1337x.to, one of the world's most popular torrent sites, is being blocked by anti-malware company MalwareBytes. The tool claims that 1337x is engaged in "fraud" and is a "scam to try to steal your information or credit card details" yet Google gives the torrent site a clean bill of health. MalwareBytes is also claiming the same against PCgames-download.com, without supporting evidence.
The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent are in again. 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' tops the chart this week, followed by ‘The Meg'. 'The Equalizer 2' completes the top three.
Several major Hollywood studios have obtained a blocking order against one of South America's most popular pirate sites. Various iterations of Cuevana have been a thorn in the side of Disney, Fox, Paramount, Columbia, and others for almost a decade but following legal action in Argentina, the site will now be blocked by the country's Internet service providers.
WatchAsap, a paid streaming site that was promoted by the defunct 123movies, now displays a familiar seizure banner. The banner mentions that the domain name was seized by the feds as part of an ongoing criminal case. Whether that's true or not remains a mystery for now.
Anti-piracy groups witnessed their work becoming more complicated this year after the EU's new privacy regulations limited access to domain name WHOIS data. This measure is supposed to increase privacy for registrants but in a submission to the US Government, Hollywood's MPAA stresses that restoring full access increases the privacy of the public at large.
Officers from Ukraine's cyberpolice unit have raided the home of the alleged operator of a pirate streaming portal suspected of infringing the rights of Universal City Studios and many other entertainment companies. A 24-year-old man, who is also believed to be behind another 10 pirate sites, now faces up to six years in prison.
Nearly 14% of all internet traffic worldwide is generated by Netflix, new data from Sandvine shows. This makes the streaming giant the dominant traffic source. BitTorrent is listed in fifth place, which is driven in large part by traffic from the Asia-Pacific region, where the file-sharing protocol even beats Netflix.
Most people have probably never heard of the BTV set-top box but it's one of many services currently accused of copyright infringement. A recent order, issued by a New York federal court, requires the associated company to pay over $6 million in damages. More concerning to the general public, however, is that the order also opens the door all sorts of blocking.
Google has been officially invited to become a signatory to the anti-piracy memorandum signed in Moscow earlier this month. During a meeting with government telecoms body Roscomnadzor on Wednesday, Google's recent violation of Russian law was also discussed. The search giant is facing a fine after it displayed links to permanently banned sites within its search results.