TorrentFreak Email Update |
- Top 10 Most Pirated Movies on BitTorrent
- Newzbin2 Uses TOR To Kill Domain Blocking Before It Even Happens
- Copyright Police Want Truck Drivers To Have Licensed Cab Music
| Top 10 Most Pirated Movies on BitTorrent Posted: 28 Mar 2011 01:38 AM PDT
The data for our weekly download chart is collected by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are DVDrips unless stated otherwise. RSS feed for the weekly movie download chart.
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| Newzbin2 Uses TOR To Kill Domain Blocking Before It Even Happens Posted: 27 Mar 2011 11:09 AM PDT
However, if website blocking should prove ineffective at reducing infringement these requests would become pointless even if authorized. So, to ascertain the effectiveness of blocking, Secretary of State for Culture Jeremy Hunt asked communications watchdog Ofcom to look into the matter and report back by spring. But as the wheels and processes slowly turn, accompanied by calls from the Open Rights Group for citizens to challenge the proposals, those unencumbered by layers of bureaucracy are acting quickly. As widely predicted, a way around website blocking has been found quicker than it has even been assessed, let alone implemented. First up, one the MPAA’s primary blocking targets – Usenet indexing site Newzbin2. “Since web blocking seems to be the new DRM for the Dirty Half Dozen and our name has featured high as a prospective victim of a domain name grab or a block, we thought we’d address the problem by the use of the free speech tool Tor,” Mr White from Newzbin2 told TorrentFreak today. “We have set up a hidden Tor service accessible at http://sc3njt2i2j4fvqa3.onion,” he added. Without going into huge amounts of detail, what Newzbin2 have done is set up what is known as a ‘hidden service’ with the world-famous TOR anonymity network. This means that by using the above URL with a TOR-enabled browser, anyone can access Newzbin2, even if its domain name is blocked or seized. For those that don’t want to install TOR there is also another solution. By exchanging the .onion pseudo-TLD with tor2web.org (e.g http://sc3njt2i2j4fvqa3.tor2web.org), .onion URLs can be accessed from a normal browser with no addons whatsoever. “By running a hidden service we make the MPA's attempt to knock our name off the web entirely futile,” says Mr White. “Newzbin2: 1 Stupids: 0,” he concludes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright Police Want Truck Drivers To Have Licensed Cab Music Posted: 27 Mar 2011 06:32 AM PDT
They target schools and kids' community centers, charge charities for the singing of Christmas carols without a license, and even crash weddings if they have to. While these copyright collectors are very strict in forcing their rules onto others, they often fail to live up to their own standards. This attitude was brilliantly exposed by the Belgian TV-show Basta who exposed local music royalty collecting agency SABAM for charging people to pay non-existent artists. This week SABAM made the headlines once again, this time claiming money from truck drivers who listen to music in their cabs. Since a truck’s cab is a place of work the drivers are obliged to pay royalty fees, they argue. Those are simply the rules according to the copyright police, but not everyone agrees. “It’s utter nonsense,” said Maggie De Block, member of the Belgian Parliament in a response to the claim. “The truck drivers don’t need the radio so much for playing music, but for their safety. So it is illogical that they should pay for it.” Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne is not backing the theory of the copyright police either. He said that listening to radio is essential for truckers and noted that above all, a truck’s cab is an intimate space. Angered by the responses from these politicians, SABAM said that they have the right to claim money from anyone who listens to music while working. The copyright collectors refer to an agreement they have with Minister Van Quickenborne which allows them to charge anyone, anytime. Whether they are in an office or a truck cab makes no difference, they say. The safety argument doesn’t impress SABAM either, as they claim truck drivers still profit from listening to ‘free’ music when the radio is on. Although SABAM might be right while following the letter of the law, the above example and numerous others where small businesses or non-profits have been hunted down in the past do not help them to maintain a good public image. We also wonder if the artists are very happy with such a strict copyright regime. But then again, someone has to pay for the luxurious furniture at the SABAM offices, and the generous salaries these copyright crusaders enjoy. Piggybacking on the creations of musicians is big business after all. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This week there are four newcomers. Limitless is the most downloaded movie of the week.
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Royalty collection agencies are known for going to extremes to claim money on behalf of artists and music composers. | You are subscribed to email updates from TorrentFreak To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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