Pinboard (guardiantech)

Major TV torrent site TheBox.bz calls it quits >> TorrentFreak

guardiantech — 2013-09-01T20:10:41+00:00

One of the internet’s most-loved torrent sites for TV show content has decided to call it quits. TheBox.bz, a private site with around 90,000 members, will close its doors on Saturday. The site’s operators inform TorrentFreak that they aren’t reacting to any particular threat, but with City of London Police and other interested parties watching over the site, trouble is only just around the corner.
BitTorrent is perfect for distributing all kinds of content, from movies to music and from software to backups. However, there is one particular type of content that users rarely seem to tire of.
TV show downloading is a very popular pastime among file-sharers. The ability to grab almost any show from the present or even distant past and watch it at a time and place of a user’s choosing is a powerful lure.

They missed off "for free" as part of the attraction and "in breach of copyright" as part of the proviso.

BitTorrent begins legally distributing TV shows >> Fast Company

guardiantech — 2013-08-13T20:53:21+00:00

BitTorrent, which has been aggressively courting Hollywood and the music industry despite (or, let's face it, because) of its associations with piracy, is entering into the television program distribution business. Fly or Die, which launched today, is the first television show to use BitTorrent's bundle tech, which gives creators detailed metrics on exactly who's watching or listening to their content--and also gives BitTorrent an easy way to generate future revenue through paid products analytics.

BitTorrent Sync keeps your files in sync, skips the insecure cloud >> Lifehacker

guardiantech — 2013-04-24T16:59:51+00:00

Although BitTorrent Sync syncs your folders and files much like you'd expect from a service like Dropbox, you set it up a little differently. When you start for the first time, you choose where you want a folder to be and then BitTorrent Sync gives you a secret. When you install BitTorrent Sync on another computer, you can provide that secret and link the folders together. They'll synchronize with each other securely, peer-to peer. That means nothing goes to the cloud, but rather each computer syncs data with the other directly.

Remember peer-to-peer? (Thanks @ClarkeViper for the link.)

Honeytrap reveals mass monitoring of downloaders >> New Scientist

guardiantech — 2012-09-05T21:21:05+00:00

Anyone who has downloaded pirated music, video or ebooks using a BitTorrent client has probably had their IP address logged by copyright-enforcement authorities within 3 hours of doing so. So say computer scientists who placed a fake pirate server online - and very quickly found monitoring systems checking out who was taking what from the servers.

Oooh.

Internet Archive starts seeding 1,398,875 torrents >> TorrentFreak

guardiantech — 2012-08-09T15:35:05+00:00

The Internet Archive has just enriched the BitTorrent ecosystem with well over a million torrent files, and that’s just the start of “universal access to all knowledge.” The torrents link to almost a petabyte of data and all files are being seeded by the Archive’s servers. Founder Brewster Kahle told TorrentFreak that turning BitTorrent into a distributed preservation system for the Internet is the next step.

The Internet Archive is a wondrous thing.

Pirate Bay enjoys 12 million traffic boost, shares unblocking tips >> TorrentFreak

guardiantech — 2012-05-03T05:20:40+00:00

Last week the UK High Court ruled that several of the country’s leading ISPs must block subscriber access to The Pirate Bay. The decision is designed to limit traffic to the world’s leading BitTorrent site but in the short-term it had the opposite effect. Yesterday, The Pirate Bay had 12 million more visitors than it has ever had, providing a golden opportunity to educate users on how to circumvent blocks.

Factual correction: the ruling came this week.

We show what you downloaded >> You Have Downloaded

guardiantech — 2011-12-14T22:23:03+00:00

Works off your IP address and consults what looks like a database of those seen downloading files. Registered to "XMLSHOP LLC" in Trevrose, Pa. Obviously, will get lots wrong through (a) shared IPs (b) not having you on the database.

200,000 BitTorrent Users Sued In The United States >> TorrentFreak

guardiantech — 2011-08-09T06:27:57+00:00

This seems a scaled up version of the speculative invoicing scheme mastered by ACS:Law – although these alleged filesharers apparently settle for $2,500 each on average.

Hurt Locker makers target record breaking 24,583 BitTorrent users >> TorrentFreak

guardiantech — 2011-05-24T05:22:21+00:00

"After being honored with an Oscar for best motion picture last year, the makers of The Hurt Locker have now also secured the award for the biggest file-sharing lawsuit the world has ever witnessed. By targeting at least 24,583 alleged BitTorrent users, Voltage Pictures hopes to recoup millions of dollars in settlements to compensate the studio for piracy-related losses."

More likely to go to lawyers.