Ha! Ha! Feds Bust Torrent & Other Sites For Piracy
 

Ha Ha! ( voice of that kid on the Simpsons) I guess the FORCE was with the Feds this time. Glad my IP address ain't on Torrent's files.

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washingtonpost.com
Feds Shut Web Site in Piracy Crackdown

By MARK SHERMAN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 25, 2005; 7:00 PM



WASHINGTON -- Federal raiders. Internet pirates. Intergalactic screen adventures. The government announced a crackdown Wednesday on the theft of movies and other copyright materials that has the elements of a film plot.

Federal agents shut down a Web site that they said allowed people to download the new Stars War movie even before it was shown in theaters.

The Elite Torrents site was engaging in high-tech piracy by letting people download copies of movies and other copyright material for free, authorities said.

The action was the first criminal enforcement against individuals who are using cutting-edge BitTorrent software to obtain pirated content online, Justice and Homeland Security Department officials said.

Elite Torrents had more than 133,000 members and offered 17,800 movies and software programs in the past four months, officials said. Among those titles was "Star Wars: Episode III _ Revenge of the Sith," which was available through Elite Torrents six hours before its first showing in theaters, the officials said.

The movie was downloaded more than 10,000 times in the first 24 hours.

Authorities served search warrants in 10 cities against computer users accused of being the first to offer copyright materials to other BitTorrent users on the Web site, Homeland Security's Customs and Immigration Enforcement agency said. The cities are: Austin, Texas; Erie, Pa.; Philadelphia; Wise, Va.; Clintonwood, Va.; Germantown, Wis.; Chicago; Berea, Ohio; Anthem, Ariz., and Leavenworth, Kan.

Authorities said the warrants were still under seal.

Investigators said many of the copyright movies were available through the Web site before their commercial release.

President Bush signed a new law last month setting tough penalties of up to 10 years in prison for anyone caught distributing a movie or song prior to its commercial release.

"Today's crackdown sends a clear and unmistakable message to anyone involved in the online theft of copyrighted works that they cannot hide behind new technology," said John C. Richter, acting assistant attorney general.

People trying to access the elitetorrents.org Web site on Wednesday were greeted with a warning about the penalties for copyright infringement, although officials said the investigation is focusing on those who originally offered the pirated materials.

The message also said: "This site has been permanently shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Individuals involved in the operation and use of the Elite Torrents network are under investigation for criminal copyright infringement."

BitTorrent has become the file-sharing software of choice because of its speed and effectiveness, especially after the recording industry last year began cracking down on users of Kazaa, Morpheus, Grokster and other established software.

The peer-to-peer software works by using tracker files that are posted online. The tracker files point to users who are sharing a given file, be it a pirated feature film or a home movie. BitTorrent then assembles complete files from multiple chunks of data that it obtains from everyone who is sharing the file.

The Motion Picture Association of America assisted in the investigation that led to Wednesday's action against Elite Torrents, officials said.

"Shutting down illegal file swapping networks like Elite Torrents is an essential part of our fight to stop movie thieves from stealing copyrighted materials," said the group's president, Dan Glickman.

Hollywood movie studios last year sued many operators of computer servers that use BitTorrent technology to help relay digital movie files across the Internet. The group also sued six sites this month that focus on swapping television programs.

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On the Net:

Justice Department: http://www.usdoj.gov

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: http://www.ice.gov

Motion Picture Association of America: http://www.mpaa.org

What do you mean by that?

If you're downloading a torrent with illegal contents, you're IP can be logged as they have bots act as distribution.

Seriously kids, read up on P2P protocols and get basic computer security knowledge.

socks

proxy

What do I mean? Watch the evening news dude. The feds already stated that every subscriber is going to be pinched.

Good I'm tired of people thinking just because it's on the internet it should be free. If more surfers accept the fact that good quality content should be PAID for we'd all be millionaires.

No need..I read it all on here :pimp

I'm not quite sure what the 'ha ha' was for asshat. :321GFY

While I do not use torrents, I am sure plenty others do, and I am not sure what's so funny about the fed cracking down on people using them. Are you with Lucan Films, or some other media company who was getting ripped off? What exactly is the ha ha about?

:disgust

Meanwhile: Our boys continue to die in Iraq, the economy goes to shit, our airport security is sub-par...great use of the Department of Homeland Security! Bravo!

It really pisses me off that they closed down all the biggest TV torrent sites.

I used to download and watch regular network programming that I wasn't able to catch for whatever reason.

Buy a DVR or a TIVO

Apologies Greg, I originally mis-read what you wrote :)

I've had some tell me because they didn't create the torrent file, that their IP is not traceable when downloading the content, i.e. they don't know much about p2p.

:thumbsup

great use of my tax dollars

Understood.

Here's the deal, if you visited the site you IP is logged. If you subscribed and you d/loaded ONE illegal file you're FUCKED. If you just subscribed you put your ass in a fucked up situation as you're suspect. That shit can follow you for years.

Never, ever share files that have copyrights. Fuck what your friends say. There are circumstances that are iffy like fan clubs and such like game modders who d/load stuff to modd but they don't charge shit for em'.

Bottom line is if you p2p and you willfully d/load someone else's shit, you risk your ass.

Some guys d/load entire porn sites and share em' with their friends. Sooner or later though one of those friends gets busted, pissed off or whatever and rats the other guy out.

It is a great use. Piracy is a multi billion dollar business. You get taxed more everytime it occurs.

I agree.

so, how do you feel about people stealing your content and using it to promote someone else...or just stealing it in general? just curious...

They calimed to have over 100k people that downloaded the starwars movie, and you can bet your ass lucas will press charges.

thats garunteed

Exactly, and that's especially true if you are in the porn biz. Normally if you get caught they will probably confiscate your computer and that will be about all they will do. But, if you are in the porn biz, they will probably find 100s of content sets on your computer besides the downloaded movies, and then, if even one of them has missing or bad 2257 info you will be in deep shit. It's hardly worth the risk.