TorrentFreak

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May2007

  • ISPs Facilitate Filesharing according to the IFPI

    ISPs facilitate the illegal swapping on copyrighted music on a grand scale according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). This is one of the 10 inconvenient truths about the music industry they published today. Most of the “truths” are simply not true of course, they are nothing more than cheap propaganda.

  • What’s the Weight of all the BitTorrents in the World?

    Computers store data as 0′s and 1′s in their circuitry, utilizing voltages. Voltages have mass so all data held in this fashion everywhere on the planet actually adds up to weigh something in the physical world. So exactly how much does all the BitTorrent traffic in the world weigh? Give or take, 0.06 millionths of an ounce.

  • I Didn’t Download it, My Router Got Hacked!

    People accused of uploading the game ‘Dream Pinball’ who claim they are the victim of a hacker, are starting to get letters back from lawyers explaining what they should do next. Among other things, the lawyers are demanding that the accused demonstrate computer security skills in providing evidence detailing exactly how their equipment was exploited.

  • New and Promising Torrent Sites

    BitTorrent is the most widely used P2P protocol. New BitTorrent sites emerge regularly and we at TorrentFreak often get requests from people to write about their BitTorrent startups. Because it is nearly impossible to showcase all the new sites here on TorrentFreak, we decided to post a selection of some promising and / or innovative BitTorrent sites.

  • BitTorrent Malware Spreads to Media Players

    When someone or something becomes a huge success, inevitably some people want a piece of that and try to cash in. The BitTorrent scene is no exception and in recent months we have reported on a raft of torrent clients hitting the internet, each installing malware on unsuspecting user’s PC’s. Sadly this disease is now spreading to their latest tool; malware-infected media players.

  • Tribler: A Next Generation BitTorrent Client?

    The latest version of the “social” BitTorrent client Tribler integrates BitTorrent with YouTube while offering the best of both worlds: ease of use, browsing with thumbnails, HDTV quality, and Video on Demand support. The client uses an Amazon.com-like recommendation system to suggest what you might enjoy.

  • Shining Light on the Warez Darknet: A Scene Insider Speaks

    When a site publishes an article about the infamous world of digital pirates known as the ‘warez scene’, controversy is never far away. Some feel that the ‘Scene’ should be treated like ‘Fight Club‘ and never spoken about. Others are frustrated because they want the full story: How do you get in? Where is it? Who are they? How do they hide from the law? What do they offer? People told others about Fight Club, and we’re about to tell you about The Scene.

  • BitTorrent in Focus: TV-series are Hot

    Almost 50% of all people using BitTorrent at any given point in time do this to download TV-series, while only 10% of the available torrents are TV related. People who download TV-shows also have one of the best share ratios, only Anime fanatics beat them.

  • Interview with a Warez Scene Releaser

    They sit at the top of the piracy pyramid and inhabit shadowy areas of the internet, hidden behind encrypted connections. Hunted by law enforcement agencies worldwide, they’re the first suppliers of the latest movies, music and software. Getting any members of ‘The Scene’ to break cover is a difficult task, so getting an interview with a member is a rare event.

  • Booty Plundered from Pirate Bay is Useless

    When you’re as infamous as The Pirate Bay, this inevitably leads to attention, not all of it positive. Unfortunately, the guys at the bay have had a run in with some undesirables who took copy of the site’s user database. However, prepared as ever for disaster recovery, The Pirate Bay crew had already taken measures to limit the value of this booty.

  • Share a Single Song on BitTorrent, eDonkey, Get Fined $400

    In March we reported on an anti-piracy outfit and its legal partners taking action against UK file-sharers, having already done so against thousands in Germany. Now, thousands of Italian file-sharers have been issued with demands totaling over one million euros. The cost of sharing a single song in Italy? A cool 300 Euros.

  • Pirate Bay Politics for Dummies

    The Pirate Bay dismissed the rumor that they sympathsize with right-wing (or left-wing) political views. In fact, the only wings they treasure are their Phoenix wings. It looks like the anti-pirates have loaded their cannons, but so far The Pirate Bay has dodged their bullets, as they continue to sail on.

  • uTorrent’s Vista Sidebar Gadget

    This new gadget for uTorrent allows you to monitor and handle your .torrent downloads from Vista’s sidebar. The gadget works in combination with the uTorrent WebUI, an extension that inspired many people to develop useful and innovative gadgets.

  • Torrentbits.ro Raided by the Romanian Police

    The popular Romanian BitTorrent tracker Torrentbits.ro was raided and the two admins of the site were placed under arrest. Torrentbits was founded little over a year ago but was already among the 200 most visited websites in Romania. Both admins are charged with copyright infringement and face up to 4 years in prison.

  • TorrentPod Episode 35, We Have a Guest

    We have a guest on this weeks show. Lermy, one of the admins of the private BitTorrent tracker TorrentIt joins Charlie! TorrentIt was shut down by the Dutch anti-piracy organization Brein little over a year ago, but recently announced its return. Lermy and Charlie talk about the new and improved TorrentIt, and discuss the latest BitTorrent news.

  • LimeWire Adds Ubuntu Support

    The popular filesharing application LimeWire released Debian packages for Ubuntu. The latest LimeWire release is tested on Ubuntu Edgy and Kubuntu Edgy/Feisty, and both the free and pro versions are available for download.

  • Vigilante Group Threatens P2P Lawsuit Lawyer

    In a bizarre twist, victims of the recent lawsuits against alleged P2P pirates appear to have formed a vigilante group and have their first target in their sights, a partner in the law firm Davenport Lyons. They don’t appear to have any demands but they do seem to want to cause lots of trouble for a certain Mr Miller – by using the internet to expose intimate details of his private life.

  • 6th EliteTorrents Star-Wars Pre-Release Guilty Plea

    Another uploader to the EliteTorrents BitTorrent tracker has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and criminal copyright infringement of a pre-commercial release work. Getting involved in the pre-release of Star-Wars Ep III could land him 5 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

  • TV Broadcasters Experimenting with BitTorrent

    The popularity of BitTorrent is still growing. Tomorrow a new version of the Tribler BitTorrent client will be released at a seminar of European TV bosses in Geneva. Tribler is a Bittorrent client which aims to grow into a Youtube-like solution for Internet TV with torrent recommendations, search capabilities without webservers, and friends. Currently the Tribler interface is still an ugly duck but they promise to do better later this month, and even have the BBC and the Germans at that party.

  • BTGuard - BitTorrent Anonymously

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