sent by anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp on behalf of BMG. The ISP also failed to take firm action against repeat infringers.</p>
<p>Now, with a BMG victory on the record, Rightscorp has come out swinging. Welcoming the decision of Judge Liam O&#8217;Grady, the anti-piracy outfit says that its long-held position, that ISPs must comply with its wishes, has been proven accurate.</p>
<p>&#8220;For nearly five years, Rightscorp has warned US internet service providers (ISPs) that they risk incurring huge liabilities if they fail to implement and enforce policies under which they terminate the accounts of their subscribers who repeatedly infringe copyrights,&#8221; the company said in a statement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Over that time, many ISPs have taken the position that it was simply impossible for an ISP to be held liable for its subscribers&#8217; actions &#8212; even when the ISP had been put on notice of massive infringements and supplied with detailed evidence. There had never been a judicial decision holding an ISP liable.&#8221;</p>
<p>Of course, that changed this week with Judge O&#8217;Grady&#8217;s decision, and Rightscorp CEO Christopher Sabec couldn&#8217;t be happier.</p>
<p>&#8220;Although Rightscorp was not a party in this case, we are delighted with the outcome. The Federal District Court declared the liability of ISPs to be precisely what Rightscorp has been saying it is for years,&#8221; Sabec says.</p>
<p>&#8220;With this final Federal Court ruling, not only has our position on ISP liability been confirmed, but our Company&#8217;s technology and processes for collecting and documenting evidence of peer-to-peer copyright infringement on ISP networks has been validated as well.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Rightscorp was expected to make the most of BMG&#8217;s victory in its future dealings with ISPs, the level of aggression in its announcement still comes as a surprise. Essentially putting every provider in the country on notice, Rightscorp warns that ISPs will now have to cooperate or face the wrath of litigious rightsholders.</p>
<p>&#8220;As we have consistently told ISPs, we stand ready to assist those ISPs that desire to work in a constructive way with the copyright community in order to reduce the massive infringements that occur every day on their networks,&#8221; Sabec says.</p>
<p>&#8220;But our company has also amassed a vast amount of data documenting infringements that have occurred over the past five years on the network of essentially every ISP in the country. That data will be made available to copyright holders that wish to enforce their rights against ISPs that are not inclined toward a cooperative solution.&#8221;</p>
<p>Whether this week&#8217;s developments will help to pull Rightscorp out of the financial doldrums will remain to be seen. The company has been teetering on the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/rightscorp-blames-vpns-and-isps-for-drop-in-revenue-160331/">edge of bankruptcy</a> for a couple of years now, and its shares on Wednesday were worth just $0.038 each. Following the BMG news, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/RIHT?ltr=1">they peaked</a> at $0.044.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126187
title: Court: Uploaded.net Failed to Prevent Piracy, Faces Damages
uri: Court-Uploaded-net-Failed-to-Prevent-Piracy-Faces-Damages
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/UTHwW3Gp2Ug/
content:
<p><img src="media/4cf2e55b.uploadedlogo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/uploadedlogo.png" alt="uploadedlogo" width="250" height="89" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126196">With millions of visitors per month, Uploaded is one of the largest file-hosting services on the Internet.</p>
<p>Like many of its &#8216;cloud hosting&#8217; competitors, the service is also used to share copyright infringing material, which is a thorn in the side of various copyright holder groups. </p>
<p>In Germany this prompted music rights group <a href="https://www.gema.de/">GEMA</a>, which represents roughly 70,000 artists, to address the matter in court. </p>
<p>This week the Regional Court of Munich ruled that Uploaded must take a more proactive stance when it comes to online piracy. In its current form the site can be held liable for the infringements of its users, which means that it faces damages.</p>
<p>According to the court order, Uploaded is not only obliged to remove infringing files when they are reported. It must also take additional measures, such as preventing the same files from being uploaded again. </p>
<p>This is similar to the &#8220;take-down and stay-down&#8221; principle copyright holder worldwide are lobbying for.</p>
<p>Overall, the court found that Uploaded&#8217;s business model is “risk-inducing” and “dangerous for copyright owners,” highlighting the anonymity of users and the referral program as factors that increase the service&#8217;s liability.</p>
<p>Like other file-hosting services, Uploaded allows users to generate revenue by referring new customers to the site. </p>
<p><center><strong>Uploaded referral program</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/49830e1f.uploadedrefer.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/uploadedrefer.jpg" alt="uploadedrefer" width="674" height="342" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126197"></center></p>
<p>GEMA CEO Dr. Harald Heker is happy with the outcome and calls for a regulatory framework where site operators are held responsible for the piracy that occurs though their services.</p>
<p>&#8220;File-hosting services earn a lot of money though the exploitation of creative content. Copyright infringements are willingly accepted. This imbalance hurts our members and is something we can&#8217;t accept,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>Uploaded&#8217;s parent company Cyando AG has yet to comment on the ruling.</p>
<p>This is not the first case Uploaded has lost in Germany, <a href="http://www.raschlegal.de/">Rasch</a> lawyer Mirko Brüß informs TorrentFreak. In April the company lost a <a href="http://www.buchreport.de/nachrichten/verlage/verlage_nachricht/datum/2016/04/12/erfolg-im-kampf-gehen-e-book-piraterie.htm?no_cache=1">similar case</a> against the Association of American Publishers, which dealt with pirated e-books.</p>
<p>&#8220;What the judgments have in common is that, according to the court, Uploaded is not only obliged to take down content when they are notified of an infringement. They also have to take proactive measures to prevent the same work from being re-uploaded and made available for download again.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Uploaded can be held liable for damages, the court order is not yet legally binding and is likely to be appealed. In any case, a follow-up case is required to establish an exact damages amount. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126178
title: ‘Mutable’ Torrents Proposal Makes BitTorrent More Resilient
uri: Mutable-Torrents-Proposal-Makes-BitTorrent-More-Resilient
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/5P5ZmXhftEw/
content:
<p><a href="media/fc978c9d.bittorrent_logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bittorrent_logo.png"><img src="media/fc978c9d.bittorrent_logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bittorrent_logo.png" alt="bittorrent_logo" width="120" height="120" class="alignright size-full wp-image-124332"></a>Regardless of differing opinions on what kind of content should be shifted around using the protocol, few will contest the beauty of BitTorrent.</p>
<p>Thanks to the undoubted genius of creator Bram Cohen, it is still extremely robust some <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-turns-10-110702/">15 years after its debut</a>.</p>
<p>But while some may assume that BitTorrent is no longer under development, the opposite is true. Behind the scenes, <a href="http://www.bittorrent.org/index.html">groups of developers</a> are working to further develop the protocol via BitTorrent Enhancement Proposals (BEPs).</p>
<p>Early BEPs, such as those covering <a href="http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0005.html">DHT</a>, <a href="http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0011.html">PEX</a> and <a href="http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0027.html">private torrents</a>, have long since been implemented but the process continues today.</p>
<p>Just one of the P2P developers involved is <a href="http://lucaa.org/">Luca Matteis</a>. He lives in Rome, Italy, where he studies Computer Science at the Sapienza University and works part-time on various projects.</p>
<p>Passionate about P2P and decentralized systems, Luca informs TorrentFreak that his goal is to enable people to share and communicate in a censorship resistant manner. His fresh proposal, <a href="http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0046.html">Updating Torrents Via DHT Mutable Items</a>, was submitted last month and aims to live up to that billing.</p>
<p>We asked Luca to explain what his group&#8217;s proposal (it&#8217;s a team effort) is all about and he kindly obliged. It begins with the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrents-future-dht-pex-and-magnet-links-explained-091120/">Distributed Hash Table</a> (DHT) and a previous enhancement proposal.</p>
<p>&#8220;So currently the DHT in BitTorrent is used as a peer discovery mechanism for torrents, and it has really nice decentralized properties. It works just like a tracker, with the difference being that trackers are on central servers with a domain name, and therefore can be easily shut down,&#8221; Luca begins.</p>
<p>&#8220;[An earlier enhancement proposal] <a href="http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0044.html">BEP44</a> added some interesting properties to the DHT network, namely the feature of being able to store arbitrary data. So instead of just storing IP addresses of people downloading specific torrents, we can now store any kind of data (max 1000 bytes per item).&#8221;</p>
<p>Luca says that so far this functionality hasn&#8217;t been used by torrent clients. uTorrent apparently has it under the hood, with some developers believing it&#8217;s there for reasons connected to BitTorrent Inc&#8217;s <a href="http://www.bleep.pm/">Bleep software</a>. At this point, however, it only exists at the network level.</p>
<p>Importantly, however, Luca says that BEP44 allows one to store changing values under a key. </p>
<p>&#8220;We call these mutable items. So what you could do is generate a public key, which can be thought of as your address, and share this with the world. Then you use this public key to store stuff in BitTorrent&#8217;s DHT network. And, because it&#8217;s your public key, you (and only you) can change the value pointed by your public key.&#8221;</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, only a 1000 bytes can be stored (less than 1kB), but Luca points out that it&#8217;s possible to store the info hash of a torrent, 79816060EA56D56F2A2148CD45705511079F9BCA, for example. Now things get interesting.</p>
<p>&#8220;At this point, your public key has very similar properties to an HTTP URL [a website address], with the difference that (just like trackers before) the value does not exist on a single computer/server, but is constantly shared across the DHT network,&#8221; he explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our BEP46 extension is an actual standardization of what the value, pointed by your public key, should look like. Our standard says it should be an info hash of a torrent. This allows for a multitude of use cases, but more practically it allows for torrents to automatically change what they&#8217;re downloading based on the public key value inside the DHT.&#8221;</p>
<p>While the technically minded out there might already know where this is going, Luca is kind enough to spell it out.</p>
<p>&#8220;Torrent sites (such as The Pirate Bay) could share a magnet link they control, which contains their public key. What they would store at this &#8216;address&#8217; is the infohash of a torrent which contains a database of all their torrents,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>&#8220;Users who trust them would bookmark the magnet link, and when they click on it, a torrent will start downloading. Specifically, they&#8217;d start downloading the database dump of the torrent site.&#8221;</p>
<p>While that might not yet sound like magic, the ability to change the value held in the DHT proves extremely useful.</p>
<p>&#8220;The cool thing is that when the torrent site decides to share more torrents (new releases, better quality stuff, more quality reviews), all they need to do is update the value in the DHT with a new torrent containing a new .rss file.</p>
<p>&#8220;At this point, all the users downloading from their magnet link will automatically be downloading the new torrent and will always have an up-to-date .RSS dump of torrents,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>But while this would be useful to users, Luca says that sites like The Pirate Bay could also benefit.</p>
<p>&#8220;For torrent sites, this would be an attractive solution because they wouldn&#8217;t need to maintain a central HTTP server which implies costs and can be easily shut down. On the other hand, their mutable torrent magnet link cannot be easily shut down, does not imply maintenance costs, and cannot be easily tracked down,&#8221; he concludes.</p>
<p>For those interested in the progress of this enhancement proposal and others like it, all BEPs can be found <a href="http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0000.html">here</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126113
title: Torrentz Remains Down, But The Clone Wars Are On
uri: Torrentz-Remains-Down-But-The-Clone-Wars-Are-On
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/GTlVoPz9Bdo/
content:
<p><img src="media/b724b30b.torrentz-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentz-1.png" alt="torrentz" width="189" height="57" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125836">Mere hours after <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/torrentz-shuts-down-largest-torrent-meta-search-engine-says-farewell-160805/">Torrentz.eu announced its farewell</a> last week, various clones and mirrors juggled into position to take over. </p>
<p>As one of the oldest and largest torrent sites around, Torrentz had an active following of millions of users. This is something a lot of site owners envy, and these people see the demise of Torrentz as an opportunity. </p>
<p>Taking over an established brand is something the torrent community has seen before in recent years. </p>
<p>When isoHunt was shut down by the MPAA, Isohunt.to quickly took its place, and remains <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">one of the most popular torrent sites</a> today. Similarly, YTS.ag and others took over when YIFY was forced to stop, with success. </p>
<p>This week we have seen a flurry of Torrentz clones appear online. These sites hope to pick up where the original site left off, all offering similar meta-search engine functionality while copying the Torrentz look and feel.</p>
<p>As with previous cases, the success of these takeovers relies on getting a healthy number of eyeballs. Promotion on social media helps, as does a viral Reddit thread and news coverage. </p>
<p><em>Some</em> clone operators are even willing to pay hard cash to get covered, as we&#8217;ve experienced first hand. A few days ago TorrentFreak received an offer to do a &#8220;paid&#8221; news article. This is something we would never do of course, but it shows that this is a serious business. </p>
<p>So who are these clones? Without endorsing any site, or falsely claiming that &#8220;Torrentz is back&#8221; as other news outlets have done, here are some of the alternatives we&#8217;ve encountered. </p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><strong>Torrentz2.eu</strong> has been widely reported as a Torrentz alternative and the site itself bills itself as an upgrade. With a massive 63 sites in their index, with a total of 59,658,880 torrents, it certainly has a wide coverage. </p>
<p>For now the site doesn&#8217;t have any extra features such as bookmarks, voting or commenting options. </p>
<p><center><br></br></center><center><img src="media/392b5a6b.torrentz2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentz2.png" alt="torrentz2" width="600" height="178" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126175"></center></p>
<p><strong>Torrentz.ec</strong> is another clone that popped up this week. The site has a more modest index than Torrentz2.eu but still covers 25 sites, good for a total 27,508,811 active torrents. </p>
<p>The voting functionality appears to work too, but users are not able to log in, at least when we checked. Interestingly, the site claims to index more torrents and sites on its help page, but perhaps the frontpage still has some catching up to do.</p>
<p><strong>Torrentzeu.to</strong> is another clone but unlike the other sites it doesn&#8217;t advertise itself as such. Instead, the number of indexed sites and torrents mentioned on the frontpage are just copied from the original site.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>The above are just a few examples. It&#8217;s not our goal to give a complete overview, but it&#8217;s clear that several sites are in the race to become the next &#8216;Torrentz.&#8217;</p>
<p>In a way, it is sad to see others taking over the &#8216;goodwill&#8217; that a site like Torrentz took years to establish. However, judging from public responses, many people don&#8217;t care about these sentiments as long as they can get their torrents. </p>
<p>The question that remains, however, is how resilient and trustworthy these new sites are. </p>
<p>Some site owners may have good intentions, but there are also plenty of scammers, phishing for credit card details, or serving malicious content. As is often the case with torrent sites, money is a big motivator for those people.</p>
<p>Time will tell if and to what degree this applies to the clones that have emerged over the past days. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126036
title: Pirate Bay is The King of Torrents Once Again
uri: Pirate-Bay-is-The-King-of-Torrents-Once-Again
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/gn1Jh6rSQYE/
content:
<p><img src="media/932e6d7d.thepirate-e1470829181981.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/thepirate-e1470829181981.jpg" alt="thepirate" width="220" height="206" class="alignright size-full wp-image-116122">Hollywood hoped that it would never happen, but this week The Pirate Bay quietly turned thirteen years old.</p>
<p>The site was founded in 2003 by Swedish pro-culture organization Piratbyrån (Piracy Bureau). The idea was to create the first public file-sharing network in Sweden, but the site soon turned into the global file-sharing icon it is today.</p>
<p>Over the years there have been numerous attempts to shut the site down. Following pressure from the United States, Swedish authorities raided the site in 2006, only to see it come back stronger. </p>
<p>The criminal convictions of the site&#8217;s founders didn&#8217;t kill the site either, nor did any of the subsequent attempts to take it offline. </p>
<p>The Pirate Bay is still very much &#8216;alive&#8217; today. </p>
<p>That&#8217;s quite an achievement by itself, looking at all the other sites that have fallen over the years. Just last month KickassTorrents shut down, followed by Torrentz a few days ago. </p>
<p>Many KickassTorrents and Torrentz users are now turning to TPB to get their daily dose of torrents. As a result, The Pirate Bay is now the most visited torrent site, once again. </p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to several members of the TPB-crew. While they are not happy with the circumstances, they do say that the site has an important role to fulfil in the torrent community.</p>
<p>&#8220;TPB is as important today as it was yesterday, and its role in being the galaxy&#8217;s most resilient torrent site will continue for the foreseeable future,&#8221; Spud17 says. </p>
<p>&#8220;Sure, TPB has its flaws and glitches but it&#8217;s still the go-to site for all our media needs, and I can see TPB still being around in 20 or 30 years time, even if the technology changes,&#8221; she adds.</p>
<p>Veteran TPB-crew member Xe agrees that TPB isn&#8217;t perfect but points to the site&#8217;s resilience as a crucial factor that&#8217;s particularly important today.</p>
<p>&#8220;TPB ain&#8217;t perfect. There are plenty of things wrong with it, but it is simple, steadfast and true,&#8221; Xe tells TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>&#8220;So it&#8217;s no real surprise that it is once more the destination of choice or that it has survived for so long in spite of the inevitable turnover of crew.&#8221;</p>
<p>And resilient it is. Thirteen years after the site came online, The Pirate Bay is the &#8220;King of Torrents&#8221; once again. </p>
<p>Finally, we close with a yearly overview of the top five torrent sites of the last decade. Notably, the Pirate Bay is the only site that appears in the list every year, which is perhaps the best illustration of the impact it had, and still has today.</p>
<h4>2007</h4>
<p>1. TorrentSpy<br>
2. Mininova<br>
3. The Pirate Bay<br>
4. isoHunt<br>
5. Demonoid</p>
<h4>2008</h4>
<p>1. Mininova<br>
2. isoHunt<br>
3. The Pirate Bay<br>
4. Torrentz<br>
5. BTJunkie</p>
<h4>2009</h4>
<p>1. The Pirate Bay<br>
2. Mininova<br>
3. isoHunt<br>
4. Torrentz<br>
5. Torrentreactor</p>
<h4>2010</h4>
<p>1. The Pirate Bay<br>
2. Torrentz<br>
3. isoHunt<br>
4. Mininova<br>
5. BTJunkie</p>
<h4>2011</h4>
<p>1. The Pirate Bay<br>
2. Torrentz<br>
3. isoHunt<br>
4. KickassTorrents<br>
5. BTJunkie</p>
<h4>2012</h4>
<p>1. The Pirate Bay<br>
2. Torrentz.com<br>
3. KickassTorrents<br>
4. isoHunt<br>
5. BTJunkie</p>
<h4>2013</h4>
<p>1. The Pirate Bay<br>
2. KickassTorrents<br>
3. Torrentz<br>
4. ExtraTorrent<br>
5. 1337X</p>
<h4>2014</h4>
<p>1. The Pirate Bay<br>
2. KickassTorrents<br>
3. Torrentz<br>
4. ExtraTorrent<br>
5. YIFY-Torrents</p>
<h4>2015</h4>
<p>1. KickassTorrents<br>
2. Torrentz.com<br>
3. ExtraTorrent<br>
4. The Pirate Bay<br>
5. YTS</p>
<h4>2016</h4>
<p>1. KickassTorrents<br>
2. The Pirate Bay<br>
3. ExtraTorrent<br>
4. Torrentz<br>
4. RARBG</p>
<h4>Today</h4>
<p>1. <a href="http://torrentz.com">The Pirate Bay</a><br>
2. <a href="http://torrentz.com">ExtraTorrent</a><br>
3. <a href="http://isohunt.com">RARBG</a><br>
4. YTS.AG<br>
5. 1337X</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126152
title: The Growing Importance of Torrents Meta-Search
uri: The-Growing-Importance-of-Torrents-Meta-Search
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uYMgQjF1sSo/
content:
<p><a href="media/a79e141a.network-round.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/network-round.jpg"><img src="media/a79e141a.network-round.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/network-round.jpg" alt="network-round" width="220" height="220" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126170"></a>Ask any half-interested user to name the best public torrent sites and many will fall back on those inhabiting the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">top ten most popular</a> online today.</p>
<p>While there&#8217;s much glory to be had, being one of the world&#8217;s most-visited torrent indexes has its downsides.</p>
<p>Two huge sites previously in the top ten of 2016 &#8211; KickassTorrents and Torrentz &#8211; have now disappeared, with at least one falling victim to enforcement action. It&#8217;s possible, if not likely, that more will fall in the months and years to come.</p>
<p>But what about sites outside the top ten? What about those in the top 50, top 100 or top 250? What happens to those on a day to day basis?</p>
<p>Well, each endures its own unique set of problems associated with running a torrent site but due to their size, most don&#8217;t have high-powered law enforcement agencies breathing down their necks. That often means they&#8217;re able to provide a steady service to users without too many headaches.</p>
<p>But while small is sometimes cool, obscurity is often the enemy of growth, both in terms of users and availability of content, with the former being the provider of the latter. That&#8217;s where meta and/or multi-site search engines step in.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasearch_engine">meta-search engine</a> is a search engine that searches other search engines, in this case other torrent sites and indexes. Without doubt, the most famous meta-search engine was Torrentz, but that shut down last week. </p>
<p>Torrentz be sorely missed. While it was always possible to visit The Pirate Bay or KickassTorrents to get a popular torrent, if that content was a little more rare, time-consuming visits to multiple sites might be necessary. Torrentz alleviated that problem by searching multiple sites at once and displaying the results in one location.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/ded309d4.torrentz-meta.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentz-meta.png"><img src="media/ded309d4.torrentz-meta.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentz-meta.png" alt="torrentz-meta" width="650" height="366" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126162"></a></center></p>
<p>As the image above shows, most sites that were listed by Torrentz are very successful in their own right but the concept of meta-search doesn&#8217;t have to stop at the biggest players.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s no insurmountable reason why meta and multi-site search engines of the future won&#8217;t index hundreds of diverse torrent sites, sites that might usually fly under the radar due to their small size and low public profile.</p>
<p>Of course, once these sites become more visible (and searchable) they will naturally grow in size, with the higher quality platforms securing a larger share of the traffic. For some, this could mean the loss of their quiet life status and for others, it might mean breaking into the top 10.</p>
<p>Whether these changes in status will turn out to be a help or hindrance is a matter for each site operator, but for the user it will mean greater access to a broader range of sites that are less likely to be taken down.</p>
<p>The authorities are reasonably happy to play whac-a-mole at the top, but doing so with hundreds of targets lower down the food chain becomes an expensive, chaotic, and ultimately unwinnable game.</p>
<p>Giants might be <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/torrentz-gone-kat-down-are-torrent-giants-doomed-to-fall-160806/">doomed to fall</a> but the era of the thousand little men might be just around the corner &#8211; if people can find them.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126257
title: US Seizes Dotcom’s Millions, Entrepreneur Fights Back
uri: US-Seizes-Dotcom-s-Millions-Entrepreneur-Fights-Back
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/e0HuXJrsLBM/
content:
<p><img src="media/37e6b3c4.megaupload-logo.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/megaupload-logo.jpg" width="250" height="208" class="alignright">When Megaupload was shuttered in 2012, authorities in the United States, New Zealand and Hong Kong seized millions of dollars in cash and other property.</p>
<p>The US government claimed these assets were the result of copyright infringement and money laundering offenses, and attempted to forfeit the bank accounts, cars and other property seized from the defendants in the so-called &#8220;Mega Conspiracy&#8221;.</p>
<p>After branding Dotcom and his co-defendants &#8220;fugitives&#8221;, last summer the US Government <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-wins-dozens-of-millions-from-kim-dotcom-150326/">won its case</a>. Shortly after, however, Megaupload&#8217;s legal team <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-appeals-to-reclaim-mega-millions-from-u-s-150701/">filed an appeal</a> with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.</p>
<p>“We asked the Fourth Circuit to rule in favor of fairness, natural justice, and due process by stopping US efforts to take Kim Dotcom’s global assets for doing nothing more than lawfully opposing extradition to the United States—a country he has never been to,” Dotcom lawyer Ira Rothken <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-fights-for-mega-millions-in-u-s-appeals-court-160326/">told</a> TF at the time.</p>
<p>Last Friday, however, hopes for a positive outcome were dashed when a three-judge panel at the Fourth Circuit handed down a two to one decision against Dotcom.</p>
<p>Affirming the decision of a lower court, the Court of Appeal opinion dismissed the notion that the order against Dotcom&#8217;s assets had no jurisdiction. The Court also found that Dotcom could not recover his assets due to him being a fugitive from criminal charges in the United States.</p>
<p>The assets in question amount to some $67m across multiple bank accounts, several cars, jet skis, jewelry and other sundry luxury items. While they are now another step out of reach, Dotcom is far from ready to throw in the towel. In the wake of the ruling, the entrepreneur lashed out on Twitter.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a &#8216;fugitive&#8217; coz I use my treaty rights to defend against extradition &#038; they take my assets without trial? 1938?&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/764517095887425536">wrote</a>.</p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Did they think they can separate me from my kids without a fight? I fight corrupt US empire clowns all day, every day. Not even tired. 🇺🇸🔜🚽</p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/764519888299798528">August 13, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>Dotcom lawyer Ira Rothken said on Sunday that Dotcom would seek a review of the decision and if necessary file a petition at the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>“This opinion has the effect of eviscerating Kim Dotcom&#8217;s treaty rights by saying if you lawfully oppose extradition in New Zealand, the U.S. will still call you a fugitive and take all of your assets,” Rothken <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/14/megauploads-kim-dotcom-seeks-to-retain-millions-in-assets">said</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;By basically saying &#8216;hey, we&#8217;re going to call that fugitive disentitlement, we&#8217;re going to take away your ability to have funds to defend yourself&#8217;, we think that&#8217;s too much. We think it&#8217;s American imperialism at its best, and we&#8217;re hoping the Supreme Court or the larger Court circuit will see it for what it is, and reverse it,&#8221; he <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/310864/us-courts-refuse-to-release-dotcom's-assets">added</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Dotcom continues to fight extradition to the United States from New Zealand. This month his appeal will be heard at the High Court in Auckland.</p>
<p>Together with his former Megaupload colleagues Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato, Dotcom was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-can-be-extradited-to-the-united-states-judge-rules-151223/">found eligible</a> for extradition to the United States last December.</p>
<p>Even in the event the appeal fails, Dotcom won&#8217;t be stopping there. The entrepreneur has already made it clear that he&#8217;ll take his extradition case all the way to the Supreme Court in New Zealand &#8211; and he&#8217;s confident he&#8217;ll prevail.</p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Good that I&#39;ll never get extradited to the land of corrupt politicians &amp; rigged courts. New Zealand Appeal Judges will apply the law. I win.</p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/763567816964382720">August 11, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126268
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 08/15/16
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-08-15-16
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/xHvqvFNuBrE/
content:
<p><img src="media/302a3480.indepen.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/indepen.jpg" alt="indepen" width="300" height="184" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125580">This week we have three newcomers in our chart. </p>
<p>Independence Day: Resurgence is the most downloaded movie.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-pirated-movies-week-080816/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/independence_day_resurgence/">Independence Day: Resurgence</a> (Subbed HDRip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1628841/">5.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbduDRH2m2M">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_legend_of_tarzan">The Legend of Tarzan</a> (Subbed HDRip) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918940/">6.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLmKio67pVQ">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_jungle_book_2016">The Jungle Book</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3040964/">7.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkm22yO-bs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/warcraft/">Warcraft</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0803096/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhFMIRuHAL4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nice_guys/">The Nice Guys</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3799694/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyR-UqRom-c">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/suicide_squad_2016">Suicide Squad</a> (HDTS) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386697/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmRih_VtVAs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jason_bourne/">Jason Bourne</a> (CAM/TS)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4196776/">7.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71ce1Dqqns">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/me_before_you">Me Before You</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2674426/">7.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh993__rOxA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(7)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/batman_the_killing_joke/">Batman: The Killing Joke</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4853102">7.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeNi4PfNMqI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/money_monster">Money Monster</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2241351/">6.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va-0o_xBVnU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126273
title: Nintendo Pressure Shuts Down Fan-Made Pokémon Uranium Game
uri: Nintendo-Pressure-Shuts-Down-Fan-Made-Pokémon-Uranium-Game
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/guAcLdByxQM/
content:
<p><img src="media/e1a54e8c.pokeuranium.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pokeuranium.jpg" alt="pokeuranium" width="250" height="188" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126274" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/pokeuranium.jpg 250w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/pokeuranium-200x150.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px">After nearly ten years of development, the fan-made RPG <a href="http://www.pokemonuranium.com/">Pokémon Uranium</a> was finally released last week. </p>
<p>In no time the game was downloaded over a million times, in part leveraging on the success of this summer&#8217;s Pokémon hype.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the makers it wasn&#8217;t just fans that jumped on the release, Nintendo&#8217;s lawyers quickly sprang into action too. Claiming copyright infringement, they asked the game&#8217;s hosting provider(s) to stop distributing the game. </p>
<p>While the developers themselves were not contacted directly, they decided to pull the release offline to avoid legal problems. </p>
<p>&#8220;After receiving more than 1,500,000 downloads of our game, we have been notified of multiple takedown notices from lawyers representing Nintendo of America,&#8221; Pokémon Uranium&#8217;s makers write in a <a href="http://www.pokemonuranium.com/downloadstatement/">statement</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;While we have not personally been contacted, it’s clear what their wishes are, and we respect those wishes deeply. Therefore, we will no longer provide official download links for the game through our website.&#8221;</p>
<p>Within a matter of days, nearly a decade of hard work now appears to have been &#8216;for nothing.&#8217; Those who look hard enough can still find unofficial download links scattered online, but it&#8217;s only a matter of time before Nintendo begins clearing these up as well. </p>
<p>While the game&#8217;s makers and players are disappointed, Nintendo&#8217;s actions don&#8217;t come as a surprise. The company is known to go after fan projects that use Nintendo trademarks or copyrights, including <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/nintendo-shuts-down-javascript-gameboy-emulator-150712/">Game Boy emulators</a> and <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/nintendo-nukes-fan-made-super-mario-64-hd-1503131/">Mario inspired</a> browser games.</p>
<p>Just last week, Nintendo&#8217;s lawyers pressured the makers of a fan-made Metroid 2 remake to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/nintendo-takes-down-fan-made-metroid-2-remake-160808/">pull their game offline</a>. As with Pokémon Uranium, several years of hard work will now stay hidden from the public if the game maker has its way.</p>
<p><center><iframe width="600" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q8NxPo4S4To?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>Nintendo is of course allowed to protect their rights, and they do have a good case to prohibit these fan-made games from being distributed. However, considering the enthusiastic response from the public, Nintendo could also learn something from these fan projects. </p>
<p>Why shut down a great project and waste hundreds of hours of work if you can use it to your advantage? This sentiment is widely shared online. </p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s their business, I can understand it, but what I want more than anything is that they learn from their &#8216;competition&#8217; instead of just destroying it,&#8221; <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemonuranium/comments/4xo089/nintendo_needs_to_learn_from_pokemon_uranium/">sw9876</a> writes on Reddit.</p>
<p>&#8220;Honestly, this may be my favorite Pokemon game ever. The story is great, and long. The Pokemon designs are sweet and were made to look distinct from already existing Pokemon without being dumb. At any rate, this game is great. I hope the talent, effort and creativity put into it doesn&#8217;t go to waste.&#8221; </p>
<p>In part, Nintendo may already be doing this. In 2013 Nintendo pulled down the popular fan-made game &#8220;Full Screen Mario&#8221; and a few months later the company announced its new &#8220;Mario Maker&#8221; which included many similar features.</p>
<p>According to developer Josh Goldberg, his game may have inspired the Nintendo release, without him being credited.</p>
<p>“I think it’s too much of a coincidence that in the fall they take down a fan site that was too popular for them, then in the spring and summer they release a trailer for this product,” he previously told The Washington Post in an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/06/11/the-guy-behind-full-screen-mario-thinks-nintendos-mario-maker-looks-suspiciously-familiar/">interview</a>.</p>
<p>In any case, it&#8217;s safe to say that developers who plan to release a game inspired by a Nintendo release should refrain from using any trademarked or copyrighted material. Or else it&#8217;s doomed to be shut down sooner or later.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126293
title: Reddit Refuses to Disclose Alleged Music Leaker’s IP Address
uri: Reddit-Refuses-to-Disclose-Alleged-Music-Leaker-s-IP-Address
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/LnAN7HRgUW0/
content:
<p><a href="media/35045417.redditp.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png"><img src="media/35045417.redditp.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png" alt="redditp" width="250" height="186" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125451" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png 250w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp-200x150.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px"></a>Back in June, Atlantic Records were in the final stages of releasing the track ‘Heathens’ by the platinum-certified band Twenty One Pilots. Things didn&#8217;t go to plan.</p>
<p>The track, which was also set to appear on  “Suicide Squad: The Album”,  was leaked online, first appearing on an anonymous Slovakian file-hosting service called Dropfile.to.</p>
<p>From there it&#8217;s claimed that the alleged leaker advertised that file on Reddit, posting a link which enabled any viewer to download it for free. The posting, which was made on the &#8216;Twenty One Pilots&#8217; subreddit by a user called &#8216;twentyoneheathens&#8217;, caught the eye of Atlantic Records.</p>
<p>Earlier this month in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Atlantic <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/atlantic-records-subpoenas-reddit-to-identify-music-leaker-160803/">described</a> how the leak had ruined its plans for the release and promotion of the track. Underlying these complaints was the belief that the leak originated close to home.</p>
<p>The label said it had provided an early release copy &#8220;to an extremely limited number of individuals&#8221;, including members of 21 Pilots, their manager, Atlantic and [record label] Fueled by Ramen executives, plus members of Atlantic’s radio field staff.</p>
<p>According to Atlantic, all of its employees who were aware of the impending release were “contractually obligated and/or under a fiduciary obligation” not to disclose its existence until June 24.</p>
<p>So, in order to find out who was responsible for the pre-release, Atlantic asked the Court to force Reddit to hand over the presumed leaker&#8217;s details, including his or her IP address. Reddit, however, doesn&#8217;t want to play ball.</p>
<p><Center><img src="media/0142ec50.heathens-leak.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/heathens-leak.png" alt="heathens"></center></p>
<p>In a response to the Court, Reddit&#8217;s legal team at Harris Beach PLLC say that Atlantic&#8217;s claims fail to reach the standards required for discovery.</p>
<p>&#8220;In order to obtain pre-action discovery, Atlantic must demonstrate now that it has meritorious claims against the Reddit user.  However, Atlantic has failed to show that its claims are meritorious for two, simple reasons,&#8221; Reddit begins (<a href="media/6236a128.Reddit-response-Atlantic.pdf" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/Reddit-response-Atlantic.pdf">pdf</a>).</p>
<p>&#8220;First, it has failed to establish that it has a contractual relationship with the Reddit user.  Second, it has failed to establish that it has a fiduciary relationship with the Reddit user. Because Atlantic has not demonstrated that  it  has  meritorious  causes  of  action  against  the unidentified Reddit user, its petition for pre-action discovery related to such user should be denied.&#8221;</p>
<p>The problem lies with Atlantic&#8217;s allegation that the person responsible for the leak <em>and</em> the link on Reddit is under contract with the company. Reddit&#8217;s lawyers point out that while the label is clear about what action it would take in that instance, it has made no statement detailing what it would do if the person who posted the link on Reddit is disconnected from the initial leak.</p>
<p>&#8220;Atlantic does not describe the claims it would bring against a non-employee Reddit user who discovered the link on Dropfile.to and posted it to Reddit.com without assistance from an Atlantic employee or an employee of Fueled by Ramen, the members of Twenty One Pilots, or their manager, each of whom had access to the song at the time of the leak,&#8221; Reddit writes.  </p>
<p>Underlining its concerns, Reddit points out that Atlantic provides no proof to back up its claims that the “individual or individuals” who uploaded the file to Dropfile.to also posted the link to Reddit.</p>
<p>&#8220;[T]he Reddit user may have been a member of the general public, who, after discovering the Dropfile.to link on another publicly available website, decided to resubmit it to Reddit.com. A  member  of  the  public  would  not  likely  have  a  contractual  relationship  with Atlantic that was breached and Atlantic has not alleged as much.&#8221;  </p>
<p>Furthermore, Reddit says Atlantic has not advised the Court of any efforts made to obtain the alleged poster&#8217;s details from Dropfile.to. While that might indeed be the case, the operator of Dropfile previously informed TorrentFreak that his site is completely anonymous and carries no logs, so identifying any user would be impossible.</p>
<p>In closing, Reddit describes Atlantic&#8217;s effort as an &#8220;impermissible fishing expedition&#8221; and asks for its petition for pre-action discovery to be denied. However, should the Court decide otherwise, Reddit has asked for a cap to be placed on the amount of data it must hand over.</p>
<p>&#8220;Presently,  Atlantic’s  subpoena  requests  not  only  information  related  to  the  user twentyoneheathens, but also for information related to &#8216;all and any other Reddit accounts which accessed [Reddit’s] service from the same IP address on or about June 15, 2016&#8217;,&#8221; Reddit notes.</p>
<p>&#8220;While such users may share an IP address, they otherwise have no relationship among them. For this reason, any order requiring pre-action discovery should be limited to information directly related to the user twentyoneheathens and not violate the privacy interests of any Reddit users sharing the IP address.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Reddit is digging in its heels now, it seems likely that at some point the Court will indeed order the alleged leaker&#8217;s IP address to be handed over. However, only time will tell what action Atlantic will publicly take. Leaks are potentially embarrassing, so making their findings widely known may not be a priority.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125947
title: International Olympic Committee Cracks Down on Periscope Pirates
uri: International-Olympic-Committee-Cracks-Down-on-Periscope-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/wENBLeNUNXI/
content:
<p><img src="media/79e04c5e.perigone.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/perigone.jpg" alt="perigone" width="275" height="112" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126009">The International Olympic Committee (<a href="https://www.olympic.org/the-ioc">IOC</a>) is known to maintain a tight grip on its intellectual property rights. </p>
<p>Using an image of the Olympic rings or even just the world &#8216;Olympic&#8217; can lead to legal trouble, especially in a commercial context. </p>
<p>Most valuable, however, are the broadcast rights. With literally billions of dollars at stake, the IOC is going all out to prevent people from streaming its events without permission. </p>
<p>In previous years we&#8217;ve seen a crackdown on torrents, with the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/ioc-wants-olympic-torrents-off-the-pirate-bay/">IOC targeting The Pirate Bay</a>. Nowadays, however, live streaming appears to be a bigger target, including homemade rebroadcasts using Twitter&#8217;s Periscope. </p>
<p>Over the past week the IOC has sent hundreds of takedown notices to Periscope, targeting live streams of the 2016 Rio Olympics. </p>
<p>While most Periscope streams are of a horrible quality, with only a few dozen viewers, they&#8217;re seen as a legitimate threat. As a result, the IOC has hired a dedicated team of investigators to track down and report these and other unauthorized streams. </p>
<p>At the time of writing, Periscope has received around 1,000 takedown requests from the IOC for infringing footage from Rio, and this number continues to rise.</p>
<p><center><strong>Periscope Olympics</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/d25fdd33.perisoly.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/perisoly.png" alt="perisoly" width="584" height="712" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126319"></center></p>
<p>Periscope is the only live streaming service that publicly shares its takedown notices with the <a href="https://lumendatabase.org/">Lumen database</a> but it&#8217;s safe to say that the IOC also targets other sites and services. These include dedicated sports streaming sites offering high-quality streams.</p>
<p>Besides the rebroadcasting of the official TV-signal, the IOC also explicitly forbids the use of Periscope and similar apps to broadcast footage at official Olympic venues. This means that visitors and accredited persons are not allowed to live-stream inside any of the stadiums.</p>
<p>&#8220;Broadcasting images via live-streaming applications (e.g. Periscope, Meerkat) is prohibited inside Olympic venues,&#8221; IOC&#8217;s digital media guidelines state (<a href="media/17b0fbd7.IOC-Social-and-Digital-Media-Guidelines-Rio-2016.pdf" data-original-source="https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Documents/Games-Rio-2016-Olympic-Games/Social-Media-Blogging-Internet-Guidelines-and-News-Access-Rules/IOC-Social-and-Digital-Media-Guidelines-Rio-2016.pdf">pdf</a>).</p>
<p>Rules or no rules, it appears that thousands of Periscope users are happily streaming live events. And even if they all stopped, the anti-piracy efforts seem rather futile. </p>
<p>Besides homebrew live-streams there are numerous dedicated streaming sites that continue to offer high-quality footage of the Olympics.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126328
title: Universal Music Settles In-Flight Music Lawsuit for $30m+
uri: Universal-Music-Settles-In-Flight-Music-Lawsuit-for-30m
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/0Xyr9eSRGWM/
content:
<p><a href="media/0cdde52b.universal-small.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/universal-small.jpg"><img src="media/0cdde52b.universal-small.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/universal-small.jpg" alt="universal-small" width="250" height="140" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126337"></a>While jumping on an airplane is the most efficient way of traveling thousands of miles, there can be few who enjoy the hours of sitting idly in between. Some fill the time with a book, others choose in-flight entertainment.</p>
<p>One company providing such content is Global Eagle Entertainment. In addition to the latest Hollywood blockbusters and independent film, the company also <a href="http://www.geemedia.com/products/content/movies">offers</a> a wide range of audio entertainment.</p>
<p>&#8220;No matter what their tastes, we can help your passengers settle back and immerse themselves in the onboard audio experience we have created specifically for your airline,&#8221; the company&#8217;s marketing reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our highly experienced audio team comes from a radio and music industry background, and is passionate about delivering a perfect mix of channels that will entertain and inform your passengers.&#8221;</p>
<p>The normal route for a company to provide such a service would be via licensing agreement with the record labels but for a number of reasons Global Eagle (GEE) did not enter into one. Instead, GEE subsidiary Inflight Productions (IFP) created its own packages by buying CDs and digital tracks and copying them to hard drives which were shipped out the airlines.</p>
<p>In May 2014, Universal Music filed a lawsuit against GEE and IFP for allegedly reproducing, distributing and publicly performing tracks from artists including Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga without permission. In total, UMG claimed infringement on more than 4,500 sound recordings.</p>
<p>This April, almost two years after the initial lawsuit was filed, UMG <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/21/reuters-america-in-flight-music-company-willfully-violated-umg-copyrights-us-judge.html">won</a> its case. A Los Angeles federal court <a href="media/d39f1285.Global-Eagle-2.pdf" data-original-source="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2810471/Global-Eagle-2.pdf">ruled</a> that the in-flight entertainment provider willfully violated the label&#8217;s copyrights by &#8220;repeatedly making the business decision to continue its unauthorized use&#8221; of UMG&#8217;s songs. </p>
<p>With a big win in the bag for UMG, a trial to determine damages was scheduled for May. With 4,500 sound recordings and statutory damages of $150,000 per track available, Global Eagle faced paying out a potential $675m. In response, GEE said it would file an appeal.</p>
<p>Now, however, it appears that agreement has been reached between the warring parties. A <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512077/000114420416118844/v446886_8k.htm">filing</a> with the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that the companies have chosen to settle their differences with a massive cash and stock deal.</p>
<p>&#8220;Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries entered into a Settlement Agreement dated as of August 9, 2016 with UMG Recordings, Inc., Capitol Records, LLC, Universal Music Corp. and entities affiliated with them resolving all claims relating to the previously disclosed lawsuit filed by UMG against the Company and certain of its subsidiaries for music copyright infringement and related claims,&#8221; the filing reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;UMG and the Company have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice and have further agreed that the Settlement Agreement does not constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing or responsibility by any party to it.&#8221;</p>
<p>The agreement also states that GEE and UMG will reach a licensing deal within 60 days to allow GEE to continue using UMG content. In the meantime, UMG promises not to sue for any infringing use.</p>
<p>But of course, these lawsuits are extremely expensive and GEE will pay a heavy price for its failure to secure licenses. The filing states that GEE must immediately pay UMG $15m in cash and issue the company with 1,360,544 shares of its common stock, currently worth around $12.2m</p>
<p>Before March 31, 2017, GEE must also pay UMG a further $5m and potentially hand over yet more stock, 400,000 or 500,000 shares, if the share price exceeds $12 or $10 respectively. Global Eagle shares are <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=global+eagle+stock&#038;ie=utf-8&#038;oe=utf-8&#038;client=firefox-b">currently trading</a> at $9.13.</p>
<p>Facing a potential $30m+ payout, Global Eagle and other players in their market seem likely to take licensing more seriously in the future.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126362
title: Kim Dotcom & John McAfee “At War” Over Megaupload 2.0 Revelations
uri: Kim-Dotcom-John-McAfee-At-War-Over-Megaupload-2-0-Revelations
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/K8m6voWfFzM/
content:
<p><a href="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg"><img src="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg" alt="dotcom-laptop" width="233" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-76556"></a>To celebrate the five year anniversary of the Megaupload raids, in January 2017 Kim Dotcom hopes to deliver a brand new file-sharing system to the masses.</p>
<p>Provisionally titled Megaupload 2.0, Dotcom says the system will take decentralization, anonymity &#038; encryption &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-2-0-will-link-file-transfers-bitcoin-transactions-160805/">to the next level</a>&#8221; by connecting file transfers to bitcoin transactions.</p>
<p>Importantly, the new iteration of Megaupload will launch with the original Megaupload&#8217;s <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-2-0-to-launch-with-original-megaupload-user-database-160708/">user database</a>, which could potentially mean 100 million users checking in shortly after launch. Unsurprisingly then, news of the project has been generating a lot of interest online, even before any hard technical details have been made public.</p>
<p>While Dotcom is yet to reveal any of his investment partners, he has just made a surprise announcement concerning who he <em>won&#8217;t</em> be doing business with. It began with a tweet in which Dotcom claimed he&#8217;d been offered cash to participate in what he saw as a &#8220;pump and dump&#8221; deal.</p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Stay away from <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24MGT&amp;src=ctag">$MGT</a>. They offered $500k for a no-substance partnership announcement with the sole purpose to pump up <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24MGT&amp;src=ctag">$MGT</a> stock. I declined.</p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/765928869064945664">August 17, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>The MGT to which Dotcom refers is <a href="http://www.mgtci.com">MGT Capital Investments</a>, a company which advertises itself as dealing with cyber threats &#8220;through advanced protection technologies for mobile and personal tech devices.&#8221; Early May, security expert John McAfee was confirmed as the company&#8217;s new CEO and a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mgt-capital-mcafee-idUSKCN0Y92X7">chaotic period</a> of stock trading ensued.</p>
<p>So why was MGT trying to get involved with Megaupload 2.0? TorrentFreak spoke with Dotcom to find out more and it transpires some big numbers were involved.</p>
<p>&#8220;[MGT&#8217;s approach] was connected to the new businesses I&#8217;m working on. They offered to invest $30m in cash and $MGT stock. But after some due diligence it became clear that their offer was unrealistic,&#8221; Dotcom informs TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;They didn&#8217;t have the substance to make such an offer. When I questioned that they responded that the substance can be created by the partnership announcement. Meaning an increase in stock value which would make the stock component of the deal more valuable&#8221;</p>
<p>While $30m plus stock might sound like a lot, Dotcom said he poured cold water on the idea.</p>
<p>&#8220;I told them I&#8217;m not interested in pumping up $MGT stock and that they need to raise the money first before we can enter into any kind of agreement,&#8221; he explains.</p>
<p>Undeterred, MGT had another proposal for the Megaupload founder.</p>
<p>&#8220;Then they offered $500k for signing a Letter of Intent to be announced at a big press conference during Defcon. The whole thing was designed to drive up the $MGT stock price with no substance. We declined,&#8221; Dotcom says.</p>
<p>We asked Dotcom if John McAfee himself was aware of the deal being put on the table.</p>
<p>&#8220;John knows about this,&#8221; he told us. &#8220;In my opinion it was all about pump and dump. All they always talked about was the effect of previous announcements on the stock price. That&#8217;s not how you create value or run a business.&#8221;</p>
<p>But while Dotcom may not have liked the offer made by MGT, behind the scenes it appears that he had also irritated McAfee.</p>
<p>Eric J. Anderson (Eijah) is a former Rockstar games developer and the founder of anonymous information sharing app <a href="https://www.demonsaw.com/">DemonSaw</a>, a product endorsed by McAfee. Dotcom says he offered Anderson, McAfee&#8217;s friend and the CTO of MGT, an important job.</p>
<p>&#8220;I offered Eijah [the] CTO role at Megaupload 2.0 &#8211; he agreed. Mcafee goes mental, scares Eijah, making serious threats,&#8221; Dotcom reveals.</p>
<p>&#8220;I decided to come forward about $MGT when I witnessed how Mcafee abused Eijah. I&#8217;m not concerned about the fallout. I stand up for friends.&#8221;</p>
<p>And now it appears the touchpaper has been lit. In a message from McAfee last evening, the security expert warned Dotcom that things might get a little bumpy today.</p>
<p><Center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I have decided to play video games all day tomorrow :-) <a href="https://t.co/RTm63PyBSL">pic.twitter.com/RTm63PyBSL</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/766019952444710912">August 17, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>Early reaction to Dotcom&#8217;s decision to go public about the MGT offer has been largely positive, with people praising the businessman for coming clean. However, Dotcom says his decision to go public could have its downsides.</p>
<p>&#8220;I had to say something. I know I&#8217;m exposing myself to attacks by $MGT but I had to go public. Based on everything I have learned about $MGT there is no substance, yet,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>&#8220;They might create substance in the future. They might come up with real products that create real value. But at the moment they are focusing on making announcements to drive up the $MGT stock price instead of creating real value for investors. It&#8217;s unethical and that&#8217;s why we declined the money and I went public.&#8221;</p>
<p>TorrentFreak contacted MGT but the company did not respond to our request for comment.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126307
title: Anti-Piracy Firm Rightcorp Continues to Lose Big Money
uri: Anti-Piracy-Firm-Rightcorp-Continues-to-Lose-Big-Money
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/EbT43CtO8bY/
content:
<p><img src="media/96cc090f.rightscorp.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightscorp.jpg" alt="rightscorp" width="180" height="71" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85915">For several years, piracy monetization firm Rightscorp has been trying to turn piracy into profit.</p>
<p>The company sends DMCA notices to ISPs and bundles these with settlement demands, intended for Internet subscribers who allegedly shared pirated content. If the accused subscribers pay $30, they avoid further trouble.</p>
<p>Rightscorp works with prominent copyright holders including music licensing group BMG and movie studio Warner Bros. However, thus far they haven&#8217;t been able to turn their scheme into a success. </p>
<p>Instead, the company has been turning a loss quarter after quarter, a trend that continues with its most recent financial figures published this week. </p>
<p>According to the latest <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/filing/3193681">financial report</a>, Rightscorp generated just $146,043 in revenue during the second quarter of 2016. That&#8217;s 38% less than the $233,816 it made during the same period last year.</p>
<p>The costs during the same period were substantial, $671,781, meaning that Rightscorp recorded a loss of over half a million during the past three months. A significant amount, but due to reduced operating expenses it&#8217;s better than the $1,7 million loss it recorded last year.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/4bbc82cd.rightcorrevenue.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightcorrevenue.png" alt="rightcorrevenue" width="600" height="295" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126345"></center>	</p>
<p>One of Rightscorp&#8217;s problems, as <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/rightscorp-blames-vpns-and-isps-for-drop-in-revenue-160331/">previously highlighted</a>, is that many ISPs refuse to forward their settlement requests. Some Internet providers flat-out refuse to forward Rightscorp&#8217;s notices and others, such as Comcast, remove the settlement part.</p>
<p>ISPs&#8217; refusal to forward notices is also one of the reasons that was given for the disappointing numbers for the most recent quarter. </p>
<p>Rightscorp recently celebrated a court success, where Cox was ordered to <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/cox-is-liable-for-pirating-subscribers-ordered-to-pay-25-million-151217/">pay $25 million</a> because they failed to properly respond to its DMCA notices. This prompted the anti-piracy firm to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/rightscorp-threatens-every-isp-united-states-160812/">threaten every ISP in the country</a>, but whether that will have any effect has yet to be seen.</p>
<p>Under U.S. law Internet providers are not required to forward DMCA notices to their subscribers, and if they choose to do so they can remove the settlement request. With this in mind, Rightscorp&#8217;s aggressive stance may actually work against them.</p>
<p>After losing the court case Cox has started to process Rightscorp&#8217;s notices, but whether they also forward the settlement requests is unknown. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the biggest settlement news of the year actually <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/accused-pirates-win-class-action-settlement-from-rightscorp-and-warner-bros-160112/">goes against Rightscorp</a>. The company and several copyright holders, including Hollywood studio Warner Bros, previously agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over intimidating robo-calls.</p>
<p>As a result, more than 2,000 accused pirates are eligible for a $100 settlement each, and according to the quarterly report Rightscorp has set aside $200,000 to cover these costs.</p>
<p>Ironically, that&#8217;s more than the revenue the company itself generated from settlements over the past several months.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126395
title: BREIN Tracks Down Facebook Music Pirate, Settles for €7,000
uri: BREIN-Tracks-Down-Facebook-Music-Pirate-Settles-for-7-000
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/HzsNpVlW5xw/
content:
<p><img src="media/9f402825.facebook-share.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/facebook-share.jpg" alt="facebook-share" width="200" height="107" class="alignright size-full wp-image-24966">Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has targeted operators of pirate sites for over a decade but more recently it began going after individual file-sharers as well.</p>
<p>The rightsholder-backed group has targeted <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-kickasstorrents-uploader-stung-for-e7500-160505/">Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents</a> uploaders, for example, as well as a prolific <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/brein-settles-with-prolific-usenet-uploader-for-e15000-160804/">Usenet uploader</a>.</p>
<p>Today BREIN announces another success in its ongoing anti-piracy quest. The group obtained an ex-parte court order against a man who uploaded music to a cyberlocker which he then shared to a Facebook group.</p>
<p>According to BREIN the man and other members of the Dutch Facebook group shared pirated music as a hobby, gaining recognition for the links they posted.</p>
<p>Presented with the court order, the man agreed to stop his activities and pay a €7,000 settlement. In a message posted to the Facebook group he announced the reason for his sudden departure.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ladies and gentlemen, by order of BREIN I have to stop uploading music. I will therefore quit effective immediately. In addition, I will leave the group today, both as administrator and as a member.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;I wish everyone all the best,&#8221; he concludes, noting that he faces an additional fine up to €50,000 if he continues sharing links to pirated content. </p>
<p>The €7,000 settlement is lower than those negotiated in previous cases closed by BREIN. The anti-piracy group says that it bases the amount on the financial circumstances of the uploaders, suggesting that the man has a lower income than some of the previous defendants. </p>
<p>BREIN doesn&#8217;t explain how it tracked down the uploader in question, but it seems likely that his Facebook account exposed him. Whether Facebook also assisted in the investigation is unknown.</p>
<p>Initially, the Facebook music sharing group continued to operate, but it was closed shortly thereafter. In addition, Facebook closed several similar groups after reports from BREIN.</p>
<p>It’s clear that the anti-piracy group is targeting uploaders of all shapes and sizes. In addition, it continues to keep its eyes on linking sites and cyberlockers.</p>
<p>&#8220;Among cyberlockers are many who deceitfully use the limitation of liability for hosting services. They have ineffective Notice &#038; Takedown policies, which ensure that their main source of revenue, unauthorized entertainment content, continues to exist,&#8221; BREIN notes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126414
title: Mexican Govt Officials Reprimanded For Olympics Piracy
uri: Mexican-Govt-Officials-Reprimanded-For-Olympics-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/AWtnLkxHgZ8/
content:
<p><a href="media/c3d7b9c8.rio2016.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rio2016.jpg"><img src="media/c3d7b9c8.rio2016.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rio2016.jpg" alt="rio2016" width="240" height="240" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126420"></a>Due to their very nature, the Olympic Games are often considered to belong to the people. With competitors from every corner of the world, the Olympics is a celebration of sport on a truly global scale.</p>
<p>But while the utopian dream is one of beauty, the reality is that the Olympics are massively commercialized with billions of dollars at stake. And when sums of that scale hang in the balance, corporations go all out to protect their interests.</p>
<p>Earlier this week we <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/international-olympic-committee-cracks-down-on-periscope-pirates-160816/">reported</a> how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been sending takedown requests to Twitter after Periscope users streamed Olympic events online without permission. Now it appears that people much higher up the food chain have fallen foul of the strict licensing framework put in place by the IOC.</p>
<p>According to a report by Mexico&#8217;s <a href="http://eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/deportes/mas-deportes/2016/08/17/otro-escandalo-exhibe-mentiras-de-castillo">Eluniversal</a>, the Rio Organizing Committee has taken the decision to withdraw press credentials from Mexico’s National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (<a href="http://www.conade.gob.mx/">Conade</a>) following a copyright dispute.</p>
<p>The publication says that Conade violated licensing conditions put in place by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after one of its members filmed the gymnast Alexa Moreno using a cellphone. The video was subsequently posted to social media.</p>
<p>According to the Committee, Conade failed to obtain the necessary rights to broadcast Olympic content, so in retaliation nine Conade members, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CONADE">who work for the Mexican government</a>, had their press credentials taken away.</p>
<p>“The use of Olympic materials turned into animated graphic formats like GIF, GFY or WebM, as well as short video formats like Vine, are expressly forbidden,” a Committee statement <a href="https://panampost.com/elena-toledo/2016/08/18/olympic-committee-bans-mexican-officials-over-copyright-infringement/">reads</a>.</p>
<p>While the Committee probably felt it needed to set an example, taking away the credentials of the Conade staff will be felt back home in Mexico. Conade is the arm of the Mexican government charged with promoting physical education and sport in the country. Before their punishment, they were also the conduit between the Games and their countrymen.</p>
<p>But while the Rio Organizing Committee punishes the whole of Mexico for the sharing of a single video, thousands of people are sharing recorded events at will on sites such as The Pirate Bay.</p>
<p>The real action, however, is taking place on the thousands of streaming sites currently in operation. In addition to web-browser based services, users of Kodi with the correct plug-ins have continuous access to live Olympic events, often in HD quality, no matter where they are in the world. Rio can do absolutely nothing about that.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126430
title: Scammers Use Harvard Education Platform to Promote Pirated Movies
uri: Scammers-Use-Harvard-Education-Platform-to-Promote-Pirated-Movies
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Fac00SLu3KA/
content:
<p><img src="media/da990df6.harvardlaw.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/harvardlaw.png" alt="harvardlaw" width="265" height="140" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126433">H2O is a tool that allows professors and students to share learning material in a more affordable way.</p>
<p>This is very welcome in a time where textbook and other educational costs continue to rise year after year.</p>
<p>Developed by the Berkman Center and the Harvard Law School Library, <a href="https://h2o.law.harvard.edu/">the H2O platform</a> is mainly geared towards law professors but anyone with an .edu email address is allowed to join.</p>
<p>&#8220;H2O allows users – faculty or students – to develop, remix, and share online textbooks and casebooks under a Creative Commons license,&#8221; Harvard Law School <a href="http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/tlc/tool-catalog/h2o/">explains</a>.</p>
<p>H2O is a welcome system that&#8217;s actively used by many renowned scholars. However, in recent weeks the platform was also discovered by scammers. As a result, it quickly filled up with many <a href="https://h2o.law.harvard.edu/playlists/46878">links</a> to pirated content. </p>
<p>Instead of course instructions and other educational material, the H2O playlists of these scammers advertise pirated movies. Below is an example of one of these dubious entries, but there are <a href="https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&#038;q=site:h2o.law.harvard.edu&#038;gws_rd=cr&#038;ei=bee2V8SUGITWsAGtvIuABQ#q=site:h2o.law.harvard.edu+movie+stream">thousands</a> more. </p>
<p>The scammers in question are operating from various user accounts and operate much like traditional spam bots, offering pages with movie links and related keywords such as putlocker, megashare, viooz, torrent and YIFY.</p>
<p><center><strong>A &#8220;pirate&#8221; H2O playlist</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/509eed1a.hardvardspam-e1471601190729.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hardvardspam-e1471601190729.png" alt="hardvardspam" width="600" height="455" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126434"></center></p>
<p>While most students won&#8217;t mind free access to the latest blockbusters, the links provided are not leading to regular pirate sites and services. </p>
<p>Instead they point to scammy portals, many of which require a credit card to signup, which undoubtedly leads to disappointment. These kinds of scams are nothing new, but seeing them listed on a Harvard website is a new development.</p>
<p><center><strong>Access?</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/876754be.scamsignup.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/scamsignup.png" alt="scamsignup" width="600" height="485" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126437"></center></p>
<p>With links from the official Harvard domain name, the pages are an SEO goldmine and do very well in Google&#8217;s search results. This is something copyright holders have noticed too.. </p>
<p>Over the past few weeks movie studios including Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, Columbia and Magnolia Pictures have sent <a href="https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/domains/harvard.edu/">dozens of DMCA notices</a> trying to get the pages removed from the search engine.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Google has thus far chosen to take no action, which means that the pages remain indexed in search results. Whether the movie studios have sent DMCA notices to Harvard directly is unknown, but since the H2O playlists are still online this seems unlikely. </p>
<p>Although the movie link pages don&#8217;t meet the standards of a typical Harvard course, they do serve as a crash course on how to recognize piracy scams and avoid them in the future. That&#8217;s worth something too. </p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Harvard Law School informed TorrentFreak that several of the spam pages were already removed, but that some remain cached. They are doing their best to address the issue and prevent similar spam in the future. </p>
<p>&#8220;We take these issues seriously. It’s not what H2O is intended for, but this is one of the challenges of trying to maintain an open system. We&#8217;ve taken action recently to restrict new accounts and to remove spam accounts and inappropriate content,&#8221; H2O&#8217;s Adam Ziegler says. </p>
<p>&#8220;We’re taking steps to clear [the cached pages] out, to dig for other material that should be removed and to further limit opportunities for abuse.&#8221; </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126138
title: Dallas Buyers Club Lawyer Calls Out “Copyleft” TorrentFreak
uri: Dallas-Buyers-Club-Lawyer-Calls-Out-Copyleft-TorrentFreak
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/BQFe228pw-c/
content:
<p><img src="media/2381f8ad.dallas1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dallas1.jpg" alt="dallas" width="275" height="155" class="alignright size-full wp-image-96710">The makers of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790636/">Dallas Buyers Club</a> have sued thousands of BitTorrent users over the past few years.</p>
<p>Many of <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/dallas-buyers-club-sues-bittorrent-pirates-citing-oscar-wins-140312/">these cases</a> end up being settled for an undisclosed amount. This usually happens after the filmmakers obtain the identity of the Internet account holder believed to have pirated the movie.</p>
<p>The tactics used by Dallas Buyers Club (DBC) are often described as &#8220;copyright trolling,&#8221; and equated to the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/fbi-in-latter-stages-of-prenda-law-copyright-troll-investigation-160526/">abusive practices of Prenda Law</a>.</p>
<p>However, according to Dallas Buyers Club attorney James S. Davis this is certainly not the case. In a recent filing requesting the deposition of an alleged pirate, he distances his enforcement actions from Prenda&#8217;s previous practices.</p>
<p>&#8220;In these cases, Plaintiffs would offer settlements for a sum calculated to be just below the cost of defense, creating a situation in which a Defendant would reluctantly pay rather than have their names associated with illegally downloaded porn,&#8221; DBC&#8217;s lawyer writes (<a href="media/66fdc535.c8450985-a4c7-4c1d-b9d0-793be5ff99d0.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/c8450985-a4c7-4c1d-b9d0-793be5ff99d0.pdf">pdf</a>). </p>
<p>&#8220;This was a pattern of clear abuse and is well recognized,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s quite unusual for a lawyer to open his filing by scolding his former &#8216;colleagues,&#8217; but in this case it serves a higher purpose.</p>
<p>The problem, according to Davis, is that Prenda&#8217;s actions gave rise to an &#8220;aggressive BitTorrent Defense Bar.&#8221; This group of individuals and organizations is actively protests all related copyright enforcement actions, including DBC&#8217;s cases. </p>
<p>This group of torrent defenders apparently uses TorrentFreak and other sites to spread their message to the public.</p>
<p>&#8220;[An] aggressive BitTorrent Defense Bar, whom is against any copyright enforcement, has attempted to have all copyright enforcement actions categorized as part of the &#8216;porn-trolling collective&#8217; through the use of the internet with sites like, dietrolldie.com, torrentfreak.com, fightcopyrighttrolls.com, and related arguments presented to the courts,&#8221; Davis writes. </p>
<p>As if that wasn&#8217;t enough, the &#8220;defense bar,&#8221; which is apparently against all copyright enforcement, also organizes itself on a political level through the &#8220;copyleft&#8221; Pirate Party.</p>
<p>&#8220;In some countries this opposition is organized as a political party called the Pirate Party, but domestically often referred to as the Copyleft. This BitTorrent Defense Bar is critical of any copyright enforcement actions without regards to any specifics,&#8221; Davis writes.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/9e77c689.copyleft.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/copyleft.png" alt="copyleft" width="564" height="343" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126386"></center></p>
<p>Davis tells the court that copyright holders can&#8217;t do anything right in the eyes of these torrent defenders. If settlement amounts are too high it&#8217;s seen as extortion, and if they&#8217;re too low they exploit the costs of litigation and their nuisance value.</p>
<p>Dallas Buyers Club&#8217;s lawyer hopes that the court will see through these arguments and judge the cases on their merit. </p>
<p>&#8220;On scrutiny, the courts are finding that current enforcement practices used by counsel, are not to &#8216;plunder the citizenry,&#8217; &#8216;exploit individuals,&#8217; monetizing, or profiting from illegal downloading, but truly motivated by Plaintiff’s desire to protect its copyrights interests and fight piracy,&#8221; he writes. </p>
<p>At TorrentFreak we were surprised to see ourselves mentioned in relation to a mysterious copyleft BitTorrent defense bar that rallies against all copyright enforcement. </p>
<p>While we have our opinions, we do not recognize ourselves in the description given by DBC&#8217;s lawyer. In fact, without copyright enforcement we would have very little to write about. </p>
<p>We contacted Davis for a comment on the allegations but unfortunately he hasn&#8217;t replied to our request, perhaps worried that we would unleash our inner copyleftists.</p>
<p>Luckily for him, however, his arguments did convince the court. Judge Jacqueline Scott granted his request to interrogate various alleged BitTorrent pirates, which he can use to find out more about the actual copyright infringers. </p>
<p>Some would say that such depositions can be abused as another instrument to pressure defendants into settling, but those concerns are unwarranted according to Davis, of course.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126360
title: Google Saves Anthropoid Movie From Anti-Piracy Meltdown
uri: Google-Saves-Anthropoid-Movie-From-Anti-Piracy-Meltdown
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/9V-1r2uJ-JQ/
content:
<p><a href="media/0e9a2d8b.anthropoid.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/anthropoid.jpg"><img src="media/0e9a2d8b.anthropoid.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/anthropoid.jpg" alt="anthropoid" width="220" height="326" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126389"></a>Anthropoid is a new historical thriller which tells the story of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anthropoid">assassination of Reinhard Heydrich</a>, a high-ranking German Nazi official during World War II, and one of the main architects of the Holocaust.</p>
<p>The movie has been getting mixed reviews so for those worried that their investment may leave them underwhelmed, a pirate copy is often the solution.</p>
<p>In the early days following a release, file-sharers often have to put up with so-called &#8216;cam&#8217; or camcorder copies. Nearly always of low quality, these are often avoided by those who don&#8217;t mind waiting for a better release. Nevertheless, studios feel that any copy is a threat and they often hire anti-piracy companies to purge them from the web.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s exactly what New York City-based film distribution company Bleecker Street did to protect the release of Anthropoid with their hiring of India-based anti-piracy outfit MarkScan. On August 12, on the day of the movie&#8217;s release in the US, MarkScan began sending takedowns to Google.</p>
<p>However, there was a &#8216;small&#8217; problem. Anthropoid hadn&#8217;t even been leaked online yet.</p>
<p>In a notice to Google targeting 66 unique domains, MarkScan demanded the removal of dozens of allegedly infringing links. Of course, not a single one related to a leak of the full movie. As can be seen in the sample below, many links reference sites that appear to have the movie but in fact only carry the official trailer.</p>
<p><Center><a href="media/b4a1f1c9.anthropoid-dmca.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/anthropoid-dmca.png"><img src="media/b4a1f1c9.anthropoid-dmca.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/anthropoid-dmca.png" alt="anthropoid-dmca" width="650" height="250" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126390"></a></center></p>
<p>But while taking down the official trailer is enough to ensure that fewer people are aware of the movie&#8217;s existence, MarkScan weren&#8217;t finished yet, not by a long way.</p>
<p>The very first link in the notice targets a completely unrelated and entirely legal <a href="https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2015/02/02/plug-play-2">short film</a> which just happens to use the word &#8216;Anthropoid&#8217; in its description.</p>
<p>The third link &#8211; and this is a good one &#8211; attempts to stop anyone on Twitter finding the movie using the hashtag &#8216;Anthropoid&#8217; by asking Google to remove &#8216;https://twitter.com/hashtag/anthropoid&#8217; from its search indexes.</p>
<p>What follows is a car crash of sizeable proportions, with MarkScan attempting to take down promotional material and video clips from the Wall Street Journal, People.com, The Hollywood Reporter, and many other sites discussing the title.</p>
<p>As if that wasn&#8217;t enough, MarkScan then places the BBC in its sights, demanding that Google removes its world radio and TV homepage from the company&#8217;s search results, for no apparent reason.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/59d946dc.anthropoid-dmca2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/anthropoid-dmca2.png"><img src="media/59d946dc.anthropoid-dmca2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/anthropoid-dmca2.png" alt="anthropoid-dmca2" width="650" height="193" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126391"></a></center></p>
<p>Fortunately, Google spotted this disastrous notice before it did any real harm and <a href="https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/requests/3766788/">refused to remove any links</a>. That means that the many reviews the company tried to wipe out will stand, as will the BBC&#8217;s radio and TV page.</p>
<p>However, it boggles the mind to think that an anti-piracy outfit would send <a href="https://lumendatabase.org/notices/12849413">such a notice</a> (and presumably charge the distributor for it) before taking the time to check that the movie had actually been leaked online. But by now, that&#8217;s not really a surprise, especially given MarkScan&#8217;s <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/thanks-for-the-really-counter-productive-dmca-complaints-150524/">earlier efforts</a>.</p>
<p>Update: Google has added a note to the DMCA notice to say that the submitter may be an imposter or someone abusing the takedown process.</p>
<p>Update 2: Comment from Markscan. &#8220;We have filed a police complaint re these fraudulent notices few months back, Google as well as compliant websites are also well aware of the situation, and we have been coordinating with them.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=125652
title: Fail: Anti-Piracy Outfits Send Takedown Request For Non-Existent Torrents
uri: Fail-Anti-Piracy-Outfits-Send-Takedown-Request-For-Non-Existent-Torre
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Tx5ONMDXRUI/
content:
<p><img src="media/6261ff2d.fail.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fail.jpg" alt="fail" width="250" height="169" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125863">Over the past years a lot has been said about the effectiveness and accuracy of DMCA takedown practices. </p>
<p>Rightsholders often complain that it&#8217;s impossible to keep content offline, while critics warn about mistakes caused by automated takedown bots. </p>
<p>The latter has been illustrated anecdotally, but we recently stumbled upon a rather worrying development that illustrates just how far anti-piracy groups are prepared to go when it comes to fabricating &#8220;evidence&#8221;.</p>
<p>One of the companies involved is IP-Echelon, which sends takedown notices on behalf of HBO and Paramount Pictures, among others. </p>
<p>Looking through their recent <a href="https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/reporters/17947/IP-Echelon-Pty-Ltd/">submissions</a> we see notices targeting sites that allegedly distribute popular content such as recent episodes of Game of Thrones, Ballers, and Silicon Valley. </p>
<p>Among the sites reported are The Pirate Bay, ExtraTorrent and various lesser known sites. However, our eye was drawn to <a href="https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/domains/zoink.it/">Zoink.it</a> and Torrage.com. </p>
<p>The latter two have been operating as so-called torrent caches for a long time. These don&#8217;t have a searchable index of torrents, but serve as a hosting platform for torrent sites, identifying torrents by their unique hash. </p>
<p>For example, a torrent for an episode of Ballers that aired a few weeks ago has the hash C87000EF73557A488D5C21BF8F9FA4CC24EC0513. This file would then be available at Zoink under the following url: </p>
<p><em>zoink.it/torrent/C87000EF73557A488D5C21BF8F9FA4CC24EC0513.torrent.</em></p>
<p>We say would be, because Zoink.it was shut down at the end of 2014. The same is true for the other torrent cache, Torrage, which has been offline for quite a while as well. </p>
<p>However, the takedown notices IP-Echelon sends on behalf of HBO and Paramount pictures still list these sites with hashes of new torrents, which never existed when the sites were still online. </p>
<p><center><a href="media/e394be90.ballers.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ballers.png"><img src="media/e394be90.ballers.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ballers.png" alt="ballers" width="600" height="476" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125666"></a></center></p>
<p>How can this be? Well, it seems obvious that IP-Echelon is fabricating URLs based on torrent hashes without checking if they even exist. This isn&#8217;t an isolated mistake either, as the company is sending dozens of these fabricated notices per month.</p>
<p>In this case, no harm has been done. The sites in question are offline and can&#8217;t be punished by Google&#8217;s downranking algorithm. However, the fact that they keep fabricating links more than a year after sites have disappeared, shows that there is little oversight. </p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to the former hosting provider of Zoink and Torrage who confirms that both sites remain targeted, and not just by IP-Echelon. </p>
<p>Indian anti-piracy outfit MarkScan is also sending takedown notices to Zoink and Torrage&#8217;s former hosting provider on a regular basis, we were informed. In addition, the company is also sending takedown requests <a href="https://lumendatabase.org/notices/12649360">to Google</a> for new torrents, as does <a href="https://lumendatabase.org/notices/12723442">Rico Management</a>.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s safe to say that these anti-piracy outfits are quite sloppy, to say the least. Of course, copyright holders have the right to protect their content, but they have to play by the rules. </p>
<p>Making up evidence certainly doesn&#8217;t look good in this regard.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126416
title: How Legitimate Content Killed an “Ethical” Torrent Site
uri: How-Legitimate-Content-Killed-an-Ethical-Torrent-Site
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/wY5xhjBkuVc/
content:
<p><img src="media/1bbd8b8c.uknova.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/uknova.jpg" width="190" height="93" class="alignright">When peer-to-peer file-sharing networks started to gain traction more than a decade and a half ago, it soon became clear that if entertainment industries were to compete, they&#8217;d need to step up their game.</p>
<p>In the early 2000s, for example, users of Sharman Networks&#8217; Kazaa software already had wide and free access to music and video titles. The introduction of BitTorrent shortly after only turned up the pressure. </p>
<p>Fifteen years down the line it&#8217;s now clearer than ever. The true enemy of illicit file-sharing is broad and convenient access to all content at a fair price. In the meantime, however, platforms such as torrent sites continue to pick up the slack. More than a decade ago, they were leading the charge.</p>
<p>Founded in 2003/4, torrent site UKNova took a somewhat unusual approach to its offering. Rather than the free-for-all witnessed on most platforms, UKNova aimed to responsibly service UK-based consumers and those overseas with select content that couldn&#8217;t easily be obtained by other means.</p>
<p>Initially, the site catered to a few ex-pats who were desperate for their fix of long-running TV soap, Eastenders. It had been made available in the States by BBC America, but in 2003 the iconic show was dropped.</p>
<p>&#8220;After initially sending VHS tapes across the Atlantic, a daring foray into the unknown world of trackers and torrents was made by brave visionaries and uknova.com was born,&#8221; a site operator told TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>&#8220;UKNova rapidly became known as the &#8216;go-to&#8217; place for UK television and for a while was probably the leading private tracker catering to ex-pats and Anglophiles around the world.&#8221;</p>
<p>Most private torrent sites have strict rules, but UKNova went a step further than most by only allowing UK-produced TV content that was not available on DVD or premium channels. But despite the restrictions, UKNova was a success.</p>
<p>&#8220;Membership rapidly grew and was voluntarily limited to between 30,000 and 40,000 members. Forum activity could become so heavy that server problems arose, leading to an iconic &#8216;<a href="http://britishexpats.com/forum/barbie-92/uknova-anyone-else-having-problems-450064/#post4778510">Mind The Gap</a>&#8216; message.&#8221;</p>
<p>But UKNova was much more than just a torrent site. Like many niche trackers, UKNova had a thriving close-knit community centered around the theme and culture of UK TV. With assistance from the site&#8217;s radio station, those friendships thrived beyond the digital space.</p>
<p>&#8220;Events and activities grew from the forums: picnics and meet-ups, annual awards ceremonies with live radio, mugs and t-shirts, fantasy football leagues, and above all solidarity for members who were in need, ill or deceased,&#8221; the operator explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;There were at least four marriages resulting from friendships struck up on UKNova&#8217;s forums and IRC chat.&#8221;</p>
<p>Due to the nature of UK TV (free to view, for those who pay the standard license fee), UKNova offered a lot of BBC content. Back in the early days BBC iPlayer simply did not exist so once shows disappeared off air, that was that until the corporation decided to bring them back. UKNova not only filled that gap, but even received a request to help the BBC complete its archives.</p>
<p>&#8220;During this time relations with the BBC were cordial. In one case UKNova was even asked if they could find a missing recording of documentary series <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mgxf">Horizon</a>,&#8221; a site representative explains.</p>
<p>But by 2012, the atmosphere had begun to shift.</p>
<p>“UKNova is being forced to change,&#8221; an operator <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/leading-ethical-tv-show-bittorrent-tracker-shut-down-by-fact-120827/">told TF</a> at the time. &#8220;We have been issued with a ‘cease and desist’ order by FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft.&#8221;</p>
<p>FACT was clear in its demands. All copyrighted content needed to come down, no matter where that content had come from and despite the fact that UKNova had never had a complaint from any TV station since its inception. The site didn&#8217;t believe it could be successfully prosecuted but had no way of defending itself.</p>
<p>&#8220;UKNova has never had any source of revenue other than donations to help pay for the servers and bandwidth. In latter years the site survived uniquely on private donations from Staff,&#8221; TF was told.</p>
<p>Within weeks UKNova shut down, but the dream wasn&#8217;t quite over yet.</p>
<p>&#8220;In 2013 a group of independent users decided to re-ignite the flame with a new site which was kept as low profile as possible. This site kept the ethos of the original UKNova, with the same rules concerning commercially available material,&#8221; a site veteran explains.</p>
<p>This, it appears, was to be the site&#8217;s ultimate undoing. The environment in 2013 was massively different to that of 2003. Legitimate services were appearing left and right, meaning that the content pool available to UKNova users under the site&#8217;s own stringent rules was diminishing every day.</p>
<p>UKNova&#8217;s decision to maintain its position as &#8220;the ethical torrent site&#8221; was cutting off its own oxygen supply and over the next three years the site began to die.</p>
<p>&#8220;In 2016 it became clear that the advent of the BBC Store and Amazon Video, linked to the quasi-immediate availability of shows from other channels on DVD, meant that allowable content was shrinking daily,&#8221; a site operator explains.</p>
<p>With the main reason for people visiting the site diminishing all the time, members had less and less to talk about. The continued rise of external and mainstream social media only exacerbated the situation.  </p>
<p>&#8220;The discussion forums were grinding to a halt and membership was gradually shrinking. Rather than flogging a dead horse it seemed appropriate to turn out the lights, lock the door and gracefully retire.&#8221;</p>
<p>On Saturday August 7, UKNova&#8217;s trackers were taken offline. A week later the site was shuttered completely. UKNova was dead, this time for real.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been a good long run, so much good has been done, and so much fun has been had, by so many people &#8211; a unique experience. But all good things..,&#8221; the site said in a closing statement.</p>
<p>While FACT&#8217;s intervention was certainly an unwelcome one, it seems fairly clear that its own strict rules and the availability of legitimate content was what ultimately led to UKNova&#8217;s demise. Sadly, however, UKNova&#8217;s initial goals of serving the ex-pat community are still proving a problem today.</p>
<p>Only last week, FACT and the UK&#8217;s Police Intellectual Property Unit <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pipcu-raids-pirate-tv-streaming-operation-three-arrested-160811/">shut down</a> an IPTV service directly aimed at British citizens living abroad.</p>
<p>PIPCU said that the platform had many thousands of customers, showing that a potentially lucrative market still exists if only someone, somewhere, would service it. Someone will, but it won&#8217;t be UKNova.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126493
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 08/22/16
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-08-22-16
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/UKfuSwJBwAA/
content:
<p><img src="media/ef0fdcd5.nowyousee.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/nowyousee.jpg" alt="nowyousee" width="300" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126495">This week we have three newcomers in our chart. </p>
<p>Now You See Me 2 is the most downloaded movie.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-pirated-movies-week-081516/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/now_you_see_me_2">Now You See Me 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3110958/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I8rVcSQbic">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/independence_day_resurgence/">Independence Day: Resurgence</a> (Subbed HDRip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1628841/">5.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbduDRH2m2M">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_legend_of_tarzan">The Legend of Tarzan</a> (Subbed HDRip) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918940/">6.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLmKio67pVQ">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/neighbors_2_sorority_rising">Neighbors 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4438848/">6.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5dTHmlq9r8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/imperium">Imperium</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4781612/">6.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3lFBq7_CPk">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_jungle_book_2016">The Jungle Book</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3040964/">7.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkm22yO-bs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/suicide_squad_2016">Suicide Squad</a> (HDTS) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386697/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmRih_VtVAs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/warcraft/">Warcraft</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0803096/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhFMIRuHAL4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(7)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jason_bourne/">Jason Bourne</a> (CAM/TS)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4196776/">7.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71ce1Dqqns">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nice_guys/">The Nice Guys</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3799694/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyR-UqRom-c">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126570
title: Cloudflare Faces Lawsuit For Assisting Pirate Sites
uri: Cloudflare-Faces-Lawsuit-For-Assisting-Pirate-Sites
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ac3ULu1O3L8/
content:
<p><img src="media/4a535cc9.cloudflare.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cloudflare.png" alt="cloudflare" width="275" height="188" class="alignright size-full wp-image-96401">As one of the leading providers of DDoS protection and an easy to use CDN service, <a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/">Cloudflare</a> is used by millions of sites across the globe.</p>
<p>This includes many “pirate” sites who rely on the U.S. based company to keep server loads down.</p>
<p>The Pirate Bay is one of the best-known customers, but there are literally are thousands of other &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites that use services from the San Francisco company.</p>
<p>As a result, copyright holders are not happy with CloudFlare&#8217;s actions. Just recently, the Hollywood-affiliated group Digital Citizens Alliance <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/digital-citizens-slam-cloudflare-for-enabling-piracy-malware-160722/">called the company out</a> for helping pirate sites to stay online. </p>
<p>Adult entertainment outfit ALS Scan agrees and has now become the first dissenter to take CloudFlare to court. In a complaint filed at a California federal court, ALS describes piracy as the greatest threat to its business.</p>
<p>The rise of online piracy has significantly hurt the company&#8217;s profits, they argue, noting that &#8220;pirate&#8221; sites are not the only problem.</p>
<p>&#8220;The problems faced by ALS are not limited to the growing presence of sites featuring infringing content, or &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites. A growing number of service providers are helping pirate sites thrive by supporting and engaging in commerce with these sites,&#8221; ALS writes (<a href="media/6d0d5dd9.alsscan.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/alsscan.pdf">pdf</a>). </p>
<p>These service providers include hosting companies, CDN providers, but also advertising brokers. The lawsuit at hand zooms in on two of them, CloudFlare and the advertising provider <a href="https://www.juicyads.com/">Juicy Ads</a>.</p>
<p>According to the complaint, both companies have failed to cut their ties with alleged pirate sites, even though they received multiple takedown notices. </p>
<p>CloudFlare and Juicy Ads&#8217; terms state that they terminate accounts of repeat infringers. However, according to ALS both prefer to keep these sites on as customers, so they can continue to profit from them.</p>
<p>&#8220;Even though the law requires parties to terminate business with repeat infringers, and even though both Juicy Ads and Cloudflare’s own terms<br>
state that they will terminate business with repeat infringers, neither Juicy Ads nor Cloudflare has terminated its business accounts with these chronic direct infringers. </p>
<p>&#8220;On information and belief, this is because Juicy Ads and Cloudflare make money by continuing to do commerce with sites that draw traffic through the lure of free infringing content,&#8221; the company writes.</p>
<p>The complaint lists Imgchili.net, Slimpics.com, Cumonmy.com, Bestofsexpics.com and Stooorage.com and CloudFlare customers that host copyright infringing material from ALS, and as of today these sites are still using the CDN provider&#8217;s services.</p>
<p>Juicy Ads reportedly terminated the accounts of several infringing sites after they learned about the lawsuit, but that doesn&#8217;t mean that it can escape liability for its earlier actions.</p>
<p>ALS holds both companies responsible for various counts of copyright and trademark infringement, for which it demands actual and statutory damages. With hundreds of works at stake, theoretical damages can run to dozens of millions of dollars.</p>
<p>Both CloudFlare and Juicy Ads have yet to file a formal response to the allegations.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126552
title: PIPCU’s Operation Creative Gets New Leader & New Backers
uri: PIPCU-s-Operation-Creative-Gets-New-Leader-New-Backers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/W6An416aoJ8/
content:
<p><img src="media/357ad110.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg" width="200" height="82" class="alignright">Back in 2013, major torrent sites began <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-launch-campaign-to-shut-down-torrent-sites-130604/">receiving letters</a> from the UK&#8217;s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), a City of London Police unit tasked with identifying organized crime groups in order to disrupt their activities.</p>
<p>Behind the scenes, the fledgling Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-government-announces-new-intellectual-property-crime-unit-130628/">PIPCU</a>) had been working with the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) and The Publishers Association with the aim of <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-torrent-site-threats-explained-130614/">closing</a> as many torrent and streaming sites as possible.</p>
<p>In time, this initiative became known as Operation Creative, a multi-pronged effort to reduce piracy using a variety of tactics, including the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-orders-registrars-to-suspend-domains-of-major-torrent-sites-131009/">targeting of domains</a> and the disruption of <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/torrent-sites-6-million-ad-revenue-140219/">revenue streams</a>.</p>
<p>The latter included the development of the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/city-of-london-police-launches-pirate-site-blacklist-for-advertisers-140331/">Infringing Website List</a> (IWL), a blacklist of websites distributed to potential advertisers and agencies who are asked to boycott the domains in the name of supporting creators.</p>
<p>The police, on the other hand, reportedly placed <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/police-prepare-to-place-banner-ads-on-pirate-sites-140402/">their own ads</a> on some &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites in an effort to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-hijacks-ads-74-websites-refuses-name-140812/">scare would-be pirates</a>.</p>
<p>Operation Creative is now in its third year and with that anniversary comes the appointment of a brand new senior officer to head up the initiative.</p>
<p>Detective Constable Steve Salway joins PIPCU having spent time at the National Fraud Investigation Bureau (NFIB) as a disruptions team investigator. During his time there, Salway is reported to have overseen  the closure of &#8220;hundreds of criminal websites&#8221; worldwide.</p>
<p>While NFIB is involved in tackling IP infringement, the unit also has responsibility for investigating a wide variety of online crimes including financial fraud and identity theft. Salway&#8217;s work there crossed over with PIPCU operations and enticed him in.</p>
<p>“Operation Creative is leading the way in disrupting UK online digital piracy, and now it’s time to take success to the next level by exploring different tactics like maximising disruption opportunities around criminal revenue,&#8221; Salway says.</p>
<p>“My experience in tackling online crime and closing down criminal internet infrastructures will be applied to all future referrals and I am proud to be part of this new era for the initiative.”</p>
<p>PIPCU&#8217;s new dedicated officer puts the successes of Operation Creative down to the strength of the partnerships the police have forged with the private sector.</p>
<p>In addition to FACT, BPI and The PA, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), PRS for music and the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) are all members. Coinciding with Salway&#8217;s appointment, the initiative now welcomes a new member in the form of the Music Publishers Association (MPA).</p>
<p>The MPA has a mission to &#8220;safeguard and promote&#8221; the interests of music publishers and writers while representing their interests to government, the rest of the industry, and the public. It currently boast around <a href="http://www.mpaonline.org.uk/directory">260 members</a> and 4,000 music catalogues.</p>
<p>&#8220;I am pleased to welcome the Music Publishers Association to the Operation Creative initiative,&#8221; says PIPCU head Detective Chief Inspector Peter Ratcliffe.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit is committed to reducing the impact of intellectual property crime on the UK&#8217;s creative industries and in Creative we have a wonderful tool to disrupt the infringers&#8217; revenue streams and hit them where it hurts them the most.&#8221;</p>
<p>While providing no specific details, Ratcliffe says that since Operation Creative is &#8220;entering a new phase&#8221;, new supporters will help strengthen its ranks.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126527
title: KickassTorrents ‘Front Company’ Disappears From Web
uri: KickassTorrents-Front-Company-Disappears-From-Web
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/9Czp5a5ONeo/
content:
<p>After becoming the world&#8217;s largest torrent site months before, July 20 saw KickassTorrents&#8217; reign <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">collapse</a> when the organization was dismantled by US law enforcement.</p>
<p>In addition to the site going offline, KAT&#8217;s alleged founder, Artem Vaulin, was arrested in Poland, from where the United States Government is now demanding his extradition.</p>
<p>In a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Vaulin is charged with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of criminal copyright infringement. All of these offences are naturally connected with KAT but according to US authorities, at least one other entity was closely involved.</p>
<p>If its website was to be believed, Cryptoneat was a sizeable web company with perhaps dozens of employees. It first appeared online in 2014 and months later was updated with a very basic logo. </p>
<p><center><a href="media/d280c20a.crypto-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-1.png"><img src="media/d280c20a.crypto-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-1.png" alt="crypto-1" width="600" height="144" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126528"></a></center></p>
<p>For non-Russian speakers the message underneath the graphic reads &#8220;With no zombies&#8221;.</p>
<p>Over the months that followed the site had periodic updates and by August 2015 was sporting a new logo and some early indications of what its business might be.</p>
<p>&#8220;We develop our own products. From concept to the user&#8217;s screen,&#8221; a statement read.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/aedd5bce.crypto-2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-2.png"><img src="media/aedd5bce.crypto-2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-2.png" alt="crypto-2" width="600" height="236" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126530"></a></center></p>
<p>&#8220;Cryptoneat is a software development company crafting our own products since 2008. Our latest project is Wine scanner iOS application Wineeapp.com,&#8221; the site read in January 2016.</p>
<p>&#8220;We support personal responsibility and involvement with no over-management standing in the way of imagination and creative thinking. Flexible schedules and smart workspace. We hold to the ergonomics cult: Herman Miller chairs, standing desks, Apple hardware and multi-monitor configurations.&#8221;</p>
<p>Cryptoneat&#8217;s logo was developed by former architect and Ukrainian graphic artist <a href="http://andreykoval.com/about/">Andrey Koval</a>. There&#8217;s no suggestion that Koval was directly involved in Cryptoneat or KAT, but he does share the same location, Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine.</p>
<p>Koval did not immediately respond to TorrentFreak&#8217;s requests for comment but we did manage to find a video which showcases the Cryptoneat logo he created for the company.</p>
<p><center><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/150651134" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/150651134">Cryptogram</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/cryptoneat">CRYPTONEAT</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p></center></p>
<p>Cryptoneat operated from two URLs, .COM and .UA. In the early days following Vaulin&#8217;s arrest the sites were operational, but both have now disappeared. Perhaps not surprising given the statements made by the US Department of Justice.</p>
<p>&#8220;During  a  significant  part  of  the  conspiracy,  Vaulin  has  operated  KAT  under  the  auspices of a Ukrainian-based front company called Cryptoneat,&#8221; wrote Jared Der-Yeghiayan, a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations.</p>
<p>&#8220;As of on or about June 20, 2016, Vaulin’s LinkedIn profile identifies him as the founder of Cryptoneat and lists the company’s creation date as November 2009. On  Cryptoneat’s Instagram  and  Facebook  page  I  have  viewed  pictures  of  Vaulin  purportedly at Cryptoneat’s office.&#8221;    </p>
<p>Cryptoneat&#8217;s Facebook and Instagram accounts have since been disabled. Various LinkedIn profiles relating to Vaulin and other employees have been edited. Having previously indicated the Cryptoneat&#8217;s employees could potentially number as many as 50, the company&#8217;s main LinkedIn page now list the company&#8217;s size as &#8220;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/cryptoneat">myself only</a>.&#8221;</p>
<p>Slowly but surely the company is disappearing from the web, with just a <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:33d5VHytY_wJ:https://cryptoneat.workable.com/jobs/33427+&#038;cd=11&#038;hl=en&#038;ct=clnk">couple of pages</a> now available via Google&#8217;s cache. One offers coding jobs with a competitive salary, paid vacation and holidays, health insurance, a stocked kitchen and gym fees.</p>
<p>But now, a month following KAT&#8217;s shutdown, Cryptoneat&#8217;s online presence has taken another hit. Two days ago the site&#8217;s .COM domain ceased to function after its two-year registration period expired.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/0b0e628f.crypto-3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-3.png"><img src="media/0b0e628f.crypto-3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-3.png" alt="crypto-3" width="600" height="366" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126531"></a></center></p>
<p>Unlike several other KickassTorrents-related domains, the US Government doesn&#8217;t appear interested in seizing Cryptoneat&#8217;s domains at this stage, even though it clearly states that the Ukraine-based company was used as a KAT front. Indeed, the Homeland Security investigation found that at least several Cryptoneat employees worked on KickassTorrents.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many  of  the  employees  found  on  LinkedIn  who  present  themselves  as working  for  Cryptoneat  are  the  same  employees  who  received  assignments  from  Vaulin in the KAT alert emails,&#8221; Special Agent Jared Der-Yeghiayan reported.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, the three main individuals mentioned by Der-Yeghiayan (although not by name in the criminal complaint) have removed Cryptoneat from their resumes. Lower ranking employees have left their history in place but moved on to new jobs.</p>
<p>Given the apparent size of the Cryptoneat operation, it&#8217;s not yet clear why the US Government has only reported one arrest thus far. It&#8217;s certainly likely that it has more cards up its sleeve but it could be a considerable length of time before those are revealed in public.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126376
title: Cox Denies Liability for Pirating Subscribers, Appeals $25 Million Verdict
uri: Cox-Denies-Liability-for-Pirating-Subscribers-Appeals-25-Million-Ver
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/d9LuPEacNvM/
content:
<p><a href="media/1082974f.cox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/cox-logo.png" rel="attachment wp-att-68146"><img src="media/015f41e0.cox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cox-logo.png" alt="cox-logo" width="200" height="99" class="alignright size-full wp-image-68146"></a>Last December a Virginia federal jury ruled that Internet provider Cox Communications was responsible  for the copyright infringements of its subscribers.</p>
<p>The ISP was found guilty of willful contributory copyright infringement and must pay music publisher BMG Rights Management <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/cox-is-liable-for-pirating-subscribers-ordered-to-pay-25-million-151217/">$25 million in damages</a>.</p>
<p>The verdict was a massive victory for the music company and a disaster for Cox, but the case is not closed yet. </p>
<p>After a failed  motion for judgment as a matter of law <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/court-affirms-25m-piracy-verdict-against-cox-rejects-spying-request-160810/">earlier this month</a>, the ISP has now informed the court that it will take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. </p>
<p>Cox denies any wrongdoing and hopes to get a judgment in its favor at the appeals court. </p>
<p><center><strong>Cox&#8217;s appeal notice</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/fea442cb.coxappeal.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/coxappeal.jpg" alt="coxappeal" width="500" height="258" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126549"></center></p>
<p>Considering the gravity of the case, Cox&#8217;s move is not surprising. The liability verdict has come as a shock to the Internet provider industry, as it suggests that providers have to actively disconnect repeat infringers. </p>
<p>At the moment, many ISPs don&#8217;t have a solid policy in place where repeat copyright infringers lose their subscription. In fact, the law doesn&#8217;t prescribe when and based on what evidence an ISP has to terminate an account. </p>
<p>Up until now, several Internet providers argued that only a court could determine if a subscriber is a repeat infringer, but with the Cox verdict this has now become uncertain. </p>
<p>After the appeal, which is expected to take several months at least, both Cox and BMG still have the option to take the case to the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp is using the current verdict to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/rightscorp-threatens-every-isp-united-states-160812/">threaten</a> other ISPs to forward their notices. Thus far, however, this <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-firm-rightcorp-continues-to-lose-big-money-160817/">doesn&#8217;t appear</a> to have had much effect.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126500
title: Indian Piracy Blocks Scare Torrent Users With 3-Year Prison Sentence
uri: Indian-Piracy-Blocks-Scare-Torrent-Users-With-3-Year-Prison-Sentence
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/W05TN3SCWtU/
content:
<p><img src="media/07db73b3.stop-blocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/stop-blocked.jpg" alt="stop-blocked" width="200" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-72076">Starting a few days ago, many Indian Internet users noticed that their favorite torrent websites were blocked and displaying a rather scary message.</p>
<p>The blocks themselves are nothing new. For years Indian copyright holders <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/india-orders-piracy-blackout-of-vimeo-pirate-bay-and-more-150508/">have sought</a> to protect their content from unauthorized online distribution. </p>
<p>This has mainly taken the form of so-called ‘John Doe’ orders where access to sites such as The Pirate Bay or ExtraTorrent is restricted to protect copyrighted content from being freely shared.</p>
<p>However, the warning message that&#8217;s currently presented when attempting to access blocked sites has a lot of people worried.</p>
<p>The notice reads that the site in question has been blocked per instruction of the Government or through a court order, similar to what it said before. In addition, it adds that those who still access the content in question may face up to three years in prison and a hefty fine. </p>
<p>&#8220;Viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating an illicit copy of the contents under this URL is punishable as an offence under the laws of India, including but not limited to under Sections 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957 which prescribe imprisonment for 3 years and also fine of up to Rs. 3,00,000/-.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>The new blocking message</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/1194f8de.indiablock-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/indiablock-1.jpg" alt="indiablock" width="600" height="164" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126505"></center></p>
<p>A relatively small change, but one with widespread impact it seems.</p>
<p>Several Indian news outlets have started to warn their readership that the threat is real. India Today, for example, reports that merely downloading a torrent file or viewing a copyrighted image from a file-hosting site may land people in prison.</p>
<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t have to download a torrent file, and then the actual videos or other files, which might have copyright. Just accessing information under a blocked URL will land you in jail and leave your bank account poorer by Rs 3 lakh,&#8221; the news site <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/technology/story/are-you-a-criminal-now-users-may-get-3-yr-in-jail-for-viewing-torrent-site-blocked-url-in-india/1/745181.html">reports</a>.</p>
<p>While the warning message can be interpreted in various ways, very little appears to have changed. There&#8217;s no new law that introduces higher sentences. In fact, the message clearly quotes India&#8217;s 1957 Copyright Act.</p>
<p>In addition, there are no signs that the authorities are planning to crack down on individual file-sharers. Let alone people who merely download a torrent file, not the infringing content itself, since that&#8217;s not copyright infringement. Merely accessing a blocked site <a href="http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/no-you-wont-go-to-jail-for-just-visiting-a-blocked-website-875479">isn&#8217;t either</a>.</p>
<p>There is a recent court case that may have spurred the recent change though.</p>
<p>Earlier this year the Government&#8217;s Department of Electronics and Information Technology actually <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/court-rules-whole-site-blocking-justifiable-in-piracy-fight-160802/">intervened</a> in one of the &#8220;John Doe&#8221; cases on behalf of the public, arguing against site-wide blocks. </p>
<p>In this case, the High Court decided against the Government, arguing that broad blockades are warranted. Among other things, the Court found that it is the “duty of the government” to “assist in the enforcement of court orders.”</p>
<p>In this light it could be that the Government &#8220;assisted&#8221; in updating the language of the blocking message.</p>
<p>From the information we&#8217;ve seen thus far, the wording of the blocking notification is the only thing that has changed so far. But, considering the response from the media and public, this is already quite effective as a deterrent.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> <a href="http://spicyip.com/2016/08/bombay-hc-pulls-no-punches-orders-isp-to-comply-with-john-doe.html">Spicyip</a> has additional information on the John Doe order that triggered the updated language. There is no sign that the Government was in any way involved.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126326
title: Denuvo Weakens After ‘Inside’ Gets Cracked in Record Time
uri: Denuvo-Weakens-After-Inside-Gets-Cracked-in-Record-Time
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/PGB24xsZKF4/
content:
<p><a href="media/fe5f698e.denuvo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/denuvo.jpg"><img src="media/fe5f698e.denuvo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/denuvo.jpg" alt="denuvo" width="210" height="109" class="alignright size-full wp-image-116067"></a>Dozens of anti-piracy techniques have been tested over the years on formats ranging from cassette tapes to digital downloads, but for pirates the lure of free content is both intoxicating and enduring.</p>
<p>In recent years, games developers have come to accept that piracy cannot be eradicated entirely, but it can be slowed down. The main aim in the modern era is to stop games leaking in the days, weeks and early months following their launch. This allows titles, especially those with high production costs, to make the best of those crucial early days.</p>
<p>In no insignificant terms that breathing room has been provided by Austrian anti-piracy outfit Denuvo. Its anti-tamper technology is quite possibly the best there is and as a result, many so-called AAA titles have remained piracy free since their launch. Just recently, however, significant cracks (excuse the pun) have appeared in its armor.</p>
<p>Early this month, a &#8216;Scene&#8217; group called CONSPIR4CY <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/denuvo-properly-cracked-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-first-victim-160809/">properly cracked</a> an iteration of Denuvo that had been protecting Rise of the Tomb Raider (ROTTR). The news had many pirates extremely excited.</p>
<p>While undoubtedly a momentous occasion, ROTTR had been released in January, meaning that in theory CONSPIR4CY might have worked on the crack for six or seven months, a lifetime for most pirates. Furthermore, half a year&#8217;s head start is huge for the title&#8217;s developers in terms of sales, so without doubt Denuvo had done its job.</p>
<p>Yesterday, however, there was a new development which might represent a more worrying chink in Denuvo&#8217;s defenses.</p>
<p>With a lack of fanfare usually associated with some of the Scene&#8217;s more mature groups, CONSPIR4CY (a reported collaboration between the CPY and CODEX groups) released a fully cracked version of puzzle-platformer &#8216;<a href="http://playdead.com/inside/">Inside</a>&#8216;</p>
<p><center><a href="media/b9ce80dc.inside-nfo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/inside-nfo.png"><img src="media/b9ce80dc.inside-nfo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/inside-nfo.png" alt="inside-nfo" width="511" height="522" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126602"></a></center></p>
<p>The importance here is that while ROTTR enjoyed six months without having to compete with free, Inside was released for Windows on July 7, 2016. No one but CONSPIR4CY knows precisely when they began chipping away at the game&#8217;s protection but even if they started on day one, it has taken only six weeks to defeat it.</p>
<p>There is some speculation that Inside took less time to crack because in storage terms it&#8217;s a smaller sized game that ROTTR. That being said, it will be of little consolation to Danish developer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playdead">Playdead</a> who will have paid Denuvo handsomely for their protection.</p>
<p>With CONSPIR4CY all but impossible to find, let alone obtain a comment from, TorrentFreak asked game cracker Royalgamer06, a colleague of Voksi who found a Denuvo workaround earlier this month, for his thoughts on the new release.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s quite obvious that CONSPIR4CY is beating Denuvo. At least the current Denuvo protection,&#8221; Royalgamer06 told TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;Inside’s Denuvo protection is quite recent and therefore we could expect all sorts of Denuvo (Steam) games coming from [CONSPIR4CY].&#8221;</p>
<p>Royalgamer06 believes that it may have only taken CONSPIR4CY two weeks to crack Inside and that another big game&#8217;s debut (also Denuvo protected) might have influenced the pirate release yesterday.</p>
<p>&#8220;It took [CONSPIR4CY] two weeks. They either waited to release it (just before the new Deus Ex game is nice timing) or it’s all the time it took them to patch all in-game triggers and polish the crack,&#8221; he explains.</p>
<p>So all eyes now turn to the brand new release of Deus Ex Mankind Divided. If that game is quickly cracked by CONSPIR4CY, Denuvo could be coming out in a cold sweat. In the meantime, others are also attempting to dismantle their empire.</p>
<p>&#8220;Voksi is also up to something,&#8221; Royalgamer06 concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126611
title: Cloudflare Fights RIAA’s Piracy Blocking Demands in Court
uri: Cloudflare-Fights-RIAA-s-Piracy-Blocking-Demands-in-Court
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/fF2kZrI-4mY/
content:
<p><img src="media/f6100d5b.skull1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/skull1.jpg" alt="skull" width="180" height="71" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104587">Representing various major record labels, the RIAA <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/major-record-labels-sue-mp3skull-150420/">filed a lawsuit</a> against MP3Skull last year.</p>
<p>With millions of visitors per month the MP3 download site had been one of the prime sources of pirated music for a long time, frustrating many music industry insiders.</p>
<p>Although the site was facing a claim of millions of dollars in damages, the owners failed to respond in court. This prompted the RIAA to file for a default judgment, with success.</p>
<p>Earlier this year a Florida federal court awarded the labels more than <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-labels-want-22-million-piracy-damages-from-mp3skull-151005/">$22 million in damages</a>. In addition, it issued a permanent injunction which allowed the RIAA to take over the site&#8217;s domain names.</p>
<p>However, despite the million dollar verdict, MP3Skull still continues to operate today. The site actually never stopped and simply added several new domain names to its arsenal, with mp3skull.vg as the most recent. </p>
<p><center><strong>MP3Skull&#8217;s most recent home</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/f068c641.mp3skullvg.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mp3skullvg.jpg" alt="mp3skullvg" width="600" height="322" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126634"></center></p>
<p>The RIAA is not happy with MP3Skull&#8217;s contempt of court and has asked Cloudflare to help out. As a CDN provider, Cloudflare relays traffic of millions of websites through its network, including many pirate sites.</p>
<p>According to the RIAA, Cloudflare should stop offering its services to any MP3Skull websites, but the CDN provider has thus far refused to do so without a proper court order. </p>
<p>To resolve this difference of opinion, the RIAA has asked the Florida federal court for a &#8220;clarification&#8221; of the existing injunction, so it applies to Cloudflare as well.</p>
<p>In practice, this would mean that Cloudflare has to block all currently active domains, as well as any future domains with the keyword &#8220;MP3Skull,&#8221; which are tied to the site&#8217;s known IP-addresses. </p>
<p>&#8220;Cloudflare should be required to cease its provision of services to any of the Active MP3Skull Domains, as well as any website at either 89.46.100.104 or 151.80.100.107 that includes &#8216;MP3Skull&#8217; in its name,&#8221; RIAA argued.</p>
<p><center><strong>RIAA&#8217;s request</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/5c92cd10.riaareq.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/riaareq.png" alt="riaareq" width="591" height="164" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126650"></center></p>
<p>However, Cloudflare believes that this goes too far. While the company doesn&#8217;t object to disconnecting existing accounts if ordered to by a court, adding a requirement to block sites based on a keyword and IP-address goes too far.</p>
<p>The proposed injunction goes well beyond the scope of the DMCA, the CDN provider informs the court in an opposition brief this week (<a href="media/fc54e3cd.clarificationoppo.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/clarificationoppo.pdf">pdf</a>).</p>
<p>&#8220;&#8230;Plaintiffs’ proposed injunction would force Cloudflare —which provides services to millions of websites— to investigate open-ended domain letter-string and IP address combinations to comply with the injunction.  </p>
<p>&#8220;Cloudflare believes that this Court should hold the Plaintiffs accountable for following clear rules of the road,&#8221; Cloudflare adds.</p>
<p>The company suggests that the court could require it to terminate specific accounts that are found to be infringing, but doesn&#8217;t want to become the RIAA&#8217;s copyright cop.</p>
<p>&#8220;What Cloudflare cannot do, and which the Court should not require, is to serve as a deputy for the Plaintiffs and their RIAA trade association in investigating and identifying further targets of an injunction.&#8221;</p>
<p>To outsiders the difference between RIAA&#8217;s request and what Cloudflare suggests may seem small, but the company draws a clear line to prevent having to scan for pirate sites, proactively. This could turn into a slippery censorship slope, they feel. </p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t the first time that the RIAA has requested a keyword ban. In a similar case last year Cloudflare <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cloudflare-forced-to-censor-anti-censorship-site-150710/">was ordered</a> to terminate any accounts with the term &#8220;grooveshark&#8221; in them. However, in this case the RIAA owned the trademark, which makes it substantially different as it doesn&#8217;t involve the DMCA.</p>
<p>The EFF <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/08/cloudflare-protects-internet-users-insisting-lawful-orders-blocking-customers">applauds</a> Cloudflare&#8217;s actions and hopes the court will properly limit the scope of these and other blocking efforts.</p>
<p>&#8220;The limits on court orders against intermediaries are vital safeguards against censorship, especially where the censorship is done on behalf of a well-financed party,&#8221; EFF&#8217;s Mitch Stoltz writes. </p>
<p>&#8220;That’s why it’s important for courts to uphold those limits even in cases where copyright or trademark infringement seems obvious,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>The Florida court is expected to rule on the RIAA&#8217;s injunction demands during the days to come, a decision that will significantly impact future blocking requests.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126696
title: U.S. Government Indicts Three Alleged KickassTorrents Operators
uri: U-S-Government-Indicts-Three-Alleged-KickassTorrents-Operators
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/F3cHrE4rtD0/
content:
<p><img src="media/2279eece.kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" alt="kickasstorrents_500x500" width="200" height="200" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-99785" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png 300w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-150x150.png 150w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px">Last month, Polish law enforcement officers <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">arrested Artem Vaulin</a>, the alleged owner of KickassTorrents, who’s been held in a local prison since.</p>
<p>Polish authorities acted on a criminal complaint from the U.S. Government which contained several damning allegations.</p>
<p>This week, the Department of Justice (DoJ) followed up the complaint with a full grand jury indictment, which presents several new allegations. </p>
<p>In addition to Vaulin, it charges two other defendants, Ievgen Kutsenko and Oleksandr Radostin. The three men, all from Ukraine, are charged with several counts of copyright infringement and money laundering. </p>
<p>&#8220;Kickass Torrents, or &#8216;KAT,&#8217; was a commercial website that facilitated and promoted the reproduction and distribution of copyrighted content over the Internet without authorization of the copyright owners,&#8221; the DoJ writes.</p>
<p><center><strong>KAT&#8217;s seizure banner</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/b314a11a.katseized.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katseized.jpg"><img src="media/b314a11a.katseized.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katseized.jpg" alt="katseized" width="600" height="450" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-125286" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/katseized.jpg 600w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/katseized-200x150.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></center></p>
<p>According to the indictment, the &#8216;KAT conspiracy&#8217; involved a variety of piracy-related websites. It mentions that the torrent storage service Torcache.net, which <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kat-shutdown-aftermath-itorrents-aims-to-replace-torcache-160802/">went offline together with KAT</a>, was operated by the same people. </p>
<p>In addition, the defendants were involved in a variety of direct download sites where users could download or stream copyright-infringing content, sometimes in exchange for payments. </p>
<p>These sites include the popular streaming portal Solarmovie, which <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/solarmovie-disappears-following-kat-shutdown-160721/">disappeared last month</a>, as well as the defunct torrent leeching service Leechmonster.</p>
<p>&#8220;Leechmonster.com, rolly.com, solarmovie.com, solarmovie.ph, iwatchfilm.com, movie2b.com, hippomovies.com, bino.tv, and moviepro.net were commercial websites that enabled registered users to download or stream copyrighted movies and other media directly from the website,&#8221; the indictment reads.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/ab2c14ff.katindictment.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katindictment.png" alt="katindictment" width="600" height="282" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126710"></center></p>
<p>According to the U.S. Government, the three men used the sites to generate millions of dollars in revenue. </p>
<p>&#8220;&#8230;defendants [&#8230;] and others designed, developed, and operated KAT, torcache.net, and the direct download websites in order to encourage, induce, facilitate, engage in, and generate millions of dollars from the unlawful reproduction and distribution of copyright-protected media,&#8221; the indictment states.</p>
<p>The authorities describe KickassTorrents as a site that was developed purposefully to facilitate copyright infringements. Among other things, this included the sorting of torrents by genre, so they would be easier to find.</p>
<p>In addition, the defendants are also accused of developing a BitTorrent client to facilitate piracy, and of operating the subtitle repository Subtitlesource.com.</p>
<p>On the money laundering side, the indictment includes various examples of advertising payments that were made to bank accounts that were operated by the defendants. This includes a payment from an undercover IRS investigator, who posed as an advertiser.</p>
<p>The Department of Justice has yet to comment on the indictment and it&#8217;s currently unknown where the two additional defendants reside and if they have been arrested. The court record shows that two warrants were submitted yesterday, but these remain sealed for now.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Artem Vaulin is still being held in a Polish prison, awaiting his extradition process. </p>
<p>His lawyer previously asked the Department of Justice to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-dismiss-free-vaulin-160808/">release his client</a>. The defense argued that Vaulin can’t be held responsible for the potentially infringing actions of the KAT’s users, since criminal secondary or indirect copyright infringement does not exist under U.S. law.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><em>A copy of the full indictment obtained by TorrentFreak is available <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/322135981/Torrentfreak-Report-Kat-Indictment?secret_password=jpgx3E4YxMqt0GFvcwYc">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126536
title: FBI-Controlled Megaupload Domain Now Features Soft Porn
uri: FBI-Controlled-Megaupload-Domain-Now-Features-Soft-Porn
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/EsiltKO5Llg/
content:
<p><a href="media/e21f211d.fbianti.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fbianti.jpg"><img src="media/e21f211d.fbianti.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fbianti.jpg" alt="fbianti" width="211" height="194" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115502"></a>Megaupload was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-shut-down-120119/">shutdown</a> nearly half a decade ago, but all this time there has been little progress on the legal front.</p>
<p>Last December a New Zealand District Court judge ruled that Kim Dotcom and his colleagues can be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges, a decision that will be appealed shortly.</p>
<p>With the criminal case pending, the U.S. Government also retains control over several of the company&#8217;s assets. </p>
<p>This includes cash, cars, but also over a dozen of Megaupload&#8217;s former domain names, including Megastuff.co, Megaclicks.org, Megaworld.mobi, Megaupload.com, Megaupload.org, and Megavideo.com.</p>
<p>Initially, the domains served a banner indicating they had been seized as part of a criminal investigation. However, those who visit some of the sites today are in for a surprise. </p>
<p>This week we discovered that <a href="http://megaupload.org/">Megaupload.org</a> is now hosting a site dedicated to soft porn advertisements. Other seized domains are also filled with ads, including Megastuff.co, Megaclicks.org, and Megaworld.mobi.</p>
<p><center><strong>Megaupload?</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/4ecfe617.megauploaorg.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/megauploaorg.jpg"><img src="media/4ecfe617.megauploaorg.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/megauploaorg.jpg" alt="megauploaorg" width="600" height="316" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126597"></a></center></p>
<p>Interestingly, this all happened <a href="media/580c33e8.megaorgwhois.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/megaorgwhois.png">under the watch of the FBI</a>, which is still listed as the administrative and technical contact for the domain names in question.</p>
<p>So how can this be?</p>
<p>Regular readers may recall that something similar happened to the main <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/seized-megaupload-domains-link-to-scam-ads-and-malware-150528/">Megaupload.com domain last year</a>. At the time we traced this back to an expired domain the FBI used for their nameservers, Cirfu.net. </p>
<p>After Cirfu.net expired, someone else took over the domain name and linked Megaupload.com to scammy ads. The U.S. authorities eventually fixed this by removing the nameservers altogether, but it turns out that they didn&#8217;t do this for all seized domains.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago the Cirfu.net domain expired once more and again it was picked up by an outsider. This unknown person or organization parked it at <a href="https://www.rookmedia.net/">Rook Media</a>, to generate some cash from the FBI-controlled domains.</p>
<p>As can be seen from the domain WHOIS data, Megaupload.org <a href="media/580c33e8.megaorgwhois.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/megaorgwhois.png">still uses</a> the old Cirfu.net nameservers, which means that an outsider is now able to control several of the seized Megaupload domain names. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/d9646b5f.cirfu.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cirfu.png" alt="cirfu" width="500" height="207" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126623"></center></p>
<p>The &#8216;hijacked&#8217; domains don&#8217;t get much traffic but it&#8217;s still quite embarrassing to have them linked to ads and soft porn. Commenting on our findings, Kim Dotcom notes that the sloppiness is exemplary of the entire criminal case. </p>
<p>&#8220;Their handling of the Megaupload domain is a reflection of the entire case: Unprofessional,&#8221; Dotcom tells us.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s clear is that the U.S. authorities haven&#8217;t learned from their past mistakes. It literally only takes a few clicks to update the nameserver info and reinstate the original seizure banner. One would assume that the FBI has the technical capabilities to pull that off.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126626
title: Dotcom Wants Extradition Hearing Live-Streamed, U.S. Does Not
uri: Dotcom-Wants-Extradition-Hearing-Live-Streamed-U-S-Does-Not
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ydU20gkR7sM/
content:
<p><a href="media/7b53d529.kimfugitive.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kimfugitive.jpg"><img src="media/7b53d529.kimfugitive.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kimfugitive.jpg" alt="kimfugitive" width="200" height="267" class="alignright size-full wp-image-98044"></a>Earlier this month, Kim Dotcom experienced a setback when the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/us-seizes-dotcoms-millions-entrepreneur-fights-back-160815/">rejected</a> his efforts to regain control over millions of dollars in assets seized by the US Government.</p>
<p>Branding the Megaupload founder a fugitive, the Court effectively denied Dotcom the ability to properly defend himself, should he be extradited to the United States from New Zealand.</p>
<p>Together with his former Megaupload colleagues Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato, Dotcom was found eligible for extradition to the United States last December. His appeal will take place at the High Court in Auckland this month and Dotcom wants the whole world to see. </p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Because of global interest in my case we have asked the High Court to allow live-streaming of my 6 weeks of copyright extradition hearings.</p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/768201049362477056">August 23, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>While many jurisdictions internationally will not grant permission for a live video or audio feed to be transmitted from a courtroom, in New Zealand the proposition is not out of the question.</p>
<p>All courts nationwide allow cameras and the recording of proceedings, as long as there are no serious privacy breaches, compromising of witnesses, or risks to the right to a fair trial.</p>
<p>Just recently the Chief Justice requested a report from a panel of judges on guidelines relating to recording in court. The report <em>(<a href="media/10b0f472.ReporttoChiefJusticeonincourtmediacoverageF6_7_15_20150720.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/In-Court-Media-Review/In-Court-Media-Review/ReporttoChiefJusticeonincourtmediacoverageF6_7_15_20150720.pdf">pdf</a>)</em> found that 93% of District and High Court Judges had not experienced an instance where recording in court had resulted in a fair trial issue arising.</p>
<p>While the panel&#8217;s recommendations were accepted by the Chief Justice, live-streaming of court proceedings did not receive widespread support among submissions from judges. However, upon successful application and in important cases such as Dotcom&#8217;s, such transmissions can go ahead.</p>
<p>&#8220;Live-streaming may be an available option, particularly if there are fixed cameras in court.Live streaming will remain an option in certain major cases, and would be considered if an application is made,&#8221; the Judges&#8217; recommendations read.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s possible that Dotcom&#8217;s application will be accepted, no feed coming out of the High Court would be truly live. All transmissions would be subjected to a 10-minute delay to protect all parties involved in proceedings.</p>
<p>&#8220;A meaningful check on actual publication gives Judges and  counsel the opportunity to consider evidence as it is adduced, and decide on whether suppression is appropriate in a measured  way,&#8221; the Judges note.</p>
<p>&#8220;We  are  aware  of numerous instances when that delay has been critical<br>
to give a Judge time to stop an otherwise potentially disastrous publication. A short delay is a small price to pay for in-court coverage.&#8221;</p>
<p>But while Dotcom and his legal team are clearly in favor of having the six-week hearing transmitted (almost) live, the U.S. Government is reportedly pulling in the opposite direction. Dotcom reports that his application has already received objections from lawyers in the United States.</p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The U.S. Government has asked the New Zealand High Court not to allow live-streaming of my global interest copyright hearing. Worried? :-)</p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/768350475661873152">August 24, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>At the time of publication, Dotcom hadn&#8217;t responded to our request for comment so the grounds for the US Government&#8217;s objection aren&#8217;t yet clear. However, the media circuses surrounding the televised trials of both O.J Simpson and Michael Jackson are still within recent memory and under huge scrutiny neither went well for the prosecution.</p>
<p>Whether live-streaming is granted or not, Dotcom won&#8217;t be giving up the fight, even if his extradition appeal fails. The entrepreneur has already stated that he’ll take his case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126708
title: Who Are The Alleged Top Men Behind KickassTorrents?
uri: Who-Are-The-Alleged-Top-Men-Behind-KickassTorrents
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/jDzy6Ssz7ok/
content:
<p><a href="media/5a6ca898.kat.JPG" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kat.JPG"><img src="media/5a6ca898.kat.JPG" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kat.JPG" alt="kat" width="215" height="144" class="alignright size-full wp-image-19182"></a>The sudden shutdown last month of KickassTorrents left a sizeable hole in the torrent landscape. KAT was the largest torrent index on the planet and much-loved by those who frequented it.</p>
<p>On day one of the shutdown, the United States government revealed that they had one prime suspect in their sights. Ukrainian Artem Vaulin was said to be the mastermind of KickassTorrents, coordinating an international operation through <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-front-company-disappears-from-web-160822/">Cryptoneat</a>, a front company in Kharkiv, Ukraine.</p>
<p>Yesterday the United States <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-indicts-three-alleged-kickasstorrents-operators160825/">officially indicted</a> Vaulin (aka &#8216;tirm&#8217;) along with two of his alleged KickassTorrents co-conspirators &#8211; Oleksandr Radostin (aka &#8216;pioneer&#8217;) and Ievgen Kutsenko (aka &#8216;chill&#8217;). All are said to have worked at Cryptoneat but little else is known about them. Today we can put some meat on the bones.</p>
<p><strong>Artem Vaulin</strong></p>
<p>Artem Vaulin is a 30-year-old man from Ukraine. Born in 1985, he is married with a young son. According to an investigation carried out by <a href="http://reporter.vesti-ukr.com/tolkovo/29793-harkovskij-pirat-na-milliard-dollarov.html">Vesti</a>, his business life had simple roots.</p>
<p>After graduating from school, Vaulin went on to set up a vending machine business focusing on chewing gum and soft toys.</p>
<p>&#8220;My parents gave me $3000. They said: &#8216;Cool, you do not have to count on us. Now you have your own money&#8217;,&#8221; Vaulin told reporters in 2004.</p>
<p>Since then, Vaulin&#8217;s business empire seems to have taken off but despite reportedly having interests in several local companies (three with registered capital of more than $8.5m total), Vaulin appears to have been able to keep a reasonably low profile. </p>
<p>However, it is Vaulin&#8217;s love of squash that leads us to the only images available of him online. Ukrainian squash portal Squashtime.com.ua has a full profile, indicating his date and place of birth, and even his racquet preference.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/b6aeea12.vaulin-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vaulin-1.png"><img src="media/b6aeea12.vaulin-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vaulin-1.png" alt="vaulin-1" width="600" height="506" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126728"></a></center></p>
<p>Vesti approached the club where Vaulin trained but due to data protection issues it would not share any information on the businessman. However, local news resource <a href="http://www.segodnya.ua/">Segodnya</a> tracked down Vaulin&#8217;s squash coach, Evgeny Ponomarenko.</p>
<p>&#8220;I know it only from the positive side. Artem is a good man and a family man with a growing son,&#8221; Ponomarenko said.</p>
<p>Vaulin is also said to have signed petitions on the Ukranian president&#8217;s website, one requesting that the country join NATO and another seeking to allow Ukranians to receive money from abroad <a href="http://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/business/ukraine-moves-towards-paypal-residents-can-now-receive-e-payments-from-abroad-408076.html">via PayPal</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Oleksandr (Alexander) Radostin</strong></p>
<p>Alexander Radostin appears to have been a software architect and/or lead engineer at Cryptoneat but other than that, very little is known about him.</p>
<p>There are several references to him online in Ukraine in relation to the shutdown of KickassTorrents, but most merely speculate that as an employee of Cryptoneat, Radostin might be best placed to confirm Vaulin&#8217;s current arrest status.</p>
<p>Many former Cryptoneat employees have purged their social networking presence but some of Radostin&#8217;s <a href="https://djinni.co/r/6044-software-architect-at-cryptoneat/">details</a> are still available via Ukranian-based searches, including the Linkedin image below.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/152c9a8a.radostin-linkedin-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/radostin-linkedin-1.png"><img src="media/152c9a8a.radostin-linkedin-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/radostin-linkedin-1.png" alt="radostin-linkedin-1" width="591" height="242" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126730"></a></center></p>
<p>While almost nothing is known about the third indicted KickassTorrents operator, Ievgen Kutsenko, images of the offices from where he and his colleagues allegedly ran the site can be hunted down.</p>
<p>The image below shows a screenshot from a Ukranian job seeking site where Cryptoneat had a page. It lists both Vaulin and Radostin to the right of some tiny thumbnails of photographs apparently taken inside the Kickass/Cryptoneat offices.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/a63f0fa8.crypto-jobs.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-jobs.png"><img src="media/a63f0fa8.crypto-jobs.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-jobs.png" alt="crypto-jobs" width="600" height="393" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126731"></a></center></p>
<p>TF managed to track down a full-size version of the third image from the left and the environment looks very nice indeed.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/9bb002fa.crypto-4.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-4.png"><img src="media/9bb002fa.crypto-4.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/crypto-4.png" alt="crypto-4" width="600" height="400" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126732"></a></center></p>
<p>While Vaulin is currently being held in a Polish jail, the whereabouts of his alleged co-conspirators is unknown. However, if they are still in Ukraine it might not be straightforward to have them extradited to the United States.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ukraine and the United States do not have an extradition treaty,&#8221; the U.S. Embassy <a href="http://ukraine.usembassy.gov/arrested-info.html">confirms</a> on its Ukraine website.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126584
title: Library of Congress Might Become a Piracy Hub, RIAA Warns
uri: Library-of-Congress-Might-Become-a-Piracy-Hub-RIAA-Warns
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/SlGsdzNgh6g/
content:
<p><img src="media/7abb2d22.cassette.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cassette.jpg" alt="cassette" width="200" height="150" class="alignright size-full wp-image-84245">With an impressive collection of more than 160 million items, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress">Library of Congress</a> is the second largest library in the world.</p>
<p>The Library also serves as a legal repository for the copyright office. By law, everyone who publishes a copyrighted work in the U.S. is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_deposit#United_States">required to deposit</a> two copies at the library.</p>
<p>This also applies to music and videos but up until now, content produced in an online-only format has been exempted from this mandatory deposit requirement. </p>
<p>However, now that digital is becoming the standard for more copyrighted works, the Copyright Office is considering a <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=COLC-2016-0005-0001">change</a>. As a result, music publishers will be required to submit all digital works to the Library of Congress. </p>
<p>These files will then become freely accessible to the public through a secured system.</p>
<p>&#8220;Under any rule requiring mandatory deposit of online-only sound recordings, the Library would provide public access to such recordings,&#8221; the Copyright Office writes in its proposal.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Library currently has a system by which authorized users can access and listen to digitized copies of physical sound recordings collected through other means at the Madison Building of the Library of Congress.&#8221;</p>
<p>This proposal has been met with scrutiny by the music industry group RIAA, which states that it has &#8220;serious concerns.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to the RIAA, there is a risk that content hosted by the Library may be exploited by pirates, who could copy the music and share it on various pirate sites. This could then crush the major record labels&#8217; revenues.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is well-established that the recorded music industry has been inundated with digital piracy,&#8221; the RIAA writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;If sound recordings available through the Library – whether on-premises or online – were managed in a way that patrons could use those recordings for uploading to pirate web sites and unlicensed streaming services or if the Library’s collection of sound recordings were made electronically available to the public at large, that could have a devastating impact on our member companies’ revenues.&#8221;</p>
<p>The RIAA further states that the current proposal lacks information on what security measures would apply to the storage of and access to sound recordings. </p>
<p>In addition to a general concern that the public could copy sound recordings in the library, the RIAA notes that there&#8217;s also a risk that the entire Library of Congress database could be hacked if people are allowed to access it over the Internet. </p>
<p>Should this happen, millions of digital sound recordings may leak to the public.</p>
<p>&#8220;In an age where servers are hacked on a regular basis, no electronic server is secure. Government servers are no different,&#8221; the RIAA writes.  </p>
<p>&#8220;Given the inherent vulnerability of servers believed to be secure, we question the need for anyone to have remote access to a server that stores commercially valuable digital sound recordings.&#8221;</p>
<p>Since people have so many options to enjoy digital music nowadays, the RIAA sees no reason for the Library of Congress to allow electronic copying or distribution of the sound recordings of its members. </p>
<p>If the Copyright Office goes ahead, the RIAA urges it to consult the record labels to make sure that state of the art technological protection measures are deployed to secure their work. </p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><em>RIAA&#8217;s full comments are available <a href="media/ffe77c7f.Comments_-_Recording_Industry_Association_of_America_Inc.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/Comments_-_Recording_Industry_Association_of_America_Inc.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126617
title: WebTorrent: 250K Downloads & Strong With Zero Revenue
uri: WebTorrent-250K-Downloads-Strong-With-Zero-Revenue
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/mEluMAUHokY/
content:
<p><img src="media/e5c352ca.wtd-logo.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/wtd-logo.png" width="208" height="200" class="alignright">Stanford University graduate Feross Aboukhadijeh is passionate about P2P technology. The founder of<br>
P2P-assisted content delivery network PeerCDN (sold to Yahoo in 2013), Feross is also the inventor of WebTorrent.</p>
<p>In its <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/webtorrent-brings-bittorrent-to-the-web-impresses-netflix-151213/">classic form</a>, WebTorrent is a BitTorrent client for the web. No external clients are needed for people to share files since everything is done in the user&#8217;s web browser with Javascript. No browser plugins or extensions need to be installed, nothing needs to be configured.</p>
<p>In the beginning, some doubted that it could ever work, but Feross never gave up on his dream.</p>
<p>&#8220;People thought WebTorrent was crazy. One of the Firefox developers literally said it wouldn’t be possible. I was like, &#8216;challenge accepted&#8217;,&#8221; Feross told TF this week.</p>
<p><center><strong>WebTorrent</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/016ff312.webt.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/webt.jpg"><img src="media/51349b42.webt.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/webt.jpg" alt="webt" width="600" height="224" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114701"></a></center></p>
<p>A few months after WebTorrent&#8217;s debut, Feross announced the arrival of WebTorrent Desktop (WD), a standalone torrent client with a few tricks up its sleeve.</p>
<p>After posting a torrent or magnet link into its somewhat unusual client interface, content can be played almost immediately via an inbuilt player. And with AirPlay, Chromecast and DLNA support, WD is at home at the heart of any multi-display household.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/e8905762.webdesk-main.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/webdesk-main.png"><img src="media/e8905762.webdesk-main.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/webdesk-main.png" alt="webdesk-main" width="600" height="766" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126686"></a></center></p>
<p>But WebTorrent Desktop&#8217;s most interesting feature is its ability to find peers not only via trackers, DHT and PEX, but also using the WebTorrent protocol. This means that WD can share content with people using the web-based version of WebTorrent too.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/04c06645.wtd-2.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/wtd-2.png" alt="WebTorrent Desk"></center></p>
<p>Since our <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/webtorrent-desktop-streams-torrents-beautifully-1604xx">April report</a>, WebTorrent has been under constant development. It is now more responsive and uses fewer resources, casting has been improved, and subtitles are auto-detected, to name just a few improvements. As a result, the client has been growing its userbase too.</p>
<p>&#8220;The WebTorrent project is going full steam ahead and there has been lots of progress in the past few months,&#8221; Feross informs TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;We just passed a quarter million total downloads of the app &#8211; 254,431 downloads as of right now.&#8221;</p>
<p>For a young and totally non-commercial project, that&#8217;s an impressive number, but the accolades don&#8217;t stop there. The project currently has more than 2,083 <a href="https://help.github.com/articles/about-stars/">stars</a> on Github and it recently added its <a href="https://github.com/feross/webtorrent-desktop/blob/master/AUTHORS.md">26th new contributor</a>.</p>
<p>In all, WebTorrent has nine people working on the core team, but since the client is open source and totally non-commercial, no one is earning anything from the project. According to Feross, this only makes WebTorrent stronger.</p>
<p>&#8220;People usually think that having revenue, investors, and employees gives you an advantage over your competition. That’s definitely true for certain things: you can hire designers, programmers, marketing experts, product managers, etc. to build out the product, add lots of features,&#8221; the developer says.</p>
<p>&#8220;But you have to pay your employees and investors, and these pressures usually cause companies to resort to adding advertising (or worse) to their products. When you have no desire to make a profit, you can act purely in the interests of the people using your product. In short, you can build a better product.&#8221;</p>
<p>So if not money, what drives people like Feross and his team to give up their time to create something and give it away?</p>
<p>&#8220;The real reason I care so much about WebTorrent is that I want decentralized apps to win. Right now, it’s so much easier to build a centralized app: it’s faster to build, uses tried-and-true technology, and it’s easier to monetize because the app creator has all the control. They can use that control to show you ads, sell your data, or make unilateral product changes for their own benefit,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>&#8220;On the other hand, decentralized apps are censorship resistant, put users in control of their data, and are safe against user-hostile changes.</p>
<p>&#8220;That last point is really important. It’s because of the foresight of Bram Cohen that WebTorrent is even possible today: the BitTorrent protocol is an open standard. If you don’t like your current torrent app, you can easily switch! No one person or company has total control.&#8221;</p>
<p>WebTorrent Desktop developer DC Posch says that several things motivate him to work on the project, particularly when there&#8217;s no one to order him around.</p>
<p>&#8220;There’s satisfaction in craftsmanship, shipping something that feels really solid. Second, it’s awesome having 250,000 users and no boss,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>&#8220;Third, it’s something that I want to exist. There are places like the Internet Archive that have lots of great material and no money for bandwidth. BitTorrent is a technologically elegant way to do zero cost distribution. Finally, I want to prove that non-commercial can be a competitive advantage. Freed from the need to monetize or produce a return, you can produce a superior product.&#8221;</p>
<p>To close, last year TF reported that WebTorrent had caught the eye of Netflix. Feross says that was a great moment for the project.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was pretty cool to show off WebTorrent at Netflix HQ. They were really interested in the possibility of WebTorrent to help during peak hours when everyone is watching Netflix and the uplink to ISPs like Comcast gets completely saturated. WebTorrent could help by letting Comcast subscribers share data amongst themselves without needing to traverse the congested Comcast-Netflix internet exchange,&#8221; he explains.</p>
<p>For now, WebTorrent is still a relative minnow when compared to giants such as uTorrent but there are an awful lot of people out there who share the ethos of Feross and his team. Only time will tell whether this non-commercial project will fulfill its dreams, but those involved will certainly have fun trying.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126784
title: Steal This Show S02E01: Zeronet
uri: Steal-This-Show-S02E01-Zeronet
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/BNC4o7qS65A/
content:
<p><img src="media/585776e5.steal240.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/steal240.png" alt="steal240" width="240" height="240" class="alignright size-full wp-image-113930">In this first episode of our new season, we interview Tamas Kocsis, the founder and developer <a href="https://zeronet.io/">Zeronet</a>. </p>
<p>Zeronet is a relatively new project that gives us the ability to develop completely distributed websites, invulnerable to censorship of any kind. </p>
<p>With Tor anonymity baked in, at least on the Windows version, that creates a very powerful environment for free expression.</p>
<p>Today Zeronet founder Tamas talks us through the history of the platform and some of the features he&#8217;s working on at the moment. </p>
<p>In addition he discusses plans to add a BitTorrent plugin that may be able to provide distributed, anonymous video streaming &#8211; which sounds like a new headache for Hollywood just around the corner. </p>
<p>But, Zeronet isn&#8217;t just a about torrents: we also hear from Tamas how it can be used right now to set up anonymous messaging, forums, marketplaces, and more. </p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><a href="https://stealthisshow.com">Steal This Show</a> aims to release bi-weekly episodes featuring insiders discussing copyright and file-sharing news. It complements our regular reporting by adding more room for opinion, commentary and analysis. </p>
<p>The guests for our news discussions will vary and we&#8217;ll aim to introduce voices from different backgrounds and persuasions. In addition to news, STS will also produce features interviewing some of the great innovators and minds. </p>
<p><strong>Host:</strong> Jamie King</p>
<p><strong>Guest:</strong> Tamas Kocsis</p>
<p><center><iframe width="100%" height="180px" src="//stealthisshow.com/?lpe-frame=1&#038;lpe-season=2&#038;lpe-episode=01" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></p>
<p><strong>Produced </strong> <em>by </em>Jamie King<br>
<strong>Edited &#038; Mixed</strong> <em>by</em> Riley Byrne<br>
<strong>Original Music</strong> <em>by</em> David Triana<br>
<strong>Web Production</strong> <em>by</em> Siraje Amarniss</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126827
title: Kim Dotcom’s Extradition Appeal Gets Underway
uri: Kim-Dotcom-s-Extradition-Appeal-Gets-Underway
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/cUYGIKIKKHk/
content:
<p><a href="media/2724d109.kim-court.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kim-court.jpg"><img src="media/2724d109.kim-court.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kim-court.jpg" alt="kim-court" width="180" height="172" class="alignright size-full wp-image-111200"></a>In 2012, Megaupload was shut down in a massive international operation. At the time the file-storage site had been one of the most-visited on the planet with around 100 million users.</p>
<p>U.S. authorities subsequently claimed that Megaupload illegally generated more than US$175 million and cost copyright owners more than $0.5bn in lost business.</p>
<p>The former operators of Megaupload &#8211; Kim Dotcom, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk &#8211; insist that their business was a completely legal cloud storage platform so any infringement carried out by their users was not their responsibility. They are all fighting their cases from New Zealand where they are residents.</p>
<p>Last December, after almost ten weeks of hearings, District Court Judge Nevin Dawson found there was an &#8220;overwhelming&#8221; case for Kim Dotcom, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-can-be-extradited-to-the-united-states-judge-rules-151223/">to be extradited</a> to the United States. There they face decades in jail on various charges including copyright infringement, money laundering, and racketeering.</p>
<p>Today, around a dozen lawyers were present in New Zealand&#8217;s High Court as Dotcom and his former colleagues mounted a formal appeal of last year&#8217;s extradition decision. The trio say that Judge Nevin Dawson didn&#8217;t give them a fair hearing.</p>
<p>The appeal is expected to last six to eight weeks but it began without Dotcom in attendance. He arrived after the hearing began and sat at the back with girlfriend Elizabeth Donelly. NZ&#8217;s Radio Live reported that the Megaupload founder appeared &#8220;relaxed&#8221;.</p>
<p>While Dotcom was not presenting argument today his lawyer Ron Mansfield told the court that due to the unprecedented issues involved and the international interest in the case, the hearing should be live streamed.</p>
<p>Mansfield said that a complex case of this nature is unlikely to receive balanced reporting so a live stream could ensure that all information is made available for public scrutiny. That could be done via YouTube, he said, with a 10-minute delay to ensure any sensitive material could be withheld.</p>
<p>A decision on that request wasn&#8217;t made right away, however. Judge Murray Gilbert said that the streaming request had been submitted late so he wanted to give representatives from the media time to consider the request and make their submissions. As <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcom-wants-extradition-hearing-live-streamed-u-s-does-not-160825/">previously reported</a>, the United States government is objecting to the application.</p>
<p>Public interest in the case is undoubtedly high. Dotcom has become somewhat of a celebrity locally in New Zealand and he has a huge profile online as a serial entrepreneur, privacy activist, and video gamer. Unsurprisingly the public gallery in the High Court was full, with one man reportedly standing outside waving a banner claiming that Dotcom&#8217;s persecution is part of a CIA conspiracy.</p>
<p>With Dotcom not expected to speak until later next week, the hearing began with representation from Grant Illingworth QC, the lawyer representing Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk.</p>
<p>Illingworth said that the hearing had been unfair since the United States had denied the defendants the opportunity to hire specialist US-based technology experts who could help to support their defense.</p>
<p>He said that the case against the former Megaupload operators “had gone off the rails” and their extradition should be halted since the District Court had shown “extraordinary disinterest” in their arguments at the earlier hearing.</p>
<p>“It’s like ships passing in the night with no radar — the judge simply did not engage with the arguments in a meaningful way,” Illingworth <a href="http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/livestreaming-dotcom-extradition-appeal-too-late-judge-cg-193594">said</a>.</p>
<p>Pointing to alleged breaches of conduct by U.S. authorities, Illingworth<br>
said that a situation of urgency had been manufactured in order to achieve procedural shortcuts.</p>
<p>There had been a &#8220;covering up&#8221; of unlawful activities preceding the arrests in 2012 and &#8220;downstream attempts to cover that up including a police officer giving incorrect information to this court, [and] unlawfully sending clones of hard drives overseas.&#8221;</p>
<p>Arguments for Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk are expected to take around eight days but the whole process is forecast to be a drawn-out affair. In the District Court the extradition hearing was supposed to take four weeks but actually took ten.</p>
<p>This time around the actions of the District Court will be picked over in fine detail, concentrating closely on numerous matters of law.</p>
<p>The United States Department of Justice isn&#8217;t expected to begin its arguments for another three weeks or so.</p>
<p>The hearing continues tomorrow but it&#8217;s unlikely that any final decision will arrive even this year. Dotcom and his rivals in the US both seem prepared to take this battle all the way to the Supreme Court in New Zealand if necessary. That could take years.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126824
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 08/29/16
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-08-29-16
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/hFrb_x1sZ9Y/
content:
<p><img src="media/ef0fdcd5.nowyousee.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/nowyousee.jpg" alt="nowyousee" width="300" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126495">This week we have two newcomers in our chart. </p>
<p>Now You See Me 2 is the most downloaded movie for the second week in a row.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-pirated-movies-week-082216/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/now_you_see_me_2">Now You See Me 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3110958/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I8rVcSQbic">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blood_father">Blood Father</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3647498/">7.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGvTRG-iud8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/independence_day_resurgence/">Independence Day: Resurgence</a> (Subbed HDRip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1628841/">5.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbduDRH2m2M">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_conjuring_2">The Conjuring 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3065204/">7.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyA9AtUOqRM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_legend_of_tarzan">The Legend of Tarzan</a> (Subbed HDRip) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918940/">6.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLmKio67pVQ">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/neighbors_2_sorority_rising">Neighbors 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4438848/">6.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5dTHmlq9r8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jason_bourne/">Jason Bourne</a> (HDTC)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4196776/">7.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71ce1Dqqns">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_jungle_book_2016">The Jungle Book</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3040964/">7.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkm22yO-bs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/warcraft/">Warcraft</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0803096/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhFMIRuHAL4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/imperium">Imperium</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4781612/">6.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3lFBq7_CPk">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126230
title: Running a Torrent Tracker For Fun Can Be a Headache
uri: Running-a-Torrent-Tracker-For-Fun-Can-Be-a-Headache
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/sBlDs4jAcRk/
content:
<p><a href="media/951a173e.zeroday.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/zeroday.jpg"><img src="media/951a173e.zeroday.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/zeroday.jpg" alt="zeroday" width="240" height="157" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126760"></a>While torrents will work without them, trackers are very handy for quickly finding other BitTorrent peers with the same content. They&#8217;re also essential for those who have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrents-future-dht-pex-and-magnet-links-explained-091120/">DHT and PEX</a> disabled in their clients.</p>
<p>Often run by people with an interest in the technology, public trackers are incapable of generating funds in their own right. This means that from a financial perspective there&#8217;s almost no incentive to run one.</p>
<p>The important thing to remember about trackers is that they carry no infringing content whatsoever, they merely direct torrent client traffic to a particular torrent hash. Nevertheless, this doesn&#8217;t stop tracker operators from getting copyright-related headaches.</p>
<p>In early 2016, a new stand-alone tracker was born. Operating from zer0day.ch, the tracker grew quite quickly in the first few days of life after ETRG (ExtraTorrent&#8217;s release group) added the tracker to its releases.</p>
<p>But with its first 10,000 torrents tracked, the problems began. The tracker was hosted in Germany and soon its host ran out of patience with mounting copyright infringement claims. After moving to Romania, history repeated itself when the tracker&#8217;s host suspended its server.</p>
<p>&#8220;They didn&#8217;t want to hear that running a tracker is not illegal,&#8221; <a href="http://zer0day.to/">zer0day&#8217;s</a> admin informs TF.</p>
<p>Late April, the tracker moved again, this time to a Latvia/Sweden setup. From there the tracker&#8217;s popularity went through the roof after an important development. Unknown to the tracker&#8217;s admin, The Pirate Bay began adding zer0day as one of the default trackers in its magnet links.</p>
<p>Now coordinating millions of peers, zer0day became an important player but in August the site had yet more trouble. The tracker&#8217;s server went offline again, this time without any prior notice and despite the fact that in eight months of operation not a single DMCA notice had ever been directly filed with the tracker.</p>
<p>With a fourth server secured elsewhere, zer0day continued with its business but more aggravation was on the horizon. Early this month, Swiss domain registry Switch told the site&#8217;s operator that his .CH domain was in trouble.</p>
<p>According to Switch, someone had tried to send some documents to the domain owner by snail mail and the documents had not reached the address mentioned in the WHOIS. Zer0day&#8217;s admin was given 30 days to prove his identity (with residency papers, for example) or face his domain being deleted.</p>
<p>While keeping the .CH domain would have been preferable, Switch didn&#8217;t make anything easy. They blocked the domain from being transferred to a third party and refused to say which agency had tried to contact the tracker&#8217;s operator.</p>
<p>Frustrated, the tracker&#8217;s admin decided to jump ship after a friend donated a server and a new .to (Tonga) based domain. At the time of writing the tracker is doing well, reporting 1.21m torrents and 4.44m peers (3.04 M seeders + 1.40 M leechers) on its <a href="http://zer0day.to/">main page</a>.</p>
<p>Speaking with TF, the tracker owner says that while the ride has been a bumpy one, things got much worse after Pirate Bay began adding his tracker URL by default, something he had no control over.</p>
<p>&#8220;Things went from bad to worse after TPB added the tracker to their magnet links. [That knowledge] might help ease someone&#8217;s efforts to run a torrent tracker in the future,&#8221; he concludes.</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, trackers aren&#8217;t absolutely essential for the functioning of BitTorrent transfers. However, their existence certainly improves matters and sites like zer0day are happy to contribute, even if their work mainly flies under the radar.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126524
title: Indian ISPs Speed Up BitTorrent by ‘Peering’ With a Torrent Site
uri: Indian-ISPs-Speed-Up-BitTorrent-by-Peering-With-a-Torrent-Site
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/262WAA-gap8/
content:
<p><img src="media/1a47acf0.torboxlogo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torboxlogo.png" alt="torboxlogo" width="189" height="71" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126745">From a networking perspective most Internet providers are generally not very happy with BitTorrent users. </p>
<p>These users place a heavy load on the network and can reduce the performance experienced by other subscribers. In addition, the huge amount of data transferred outside the ISPs&#8217; own networks is also very costly.</p>
<p>Some ISPs are trying to alleviate the problem by throttling or otherwise meddling with BitTorrent traffic, but there is a more customer-friendly solution. </p>
<p>Instead of working against their torrenting subscribers, various Internet providers in India have found a win-win solution. They help users to download content faster by linking them to local peers in their own network. </p>
<p>ISPs such as Alliance Broadband, Excitel, Syscon Infoway and True Broadband, have been offering accelerated torrents for a while. Some have had their own custom &#8216;caching&#8217; setups but increasingly they are teaming up with the torrent search engine <a href="http://torbox.net/">Torbox</a>.</p>
<p>While not well-known in the rest of the world, Torbox is a blessing for many Indians who are lucky enough to have an ISP that works with the site. </p>
<p>Through Torbox they can download torrents at speeds much higher than their regular Internet connection allows. This is possible because Torbox links them to peers in the local network, which means that the traffic is free for the ISP.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/2d67c6bd.torboxubuntu.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torboxubuntu.png" alt="torboxubuntu" width="615" height="302" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126808"></center></p>
<p>Most people who visit Torbox will see a notice that their ISP doesn&#8217;t have a peering agreement. However, for those who have a supporting ISP the torrent site returns search results ordering torrents based on the proximity of downloaders.  </p>
<p>Torbox uses downloaders&#8217; IP-addresses to determine who their ISP is and directs them to torrents with peers on the same network.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s a highly sophisticated IP technology based on network proximity,&#8221; Torbox explains, adding that every ISP is welcome to sign a peering agreement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Then based on your IP address TorBox can estimate how well you are connected to peers who have the content in question. It’s quite a tough job but luckily it works,&#8221; they add.</p>
<p>The downloads themselves go through a regular torrent client and don&#8217;t use any special trackers. However, the torrent swarms often connect to dedicated &#8220;cache peers&#8221; as well, which serve bits and pieces to speed up the swarm. </p>
<p>Torbox itself doesn&#8217;t get involved in the traffic side, they only point people to the &#8220;peering&#8221; torrents. The actual peering is handled by other services, such as <a href="http://extremepeering.net/en/">Extreme Peering</a>, which is operated by Extreme Broadband Services (EBS).</p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke with EBS director Victor Francess, who says that with this setup most torrent data is served from within the ISP&#8217;s own network.</p>
<p>&#8220;It all creates a very powerful user experience, so in fact just about 10-20% of all torrent traffic comes from the upstream and everything else is local,&#8221; Francess says.</p>
<p>As for the content, Torbox links to the torrents you would generally find on a torrent site. It even has a handy <a href="http://torbox.net/index.php?catalog">catalog page</a> featuring some recent blockbusters and other popular videos. This page also advertises Strem.io as a service that can be used to stream video torrents directly.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/1afe0af3.torboxcatalog.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torboxcatalog.jpg" alt="torboxcatalog" width="600" height="456" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126771"></center></p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to several Indian Torbox users at different ISPs, who are all pretty happy with the service. It allows them to download torrents at much faster rates than their regular Internet speed. </p>
<p>One user told us that his downloads sometimes reach a 10 MBps download speed, while his Internet connection is capped at 4 MBps.</p>
<p>The ISPs themselves are not too secretive about their peering agreements either. Excited previously advertised the Torbox peering on its main site and others such as Sifi Broadband <a href="http://sifibroadband.in/services.html">still do</a>.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/da7e51e9.torboxpl.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torboxpl.jpg"><img src="media/da7e51e9.torboxpl.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torboxpl.jpg" alt="torboxpl" width="600" height="255" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126739"></a></center></p>
<p>Alliance Broadband still lists Torbox <a href="http://alliancekolkata.co.in/new/index.php?page=asst">in its FAQ</a> at the time of writing, describing it as a &#8220;local content search engine&#8221; through which subscribers receive files &#8220;at ultra-high speed from the other peering users.&#8221;</p>
<p>For most outsiders it&#8217;s intriguing to see ISPs publicly cooperating with a torrent site, but in India it&#8217;s reality. </p>
<p>The question is, however, how long this will last. In recent months piracy has become a hot topic in India, with Bollywood insiders linking it to massive losses and even <a href="http://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/showbiz/endorsing-piracy-akin-to-endorsing-terrorism-producer-ritesh-sidhwani/356034/">terrorism</a>.</p>
<p>Ironically, many ISPs have also been <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/indian-piracy-blocks-scare-torrent-users-prison-sentence-160822/">ordered by courts</a> to block access to hundreds of piracy sites, including many torrent search engines. For now, however, Torbox remains freely accessible.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126881
title: Kim Dotcom’s Extradition Hearing Will Be Live Streamed on YouTube
uri: Kim-Dotcom-s-Extradition-Hearing-Will-Be-Live-Streamed-on-YouTube
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/kt5YMLXurJo/
content:
<p><a href="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg"><img src="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg" alt="dotcom-laptop" width="233" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-76556"></a>Last week, Kim Dotcom <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcom-wants-extradition-hearing-live-streamed-u-s-does-not-160825/">indicated</a> that he&#8217;d like his extradition hearing to be broadcast live on the Internet.</p>
<p>&#8220;Because of global interest in my case we have asked the High Court to allow live-streaming of my 6 weeks of copyright extradition hearings,&#8221; he wrote on Twitter.</p>
<p><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcom-extradition-appeal-gets-underway-160829/">Yesterday morning</a>, just before the hearing got underway, Dotcom&#8217;s lawyer Ron Mansfield again raised the issue. He said that a complex case of this nature might not receive fair reporting so a live stream could help restore the balance and ensure public scrutiny. Mansfield suggested YouTube as the perfect platform.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, the U.S. government opposed Dotcom&#8217;s application, stating that the coverage might prejudice the criminal trial in the United States should Dotcom be extradited. In particular, the U.S. said footage from the hearing could threaten a potential jury pool.</p>
<p>But despite U.S. objections, earlier today Justice Murray Gilbert said the stream could go ahead, on YouTube. There will be some restrictions, however.</p>
<p>Guidelines for broadcasting from New Zealand courts mandate a 10-minute delay, but in Dotcom&#8217;s case that will be extended to 20 minutes. This will ensure that the court has the opportunity to suppress anything deemed unfit for public consumption.</p>
<p>Dotcom took to Twitter to celebrate.</p>
<p><Center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Live streaming of my hearing is a milestone. We&#39;re breaking new ground. Please treat the court with respect. Let&#39;s make this the new normal.</p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/770482951553421318">August 30, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>But while the judge has granted Dotcom&#8217;s wishes, there will be restrictions. In addition to the delay, the comments section on YouTube will be disabled and footage from the hearing will not be permitted to remain online after the hearing has taken place.</p>
<p>Of course, neither option will be possible to control completely. Discussion of live events can easily take place elsewhere, notably on Twitter where the action takes place in real-time. Furthermore, people will undoubtedly rip the live stream from YouTube, so keeping that offline after the hearing has passed will prove entirely impossible.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the transparency the stream will provide is being welcomed by many, not least Dotcom&#8217;s US-based lawyer Ira Rothken.</p>
<p>&#8220;It provides everybody in the world with a seat in the gallery of the New Zealand courtroom,&#8221; Rothken said. &#8220;It&#8217;s democracy at its finest.&#8221; </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126831
title: Grumpy Cat Wants $600k From ‘Pirating’ Coffee Maker
uri: Grumpy-Cat-Wants-600k-From-Pirating-Coffee-Maker
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/3OvjMOVUiJA/
content:
<p><img src="media/9175d5ec.grumpcat1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpcat1.jpg" alt="grumpcat" width="222" height="210" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114992">There are dozens of celebrity cats on the Internet, but <a href="https://www.grumpycats.com/">Grumpy Cat</a> probably tops them all.</p>
<p>The cat’s owners have made millions thanks to their pet’s unique facial expression, which turned her into an overnight Internet star.</p>
<p>Part of this revenue comes from successful merchandise lines, including the Grumpy Cat “Grumppuccino” iced coffee beverage, sold by the California company Grenade Beverage. </p>
<p>The company licensed the copyright and trademarks to sell the iced coffee, but is otherwise not affiliated with the cat and its owners. Initially this partnership went well, but after the coffee maker started to sell other &#8220;Grumpy Cat&#8221; products, things turned bad. </p>
<p>The cat&#8217;s owners, incorporated as Grumpy Cat LLC, took the matter <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/grumpy-cat-sues-coffee-maker-copyright-infringement-151214/">to court</a> last year with demands for the coffee maker to stop infringing associated copyrights and trademarks.</p>
<p>After Grenade Beverage failed to properly respond to the allegations, Grumpy Cat&#8217;s owners moved for a default, which a court clerk entered early June. A few days ago they went ahead and submitted a motion for default judgment.</p>
<p>A memorandum (<a href="media/27957e09.grumpy-proposed-fdefault-order.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpy-proposed-fdefault-order.pdf">pdf</a>) supporting the new motion repeats many of the allegations that were listed in the original complaint. Among other things, it accuses the coffee maker of manufacturing and selling Grumpy Cat merchandise without permission.</p>
<p>&#8220;Not only was the Infringing Product never approved by Plaintiff under the License Agreement, but the packaging and marketing materials for the Infringing Product, as depicted in the example below, primarily and exclusively incorporate Plaintiff’s exclusive intellectual property, including the Grumpy Cat Copyrights and the Grumpy Cat Trademarks,&#8221; the memorandum reads.</p>
<p><center><strong>Allegedly infringing Grumpy Cat coffee</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/c14b1c91.grumpcoffee.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpcoffee.png" alt="grumpcoffee" width="565" height="335" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126858" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpcoffee.png 565w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpcoffee-220x130.png 220w" sizes="(max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px"></center></p>
<p>At the time of writing, the coffee maker&#8217;s Grumpy Coffee website <a href="http://drinkgrumpycat.com/">is offline</a>. In addition, the associated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DrinkGrumpyCat/">social media</a> accounts also <a href="https://twitter.com/DrinkGrumpyCat/with_replies">went quiet</a> late last year, when the lawsuit was first announced.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Grumpy Cat and her owner still hold the company responsible for its previous infringements. In their motion they list four copyrights, claiming the maximum of $150,000 in statutory damages for each.</p>
<p>&#8220;Here, the magnitude of Grenade’s willful infringement of Plaintiff’s Grumpy Cat Copyrights, willful disregard of this Court’s authority, and refusal to stop its blatant infringement renders Plaintiff entitled to a $150,000 statutory damages award for each of the Grumpy Cat Copyrights, in a total amount of $600,000,&#8221; the motion reads.</p>
<p>This number is repeated in the proposed default judgment (<a href="media/27957e09.grumpy-proposed-fdefault-order.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpy-proposed-fdefault-order.pdf">pdf</a>) as well, which the court still has to sign off on.</p>
<p><center><strong>Proposed injunction, $600,000 copyright damages</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/bc764254.600kgrumpy.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/600kgrumpy.png" alt="600kgrumpy" width="596" height="324" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126852"></center></p>
<p>In addition to the copyright infringements, Grumpy Cat also asks for actual and treble damages for trademark infringements, damages for contract breach, and injunctive relief to prevent the coffee maker from selling Grumpy Cat products in the future.</p>
<p>Since it&#8217;s a request for a default judgment, there is a good chance that the judge will approve the demands. While it&#8217;s unlikely that Grumpy Cat herself will care, her owners will definitely be happy if that&#8217;s the case. </p>
<p>Still, a default judgment doesn&#8217;t mean the end of the Grumpy Cat dispute. Defendants Paul and Nick Sandford, who are affiliated with Grenade Beverage, did respond to the original complaint and are not yet throwing in the towel.</p>
<p>Together with the non-party company Grumpy Beverage, they filed a counterclaim asking for declaratory judgments affirming that they are the rightful owner of various Grumpy Cat coffee-related trademarks and copyrights, as well as several disputed domain names.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126869
title: TIDAL Downloads Made By Possible by Teenage Coder
uri: TIDAL-Downloads-Made-By-Possible-by-Teenage-Coder
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/XZBb6nb7ypU/
content:
<p><a href="media/d6f6950d.tidal.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tidal.jpg"><img src="media/d6f6950d.tidal.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tidal.jpg" alt="tidal" width="250" height="184" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126871"></a>After years of music only being made available on CD or permanent digital download, streaming services are now all the rage.</p>
<p>Platforms such as Spotify, Pandora and Deezer are particularly well-known in the market today but relative new-comer TIDAL has also been making waves. The platform, launched by artists including Jay Z, Kanye West, Beyonce and Madonna, is perhaps best known for its exclusives.</p>
<p>TIDAL comes in two flavors &#8211; TIDAL Premium (lossy quality) and TIDAL HiFi, a lossless CD quality service for the audio connoisseur. In ordinary circumstances both of these services are streaming only, but thanks to a coding upstart from Germany, users of the service can now download music from TIDAL to keep.</p>
<p>A recent high school leaver, Lordmau5 previously created a tool for <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/downloading-mp3s-from-spotify-is-easy-but-feels-dated-160320/">downloading music from Spotify</a>. He&#8217;s been coding for six years already, starting out with Visual Basic and moving onto Java and lots of Minecraft modding.</p>
<p>Lordmau5 informs TorrentFreak that Spotify later improved its security so after being prompted by others he decided to see if downloads from TIDAL were a possibility.</p>
<p>&#8220;I recently looked into some potential <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface">APIs</a> and found out that it&#8217;s super simple to get the stream-/offline-URL for the tracks [from TIDAL] and&#8230; well&#8230; that&#8217;s when the coding began,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>The end result is TiDown, a tool that allows users to quickly download music from TIDAL in lossy or lossless formats. It&#8217;s a command line tool but comes with all necessary <a href="http://imgur.com/a/qAljO">instructions</a>.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/5876a902.tidown-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tidown-1.png"><img src="media/5876a902.tidown-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tidown-1.png" alt="tidown-1" width="600" height="293" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126876"></a></center></p>
<p>Lordmau5 says that a few other streaming downloaders are available but these tend to require the user to listen to every track all the way through, a somewhat laborious task. TiDown is different, he says.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is an actual downloader &#8211; you are logging into TIDAL through the tool and you get the direct &#8216;stream-URLs&#8217; that can then be downloaded,&#8221; Lordmau5 explains.</p>
<p>Over the past few days in advance of TiDown&#8217;s release, Lordmau5 has been having a bit of a laugh at the expense of people who didn&#8217;t believe he had created a proper working downloader.</p>
<p>To support his trolling he created the most <a href="https://tidal.lordmau5.com/">ancient-looking website possible</a> alongside a deliberately trashy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL4gDyjzxRM">&#8216;promo&#8217; video</a>.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/dc090b04.tidown-2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tidown-2.jpg"><img src="media/dc090b04.tidown-2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tidown-2.jpg" alt="tidown-2" width="600" height="355" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126877" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/tidown-2.jpg 600w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/tidown-2-220x130.jpg 220w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></center></p>
<p>Of course, tools like TiDown tend not to last very long once they&#8217;re discovered. So will TIDAL stop TiDown?</p>
<p>&#8220;I assume so,&#8221; Lordmau5 says. &#8220;I really hope the tool will work for around a month &#8211; since that&#8217;s the free trial for TIDAL.&#8221;</p>
<p><em><a href="https://github.com/Lordmau5/Tidown">TiDown&#8217;s page on Github</a></em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126895
title: Europe’s Net Neutrality Doesn’t Ban BitTorrent Throttling
uri: Europe-s-Net-Neutrality-Doesn-t-Ban-BitTorrent-Throttling
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/lMGVFTsLtCo/
content:
<p><img src="media/ff71e480.netneutrality.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/netneutrality.png" alt="netneutrality" width="250" height="151" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126933">When the European Parliament <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eu-adopts-net-neutrality-rules-keeps-loopholes-open-151027/">adopted</a> Europe&#8217;s first net neutrality rules late last year, many net neutrality proponents were not happy with the outcome. </p>
<p>The rules, which are included in the Telecoms Single Market (TSM) regulation, would still allow targeted throttling of BitTorrent and other traffic, under the guise of network management. </p>
<p>In addition, opponents warned that the rules left the door open for ISPs to charge for fast lanes and restrict or slow down access to parts of the Internet for commercial reasons. </p>
<p>To change this, various activist groups <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/europes-net-neutrality-rules-dont-ban-bittorrent-throttling-160628/">launched</a> a &#8220;<a href="https://www.savenetneutrality.eu/">EU Slowdown</a>” campaign through which they got half a million people to respond to a public consultation that was held by BEREC.</p>
<p>Today, BEREC presented its final guidelines on the implementation of Europe&#8217;s net neutrality rules. Compared to earlier drafts it includes several positive changes for those who value net neutrality.</p>
<p>For example, while zero-rating isn&#8217;t banned outright, Internet providers are not allowed to offer a &#8220;sub Internet&#8221; service, where access to only part of the Internet is offered for &#8216;free.&#8217;</p>
<p>However, not all traffic is necessarily &#8220;neutral.&#8221; ISPs are <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eu-adopts-net-neutrality-rules-keeps-loopholes-open-151027/">still allowed</a> to throttle specific categories for &#8220;reasonable&#8221; network management purposes, as the second subparagraph of article 3 reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;In order to be deemed to be reasonable, such measures shall be transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate, and shall not be based on commercial considerations but on objectively different technical quality of service requirements of specific categories of traffic.&#8221; </p>
<p><center><img src="media/798aae12.article3ber.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/article3ber.png" alt="article3ber" width="600" height="156" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126937"></center></p>
<p>This means that network management practices, including bandwidth throttling, could possibly target BitTorrent transfers under a broader file-sharing category, or VPNs as encrypted traffic.</p>
<p>&#8220;The requirement for traffic management measures to be non-discriminatory does not preclude providers of internet access services from implementing, in order to optimize the overall transmission quality, traffic management measures which differentiate between objectively different categories of traffic,&#8221; BEREC&#8217;s guidelines clarify.</p>
<p>In other words, it would still be possible for ISPs to throttle BitTorrent traffic if that would improve the overall “transmission quality.” This is not a far-fetched argument since torrent traffic can be quite demanding on a network.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s not expected that BitTorrent or VPN traffic will be targeted any more than it is right now, the option remains open. This will be a welcome decision by networking specialists and ISPs in general, which have argued that selectively targeting congestion is a more sensible approach. </p>
<p>Setbacks aside, net neutrality activists have also generally responded positively. Their main goal was to prevent so-called &#8220;fast lanes,&#8221; which is largely achieved.</p>
<p>“The victory here is that Europe is clearly banning ISPs from creating paid fastlanes, as the US did. That was the biggest threat, because ISPs could have actually *profited* by slowing down our Internet, and then charging sites or apps for a fastlane,&#8221; Fight For The Future&#8217;s Holmes Wilson tells TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>&#8220;My understanding is that the rules still allow throttling under the guise of traffic management. But thanks to the ban on fastlanes, ISPs won’t have the same incentive to throttle, and regulators could stop ISPs from throttling in cases where it clearly had nothing to do with preventing future congestion,” he adds.</p>
<p>The full guidelines and additional background information are available at <a href="http://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/regulatory_best_practices/guidelines/6160-berec-guidelines-on-the-implementation-by-national-regulators-of-european-net-neutrality-rules">BEREC&#8217;s website</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=127010
title: New BBC iPlayer Rules Easily Defeated, Especially via VPN
uri: New-BBC-iPlayer-Rules-Easily-Defeated-Especially-via-VPN
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/340U3I9RlYQ/
content:
<p><a href="media/651e41d0.iplayerlogo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/iplayerlogo.png"><img src="media/651e41d0.iplayerlogo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/iplayerlogo.png" alt="iplayerlogo" width="250" height="197" class="alignright size-full wp-image-112138"></a>To legally watch broadcast television in the UK, viewers need to buy a TV license. Currently, one of those costs £145.50 per year but there are signs that the numbers of those investing in one have been dwindling.</p>
<p>Aside from the usual license dodgers, some people have legally chosen not to buy a TV license due to increasing volumes of BBC programming being made available on its iPlayer streaming service.</p>
<p>The iPlayer is split into two types of service &#8211; live TV and catchup. People viewing live TV, BBC1 for example, have always needed a TV license. However, those watching only catchup TV have been able to do so without parting with £145. This morning all of that changed.</p>
<p>&#8220;The law changed on 1 September 2016,&#8221; <a href="http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/bbc-iplayer-and-the-tv-licence">says</a> a notice posted today to the UK&#8217;s official TV Licensing site.</p>
<p>&#8220;You must be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand. This applies to any device and provider you use. Don’t forget, you still need a TV Licence to watch or record programmes on any channel as they are being shown on TV or live on an online TV service.&#8221;</p>
<p>With the so-called &#8220;iPlayer loophole&#8221; closed from a legal perspective, eyes are now turning to how this can possibly be enforced. To do so properly, the BBC could provide license payers with a password and username to log into the service. Instead, however, the BBC has chosen to maintain its trust-based service, shown in the image below.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/c8e37697.license-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/license-1.jpg"><img src="media/c8e37697.license-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/license-1.jpg" alt="license-1" width="498" height="318" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-127011"></a></center></p>
<p>Simply clicking &#8220;I have a TV License. Watch now&#8221; is all that&#8217;s required to access the service and it&#8217;s expected that at least hundreds of thousands will do so without having an appropriate license. So what enforcement options does the BBC and the UK&#8217;s TV Licensing body have?</p>
<p>&#8220;We know the vast majority of people are law abiding and would anticipate those who need a licence for the first time will buy one,&#8221; a TV Licensing spokesperson <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37226030">said</a> today, adding: </p>
<p>&#8220;We have a range of enforcement techniques which we will use and these have already allowed us to prosecute people who watch on a range of devices, not just TVs.&#8221;</p>
<p>Just as they have been for decades, TV Licensing are deliberately vague about the options available to them, but one thing they won&#8217;t be doing is spying on the traffic flying around people&#8217;s home wifi networks. That rumor began to circulate earlier this month but the <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/snooping-bbc-spy-internet-users-8572134">reporting</a> was both sensational and inaccurate. That&#8217;s not to say there aren&#8217;t options available though.</p>
<p>In ordinary circumstances, anyone who connects to the iPlayer service does so via an IP address allocated to them by their ISP. At this point, the BBC often has a clear idea of which ISPs are being used and the rough geographic location of the IP addresses accessing their service. Useful perhaps, but not particularly so.</p>
<p>Even if your IP address is static (doesn&#8217;t change) and you do (or don&#8217;t) have a license, TV Licensing and/or the BBC have no easy way of matching that IP address to a TV License payer. Indeed, the IP address they know accessed their service could belong to almost anyone.</p>
<p>Only complicating matters is that a TV license covers an entire household and all of the people in it, regardless of what device they&#8217;re using to access the service. Indeed, many IP addresses could be covered under one license. Some of those IP addresses, used by mobile phones for example, could be in an entirely different geographic location.</p>
<p>These variables and numerous others mean that TV Licensing would have huge difficulty trying to use Internet technology to track down unlicensed iPlayer users in the same way that copyright holders might track down BitTorrent pirates.</p>
<p>While the latter knows for sure that no one has permission to be sharing files, the former has no idea whether there is a licensed person behind any IP address. On that basis, getting a court to force ISPs to hand over details would be unlikely, if not impossible. Even if that did happen, the chances of the person having a license or some other mitigating circumstance would be extremely high indeed.</p>
<p>But of perhaps more importance are the chances of TV Licensing and the BBC even trying. By their own estimations around 94% of households have a valid TV license, which means that around the same percentage of UK IP addresses accessing iPlayer are doing so legally. That is not a particularly good starting point for weeding out pirates.</p>
<p>But for those who are truly cautious (or simply using one anyway), accessing the iPlayer from a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-anonymous-review-160220/">VPN service</a> is also a possibility. In tests carried out this morning, a properly licensed TF tester accessed iPlayer from three separate VPN services without any issues whatsoever.</p>
<p>Not only did UK-based IP addresses work, but also overseas one too, meaning that foreign users who aren&#8217;t eligible to buy a license can also gain access to the service. Indeed, properly licensed UK viewers can also view from a foreign IP address which might initially appear unlicensed. It&#8217;s a minefield.</p>
<p>So in conclusion, it seems unlikely that the BBC or TV Licensing will be enforcing illegal use of its iPlayer service in any different manner than it already does for conventional TV.</p>
<p>All households without a license will be gathered into a database and presumed to be TV license dodgers. They will receive letters in the post warning them that not having a license is illegal. However, unless they get caught in the act of viewing, there&#8217;s little that can be done to stop them. TV Licensing has no <a href="http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-administering-the-licence-fee-AB20">power of entry</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, catchup services offered by other companies other than the BBC aren&#8217;t covered, so people can watch ITV Player, 4OD, Demand 5 and any other service such as Netflix without needing any license. That being said, a TV license is just £3 per week and is hardly going to break the bank.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126964
title: Pirate Android App ‘Store’ Member Jailed For 46 Months
uri: Pirate-Android-App-Store-Member-Jailed-For-46-Months
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/eVbRG__BGMo/
content:
<p><img src="media/21abd508.snappz.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/snappz.jpg" alt="snappz" width="180" height="158" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86897">Assisted by police in France and the Netherlands, the FBI <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/fbi-seizes-pirate-android-app-domains-120822/">took down</a> the “pirate” Android stores Appbucket, Applanet and SnappzMarket during the summer of 2012.</p>
<p>The domain seizures were the first ever against “rogue” mobile app marketplaces and followed similar actions against BitTorrent and streaming sites.</p>
<p>During the years that followed several people connected to the Android app sites were arrested and indicted, but progress has been slow. Today, we can report on what we believe to be the first sentencing in these cases.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Scott Walton of Lovejoy, Georgia, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and sentenced to 46 months in prison.</p>
<p>The sentence hasn&#8217;t been announced publicly by the Department of Justice, but paperwork (<a href="media/a928812a.judgement-1.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/judgement-1.pdf">pdf</a>) obtained by TorrentFreak confirms that it was handed down by Georgia District Court Judge Timothy Batten.</p>
<p><center><strong>The Judgement</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/1b26e7aa.walton.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/walton.png" alt="walton" width="600" height="164" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-126966"></center></p>
<p>According to the prosecution, one of Walton&#8217;s primary tasks was to manage public relations for SnappzMarket.</p>
<p>&#8220;In this role, defendant Walton monitored the Facebook fan page for SnappzMarket, provided responses to support inquiries, developed new ideas for SnappzMarket, and assisted with finding solutions to technical problems,&#8221; the <a href="media/a78e19cb.gov.uscourts.gand.206666.1.0.pdf" data-original-source="http://ia902303.us.archive.org/19/items/gov.uscourts.gand.206666/gov.uscourts.gand.206666.1.0.pdf">indictment</a> reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;In addition, defendant Walton searched for and downloaded copies of copyrighted apps, burned those copies to digital media such as compact discs, and mailed them to defendant Gary Edwin Sharp.&#8221; </p>
<p>The sentencing itself doesn&#8217;t come as a surprise, but it took a long time to be finalized.</p>
<p>Together with several co-defendants, Walton had already pleaded guilty two years ago, when he admitted to being involved in the illegal copying and distribution of more than a million pirated Android apps with a retail value of $1.7 million.</p>
<p>Before sentencing, Walton&#8217;s attorney Jeffrey Berhold urged the court to minimize the sentence. Citing letters from family and friends, he noted that his client can be of great value to the community.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Court can make this world a better place by releasing Scott Walton sooner rather than later,&#8221; Berhold wrote. </p>
<p>Whether these pleas helped is unknown. The 46-month sentence is short of the five years maximum, but it remains a very long time.</p>
<p>Initially, Walton was able to await his sentencing as a free man, but last year he was incarcerated after violating his pretrial release conditions. This means that he has already served part of his sentence.</p>
<p>The two other SnappzMarket members who were indicted, Joshua Ryan Taylor and Gary Edwin Sharp, are expected to be sentenced later this year. The same is true for co-conspirator Kody Jon Peterson.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126956
title: Attackers Infect Transmission Torrent Client With OS X Malware
uri: Attackers-Infect-Transmission-Torrent-Client-With-OS-X-Malware
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/W-3XCaipesk/
content:
<p><img src="media/06cc6116.transmission-2.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/transmission-2.jpg" width="222" height="222" class="alignright">Last month, researchers at IT security company <a href="https://www.eset.com/">ESET</a> reported on a new type of OS X malware. Called OSX/Keydnap, the malicious software was designed to steal the content of OS X&#8217;s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keychain_(software)">keychain</a> while inserting a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backdoor_(computing)">backdoor</a>.</p>
<p>In a detailed <a href="http://www.welivesecurity.com/2016/07/06/new-osxkeydnap-malware-hungry-credentials/">blog post</a> on the topic, ESET said that it was unclear how machines became infected with OSX/Keydnap but speculated that it might be through attack vectors such as spam, downloads from untrusted websites, &#8220;or something else&#8221;. Other things were certain, however.</p>
<p>&#8220;What we know is that a downloader component is distributed in a .zip file. The archive file contains a Mach-O executable file with an extension that looks benign, such as .txt or .jpg. However, the file extension actually contains a space character at the end, which means double-clicking the file in Finder will launch it in Terminal and not Preview or TextEdit,&#8221; the researchers wrote.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/c8759572.osx-mal-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/osx-mal-1.png"><img src="media/c8759572.osx-mal-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/osx-mal-1.png" alt="osx-mal-1" width="600" height="328" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126962"></a></center></p>
<p>Now, several weeks later, it now transpires that some BitTorrent users have been exposed to OSX/Keydnap. While some might presume that could have taken place through a suspect download from an infected torrent (also possible), this particular attack actually took place from a trusted source.</p>
<p>ESET reports that a recompiled version of the open source BitTorrent client Transmission was offered for download on the software&#8217;s <a href="http://transmissionbt.com">official website</a>. Somehow, that software had already become infected with OSX/Keydnap. Once informed, the Transmission team were quick to act.</p>
<p>&#8220;Literally minutes after being notified by ESET, the Transmission team removed the malicious file from their web server and launched an investigation to identify how this happened,&#8221; the researchers <a href="http://www.welivesecurity.com/2016/08/30/osxkeydnap-spreads-via-signed-transmission-application/">explain</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;According to the signature, the application bundle was signed on August 28th, 2016, but it seems to have been distributed only the next day.&#8221;</p>
<p>Following an investigation by the Transmission team, we now know how the infected version came to be offered to the public and for how long. It all began with some kind of intrusion by an as-yet-unamed attacker.</p>
<p>&#8220;It appears that on or about August 28, 2016, unauthorized access was gained to our website server,&#8221; the team said in a statement.</p>
<p>&#8220;The official Mac version of Transmission 2.92 was replaced with an unauthorized version that contained the OSX/Keydnap malware. The infected file was available for download somewhere between a few hours and less than a day.&#8221;</p>
<p>The team says that they infected file was removed from the server immediately upon its discovery, potentially just a few hours after it was placed there. While any period is too long, the length of time the download was made available to the public should help to limit the impact of the malware.</p>
<p>For anyone concerned that they still might have been infected during that period, ESET offers the following advice to check for infection.</p>
<p>&#8220;We advise anyone who downloaded Transmission v2.92 between August 28th and August 29th, 2016, inclusively, to verify if their system is compromised by testing the presence of any of the following file or directory,&#8221; the company writes.</p>
<p><Center><a href="media/92efe02f.osx-mal-2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/osx-mal-2.png"><img src="media/92efe02f.osx-mal-2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/osx-mal-2.png" alt="osx-mal-2" width="600" height="228" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-126963"></a></center></p>
<p>&#8220;If any of them exists, it means the malicious Transmission application was executed and that Keydnap is most likely running. Also note that the malicious disk image was named Transmission2.92.dmg while the legitimate one is Transmission-2.92.dmg (notice the hyphen).&#8221;</p>
<p>The Transmission team has also published a <a href="http://transmissionbt.com/keydnap_removal/">detailed guide</a> for anyone concerned about infection. They&#8217;re also taking additional steps to limit the chances of this happening again.</p>
<p>&#8220;To help prevent future incidents, we have migrated the website and all binary files from our current servers to GitHub. Other services, which are currently unavailable, will be migrated to new servers in the coming days,&#8221; the team says.</p>
<p>&#8220;As an added precaution, we will be hosting the binaries and the website (including checksums) in two separate repositories.&#8221;</p>
<p>Uninfected versions of Transmission can be downloaded <a href="http://transmissionbt.com/download/">here</a>. Versions for operating systems other than OS X are not affected.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126835
title: Music Group Protests ISPs Move for a Declaratory Ruling on Piracy Liability
uri: Music-Group-Protests-ISPs-Move-for-a-Declaratory-Ruling-on-Piracy-Liab
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/L61hEIXJIAA/
content:
<p><img src="media/fe041db3.bmgrights.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bmgrights.png" alt="bmgrights" width="222" height="129" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126912" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/bmgrights.png 222w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/bmgrights-220x129.png 220w" sizes="(max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px">Can an Internet provider be held liable for subscribers who share pirated files? Yes, a Virginia federal jury <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-is-liable-for-pirating-subscribers-ordered-to-pay-25-million-151217/">ruled late last year</a>.</p>
<p>This verdict caused shockwaves in the ISP industry when several companies suddenly realized that they could become the next target.</p>
<p>Internet provider RCN is among the companies that are gravely concerned. With 400,000 subscribers nationwide, it is one of the larger Internet providers in the United States, and as such it regularly receives takedown notices targeting it its subscribers.</p>
<p>Many of these notices come from BMG and its anti-piracy partner Rightscorp, which accuse RCN of being liable for the actions of its customers.</p>
<p>RCN was not pleased with these allegations and took legal action a few weeks ago. The Internet provider <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-isp-sues-music-group-over-piracy-allegations-160615/">filed a lawsuit</a> against music rights group BMG at a New York federal court, seeking declaratory judgment on the matter.</p>
<p>“The central question for this Court’s determination is whether an Internet service provider should be held liable for copyright infringement simply because it provides Internet connectivity to its customers,” RCN wrote.</p>
<p>The Internet provider argued that it is not liable for the infringements of its subscribers because it is merely passing on traffic, which allows the company protection under the DMCA’s safe harbor provision. </p>
<p>RCN is not the only ISP to have taken action. Their complaint was swiftly followed by a similar case from Windstream, which relies on many of the same arguments.</p>
<p>BMG is not happy with these developments and has started to push back in court. In both cases, the music rights group has now asked the court for leave to file a motion to dismiss the complaints.</p>
<p>According to BMG, there is no concrete dispute or threat of an actual lawsuit on their part. Instead, they accuse the ISPs of trying to get broad immunity without going into specifics, such as their repeat infringer policies.</p>
<p>&#8220;RCN appears to seek to resolve only its liability for past instances of infringement, but declaratory judgment actions are not the proper vehicle by which to do so,&#8221; BMG&#8217;s lawyers write in the RCN case.</p>
<p>&#8220;Conversely, to the extent RCN seeks to immunize itself against liability for future infringement, there is no factual record on which to make such a decision. A Court cannot offer a declaratory judgment immunizing purely hypothetical future conduct from secondary liability for copyright infringement.&#8221;</p>
<p>As the Cox case has shown, the ISPs&#8217; actions and policies play a crucial role in determining liability. BMG accuses RCN, and in a similar filing Windstream, of trying to escape this responsibility. </p>
<p>&#8220;In sum, RCN seeks a broad ruling that it does not infringe BMG’s copyrights at any time or anywhere, regardless of the factual circumstances or its actual knowledge of copyright infringement by RCN subscribers. That is not the proper subject of a declaratory judgment action and does not state a legally valid claim under the DMCA or the Copyright Act.&#8221; </p>
<p>RCN does not agree with the music group&#8217;s characterization of its request. In a reply, the ISP highlights that it received millions of infringement notices from BMG over the past years, in which it demanded compensation from RCN.  </p>
<p>&#8220;They present a substantial, real, and immediate controversy in that BMG has accused RCN of specific and continuing instances of copyright infringement and has provided a definitive measure of the damages for which RCN is allegedly liable,&#8221; RCN writes in its reply. </p>
<p>&#8220;As a result, there is nothing abstract or hypothetical about the relief RCN is seeking in this declaratory action. RCN properly seeks a declaration that BMG’s allegations lack merit and that RCN is not liable for purported copyright infringement occurring through its network.&#8221; </p>
<p>As such, RCN asks the court not to allow the motion to dismiss to be filed. </p>
<p>Windstream has yet to reply to the allegations, but it&#8217;s expected that they will follow the same course as their colleague Internet provider, as they&#8217;ve previously done.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=127060
title: Attention Swedish Pirate Bay Users, Copyright Trolls Have Arrived
uri: Attention-Swedish-Pirate-Bay-Users-Copyright-Trolls-Have-Arrived
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/AxQQbT3lAHw/
content:
<p><a href="media/7e02aab6.tpb3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb3.png"><img src="media/7e02aab6.tpb3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb3.png" alt="tpb" width="230" height="243" class="alignright size-full wp-image-106334"></a>Every day, millions of people around the globe use file-sharing networks. Much of that sharing involves the unauthorized downloading and/or distribution of copyright material.</p>
<p>In response, some companies have decided to monetize the activity by tracking alleged infringers back to their Internet service providers and by a variety of methods, getting them to pay a fine.</p>
<p>Commonly known as copyright trolling, this business model has been deployed in the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere. To date, Sweden has escaped its clutches, despite being home to The Pirate Bay and a large number of file-sharers. That is now about to change.</p>
<p>In a new announcement, an organization calling itself Spridningskollen (Distribution Check) says it is about to launch a new initiative to punish those who file-share. The aim: to save the industry and educate the masses.</p>
<p>Distribution Check says that since the start of the year, German anti-piracy outfit Excipio has been monitoring the activities of Swedish file-sharers. That data will be used to track alleged file-sharers back to their ISPs.</p>
<p>&#8220;One can compare it to a speed camera. In the same way that a speed camera only records those who drive too fast, only those Internet users who share copyrighted material without permission are logged,&#8221; says spokesman Gordon Odenbark.</p>
<p>Initially, the group says it will target between 500 and 1,000 file-sharers and each will be asked to settle for around $233 (2,000 kronor).</p>
<p>&#8220;At this moment, we have said that we are only asking for [$233] per film, but that amount will be increased. I can almost guarantee that we will raise the damages in the fall,&#8221; OdenBark says.</p>
<p>These &#8220;cheap now, expensive later&#8221; claims are classic copyright troll tactics which are designed to encourage prompt payments from alleged file-sharers. But of course, some will refuse to pay, and for those individuals the threat of legal action via local firm Gothia Law are already being dangled.</p>
<p>&#8220;The amount [being demanded] is lower than the Swedish courts have sentenced file-sharers to pay historically, so you can consider it as a kind of settlement,&#8221; the company says on its <a href="http://spridningskollen.se/">website</a>. &#8220;If you pay the sum, rights holders will stop their demands and both parties can avoid a costly and time-consuming trial.&#8221; </p>
<p>In common with similar schemes in operation in the UK, Distribution Check are trying to promote their project as an educational exercise. They say that in the first instance there will be a YouTube piracy awareness campaign. That will be followed by the settlement demands. </p>
<p>&#8220;Sure, it may seem hard to tackle individual file-sharers in this way, but to get a behavioral change, it&#8217;s probably necessary. A similar initiative has been operated in Germany and Finland, and it has been proven to work,&#8221; the company says.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ultimately, it is about the film and television industry&#8217;s survival. Illegal file sharing of copyrighted material costs the cultural sector several million in lost revenues annually. With Distribution Check, we want to ensure that television and movie companies get paid for their work, so that they can continue to run their business.&#8221; </p>
<p>Users concerned about the titles involved in this dragnet should look to content offered by <a href="https://www.scanbox.com/">Scanbox Entertainment</a>, <a href="http://nobleentertainment.com/">Noble Entertainment</a>, <a href="http://www.sfi.se/sv/svensk-filmdatabas/Item/?type=COMPANY&#038;itemid=176856">Atlantic</a> and <a href="http://www.crystalis-entertainment.com/">Crystalis Entertainment</a>, who are all Distribution Check partners.</p>
<p>More often than not, copyright trolls have more bark than bite, so their threats should be taken seriously but with a decent pinch of salt. In the meantime, customers of ISP Bahnhof can probably sleep more soundly than most. The ISP certainly won&#8217;t be handing over identities to trolls <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isp-vows-to-prevent-users-from-a-piracy-witch-hunt-160422/">without a fight</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=127068
title: TIDAL Shuts Down TIDAL Downloader Tool
uri: TIDAL-Shuts-Down-TIDAL-Downloader-Tool
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/WQk5lA2je70/
content:
<p><img src="media/d6f6950d.tidal.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tidal.jpg" alt="tidal" width="200" height="147" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126871">Earlier this week we reported on a new piece of software that allows TIDAL tracks to be permanently downloaded to a computer.</p>
<p>The tool is unique, as it doesn&#8217;t require people to listen to the entire track in order to copy it, setting it apart from similar download tools.</p>
<p>“This is an actual downloader – you are logging into TIDAL through the tool and you get the direct ‘stream-URLs’ that can then be downloaded,” developer Lordmau5 <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/tidal-downloads-made-by-possible-by-teenage-coder-160830/">explained</a>.</p>
<p>The people at TIDAL were obviously not happy with this development and quickly urged their lawyers at Reed Smith LLP to take action, which they did.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://github.com/github/dmca/commit/53633f52e22665d9c075c4e3f309de6c74c251ed">takedown notice</a> directed at the developer platform GitHub, where the TiDown code was hosted, they state that the open source code is infringing on the rights of their client.  </p>
<p>&#8220;The code provided by the user can be used to circumvent access controls to copyright protected works,&#8221; the DMCA notice reads, asking for its immediate removal.</p>
<p>As a result, people who try to access the GitHub repo, linked on the official <a href="https://tidal.lordmau5.com/">TiDown page</a>, now see the following takedown notification. </p>
<p><center><strong>Tidown&#8217;s down</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/7d3db9fc.tidalgithub.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tidalgithub.png" alt="tidalgithub" width="600" height="274" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-127089"></center></p>
<p>We contacted the developer, who&#8217;s surprised by the language used in the takedown notice. The lawyers claim that the tool infringes &#8220;TIDAL source code,&#8221; which is obviously not the case.</p>
<p>&#8220;The DMCA request says that I would&#8217;ve used their source code, which is wrong. So *technically* the DMCA is illegal and I could sue them over that,&#8221; Lordmau5 informs TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, since I don&#8217;t have or know a lawyer in that area, and it would cost a fortune to pay the cost, I&#8217;ll just let it rest for now,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>Perhaps wisely so, as the intent of the application is directly linked to copyright infringement. This gives TIDAL&#8217;s lawyers plenty of reason to take it offline, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-and-aurous-settle-piracy-lawsuit-for-3-million-151209/">or even worse</a>.</p>
<p>While TiDown&#8217;s swift destruction is a disappointment for the developer, part of the motivation for the tool was to expose the vulnerabilities in TIDAL&#8217;s API. That part was definitely achieved. </p>
<p>Also, TiDown is not as dead as it may seem at first sight. Lordmau5 notes that the project has been forked several times already and these repositories (<a href="https://github.com/Transcodes/Tidown">1</a>, <a href="https://github.com/ivan801/Tidown">2</a>, <a href="https://github.com/goofwear/Tidown">3</a> etc) are still available on GitHub. </p>
<p>And as we&#8217;ve seen in the past, it can be difficult to stop this type of code from being shared online&#8230;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126960
title: Police Seize Two Perfect Privacy VPN Servers
uri: Police-Seize-Two-Perfect-Privacy-VPN-Servers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/4enQRMGPQcA/
content:
<p><img src="media/6b0b53fd.kayboard.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kayboard.jpg" alt="kayboard" width="277" height="179" class="alignright size-full wp-image-127074">VPN services are a great tool for people who want to increase their privacy and security online. </p>
<p>While most people use them for legitimate purposes, VPNs are also frequently linked to nefarious activity, as criminals prefer to stay anonymous online too. </p>
<p>As a result, VPNs regularly come up when police investigate online crime. This is also what appears to have happened with two servers that were leased by VPN provider <a href="https://www.perfect-privacy.com/">Perfect Privacy</a>. </p>
<p>A few days ago the company informed its customers that two of its servers had been seized by the police in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The authorities went directly to the hosting company <a href="https://www.i3d.nl/">I3D</a> and the VPN provider itself wasn&#8217;t contacted by law enforcement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Currently we have no further information since the responsible law enforcement agency did not get in touch with us directly, we were merely informed by our hoster,&#8221; Perfect Privacy says.</p>
<p>Despite losing control over two servers, Perfect Privacy assures its customers that no personally identifiable data is present on the seized hardware. Like <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-anonymous-review-160220/">many other VPNs</a>, the company maintains a strict no-logging policy.</p>
<p>&#8220;Since we are not logging any data there is currently no reason to believe that any user data was compromised,&#8221; the VPN provider says.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak reached out to I3D, who told us that they can&#8217;t comment on any specifics. However, the hoster stresses that it handles these type of requests in compliance with the law, while keeping the interests of their customers in mind.</p>
<p>&#8220;When the Dutch police contact us with a subpoena, we work with them in a professional manner and ensure their request and our responses are in compliance with the Dutch law,&#8221; I3D informs us.</p>
<p>&#8220;We think with the affected customer as well, for example by making temporary capacity available so the customer does not suffer extended downtime during the investigation.&#8221; </p>
<p>Perfect Privacy confirms that they are happy with how I3D handled this issue. Two replacement servers were quickly put in place meaning that the seizures didn&#8217;t result in any significant downtime.</p>
<p>In any case, it is good to see that the provider in question is being open about what happened. Unfortunately, that&#8217;s not always obvious for companies in this position.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=126874
title: Top Torrent Sites See Traffic Surge After ‘Shutdowns’
uri: Top-Torrent-Sites-See-Traffic-Surge-After-Shutdowns
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/GiqPXQyQ_0w/
content:
<p><img src="media/62784e94.boatssail.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/boatssail.jpg" alt="boatssail" width="275" height="150" class="alignright size-full wp-image-127044">At TorrentFreak we have been keeping a close eye on the torrent ecosystem for more than a decade.</p>
<p>During this time, many torrent sites have shut down, either voluntarily or after being forced to by a court order.</p>
<p>However, never before have we witnessed events like those of recent weeks.</p>
<p>On July 20, KickassTorrents (KAT), the largest torrent site at the time, was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/">shut down</a> after its alleged owner was arrested. A few days later Torrentz <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/torrentz-shuts-down-largest-torrent-meta-search-engine-says-farewell-160805/">said farewell</a>, leaving many more without access to their torrent search engine of choice. </p>
<p>Just like that, two of the largest torrent sites had disappeared, causing much confusion and uncertainty among former users. Both sites had millions of daily visitors who needed to find a new home.</p>
<p>Now that the dust has settled a bit we take a look at the massive migration that took place. </p>
<p>First off, the search for alternative <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> is nicely <a href="https://www.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%203-m&#038;q=torrent%20sites">illustrated</a> by Google Trends. Immediately after KAT shut down, searches for &#8220;torrent sites&#8221; shot through the roof, as seen below. </p>
<p><center><strong>&#8220;Torrent sites&#8221; searches (90 days)</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/00e17386.torrentsitestrned.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentsitestrned.png" alt="torrentsitestrned" width="600" height="319" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-127037"></center></p>
<p>While many sites across the board are &#8216;profiting&#8217; from the shutdowns, most traffic appears to be going to the big players. The Pirate Bay, for example, which recently became the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-king-torrents-160814/">largest torrent site</a> again, as well as runner-up ExtraTorrent.</p>
<p>To get a representative picture of changes we asked <a href="https://www.similarweb.com/category/arts_and_entertainment">Similarweb</a> for an overview of the traffic that flowed to the top five torrent sites over the past months, plus Torrentz. The data is taken from a sample of over 200 million devices measuring desktop visits only.</p>
<p>The graph below shows that traffic to all sites went up after Kat.cr was taken offline. Torrentz initially saw a sharp rise as well, but traffic tanked after its farewell message early August. </p>
<p><center><strong>Traffic to the top 5 torrent sites (<a href="media/ce9b6eab.torrentsitesurge.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentsitesurge.jpg">large</a>)</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/6fea42c8.torrentsitesurge.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentsitesurge.jpg"><img src="media/6fea42c8.torrentsitesurge.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentsitesurge.jpg" alt="torrentsitesurge" width="600" height="350" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-127006"></a></center></p>
<p>In absolute terms <a href="https://thepiratebay.org">The Pirate Bay</a> benefited the most, adding several million daily visitors, with a relative increase of 67%. <a href="https://extratorrent.cc">ExtraTorrent</a>, however, doubled its numbers with a 101% increase, welcoming a lot of new users after the Torrentz shutdown. </p>
<p>The three other sites in the top five, <a href="http://rarbg.to">RARBG</a>, <a href="https://1337x.to">1337x.to</a> and <a href="https://yts.ag">YTS.ag</a>, saw their visitor numbers go up by 45%, 53% and 44% respectively. Still good hundreds of thousands of extra visitors per day, according to the reported data.</p>
<p>The Pirate Bay team previously told us that they are happy to welcome these new users, which made it the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-king-torrents-160814/">king of torrents</a> once again. Similarly, ExtraTorrent is also motivated to keep expanding.</p>
<p>&#8220;We always think and dream of growing and we indeed plan to keep growing,&#8221; ExtraTorrent&#8217;s SaM tells TorrentFreak, adding that the members of the site make it a success.</p>
<p>Aside from the big players, several smaller sites also saw their traffic rise. Initially, a lot of interest went out to &#8216;mirrors&#8217; and copies of KAT and Torrentz, some of which are still doing very well traffic-wise. </p>
<p><a href="http://torrentz2.eu">Torrentz2</a>, for example, greatly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/torrentz-remains-down-but-the-clone-wars-are-on-160813/">benefited from coverage</a> in the Indian press. While the site is not that popular in the West, in India it quickly became one of the largest sites in the country with Alexa ranking it in <a href="media/66e6cfe5.torrentz2-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentz2-1.png">127th place</a> locally.</p>
<p>Interestingly, however, there are also several torrent sites that have been &#8216;hurt&#8217; by the recent takedown of Torrentz. As thelargest torrent meta-search, Torrentz sent traffic to a lot of &#8216;smaller&#8217; sites, traffic that has now disappeared.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.torlock.com/">Torlock</a>, for example, initially saw an increase when KAT went offline but after Torrentz folded their traffic tanked. The site currently has half the users it had two months ago.</p>
<p>&#8220;After KAT we saw a massive increase but I assume that was because Torrentz received much more traffic when KAT went down,&#8221;  Torlock&#8217;s operator tells TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;Because we were very reliant on Torrentz when it shut down, it basically halved our traffic. So currently we are half of where we were before KAT and Torrentz shut down.&#8221; </p>
<p>With millions of people moving to new sites, it&#8217;s safe to say that the torrent &#8216;community&#8217; is in turmoil, trying to find a new status quo. Whether the shutdowns will actually lead to fewer people using torrents is unclear though. Thus far we have not seen any evidence that this is the case.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2016-160102/">torrent sites</a> and  <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-provider-anonymous-review-160220/">ANONYMOUS VPN services</a>.</p>
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