Warning to Bittorent Users

[ManaSmoker]

WARNING TO ALL BITTORRENT USERS!!!
Universal Studios is tracking down individual IPs and contacting their ISPs and having their internet shutdown. I just had this experience. They were tracking the file 2.Fast.2.Furious.INTERNAL.SVCD.TS-NOX and possibly others. They logged my IP. My internet was shutdown for around 24hrs and my ISP contacted me about the problem. If my ISP recieves another complaint about my IP they are turning off my internet for good. My ISP made me acknowledge the actions before turning it back on. Below is the copy of the e-mail Universal sent to my ISP. Things have been deleted for reasons.

Dear Sir or Madam:

Universal City Studios Productions LLLP and its affiliated companies
(collectively, "Universal") are the exclusive owners of copyrights in many
motion pictures, including the motion pictures listed below.

It has come to our attention that Cox High Speed Internet Acess is the service provider for the
IP address listed below, from which unauthorized copying and distribution
(downloading, uploading, file serving, file "swapping" or other similar
activities) of Universal's motion picture(s) listed below is taking place.
We believe that the Internet access of the user engaging in this
infringement is provided by Cox or a downstream service provider who
purchases this connectivity from Cox.

This unauthorized copying and distribution constitutes copyright
infringement under Section 106 of the U.S. Copyright Act . Depending upon
the type of service Cox is providing to this IP address, it may have
legal and/or equitable liability if it does not expeditiously remove or
disable access to the motion picture(s) listed below, or if it fails to
implement a policy that provides for termination of subscribers who are
repeat infringers (see, 17 U.S.C. §512).

Despite the above, Universal believes that the entire Internet community
benefits when these matters are resolved cooperatively. We urge you to take
immediate action to stop this infringing activity and inform us of the
results of your actions. We appreciate your efforts toward this common goal.

The undersigned has a good faith belief that use of the motion pictures in
the manner described herein is not authorized by Universal, its agent or the
law. The information contained in this notification is accurate. Under
penalty of perjury, the undersigned is authorized to act on behalf of
Universal with respect to this matter.

Please be advised that this letter is not and is not intended to be a
complete statement of the facts or law as they may pertain to this matter or
of Universal's positions, rights or remedies, legal or equitable, all of
which are specifically reserved.

Very truly yours,


*deleted*

*deleted*


Title: 2 Fast 2 Furious
Infringement Source: BitTorrent
Initial Infringement Timestamp: 14 Jun 2003 14:43:05 GMT
Recent Infringment Timestamp: 14 Jun 2003 14:43:05 GMT
Infringer Username: None
Infringing Filename: 2.Fast.2.Furious.INTERNAL.SVCD.TS-NOX
Infringing Filesize: 1713477014
Infringers IP Address: *deleted*
Infringers DNS Name: *deleted*
Infringing URL: *deleted*

[broadwayrock]

Damn!

lucky i dont download too many mainstream movies.

Still...... it does worry me.

[Jelsoft]

That stinks! :mellow

Do you use Peer Guardian (http://www.methlabs.org/methlabs.htm)?

[ManaSmoker]

Yes I do use peerguardian and update it almost everyday for new blocked ip's.It goes to show that new methods of blocking the riaa and mpaa and etc are needed.

[Jelsoft]

Originally posted by ManaSmoker
Yes I do use peerguardian and update it almost everyday for new blocked ip's.It goes to show that new methods of blocking the riaa and mpaa and etc are needed.

Hmm, maybe it's time to switch ISPs. Switch to one that doesn't care about such matters.

[DainBramaged]

Originally posted by Jelsoft
Hmm, maybe it's time to switch ISPs. Switch to one that doesn't care about such matters. They won't appear to care that much right away. But when things are brought to their attention, they'll listen.

[notbob]

Originally posted by Jelsoft
Hmm, maybe it's time to switch ISPs. Switch to one that doesn't care about such matters.

they all care

no ISP wants to get sued, which is why they punish users when they get letters like this guy's

get it through your skulls people--peerguardian is not enough

[ManaSmoker]

Definite agreement with notbob, peerguardian is definetly not enough and new ways of blocking them need to be developed but it is better than nothing.

[MusikBeatz23]

Originally posted by notbob
peerguardian is not enough I finally agree with you notbob...

[wonderboy2005]

Originally posted by notbob
peerguardian is not enough
so what do you suggest?

[beardedwonder]

I wondered how long it would be till this happened. I don't really download that much from Bittorrent so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Bad luck though, I guess you'll be moving ISPs as soon as possible given that one more problem and you're off!

[notbob]

Originally posted by wonderboy2005
so what do you suggest?

only sharing with sources you know

it is the only safe solution

private ftp, private dc, if there is a private solution in xs(?)

it shuts out newbies, but it's safe

[beardedwonder]

Originally posted by notbob
only sharing with sources you know

it is the only safe solution

private ftp, private dc, if there is a private solution in xs(?)

it shuts out newbies, but it's safe

Then you've got the problem of a friend's friend's friend's friend's friend's friend's friend telling someone or posting it on the net.

Also how to you get new stuff into the private share? IMO there is no 'totally safe solution'

[vipp]

I got a call from my ISP a while ago about the same thing. I asked him if they cut service to all people who downloaded copyrighted things, then who would need their service anymore? Why not go with cheap dialup? He chuckled, and said I'd get at least 3 more warnings before any action would be taken. Heh.

[vipp]

Originally posted by beardedwonder
IMO there is no 'totally safe solution'
There is 2 totally safe solutions















Blockbuster




















Best Buy













*wink*

[beardedwonder]

LOL, true. And also for music CD-WOW (http://www4.cd-wow.com/)

[endersgame21]

Originally posted by wonderboy2005
so what do you suggest?
It is like having sex but not wanting to get pregnate or recieve and STD, the only completely safe way is absitnence. And with P2P the only completely safe way is not downloading at all.

Then like notbob said the next safest way is downloading from a trusted source like a friend or family member like getting to know whoever you have sex with and making sure they don't carry STD's (hopefully not with a family member).

Those are the only two ways to stay safe and they do limit the content you can get. I personally risk it and download whatever I want off of whatever p2p application I want (currently it isn't really that much of a risk). I say download away until (if) you get a letter like Mana's.

[12345678910]

I am interested in how they actually know that 2.Fast.2.Furious.INTERNAL.SVCD.TS-NOX is indeed the movie 2Fast 2Furious. Think about it. For them to have any basis whatsoever in an argument against you they would have to prove that the file you were actually downloading was indeed the file that they suspect is illegal and falls under copyright protection. I could name the "KaZaA Lite" shortcut on my desktop "Adobe Photoshop". Now, how does anyone else that has never seen my computer know that the Adobe Photoshop shortcut is actually KaZaA Lite. They don't. The only way for someone else to know for a fact would be to inspect the properties and make a good guess or actually double click and run the program to verify the shortcut. Now, they could look at the icon from the outside ( Just like the filename of your file ), but they could not make any viable judgement on what the shortcut leads too.

If indeed, they can tell you that the file is in fact the copyrighted movie itself, than you can hire a lawyer and sue because you may have been hacked.

Now, depending on whom the company is, they may have downloaded the file itself in so checking the accuracy of the illegal content. If they did so, then this company falls under the same copyright laws that you do, thus making them felons. The only way that I see you are in trouble is if the MPAA gave whomever was snooping in your business permission to access the file if it was indeed copyrighted material.

That is my logic and argument. It's not meant to be a legal debate.

Lata,
12345678910

[DIMA2001]

We should use more secure transfer mediums instead of ed2k, bittorrent & co.
And actually, there is one: The Freenet
100% anonymous - MPAA or RIAA or ISP can only 'ban' you, if you tell them what content you loaded and what was your IP.

http://www.freenetproject.org
and
http://jtcfrost.sf.net
you will need java
http://java.sun.com

On Frost we can communicate with each other over the decentral layer of Freenet. Get the WOT Version of it.

With these tools we can make a new release group. If someone wants to make one, start a public forum on frost and tell its name here. We will be unbeatable ;)

[MoonMan]

Originally posted by endersgame21
It is like having sex but not wanting to get pregnate or recieve and STD, the only completely safe way is absitnence. And with P2P the only completely safe way is not downloading at all.

Then like notbob said the next safest way is downloading from a trusted source like a friend or family member like getting to know whoever you have sex with and making sure they don't carry STD's (hopefully not with a family member).

Those are the only two ways to stay safe and they do limit the content you can get. I personally risk it and download whatever I want off of whatever p2p application I want (currently it isn't really that much of a risk). I say download away until (if) you get a letter like Mana's.

Are you implying that the safest way to have sex, besides abstinence, is to have sex with family members ?

LOL man I just had to, you left yerself wide open.

[method]

I agree with notbob and others too.

PG isn't enough, blocking in general isn't enough. P2P proxies seem to be an interesting idea tho.

Once we do have p2p via proxies new laws will be introduced to outlaw p2p proxies and make the proxy provider guilty of contribution to copyright infringement.

and then what?!

[psilotek]

Does anyone know of any instances of Universal/ISPs contacting users outside of the US - or is it currently just a domestic US issue?
Moreover, I can see the logic behind Universal contacting ISPs, but surely it would be easier for them to target sites like Suprnova directly as they facilitate the downloading of Universal's products - or is it just a case of trying to shit up individual users?

[method77]

IMO there is no 'totally safe solution' IMO private sharing is the ONLY safe solution.

[begoodbebad]

Isn't the answer to connect anonymously via prioxy? I think you would have to use a proxy server based somewhere copyright law is not son easily enforced. I tried some free ones but they are very slow and unreliable. Has anyone tried the paid services? Do you notice a big drop off in speed? Is it expensive. Will BitTorrent work normally this way?
I remember one service I tried was Ghostsurf. it did a good job of slowing my connection down by routing me through different hubs but it didn't keep my IP address totally secure.

[Induna]

They'd have a hard time proving you downloaded a copy of said film off Kazaa because 9 times out of 10 you'd be downloading a fake file.


And yes, I know somebody who recieved this warning from their ISP(NTL) in the UK.

[ManaSmoker]

Originally Posted by 12345678910 I am interested in how they actually know that 2.Fast.2.Furious.INTERNAL.SVCD.TS-NOX is indeed the movie 2Fast 2Furious. Think about it. For them to have any basis whatsoever in an argument against you they would have to prove that the file you were actually downloading was indeed the file that they suspect is illegal and falls under copyright protection. I could name the "KaZaA Lite" shortcut on my desktop "Adobe Photoshop".

I'm in total agreement with you on that but it seems in the letter they got the filesize right so they may have been basically spying until the whole file was complete and they must have had someone check if its the real movie or so. Seems illegal on their case doesnt it?

[notbob]

they did northing illegal

they did what you did--downloaded a torrent file

using a standard bittorrent client you can get the ip addys of all seeders and leechers

at that point they had the filename and addresses, all they had to do was send the notices to abuse@yourisp. net

bittorrent is even more unsafe than anything else out there

[SUprEMeBeiNg]

o crap

i work at a private school in the summer and fix computers

they run t3

and i download like crazy with bittorrent

i share so much like gigs upon gigs
would pg work???

plus should i keep going?

i need advice here :(

ps they run a firewall and proxy

[Induna]

>but it seems in the letter they got the filesize right so they may have been basically spying until the whole file was complete and they must have had someone check if its the real movie or so.


I don't think that was the case because my friend who received the letter actually cancelled the torrent, as it was downloading too slow. Seems like scaremongering to me, just keep going.

[gnutellafan]

there remains only one solution: Freenet
Peerguardian doesnt help. Freenet is small now, but with enough users it could really rock.

[method]

Freenet does help anonymity but it's not exactly lightning speeds from what I've seen. Maybe I should try it out again??

As for Bearshare being the best.. dewd.. I'll pay good money for whatever you've been smoking lately!! :;) j/k

[FileHoover]

The next thing they will do legally is sue an ISP who didn't disconnect someone. It was already done 10 years ago when Scientology sued Netcom for not disconnecting someone who was sharing their copyrighted material.

http://www.loundy.com/CASES/RTC_v_Netcom.html

After that ISP pays a few million in damages, the rest of the ISPs won't be so nice when dealing with customers who keep sharing something after being warned.

[chipperrox]

Originally posted by endersgame21
It is like having sex but not wanting to get pregnate or recieve and STD, the only completely safe way is absitnence. And with P2P the only completely safe way is not downloading at all.

Then like notbob said the next safest way is downloading from a trusted source like a friend or family member like getting to know whoever you have sex with and making sure they don't carry STD's (hopefully not with a family member).

Those are the only two ways to stay safe and they do limit the content you can get. I personally risk it and download whatever I want off of whatever p2p application I want (currently it isn't really that much of a risk). I say download away until (if) you get a letter like Mana's.


have you guys ever heard of ES5?
lemme just explain how easy it was for me to get a safe filesharing solution.
1)download es5
2) check the forums for how to set it up
not only am i sharing by proxies, im also using sharing through SSl proxy which means that the riaa has no way of finding out jack shit

if there was a way to have sex by proxy then people would do it...oh wait there is, blowjobs
so lets just say
ES5 is the blowjob of the peer 2 peer world

[crackerjacker]

es5 is not safe dont be fooled by it. time and time again the same thing goes for every p2p program.
first of all any person working for the riaa or mpaa can access es5 with a regular internet provider and then log on using earth station 5 and download files.
to you this would seem like a regular sharer. they can obtain your ip address.
and surely proxies are slow as az mofo.
anyways.
the sure and only best way to be safe is to share privately with friends etc.
peace
-----------------------



dont like the way i express myself
then dont read it.
nuff said

[Athiril]

dont you guys know about using proxies? sheesh.

http://www.proxy4free.com/page1.html

check it out.

not all proxies are slow.
i reside in Australia.
the maximum anonymity level on that proxy list i could not find one for australia, so i choose the next best thing: Asia

[Cleric]

Originally posted by MoonMan
Are you implying that the safest way to have sex, besides abstinence, is to have sex with family members ?

LOL man I just had to, you left yerself wide open.



If you notice, they said," hopefully not a family member.

[FileHoover]

Originally posted by crackerjacker
es5 is not safe dont be fooled by it. time and time again the same thing goes for every p2p program.
first of all any person working for the riaa or mpaa can access es5 with a regular internet provider and then log on using earth station 5 and download files.
to you this would seem like a regular sharer. they can obtain your ip address.
and surely proxies are slow as az mofo.
anyways.
the sure and only best way to be safe is to share privately with friends etc.
peace
-----------------------



dont like the way i express myself
then dont read it.
nuff said
Just so you know, this person does not quote any facts, he is just making a pronouncement without really having tested the program.

I on the other hand, wrote the code that does the proxy file downloading/uploading so I know in detail what is going on.

ES5 users can share by proxy if they want. This means that anyone downloading from you, does not see your ip address and it cannot be located even by monitoring packets on the network.

When people make these types of statements, please ask them what tests they did to determine their facts.

You can listen to whomever you choose. But when it comes to important matters like, not getting sued, you might want to be sure of your facts.

[serrebi101]

o crap, does this mean I have to find a new place to dl my transe/house/dance music since bit torrent isn't safe?

[dr. damn]

Here's another solution -- steal from Wal-Mart. The apathy of their employees becomes very obvious when you rip security tags off right in front of their faces.

[rainbowdemon]

Originally posted by janett999
you beat me to the question.

a while back i asked about a firewall add on....and i was told i was paranoid.

there isnt anything out there, that will protect us.

so the way i see it is....you take your chances!

i hope someone comes along here and proves me wrong! I was using Peer guardian also. It was blocking a lot of ip's. Then I installed McAfee virus scan. This comes with a firewall. Now Peerguardian blocks nothing. It seems that the firewall blocks everything first. Is this a better than average firewall, or is PG pretty much useless? I don't know. But I feel a little more secure with the firewall. But I'm going to continue to take my chances also. P2P is kind of addictive, IMO.:wings

[DIMA2001]

you must know that if everyone is proxied, everyone is passive and if everyone is passive, no one will be able to download ... if the proxy doesnt use NAT and route your ports.
I never saw such a (free) proxy.
And between the proxy and you there is still your ISP whihc could dump the traffic and read the hashes you request (and then transfer) what means that you are also behind a proxy not secure against the copyright forces because they can access your ISP and actually ask them to show dumps in a time range.

Freenet is a system of proxies - nothing goes over a proxy. Freenet also encrypts everything (except the handshake while establishing a connection to the network). Everything beginning with your requests and ending with "shared" files is encrypted. The system of transferring is also very secure - you can't determine if someone wants to insert a file or uploads an (encrypted) chunk to a proxy. Every transfer is proxied. And because the traffic is encrypted, the proxy can't even know what it is routing and the downloader/uploader can't know who is requesting. Since the freenet network is a datastore network (like newsgroups), after a short while the original source wouldn't be known, even if the forces would decode the traffic. Upload once, get from different servers.
With Frost (jtcfrost.sf.net) you get a good plattform. Usenet users will feel like @ home sweet home. There is also searching (of uploaded) files is enabled.
The only thing Freenet is not needs is something like peerweb or sharereactor.

Passive users have also no problems with transfers since everyone is passive and the proxies know how to route - no direct connections.

Freenet also has chunk healing - it often means that you don't have to download the whole file, but for the uloaders it means more pain, since the healing blocks have to be uploaded, too.

Freenet will give enough speed to everyone, if there are enough users. That's for sure.

Who wants, can begin his FreenetReactor anonymously on Freenet now ;)

With NIM and Frost we can contact each other and find new members for a Freesite.
Actually, i have already a template on my HDD now.

I'll open a forum on Frost:
name: recruiting
private key: SSK@TTBOlW6wMwL3i494DBdgGnRnfYE
public key: SSK@8RFmOdL7a78POL8DqzDb1mlLNcwPAgM

If you want to start a group of freesite, post there.

Have a nice day

PS: a nice description of freenet, eh?

[k-lite_junkie]

Originally posted by ManaSmoker
If my ISP recieves another complaint about my IP they are turning off my internet for good.
It has come to our attention that Cox High Speed Internet Acess is the service provider for the
IP address listed below

Did anybody notice the dipsh*ts at Universal can't spell? They misspelled receives and Access. Sounds like the typing of a 14 year old who thought he was planning an elaborate prank. Prolly just some hacker that snagged your IP and was familiar with BitTorrent and the file size of a movie. The other thing to do would be to call up the REAL Mr. Aaron Markham or send him a very nice letter in the mail to make him aware of his mistakes so he doesn't look so stupid next time. Here's his info:

Aaron Markham
Manager of Internet Anti-Piracy,
Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations
VIVENDI UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT.
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
tel. (818) 777-3111
fax (818) 866-6339
antipiracy@unistudios.com

After all, he did sign his email to the ISP with a PGP key.

[Carcinogen]

First: Like other people said, if you can't keep it in your pants, keep it in the family.

Also: If my cable gets disconnected I'll just have it put in one of my roommate's names.

[ThePillarOfAutumn]

in the long run - many isp's will lose lots of customers - especially when they are forced to reveal private information.

Lets see how many isp's will tell thier customers that they cant have thier service because of illegal files.

they wil be the ones losing money.

Most people plan on buying the movie anyways when they come out . the reason people want them earlier is to show people who cant go to the movies........

what a bunch of caca