For the last four years people have been downloading the latest albums of their favorite artists, blissfully unaware that they have been modified. From The Pirate Bay to OiNK, downloaders have been getting unique versions, unavailable in the shops, all thanks to The Overdub Tampering Committee.
Users of OiNK-replacement What.cd, are receiving emails from what appears to be the RIAA. In it are threats that users must either stop their ‘criminal acts of piracy’ or have charges pressed against them. But is it the RIAA? Rival Waffles.fm? No, it’s a 14 yr old script kiddie out for revenge, says What.cd
A greasemonkey script that was supposed to enhance music discovery for OiNK users has now expanded to include other BitTorrent sites and is available for download.
Last month the popular private BitTorrent tracker OiNK was effectively shut down in a joint effort by Dutch and British law enforcement. OiNK admin Alan Ellis who was arrested during the raid now launched a legal defense fund to cover the legal costs and asks former OiNK members to help him out.
Following the bust of the OiNK BitTorrent tracker, most of its 180,000 members are keeping their heads down and trying to stay inconspicuous. However, Trent Reznor, frontman of Nine Inch Nails isn’t worried: “I had an account there” he said. “it was like the world’s greatest record store.”
With the demise of oink, many music aficionados were left with little in the way of similar sites. However, true to the hydra phenomenon, a week later and several new sites have sprung up to replace it. We asked the admins of two of these sites for their future plans.
Great BitTorrent releasers are a comparatively rare breed and until recently, a huge collection of them were safely locked inside a fenced Pink Palace. Now, thanks to the IFPI, trackers around the world and greater numbers of people than ever before are starting to benefit from an influx of talented OiNK refugees.
After being hijacked by the police for a few days, OiNK.cd returned to its rightful owner. The tracker won’t return anytime soon but Oink.cd is now linking to a Google search that links to a list of private BitTorrent trackers.
It has been a controversial week with all the dramatic news surrounding OiNK. The tracker was effectively shut down in a joint effort by Dutch and British law enforcement. However, it now seems that the domain has been reclaimed by The Pirate Bay.
There are always people who are happy to try to cash in on the misery of others. The OiNK shutdown is no different. Sites are appearing thick and fast asking for donations and promising relaunches. None of these are sanctioned by OiNK - don’t give them any money!
