FBI shuts down Megaupload, makes arrests

[solutions]

http://mashable.com/2012/01/19/doj-megaupload-anonymous/

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted seven people and two companies which ran the file uploading site Megaupload.com. The site, which billed itself as “the leading online storage and file delivery service,” is now offline.

In the indictment, Megaupload and a company associated with it are accused of making $175 million while simultaneously causing approximately half a billion dollars in copyright infringement. Among the indicted are the site’s founder, Kim Dotcom (a.k.a. Kim Schmitz), who holds residency in New Zealand and Hong Kong. Employees Bram van der Kolk, aka Bramos, 29, Julius Bencko, Finn Batato, Sven Echternach, Mathias Ortmann, and Andrus Nomm were also indicted.

New Zealand authorities arrested Dotcom, Batato, Ortmann and van der Kolk. Officials said they have not yet captured Bencko, Echternach and Nomm.

According to the indictment, the accused are part of “the Mega Conspiracy, a worldwide criminal organization whose members engaged in criminal copyright infringement and money laundering on a massive scale.” They are being charged with participating in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement.

Should they be found guilty, the seven accused could find themselves behind bars for a maximum of 20 years.

The indictment and subsequent arrests come only a day after major websites blacked out and rallies were held to protest SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (PROTECT IP Act), two Internet piracy bills currently under debate in the U.S. Congress.

Some 15 minutes after the indictment, the online hacker group Anonymous tweeted from a Sweden-based account that it had retaliated against the DOJ:

    #OpPayBack Target: DOWN justice.gov – 15 minutes after feds announce arrest of Megaupload 7, #Anonymous strikes #svpol

    — Anonymous Sweden (@AnonOpsSweden) January 19, 2012

Soon afterwards, justice.gov was inaccessible — and it remains down at time of writing:

The websites of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and Universal Music Group were also experiencing either intense slowdowns or complete failure. Other Anonymous-related Twitter handles took credit:

    mpaa.org got attacked by a close-hauled sailing pirate fleet. #Megaupload #StarveTheBeast

    — AnonymousIRC (@AnonymousIRC) January 19, 2012

    universalmusic.com & justice.gov &RIAA.ORG TANGO DOWN #Megaupload Fight for Internet Freedom!

    — AnonOps (@anonops) January 19, 2012

The Anonymous group of the online community 4chan took down the MPAA’s website before in a 2010 Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

UPDATE: Copyright.gov, the U.S. Copyright Office’s website, is also under siege. It’s loading, but very slowly and without images.

UPDATE: As of 8:18 p.m. ET, justice.gov, copyright.gov and the websites of the MPAA and RIAA are loading, while Universal Music’s site reads “The Site is under maintenance. Please expect it to be back shortly.”

[Gorgus]

And the next one to fall is apparently Filesonic... 

There is a notice on their site that says:

All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled.
Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally.

If this file belongs to you, please login to download it directly from your file manager.

[lm317]

New automatic file renaming system needed for upload sites:
Example:
Windows7.iso to family001.jpg

[Magnox]

Hmm... looks like we might all be back to usenet soon, just like back in the good old days!

You can't stop the signal...

[pickit2]

New automatic file renaming system needed for upload sites:
Example:
Windows7.iso to family001.jpg

That is just silly, its not the name you use it's the site you use.
What about the backpackers and school kids that have to use such a site for uploading family pictures or homework.
as in Filesonic at least they seem, to allow you to get back your files.

[oldvan]

Hmm... looks like we might all be back to usenet soon, just like back in the good old days!

You can't stop the signal...

Torrents, anyone?

[solutions]

A list of filehosts here that are in countries that are out of reach of these idiots might be useful for everyone.

I know we normally don't allow that as "advertising", but here I think there's an exception in the name of wasting everyone's time on sites that are or will be shut down.

IP address as well as URL should be posted, as well as site location. I'd suggest a dedicated section, members only access.

Megaupload, if I recall, was in Washington DC, so you now have to wonder whether it was a honeytrap and its being the first takedown was a headfake away from its real purpose...gather IP addresses?

[solutions]

uploaded.to

"Not available

Our service is currently unavailable in your country. Sorry about that."

This site is *.to

Now I am starting to panic

[Froggy]

i just tested uploaded.to
with an American IP it's unavailable
with a French IP all is good.

look like we'll soon have to go to torrent files...
a private tracker?

[pertican]

uploaded.to is good in my country

[LithiumOverdosE]

There are quick and reliable sharing services in Russian cyberspace. Also, putting links in attachment will to some extent protect them from g00gle.

[pickit2]

********************************MY JOB IS SAFE********************************

[SpaleKG]

Personal I think that everything is trick. Just imagine how many account on megaupload are lifetime (paid once about 200+ $ and never expire). Other hosters have that accounts too. So this escalation will "shut down" current hosters but new one will arrive So again new fresh money for lifetime accounts and new round can start.
This is the big one conspiracy. Special is that Washington DC is NOT paying taxes to rest of U.S. They are special zionistic state in state.

[Magnox]

This is the big one conspiracy.

That's my general view of anything involving governments or money, lol!

Even TPB is falling... for money.

[metal]

The US is not only stealing oil, they also steal money, remember that point :- )

[FriendOfGhost]

I believe we need a good and fast working type of emule.a kind of application that not only uses clients local files but also can use some central servers to upload them, rename then and encrypt them. a kind of emule that search files in clients shared folders, uploads their names and files themself to server, then share them.

also I believe this filesonic issue is against laws. I use filesonic to share company presentations with my clientall over the world. now wharing is disabled. bu I paid for one year subscription. and they won refund. but they broke the agrement one-way. also agreement says "..... if user uploads copyrighted material..." and I'm not. so I ddidnt brake rules.

what a sh..ttt..

Besides, what I dont understand is, downloading any copyrighted material is not different than finding a wallet on the street that does not contain identity. only owner of wallet does not claim any rights and contained material is not belong to wallet owner.

lets say I'm an idiot and I click every link I see. some of them opens web pages, some of them downloads some material. Okay, if I see that material is copyrighted I delete them. how someone blame me about downloading. Shouldn't they blame if DONT DELETE it ? this is a king of "minority report". they are trying to prevent crime before it happens.

looks like to prevent robbery closing all shops.

[solutions]

Your legal argument is weak. Disavowing knowledge is not a defense.

The position the media idiots are taking is also weak, which is why they cannot win in the courts and have to resort to political corruption.

As long as you are not making any money off it, in my opinion, downloading is not illegal.  You'd never have bought it, especially $45,000 CAD.  but you can bet that when you are so familiar with it, that you will tell your company to buy a copy.  

Having it is not illegal if you are not making money off it.  They have to prove they lost money with your download...how do they do that when you are building the robot girl, for your own bedroom, using the software tools you downloaded?  It is copyright not property.  There is a huge difference. Downloading is no different than checking out a library book....as long as you are not making money off it. Then the only damages they can claim is that the damages limited to one copy of the software.  How are they going to convince a jury that you would have or could have bought that $45,000 CAD package?

Distribution, however, is illegal, because you cannot control what the other guys does with the material you gave him.

P2P is NOT a good idea. It turns individual downloaders into IP distribution criminals, IMO. However, a host located in a country where the distribution has no repercussions, or is not illegal, allows that downloading for individual use or evaluation.  

http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2012/01/16/court-says-alleged-u-k-pirate-can-be-extradited-to-u-s/?mod=google_news_blog

This does not mean that those anuses in the USA won't come after you, but is a $40 piece of s/w worth their time?

That is why I think a narrow list of hosts in safe havens, out of reach of the troublemakers is the best idea. A backup "home" IP on standby for Sonsivri would be nice...all we need is an IP address that gets sent out to trusted members.  The notion of posting links as attachments is also a good one, as it stymies the crawlers, and you can bet that these cavemen use Google as their primary tool for locating hosts.

I am not a lawyer, so don't consider any of this a legal opinion or otherwise. Just ideas and thoughts.

[SpaleKG]

However every miracle is several days lifetime. They temporary stopped or made damages to filehosters but piracy cant be terminated at all. So no worries

[Wannabe]

Just a note.
It seems ifile.it are getting very responsive of illegal contents so please use something else.

[pertican]

i think mediafire.com is good for uploading.

Set the password for rar file and don't use legal name(crack , keygen , full , ...)

Proteus 7.9 Full ---> p7.9

Regards

[#tester]

i think mediafire.com is good for uploading.

Set the password for rar file and don't use legal name(crack , keygen , full , ...)

Proteus 7.9 Full ---> p7.9

Regards

Also split file in two or more parts.

[optikon]

i think mediafire.com is good for uploading.

Set the password for rar file and don't use legal name(crack , keygen , full , ...)

Proteus 7.9 Full ---> p7.9

Regards

This is now a bit OT...

However, also enable encryption. Unencrypted rar files even if pass protected, let you see into the first directory structure. Encrypting solves that.

In summary

1) Split archive (especially if sizable - good for slower d/l speeds, disconnects)
2) Always Password protect with encryption enabled
3) Name things to avoid being suspect. "Vacationpics2011", "WorldEconomyReport" etc..
4) Post in forum by attaching text file with links in text file - For our members only to see. Put password in text file - don't use www.sonsivri.com or similar!

Its a bit more work, but quite easy to make a habit.

[TomJackson69]

Another site is down. The headline news: “Ukraine shuts down leading file-sharing site”
It says”Ex.ua was closed Tuesday after complaints from Microsoft, Adobe and other companies”.

Who is next???

[solutions]

Everybody, systematically.

They'll threaten trade sanctions, blockades, entry into associations and unions as "or else".  They'll go after Paypal, Western Union, and Moneygram to block your ability to pay for premium, or to "donate".

The Ukraine is surprising.

What country is most likely to tell them to go F themselves? Russia? China? Back to mailing money orders for payment?

It's OK for the big companies to evade taxes by offshoring to an island - where's the analog for hosting?

[LithiumOverdosE]

Well, most of the fast Russian file sharing services servers are located in the EU. I don't think they will have the balls to offend Russians by shutting them down. Not at this point anyway.

[Bluemitts]

this is an intereting article about how some of the other sites are responding .http://tumichael.com/internet-marketing/filesonic-other-file-sharing-sites-closed/

It makes you wonder how many of the big corporates who are complaining, are also avoiding paying their taxes.

[pickit2]

go with rapidshare microsoft is a partner,  being so gready they will fight to keep the money rollin' in.

[solutions]

Found this on another site, for those who care:

Filehost: Server / Office

4shared.com: USA / USA
badongo.com: USA / USA
bitshare.com: USA / USA
bigupload.com: Netherlands / USA
data-loading.com: Germany / Germany
depositfiles.com: USA / Cyprus
crocko.com: Netherlands / Cyprus
filebase.to: Germany / Germany
filefactory.com: Netherlands / Netherlands
files.mail.ru: Russia / Russia
filesonic.com: Netherlands / HongKong
fileserve.com: USA / USA
filepost.com: Hong Kong+USA / Hong Kong
freakshare.com: Netherlands / Seychelles
Ge.tt: Ireland / Denmark
gigasize.com: Canada / Canada
hotfile.com: USA / Panama
hulkshare.com: Netherlands / HongKong
kewlshare.com: Germany / Germany
kickload.com: Germany / United Kingdom
Limelinx.com: Canada / Canada
load.to: Fance /United Kingdom
mediafire.com: USA / USA
megaupload.com: USA / HongKong
netload.in: Germany / Germany
Onlinedisk.ru: Russia / Russia
oron.com: Netherlands / USA
putlocker.com: ?? / Bahamas
rapidshare.com: Germany / Switzerland
remixshare.com: Germany / Germany
sendspace.com: USA / USA
share-now.net: France / HongKong
share-online.biz: Netherlands / Belize
sharebase.to: Netherlands / Germany
sharehoster.com: Germany /United Kingdom
shragle.com: France+Germany / Seychelles
sHost.ch: Switzerland / Switzerland
speedshare.org: Netherlands / Seychelles
speedyshare.com: USA / Seychelles
tinyupload.com: France / Poland
ugotfile.com: USA / Australia
uploaded.to: Netherlands / HongKong
uploadbox.com: Netherlands / USA
uploading.com: Cyprus / Hong Kong
videozer.com: USA / USA
Wupload.com: USA+Netherlands / HongKong
x7.to: Netherlands / HongKong
xup.in: Luxembourg / USA + Malaysia
yourfiles.biz: Netherlands / Netherlands
zippyshare.com: France / Germany
zshare.net: USA / HongKong

[nidhisahu]

And now they shut down

Largest ebook library library.nu and may be very soon ifile.it

NEWS from http://torrentfreak.com/book-publishers-shut-down-library-nu-and-ifile-it-120215/

Now very soon situation is going to very very terrible.

If they day by day kill varios sharing sites vey soon we don't have choice

for shareing anything . . .

[solutions]

From: http://torrentfreak.com/book-publishers-shut-down-library-nu-and-ifile-it-120215/

"Update: response added from the ifile.it owner, who noted that they only shut down anonymous uploads."

But ifile.it doesn't make money from anonymous U/Ls.  This makes no sense.

[LithiumOverdosE]

The book download portal Library.nu and cyberlocker ifile.it appear to have ‘shut down’ voluntarily after a coalition of book publishers managed to get an injunction against the two sites. According to the complaint, the sites offered users access to 400,000 e-books and made more than $11 million in revenue in the process.

BTW - I still don't understand why Sonsivri doesn't stop Google indexing of at least software sections? I mean, if it comes down to provide EDA related discussions then those sections could be kept open while software sections could be closed to indexing bots and general public (if not, then what's the point of members invitation system?). Even TPB is soon going to block torrent links for more than 10 downloads and provide only Magnet links (it was stated somewhere on their recent blog entries). Why not protecting Sonsivri at least to some extent?

And of course posted links should all be put in txt attachments to protect links at least to some extent. That's IMO of course but I don't see any flaw with my logic. Am I missing something?

[solutions]

Fileserve is now useless

[CocaCola]

If they day by day kill varios sharing sites vey soon we don't have choice

for shareing anything . . .

The sky isn't falling, it's just going about business as normal...  I have been watching sites fall since the 80s, anyone else use file sharing dial into BBS forums?  There has NEVER EVER been a shortage of sharing going on, no matter how hard they have cracked down...

The law will kill the big and popular fish in the pond, but they will never head off the every growing smaller ones behind it, or the ones that are simply not popular with the mass public...

Ironically the oldest file sharing (actually forum) network on the Internet (USENET) is booming and is stronger than it has ever been, no need to worry about sharing going anywhere anytime soon, just ride the wave until the next wave arrives...

[pushycat]

Yes...i do strongly agree with "CocaCola". They shut down one, two more will be hosted in other name/s. Its just like what we had heard long back about closing or preventing porn sites bieng acessed by under aged. But till date nothing has done or could be done..coz its impossible. Just chill..
Pushy..

[solutions]

Looks like ORON is now gone - is it?

[IntelGent]

I can confirm that uploading is still possible in the U.S. as I just uploaded a version of Nitro Pro as a test.

[solutions]

Thanks - looks like it may be a JDownloader problem.

[solutions]

So, my friends, here's why I think, after over a decade of looking the other way, the US government has cracked down on file hosting sites like Megaupload:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/with-introduction-of-google-drive-google-steps-up-competition-with-apple/2012/04/28/gIQAX5lJoT_story.html?tid=pm_business_pop

Herding sheep.

[solutions]

Arrogant US bastards get their asses handed to them in court....

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18623043

Megaupload raid warrant 'invalid', New Zealand judge says
28 June 2012 Last updated at 07:55 GMT

The search warrants used to raid the home of Megaupload owner Kim Dotcom were invalid, a New Zealand judge has ruled.

Action by the FBI to copy data and take it offshore to the US was also deemed unlawful.

"The warrants did not adequately describe the offences to which they related," High Court judge Justice Helen Winkelmann said.

Mr Dotcom was arrested, along with four others, in January.

Millions of dollars in assets were seized or frozen including almost 20 luxury vehicles, dozens of computers and art works.

However, Justice Winkelmann said the warrant for the search fell "well short" of outlining Mr Dotcom's alleged offences.

"They were general warrants, and as such, are invalid," she said.

In response to the judge's decision, New Zealand police said they were in discussions with Crown Law "to determine what further action might be required".

Mr Dotcom's site was said to have made $175m since 2005 by copying and distributing copyrighted material without authorisation.

The site's lawyers have said Megaupload simply offered online storage.

Mr Dotcom is currently on bail.

[CocaCola]

Well that is bound to put a serious cramp on pursuing charges in NZ and actually getting an extradition to the US to face charges...

[chicane]

They should fire the judge that signed the warrant, since it was a "general warrants, and as such, are invalid", but you know they won't.  

The FBI still got access to copy his files and take the files out of the country. They say after the fact that removing the files was unlawful, conveniently late oversight.

He may be safe from charges in NZ, but if he goes to any country with a US extradition agreement, that is when they will use the illegally obtained information.  The hypocrisy never ceases.

I guess Dotcom will be staying put in NZ for the foreseeable future. Not so bad I guess, NZ is a nice country.

[dozer]

BTW - I still don't understand why Sonsivri doesn't stop Google indexing of at least software sections? I mean, if it comes down to provide EDA related discussions then those sections could be kept open while software sections could be closed to indexing bots and general public (if not, then what's the point of members invitation system?). Even TPB is soon going to block torrent links for more than 10 downloads and provide only Magnet links (it was stated somewhere on their recent blog entries). Why not protecting Sonsivri at least to some extent?

And of course posted links should all be put in txt attachments to protect links at least to some extent. That's IMO of course but I don't see any flaw with my logic. Am I missing something?

That is the best post in the thread.

I too have wondered why so many files are posted in their real names....here....and worst of all, on the filehost sites themselves!

That's just dumb.  It doesn't take a big-corp to use google to find the stuff...the hosters like ifile.it have begun doing periodic search and 'cleanup' of their server-farms -themselves-.

Paying attention to naming...always....will -help-.  Won't magically solve the entire problem, but it'll help.  -Anything- that puts 'sand in their gears' is worth doing.

I would not mind at all seeing the mods here 'get serious' in enforcing this here.

Further, don't allow posts with files posted at known-bad hosts....such as the ones which require an 'account'.  That's nothing but blatant email harvesting.  Where do you think all 10 million of megauploads harvested email-addresses are sitting right now?  Yeah...-there-...

I wasn't aware that our site -didn't- prevent gov-google crawling!

A block of that is pretty easy to implement, isn't it?

I wouldn't mind at all seeing all file-posts go 'private', trusted members only.

Emule-  personally, I love emule.  Coming from a dialup-perspective....it's ideal....it resumes automatically and as many times as needed.  I just leave the PC on overnight, or for an entire week if need be.  FTP is always my first choice, but with that rarely being available (under current ways of doing things here), emule is a pretty good 2nd choice.  Torrents are too, I suppose...but only if the links are available here.  Wading through the endless crap 'torrent-search' sites is a real PITA.  Try it at 28kb sometime, instead of 2800kb.  99 in 100 of those sites/google-hits are pure money-sucking garbage sites.
...
I could see us relying more on PM's between trusted members...although that raises the serious issue of personal life-hours consumed...

I'm afraid there's no easy or perfect solution, and it's clear that the trend IS towards more and more difficulty, but cleaning up our own act as mentioned in the post I quoted, would be a good start.  Think of it as training for the 'olympic events' coming in a few years...

[CocaCola]

Coming from a dialup-perspective....

By choice or are you in a remote area that has no broadband service?  If there is broadband in your area it might be worth investing in a high gain directional Yagi antenna and an external USB network radio, mount it and give your area a 360° sweep... I'm always amazed at the amount of open networks to be found...  I hooked a friend up with a cheap Asian setup (about $40 if I remember correctly) about 2 years ago, found an open 'commercial' broadband connection in his area, he has been golden for two years now...  Even better if you live near a hotel, cafe or whatever that offers free wireless access, just point at them...

[solutions]

For a know-it-all, dozer, I think you fail to realize that DISTRIBUTION is definitely infringing, so your advocacy of e-mule and torrent stuff is very risky behavior, IMO.

I'm not sure possession of something you found, or were given, is infringing, despite what the copyright parasites want us to think.

Or, are you one of --them-- ?

 

PM's go completely against the grain of what this site is about - SHARING knowledge with everyone, contributing more than you take.  So many people are under the really bad impression that when they make an REQ, it is being filled for them....it's not...it's for everyone's knowledge, reference, and spurs innovation and creativity. Your advocacy of PM is completely misplaced and if you are doing it, you may not have read the site rules and should....

And one thing that really grinds my gears is when I grab a few books to read, my downloader has put w34ri3453.pdf and 02983485.pdf into my DL folder. Great, now tell me what those book titles are after a week or so. At least something intelligible if the actual titles don't work well.

The people that run this place and who slap members once in a while know what they are doing and do it well.  I believe they have plenty of battle scars already that have no place being talked about here. Suggestions are great, but they belong in the site suggestions thread, not on a gestapo-bashing thread.

Major overhaul, though? I wouldn't want one, myself.

[CocaCola]

And one thing that really grinds my gears is when I grab a few books to read, my downloader has put w34ri3453.pdf and 02983485.pdf into my DL folder. Great, now tell me what those book titles are after a week or so. At least something intelligible if the actual titles don't work well.

For that reason I immediately rename stuff, and for compressed archives (especially password protected ones) I immediately extract them into an appropriately named directory/folder...

I'm not sure possession of something you found, or were given, is infringing, despite what the copyright parasites want us to think.

Known possession of 'stolen' property is generally illegal in itself, but it's certainly a much harder uphill battle to prove in court thus the reason copyright owners generally stick to 'distributors' as that's a lot easier to prove and show...

The eDonkey network had it's time, if you were lucky to be connected to a good server back in the day you could get a ton of great stuff...  Now (what's left) is pretty much just junk and a playground patrolled by copyright police for extortion settlement campaigns, or kiddie porn cops looking to bust sickos...  Nowadays I would not be caught dead on an eD2K network...

[dozer]

By choice or are you in a remote area that has no broadband service?  If there is broadband in your area it might be worth investing in a high gain directional Yagi antenna and an external USB network radio, mount it and give your area a 360° sweep... I'm always amazed at the amount of open networks to be found...  I hooked a friend up with a cheap Asian setup (about $40 if I remember correctly) about 2 years ago, found an open 'commercial' broadband connection in his area, he has been golden for two years now...  Even better if you live near a hotel, cafe or whatever that offers free wireless access, just point at them...

Not by choice CC...there just isn't any broadband available here.  Even the POTS line is 'iffy'...a 56k modem gives 28.8 usually.  Some lucky days 33.6.

I thank you for the wireless suggestions.  Having done a career of EE (mostly analog and power elex), that's something I looked into.  The problem is location...we live in the mountains...and the cabin's down...between folds, in a valley.  Even cell-signal is mostly absent here.  It sure is peaceful and relaxing tho! ...lol
thanks again for your thoughts cc.

[dozer]

Solutions, the name-calling and attack upon my honor really weren't appropriate.  For your information, when I joined a few years back, there wasn't any mechanism in place for donations, so I asked how to help...cold-cash kinda help...and sent that cash to SS himself the very day I signed on.  It was no huge amount, but my honor is known to him...and my position vis-a-vis sharing and helping others is clear as glass.

In regards to your criticism of posting my thoughts here...  We are conversing in the >>'General'<< area my friend...and I was joining a subject/discussion already in progress in the posts; such as the good one by Lithium that I quoted.

As to your other 'criticisms'...I can only suggest that you check your premises.  Your point about 'distribution' is well-taken, yet it was also implying that deliberately uploading a specific file in response to an REQ (the usual modus here) is somehow -not- distribution.  That strikes me as...avoidant...or at the least, inaccurate.

In regards to your tirade about 'sharing', and the attempt to cast me as a 'non-sharer'....even a casual review of my post clearly shows an intent and desire to foster ongoing sharing >>in an environment of increasing threat<<.

We are not an 'open' forum in the first place.  The decision to put certain protections/shielding in place has already been (wisely) made by SS and the mods.  So it's a bit disingenuous to attack a good member as 'against sharing' only for discussing -options- and -levels- of the decision already made by the owner.

Solutions, since you disagree about obfuscating things as much as possible, you'll likely be surprised to hear I was smiling in great empathy with you...

When you got to the part about.."02983485.pdf" I cracked up .  Yeah, been there dude...arrggghh...  Like CC, I eventually forced myself into the habit of -always- renaming stuff...right_fookin_now.  Works.

Good fortune and goodwill to all,

dozer

[optikon]

@Solutions, yeah having to rename stuff all the time is a drag. Just have some faith that non-sense filenames keep files alive longer on the web to be shared.

@Dozer, take the others advice, stay away from P2P networks and torrents. Private ftp & Filehosts way to go. 28.8k ? now way... you can walk to the server with a thumbdrive in hand to get files faster.

In my experience, obscure archive filenames and password protection *with* encryption keeps them alive longest.

I am hoping that some greedy people from non-US countries made a note about how wealthy the mega-upload owner was. Perhaps they will start-up their own sharing site with hopes and dreams to get as big. And we all will benefit. All the megaupload customers are looking for a new ice cream stand now.

[CocaCola]

In my experience, obscure archive filenames and password protection *with* encryption keeps them alive longest.

If you want longevity and speed, look no further then arguably the oldest file sharing network, USENET...  Most premium USENET providers don't censor or delete anything, and have archives going back at least a year or two if not longer...  And because of it's spawning nature, once uploaded it's propagated across hundreds of other servers, with no way for the claimant to get them removed without going to each provider it spawned to and asking, and as I said most don't comply with the request...  And in the end most content provides don't even go after USENET to start with, it's simply ignored most of the time due to their inability to actually get stuff taken down...  IMO for $10 or so a month a premium USENET subscription is worth every penny, it's just too bad a lot of the content here is never mirrored there...

stay away from P2P networks and torrents

I find nothing wrong with private or semi-private torrent trackers, yes most public trackers are horrible but private trackers can be very good, especially now that people are using seed boxes hooked to big bandwidth on many private trackers...

[Magnox]

The problem is location...we live in the mountains...and the cabin's down...between folds, in a valley.  Even cell-signal is mostly absent here.  It sure is peaceful and relaxing tho! ...lol
thanks again for your thoughts cc.

I often think myself fortunate to live within spitting distance of the exchange - and I sometimes do spit at it when BT mess it up. Being able to get whatever the current maximum broadband speed that's installed is nice, but...

...I would swap with you in a heartbeat for that location! Cities are over rated and too noisy. For me, getting near a mountain is a rare treat.

It doesn't seem that long ago that the only decent source of sharing (and having discussions like this) was usenet, and then I rarely got more than 28.8kbaud. It was amazing at the time though. Now, most people don't even know what usenet is. Funny how things change.

---

lol - I see that CocaCola has mentioned usenet too, while I was slowly waking up and typing this. I still have an independent usenet account (my ISP, like most, is useless for it).

There's always the deep (is that what they are calling it these days?) web too...

[dozer]

@Dozer, take the others advice, stay away from P2P networks and torrents. Private ftp & Filehosts way to go. 28.8k ? no way... you can walk to the server with a thumbdrive in hand to get files faster.

In my experience, obscure archive filenames and password protection *with* encryption keeps them alive longest.

LOL...yeah, and I wouldn't need to break a sweat on that walk either, Optikin!

Yes, private ftp servers.....that's precisely what I was thinking of in my original post (vis-a-vis some sort of PM-networking or other less visible 'mesh' between us).

I think the point, or perhaps, "the payoff", is in making it a lot more WORK for the draconians.  Or...hmm...put it this way, making it >non-automatable<.  That might be the key right there.  If someone actually has to -pay- people to hunt....'stead of just turning a script or spider loose...

That 'threshold' (of increased obfuscation, less visible SOP methods, etc..) might be the 'sweet spot' balance between hassle, and survival, that we'd want to target.

I fully agree with you that obfuscated filenames etc. absolutely do keep files up on the hosts longer.  Considerably longer, in my experience.

P2P-- huh...well now that's two experienced opinions....you and CC.....yet I must tell you that my own experience has been otherwise.  In regards to things that've had aspirin applied by others (e.g., ZWT, et al), I've found ed2k network to 'produce' as well as the links here...or perhaps even a bit better this past year, during which the links have been going down increasingly quickly.

Of course, those links to stuff done by others are only a subset of what we're about here.  I think of that stuff not as the 'main act' here, but more as a simple courtesy between us.  "hey, just ran across this link for a clean and working rar...here it is brothers".  What keeps me excited about SS is our people who -create- powerful aspirin, and for the most delightfully desirable high-complexity items too!  Tip o' the hat to the bun-man, et al.  Way to go guys!  

Even though I don't have the skillset in that area to be part of the effort, it's still exciting, and fun, to be part of the team, even from the sidelines.  Waterboy, I guess...lol.

Well, I'm heading offline for a bit.  Just an hour or two away from wiping this 7-year old win2k installation, and doing a custom integrated XP install...and then...  Yeah, reinstalling every single freakin complex app all over again from scratch.

sigh...

See you guys when I come out the other side in a week!

or if not....then hoist one in my memory, eh?  

Posted on: July 08, 2012, 06:08:45 18:08 - Automerged
CC;  Usenet, you bet.  When I first began using the 'interweb', mostly for patent-research, that's where the files were, usenet.  And wasn't I all charged-up to install that spankin' new 14.4k modem too!...LOL

whups...I just 'dated' myself there, eh? 

1991, I think...epay and scamazon didn't even exist...huh...odd to think on that.  I was working with BBS's before that; running tbbs myself.  sheet....I recall once being thrilled  by upgrading to a -1200b- modem...rofl...

Anyway, usenet is definitely worth trying out on a pilot basis...get a feel....work out kinks.  It really didn't work very well back when, because the software sucked, and so did the services/servers.  It was a huge time-suck for anything sizable...and frustrating as hell.  It works a LOT better now than it did in '91.

Torrents;  yup, same here CC.  If someone runs a good place to pick up links, they work very well.  Set it, forget it, a few days later the package has arrived.

Foxy, I was born a country-boy, then spent 25 yrs in a sizable urb (2.5 mill), and finally came to the same conclusion you just spoke, and bailed.  The gains are simply not worth the costs.  Yeah, it's wonderful to be able to hit the bakery for fresh french bread, right around the corner, but...  To give up serenity, joy, health...  No, not for me anyway.  Not any more.

'course, I'm just -aching- for that sweet urban 7mb/s dsl right now, aren't I?...lol...

huh...deep web...never thought about that.  Because I'm ignorant of it.  Heard of it, clicked to a wiki page once and skimmed for a few minutes, so I know it exists...and that's about it.  I'd be real interested in someday reading an assessment of its potential for us; from a member who does have in-depth knowledge.

later dudes

[CocaCola]

And wasn't I all charged-up to install that spankin' new 14.4k modem too!...LOL

whups...I just 'dated' myself there, eh? 

1991, I think...epay and scamazon didn't even exist...huh...odd to think on that.  I was working with BBS's before that; running tbbs myself.  sheet....I recall once being thrilled  by upgrading to a -1200b- modem...rofl...

I remember my first 150 baud modem for my Atari 800, and the upgrade to the 300 baud while scouring magazines looking for BBS numbers...  Trying to always find a local one that wouldn't get me in hot water with big long distance charges on the parents phone bill...  And at least on the software my Atari was running you could watch the data scroll when you were downloading a program, most people type faster...  But, when you remember that cassettes where still a popular input method for the computers and Zaxxon took 20 minutes to load from a cassette, the long downloads were all part of the game...  As I said in a previous post here, file sharing has always been there and no matter how many sites they shut down will always been there, it's just a cat and mouse game...  The dial up BBS boards of long gone days were my first experience with public file sharing, and in the end nothing much has really changed...

[optikon]

I remember my first 150 baud modem for my Atari 800, and the upgrade to the 300 baud while scouring magazines looking for BBS numbers...  Trying to always find a local one that wouldn't get me in hot water with big long distance charges on the parents phone bill...  And at least on the software my Atari was running you could watch the data scroll when you were downloading a program, most people type faster...  But, when you remember that cassettes where still a popular input method for the computers and Zaxxon took 20 minutes to load from a cassette, the long downloads were all part of the game...  As I said in a previous post here, file sharing has always been there and no matter how many sites they shut down will always been there, it's just a cat and mouse game...  The dial up BBS boards of long gone days were my first experience with public file sharing, and in the end nothing much has really changed...

Ahh the memories! The time you describe was a bit before mine.., I came onto the scene when a 14.4k baud modem was the thing to have and expensive too!... US robotics and maybe one other brand.. yes, BBS's, I ran one with all the latest software that was zipped up using DOS version of PKZIP. You could download several 1.44Mb files and it could take hours or days. I remember that having two 80Mb hard drives was an "endless" amount of space.. lol.. DOS was king, Windows 3.1 with "multitasking", the guys down the street were running OS/2.. what was that? ahh the days.....

You are right though, filesharing is persistent and lots of us were brought up on it... new protections schemes developed all the time, new schemes defeated....

[solutions]

It was only the job security of the IT idiots that made DOS and Windows popular.  King?  There was better. MacOS, AmigaDOS were superior. 

When I was on the committee defining ADSL/DSL my modem at home was a kickbutt 33kb Viterbi coded "beauty". I designed the blueprints for my house on my cX (with 23 inch NEC multisync CRT) - I'd set up the upload to the blueprint shop before going to bed, since it tied up the phoneline for 10 hours to do so and it obviously would not fit on a floppy using sneakernet.

[solutions]

Looks like depositfiles is now useless

[Magnox]

Not a file hosting site I know, but it looks like Demonoid has been taken out by the US now...

http://www.zdnet.com/demonoid-busted-by-the-police-7000002208/

If it's true, I'm I'm guessing it is, then the Ukranian police have probably broken the law themselves, with their government sucking up to the US.

[nidhisahu]

... Finally Demonoid.com is Removed ...

http://hexus.net/business/news/legal/43473-demonoid-torrent-site-removed-another-one-bites-dust/

I am sad because it is one of finest clean site for good torrents.

[solutions]

"FileSonic and Oron, two prominent file-hosting services, have been dragged to court by adult entertainment company Flava Works. In a complaint filed at a federal court in Illinois, the cyberlockers are joined by 26 John Doe defendants who stand accused of sharing copyrighted material. These files were also allegedly shared on several other cyberlockers including FileServe, Hotfile and RapidShare."

and

"For Oron, this is the second lawsuit brought against the site this summer. Last month adult studio Corbin Fisher sued the company for no less than $34.8 million for alleged copyright infringements. As part of a settlement, Oron then offered to assist the studio prosecute its own users."

More here:

http://torrentfreak.com/filesonic-oron-and-their-users-hit-with-piracy-lawsuit-120730/

[CocaCola]

... Finally Demonoid.com is Removed ...

There are lots of rumors floating in regards to Demoniod...  Yes, the servers got taken off line and confiscated, and the domain(s) are for sale but there has been no major announcement of arrest...  Thus to say they are gone for good might be a little premature as there is lots of speculation that the owners where planing on launching new 'sharing' sites in the near future anyway and this 'bust' might just be the turning point for a rebirth of sorts...

Only time will tell...

And Solutions those pesky adult movie studios have been worse than the RIAA recently in the torrent arena, they love mass mailing extortion letters to IPs they harvest...  Letters that go like this "Pay us $3000 for illegally sharing our video or we will sue you into the poor house...  Financing and monthly payments welcome" They are the scum of scum... Interesting to see them pull a change up and go after hosting sites...

[solutions]

heh heh heh

"The government, which seized the domain names for simply including links to copyrighted content, dropped the Rojadirecta claim, seemingly due to a recent ruling by Judge Richard Posner. Posner, one of the nation’s most respected judges, knocked down charges that a video bookmarking site was infringing copyright law, just because its users linked to copyrighted videos."

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/08/domain-names-returned

[Sideshow Bob]

Perhaps this is well known but anyway
"Kim Dotcom announces Mega, successor to MegauploadEncrypted service due for launch in January will replace filesharing site that led to prosecution by US authorities"http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/nov/01/kim-dotcom-announces-mega-megaupload

[CocaCola]

Interesting work around...  If the host can't identify the content (and is not directly notified that it's infringing) they should be protected from liability under existing safe harbor laws...  That is, in a black and white world, but I'm sure the lobbyist will distort existing laws or rush to get new ones in place to remove those safe harbor protections...

[solutions]

I can point my finger at a book on a library shelf, with the title clearly visible on the spine. How is this any different??

I can check out a book from a library and as long as I don't sell it, or copy pages and sell them, I'm a good boy. How is this any different?

Thousands of counts of copyright infringement if I sweep the pointing of my finger down a shelf aisle. New library rules coming via lobbyists: no talking, no finger pointing, no chewing gum, no book borrowing, and no viewing of even the copyrighted book covers without paying a royalty fee first...

The dinosaurs have stupid arguments. Don't fall into their stupidity by reacting to it, rather than simply pointing out their idiocy.

[chicane]

Megaupload and the Government's Attack on Cloud Computing

Yesterday, EFF, on behalf of its client Kyle Goodwin, filed a brief proposing a process for the Court in the Megaupload case to hold the government accountable for the actions it took (and failed to take) when it shut down Megaupload's service and denied third parties like Mr. Goodwin access to their property. The government also filed a brief of its own, calling for a long, drawn-out process that would require third parties—often individuals or small companies—to travel to courts far away and engage in multiple hearings, just to get their own property back.

Full article
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/10/governments-attack-cloud-computing

[CocaCola]

How is this any different?

The difference is that libraries are a public/government educational service...  They not only hold that 'good for society' and 'benefit to society' cards but they also hold the 'First Sale Doctrine' and 'Fair Use' exemption in their pockets as well as a few other exemptions under law...  Put it all together and there is likely a less than zero chance any court in the country would find them in direct or even indirect violation of Copyright...  And mind you the 'Fair Use' exemption under law is not defined, the criteria to determine what is 'Fair Use' is outlined but that is where it ends...  The law doesn't say how much or how little of the 'Fair Use' criteria has to be met to make it Fair Use or a Copyright violation...  This means the Judge and Jury can decide on a case to case basis on whim if they choose, meaning the 'good guy' card is probably a solid get out of jail card on it's own...

Posted on: November 02, 2012, 09:33:05 21:33 - Automerged

Megaupload and the Government's Attack on Cloud Computing

Yesterday, EFF, on behalf of its client Kyle Goodwin, filed a brief proposing a process for the Court in the Megaupload case to hold the government accountable for the actions it took (and failed to take) when it shut down Megaupload's service and denied third parties like Mr. Goodwin access to their property. The government also filed a brief of its own, calling for a long, drawn-out process that would require third parties—often individuals or small companies—to travel to courts far away and engage in multiple hearings, just to get their own property back.

Full article
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/10/governments-attack-cloud-computing

I hope that EFF makes some headroom on this and it spawns out from there...

Having first hand experience with this when my laptop was seized and held for 22 months while they denied me access to not only my personal but also my business data on that computer, was not a fun experience...  Even thought they dropped all charges against me and dismissed the entire case against me after dragging me through the legal system for 14 months (as they tried to get me to plead guilty to something that never happened) they refused to release the laptop until they were good and ready to do so, and only after I had filed multi-motions to do so and the Judge finally had enough of their excuses and threatened to find the State in contempt if they didn't hand it over...

[Xwing]

Megaupload is alive and is coming back 

http://kim.com/mega/