aXXo Torrents Exploited by Malware Peddlers
Written by enigmax on April 28, 2007When someone becomes a success by earning the admiration of their peers, there will always be the ‘hangers on’ who want to share the spoils of success. For aXXo, the most popular DVD ripper on BitTorrent, it’s about people using his name to further their own, sinister aim: to install malware on as many file-sharers machines as possible.
With an estimated one million people downloading aXXo rips every month, aXXo is very popular with BitTorrent fans all over the world. But as is so often the case, fame comes at a price and it’s almost inevitable that people will jump onto the back of other’s success and use it for their own aims.
Back in January, the MPAA were caught uploading fake torrents labeled up as proper aXXo releases with the goal to collect IP-addresses.
The last few months we have seen a new player enter the ‘give aXXo a bad name’ market, and pirates who have experienced the scenario detailed below will be only too aware of how unpleasant it is;
1. Download a .torrent file you think is a proper one from aXXo
2. Discover the movie is in not in the correct .avi format but a .rar archive
3. .rar file is passworded and the password can be found by installing software called BitGrabber.
4. Installing the software does not provide a password but instead installs malware.
According to an administrator on the BitComet forums, BitGrabber is the same software as BitRoll, which we reported on back in 2006. Instances of the swizzor aka lop malware can come from installing BitGrabber. Anyone whose PC is infected should follow these removal instructions.
Genuine aXXo releases are tracked by a well known tracker, and generally look like this;
1. Most aXXo releases are just under 700mb but no more than 900mb
2. All releases are labeled with these conventions:
name of movie[year]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo.avi
name of movie[year]DvDrip.AC3[Eng]-aXXo.avi
3. The release will include two other files;
IMPORTANT.Read carefully before you enjoy this movie.txt
movienamehere-aXXo.nfo
Confirmed aXXo torrents can be found here and here, and it’s always helpful to read the user comments on the site where you downloaded the .torrent. Please be aware that most aXXo torrents are copyrighted, downloading these files is not allowed in some countries.
Maybe the_dwarfer could update the aXXo Prayer to include lines about fakes and malware.
Previously: Streaming and Downloading Torrents in Firefox
Next: Sealand Prefers Hacker to The Pirate Bay
71 Responses
Perhaps aXXo could use GnuPG or any other PGP application so downloaders could verify the authenticity?
Of course this process is rather complex for the newbie, but it could prove handy in avoiding these fake torrents.
Compass.
Im surprised this guy(s?) hasnt been added to the FBI top 10.
How has he maintained his anonymity this whole time?
As for the fakes / malware. youve got to be real stupid to connet to a fake aXXo torrent;
Everyone downloading ripped’ movies should know the 3 files that come with the torrent.
And downloading a RAR torrent is plain stupid, especially for movies.
However people will never learn! :)
My friend downloaded fake aXXo rip and was really pissed off, but fortunately he didn’t install this crap, that came with it.
i love axxo and his torrents. he is great for the torrent community. always, good luck axxo.
Another reason for PeerGuardian2… Im pretty sure it can deal with these programs etc..
#1 Compass
what do you need a key for?
if the torrentfile isn’t uploaded by the user axxo http://thepiratebay.org/user/axxo/ then it is simply to be treated as a fake and should not be downloaded.
Simple that is!
Even MS in their 10 laws of security acknowledge that you should not eat sandwitches from unknown sandwitch makers.
The BT specs make it safe that once you can be sure that he is the creator of the torrentfile you are about to load in your client, that you get what you expect.
Yatti:
PeerGuardian 2 will only block black-listed IPs, it doesn’t filter the files you chose to download. If you download a fake aXXo torrent PG2 will do nothing to stop it.
This is why I always use either my Mac or my Ubuntu server to download/unpack/check my torrents.
I have to agree that its the client which is the problem, not the nerds messing the scene up with malware.
Why the hell download a rar file, install some weird-assed programs and visit a shabby german pr0nsite for some pass if youre after a movie in the first place… Thats just plain stupid, and people SHOULD realise that.
i’m with spankbot. ubuntu/osx is the only way.
this is but a SYMPTOM of the REAL problem which is windows. seriously, the title of this story could and should be “windows exploited by malware peddlers”. why stick with an os that attracts flies and other bugs? sure, if you want to have other apps running in the background 24/7 eating resources and constantly giving the registry an enema, go for it. i did. for years. i have need of nothing from redmond. nada. with ubuntu and osx my machines run at full strength, rarely need reboots (only once every 2 weeks or so if that) and are as fresh today as they were they were “born”.
just my .02
If you’re dumb enough to install a suspicious program, you deserve the malware.
This has little or nothing to do with Windows’ problems. Bad people will always find ways of doing bad things to good people. That’s just how it works.
However, I must say I am astonished that people are *still* being fooled by the fakes. I mean, c’mon. Spotting them isn’t exactly rocket science. We get people in #EZTV *daily* who have downloaded fakes, and that just cracks me up – they manage to get on IRC *and* find our channel, but they do NOT manage to *use our site* to avoid any and all danger of getting a fake release? Seriously…never underestimate the general stupidity of the average internet user.
Windows is certainly not the problem.
Here are the problems:
1) Karma
2) The Source (see 1 to feel better)
3) knowledge-lacking Users
To whoever said they use OSX or Ubuntu, my deepest, most sincere apologies that you’re using a playskool OS or server OS, respectively.
And since I’m running 29 processes, over a dozen applications, and I multi-task relentlessly, I’m going to want to use an OS (Windows) that’s actually OTPIMIZED/DESIGNED for more than just single-tasking.
I dont like the sentence claiming the fake axxo site, people dont know the story, dont talk about it then.
there is nothing wrong with rar’s.
everything i download is rarred and follows the strict scene rules..
and after 20 years i still haven’t come across a single virus.
stupid people tho’ i come across alot.
re: “there is nothing wrong with rar’s”
torrent files have a checksum system in them – they dont need to be rarred! its a waste of time and energy.
also what do you do with ur rar when you extracted it? yes most people delete the rar file to save themselves harddrive space. and you cant upload a deleted rar file
Billy –
You fool. Ubuntu and OSX (BSD) are both based on Unix which has been optimised for multi-tasking longer than MS have even been writing operating systems! Why do you think Linux is so strong in the server market? Research your facts before spouting off mate.
http://83.149.99.14/forums/index.php
Check the axxo section (registration need :/), he posts his torrents himself, with all the info.
I take it you don’t realize, that on a default install of IE6 and Windows XP, your site displays *black text* on a *black background*?
aXXo is working for the FBI. Its a ploy to collect IPs and infiltrate trackers in order to take down the whole system in one giant swoop.
It’s true you must only download from trusted sources. I only download Axxo rips from demonoid, and no where else.
“software called BitGrabber. Installing the software does not provide a password but instead installs malware.”
If anyone else did this they’d go to jail. Amazing what the MPAA can get away with. Which Congressmen do they contribute to? Name and shame.
iggywig: so true. and windows wasn’t even a real multitasking OS for a long time, slow as hell i tell you.
if anyone still remember the old times, every windows OS ran upon DOS which is so fucking not multitasking something can be until NT came along. but it was first when XP was released that the mainstream computer user owned a true multitasking OS! unix and linux on the other hand have always been a so called multitasking OS, and they are still better at it, yes for real.
still, i am using xp because im more productive with it, i have been using it for so many years now that i know it like my own pocket, something i need to because i act as support for it.
ZZazzzzzzzzzzy: and where did NT come from — VAX VMS. B Gates had to hire from DEC to develop a proper OS!
Cant read your page man, try not using the same color font as background yo!…..
Yo check it out… you can get an aXXo t-shirt here:
http://www.luckythreadz.com
Thanks aXXo!!!
sometimes , slightly less experienced users than all of you fall prey to this kind of shit, but it only happens once.
a lot of scene releases are .rar but i agree that it seems like a waste of time. Thats how i got done. RAR file unrared wanted WINZIX to unZIX? installed it (ignoring my gut feeling, mistake no 1)and got hit hard. EBAY and PAYPAL accounts were opened in new browser windows along with the winzix homepage and other shitty ads. A bit of investigation told me what they had done. As for aXXo, his shit is quality. But if you want earlier releases, you gotta find public scene ones. I think he works at a video store. So saying dont DL a rar torrent is pointless, unless youre specifically looking for aXXo ones. Then as stated, only .avi files with txt and nfo are legit.
its just hard to delete a file youve DLd all day when its soooo close, and you really want to see it. Temptation is the devils playground!
Now, even some .avi files with txt and nfo which pretend to be from axxo are fakes. Use this site, http://www.axxo.jeeran.com for real and complete list of axxo torrents.
[quote comment="93974"]I dont like the sentence claiming the fake axxo site, people dont know the story, dont talk about it then.[/quote]
Yepp…and penguins can fly…….yyaaawn
[quote comment="93962"]Windows is certainly not the problem.
Here are the problems:
1) Karma
2) The Source (see 1 to feel better)
3) knowledge-lacking Users
To whoever said they use OSX or Ubuntu, my deepest, most sincere apologies that you’re using a playskool OS or server OS, respectively.
And since I’m running 29 processes, over a dozen applications, and I multi-task relentlessly, I’m going to want to use an OS (Windows) that’s actually OTPIMIZED/DESIGNED for more than just single-tasking.[/quote]
Yepp…and penguins can fly…….yyaaawn
Some facts:
Windows defines a focused task based on the GUI and gives it multitasking priority, so in that somewhat useless sense, Windows is “optimized” for multitasking.
The somewhat ugly history of Windows 3.1/9x really has nothing to do with current Windows. If you select your OS based on any kind of spin or company esteem, rather than facts about the actual OS as available, you’re an idiot.
If you need to use an OS like Linux or OSX that is unable to run .exe files (wine/etc.. aside) because you can’t stop yourself from running them if you use Windows and therefore have a choice, you’re either an idiot, or you need help.
Unix isn’t a single OS, and almost every platform on earth incorporates some unixisms, including Windows. A given kernel isn’t inherently better with multitasking because it clones some aspects of unix. For example, OSX uses a microkernel that runs every module like its own program and constantly task switches to perform simple operations, and as kernels go it’s one of the worst performers. Linux on the other hand is an excellent multitasking kernel, with very well thought out scheduling. Windows does things in a similar way to Linux, but its scheduler probably isn’t as sophisticated.
Wouldn’t it be kool if aXXo turned out to be some really hot chic wearing shades and shiny leather that kicked agents butts?
F**king aXXo wasted 6 hours of my life making me download a passworded file. If i ever see anything that says aXXo in its name i will avoid it like a plague.
I have visited your site 477-times
I could not find this site in the Search Engines index
you guys are funny , and axxo rocks…
Re-Confirmed axxo Torrents
Just thought you’d like to know that confirmed axxo torrents can also be found here http://axxo.superfundo.org/
By the way,anyone know whats happened to axxo these days.Last release was on the 3rd October
[quote comment="148574"]F**king aXXo wasted 6 hours of my life making me download a passworded file. If i ever see anything that says aXXo in its name i will avoid it like a plague.[/quote]
Well kbq what you need to learn is how to pick a genuine axxo torrent.True axxo releases are about the best you’ll find.You’ll find some site examples on this board.
Here’s a tip try viewing while downloading saves u wasting time.Hard to believe it took you 6 hours to D/L a movie,man that was slow.
http://www.mininova.org/user/aXXo
Learn to spot the real deal from the fakes.
Not everybody on this planet has an uncapped high speed connection, 700MB is to cater for the widest possible amount of peers, the more peers the faster you are going to get the data.
If you are that worried about the quality buy the movie and rip it yourself. If you can afford the hd screen why not buy the movie. Most likely cause it is your parents equipment and you just want to whine about something you are getting for nothing. Get a job
There are so many torrent sites with his name ‘aXXo’ as the account name, but are ALL of them his? It just makes me wonder a little bit, not doubt.
aXXo is not a person :)
Paul is correct.
http://axxo.superfundo.org/
is the best place for TRUSTED Axxo Rips.
I’m told Superfundo is FAKE. Run by the MPAA to catch bootleggers.
Actually, there is a slight mistake in the naming convention. It should be:
name of movie[year]DvDrip[language]-aXXo.avi
name of movie[year]DvDrip.AC3[language]-aXXo.avi
Forgot to mention, not all movies are english ([Eng]), some of them are subbed and have a different name in them i.e. [Eng.Hard.Sub] (or something like that).
I’ve checked http://www.mininova.org/user/aXXo
and i found some with size of 800-900 MB is it fake?
16 days since an axxo release. What has happened to him or her????
I Tried asking this question in the Mininova Forum but got shot down by a Mod for asking.
axxo rips on superfundo.org not genuin.
i got a lovely bunch of coconuts
lgtys fsav igwaqhcf mzubxpt ysenoh rlwejqb hvtmq
ive just sat here and read through all of ur comments but am still unsure where to go for genuin aXXo files ive visited superfundo and mininova and a few other sites and have downloaded many aXXo files that work fine but on the other hand i have had many FAKE aXXo files and to be quite honest it pisses me off greatly as when downloading it can take many hours for a file to completely download i tryed utorrent to download but find it proper slow so im using bittornado however this is slow aswell can anybody tell me a programe i can use to download and connect to more peers so that i can get the downloads faster and also where i might be able to download genuin aXXo files many thanx D_Lock77
p.s. aXXo your the nut mate who ever u r keep up the good work fantastic
axxo.. i praise highly your quality of work.. i find it is reassuringly superb.. as i am aware of and had been a victim of the scam with your name involved.. i understand all to well the other’s sentiments. however thanks to axxo’s tip about their rips i now feel i can look for more of his fine work a little more freely. Don’t blame the ripper guys… it’s not their fault for maliciousness of others.
and axxo? you do some of the finest work i have seen on the net yet. keep it up XD
Hi all, i was woundering if aXXo player is safe to download?
Lots of spikes popping up about aXXo being arrested or just taking a break. Anyone heard different or something new?
FUNNY CLEVER aXXo SHIRTS BOYS AND GIRLS AVAILABLE NOW CHECK EM OUT, I DID
http://stores.ebay.com.au/SANDOOZY-EMPORIUM_aXXo-CLOTHING_W0QQfsubZ17154017
best bet to catch latest aXXo releases is http://www.isohunt.com x
FUCKING NERDS…..GET A JOB AND BUY THE FUCKING DVD>>>>>>>
can any body tell me any other way of downloading movies ive tryed utorrent and bittornado but they are so slow it can some times take days to download the movies and to be quite honest its so frustrating and i offten cancel the download i offten use sites like http://www.mininova.org/user/aXXo http://www.isohunt.com and http://axxo.superfundo.org/ i find these sites are top for aXXo files and most of the movies i download from these sites are near perfect i just wish i could get them faster ive read here that you can view as you download but im a novice so dont know how to do this or what to use to do this please can any body help thanx alot and happy christmas to one and all
went axxo ‘disapeared’ my world crumbled. all these conspiracy theories are going around but what really happened? what if axxo was that latina lady that was arrested last month?? or that chubby white guy who was arrested recently?? how do me know axxo is a guy? or what if axxo is a network? axxo.. come back!!!
i have some axxo torrents, but im not sure if they are real. i got them from superfundo.org
they have this format name name.of.movie[year]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo.avi
but these two files are not included:
IMPORTANT.Read carefully before you enjoy this movie.txt
movienamehere-aXXo.nfo
any thoughts?
here it is folks. only the few , the proud, the need to know,
know who or what aXXo is.
period. as for his files. and people getting suckered by fakes.
if you dont know what the fuck you are doing dont fucking dl shit from the net. be a good proper citizen and buy yer shit proper like.
if you have the concept down but are unsure read the comments for the individual files. of there are several posts that say ita a fake in the first 3 pages then its prolly a fake.
take the time to read a lot of comments from a lot of other rippers before you ever attempt to dl anything. goggle P2P, search for a tutorial on how to set up your particular torrent client.
research research research, you wouldnt just go out and pull a bank heist or a jewelery store robbery, would you? Hell no yould research and plan, whats the diff with P2P? none.
use your brains people and find out how to do what you do in the best manner possible before you take the plunge.
btw peer guardian2 is a needed application use it EVERY time you attempt to DL torrents.
you wouldnt want a nasty letter stating youre gonna be cut off of the internet would you?
lol and to the Scene folks who say aXXo is a thief?!?!? wtf do you call what you are doing? stupid fuk tard emo phags the lot of ya.
this is about P2p sharing not your little IRC sites and private share rooms. i applaud the risk aXXo takes.
and i will always deride insult and otherwise make fun of any Scene boy who thinks that we want Scene shit on our PC’s.
Heres a rumor you can all check on yourselves…
there has recently been a agreement between some watchdog group and some popular “scene” groups (2 were named)
the basics of said agreement were that the groups would stop file sharing immediatly adn would in turn for not being prosecuted would instead allow the “scene” site to carry the dreaded IP tracker embedded in the “scene” releases.
now thats just rumor that you heard here its up to you to track it down and prove it wrong. btw SceneBoys hate it when you file share and seed torrents, so just to piss em off even more and to make them scrinch up thier eyes and shed tears lets all do our part and seed seed seed, also i heard that there are several “scene” groups that make it a fun activity to leech popular torrents by popular Rippers thus making it harder to get the movies or files you really want.
isnt that just a bit lame to anyone else?
so its like this
theres the movie/music industry.
theres the P2P communities
and theres the “scene”
which of those 3 are you?
I Think,Ä°t is very nice information…
Hitchhiker Nation
ctycot_groups@yahoogroups.com
You can find All aXXo Torrents Here in http://www.axxo.jeeran.com
aXXo is an employee of he mpaa
I’ve never had any problems with axxo or any other torrents which I get from superfundo
All torrents uploaded to superfundo
are varified by their mods & upload
team of which I am one.
Yes for me also I like the torrents at superfundo.
hiya, just come acros this website, they upload all aXXo, KLAXXON and fxg torrents all on one page, so you dont need to go searching for them, there is even a request page that gets vied by aXXo, KLAXXON and fxg, for the 1’st time iv eve seen you can actuly reques torrents by aXXo and he listens
music there aswell, but ovistly not from aXXo, KLAXXON and fxg. lol
http://www.defftone.zzl.org
click and have a look around
xXx gimp the pimp xXx
Aero dont talk shit.
Everyone downloading ripped' movies should know the 3 files that come with the torrent.
And downloading a RAR torrent is plain stupid, especially for movies.
However people will never learn! :)
well man, movies from scene releases come in rar, learn what it is, and learn to use it, then you wont look stupid. if some one has been nice enuf to share a release with you, dont look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth.
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