Grandpa is sued over grandson's downloads

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by hadi, Nov 24, 2005.

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  1. hadi

    hadi Guest

  2. Joliet Jake

    Joliet Jake Registered Member

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    That's typical of that mob.
     
  3. trickyricky

    trickyricky Registered Member

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    Indeed, very typical. Which makes the RIAA and the MPAA complete and utter bastards in my eyes, and no, I'm not for piracy in any of its forms. I just think they're completely out of control and over the top in what they're trying to do and the heavy-handed way they're doing it.
     
  4. talkback

    talkback Guest


    I fully agree, but what can we do about it? How do we stop the scumbag RIAA/MPAA?
     
  5. highspeed

    highspeed Guest

    What I would like to know is how did they catch the guy? How did they find out he had these movies on his own home computer? Are they spying on who downloads what with these p2p programs? Or did he get ratted out by someone? or some other way?
     
  6. Oddbod

    Oddbod Guest

    It's simple, just dont buy any of their products, ie music & movies, only when they see their actions are annoying their customers & they start to lose some of their massive profits will they change.

    But that will only happen if eneryone that hates their tactics boycotts them.
     
  7. mikel108

    mikel108 Registered Member

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    Good thing I live in Canada where P2P is legal
     
  8. VIPER99

    VIPER99 Registered Member

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    They likely were able to track the IP address of the downloading client through the P2P nework they are using. Then reference the address to an ISP who owns the IP range that the address was in.

    The RIAA/MPAA will then email the ISP and either inform the company of an illegal downloader at the following IP or demand the name of the customer be given to them.

    I know this because I work at an ISP and we occasionally get emails from entertainment companys. Since we are stationed in Canada they can only tell us to tell the customer to stop but, we (as far as I know) can not be ordered to turn over information on who is using the IP.
     
  9. proxify

    proxify Guest


    I guess that's what proxies and anonymizer services are for, so you can't be traced back to your original IP address. ;) :D
     
  10. mistycat

    mistycat Registered Member

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    As a Canadian, I can attest to the veracity of the post by VIPER99. I once received an email from my ISP regarding the downloading, by my computer, of entertainment material they had received from the MPAA. That was the end of it but who knows if I had lived elsewhere. Since then, I've installed Peerguardian which blocks the companies that spy on your computer and report back to the RIAA/MPAA. Its truly amazing how many companies spy on you; PG logs lliterally hundreds of hits and only a fraction of these are for the RIAA/MPAA and are blocked.
     
  11. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hi,
    Could you clarify that?
    How do the companies spy on you?
    Hits by what? What program? Browser? p2p?
    Mrk
     
  12. anonymous1

    anonymous1 Guest


    Some qood questions there that I wouldn't mind seeing answered as well. It would be interesting to know how the Grandfather got busted. How did they catch him? Anyone know?
     
  13. Arup

    Arup Guest

    Thats why I strongly suggest a IP blocker program like Peer Guardian for anyone doing P2P, even if its not for movies, you would be shocked at the sheer number of blocks taking place per minute.
     
  14. bigc73542

    bigc73542 Retired Moderator

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    Your Internet provider by federal law has to turn their logs over to the MPAA/RIAA and the logs will show what and when and where you downloaded anything from the internet. There is no way to deny the charges. They don't go after the actual downloader they just get who ever the internet connection is registered to. It really sucks they have gotten into the governments pockets so deep that they have that power, but they do.
     
  15. mistycat

    mistycat Registered Member

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    PeerGuardian blocks the various companies that report to the RIAA/MPAA on your downloads and lets others through. Those are the hits I mentioned and there are too many to list(the log shows them all). I would call monitoring your downloading habits spying. I would assume they only can monitor through the open port your downloading on as I'm full stealth otherwise. The p2p network doesn't matter and probably not the browser.
     
  16. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hi,
    Since I'm not a US citizen, it's not of a concern to me...
    In Israel, so far, the law forbids the ISPs from turning over the customers info to whoever asks that, unless it's security related.
    And besides, I'm so pristine, they need to give me a medal.
    Mrk
     
  17. passing by

    passing by Guest

    How can I test/check that Peer Guardian is actually blocking the IP.
     
  18. 86t8g

    86t8g Guest

    PG or Protowall is limited. I received 4 letters while using an IP blocker. All a spying company needs to do is use an IP that is not blacklisted at the time - easy workaround for them.
     
  19. P2P

    P2P Guest

    IP Blockers are limited but they're better than nothing. The MPAA and the RIAA et al are constantly switching IP blocks to try to keep ahead of the IP blockers. The letter(s) you got should have a time stamp. You need to search through the logs, find the allowed IP's you suspect they got you with and post them here: http://forums.phoenixlabs.org/
     
  20. mistycat

    mistycat Registered Member

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    In PG, you will see a name in dark with their internet address and the address of where the info is sent. These are the blocked companies. The ones in light are not blocked and you will find this in the history list. There is a scrolling list but it is filled and changes in a matter of seconds.
     
  21. 2314wedf

    2314wedf Guest

    I'm not going to go through the trouble. You will never beat them. They get your IP and what you are downloading/uploading just because you are through your client. I just ignore the letters. I have switched over to a private torrent group anyway and haven't received a single letter.
     
  22. maddawgz

    maddawgz Registered Member

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  23. 2314wedf

    2314wedf Guest

    I'm not going to go through the trouble. You will never beat them. They get your IP and what you are downloading/uploading just because you are through your client. I just ignore the letters. I have switched over to a private torrent group anyway and haven't received a single letter.
     
  24. 2314wedf

    2314wedf Guest

    opps sorry (how did that happen?)
     
  25. HandsOff

    HandsOff Registered Member

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    No way to deny the charges? You own a computer. Have you never seen a computer error? I'm no expert, but I'm guessing there must be some way to be online using someone else's IP. Your statement seems alot like saying if your credit card number was used, that is the same as proof that you made the purchase. That little reaction aside, I have not really been following the issue**. So I have a few general questions:

    1. Is p2p illegal in the USA?
    2. Is it illegal to download? I thought it was only illegal to upload, which is what would make sense to me. If someone made a case of copies of copyrited CD's and handed them out on a street corner, the one who made them violated the copyrite. I doubt it would be illegal to accept one. I guess it comes down to this: Is it illegal to own a copy, or only to make and distribute copies?
    3. I ask this alot, but no one seems to know: If I own the beatles white album, is it illegal for me to download a copy of one of its songs.
    4. (not joking) Has anyone ever been convicted of the crime of downloading? I reallize lots of people have been sued then pay a settlement (extortion?) to avoid going to court. I have never read of an actual conviction. In general, in the USA the rule of law is set by precedent. If there are no precedents?


    **I wanted to ammend this to say that I have not been following the issue lately. When this issue first began being debated I was very interested. I believe in the rights of an individual, and clearly, many rights are being ignored, and these institutions are using terror tactics to extort money from people. I have never believed the RIAA, ect. have even been hurt by the practice of downloading. People have always been able to record from the radio, internet stations, ect. This involves a lot of time and effort and no doubt yealds a poor quality product. Most people just by the CD's. probably a lot of teenagers record songs, then discover groups and go out and by the CD's. In civil court you have to prove damages. If a kid has never owned a CD in his life, but downloads 1000 songs...where are the damages? You can't say he would have bought 50 CD's. Threatening old men, and sueing kids, and other music lovers... Sorry for the rant, I just wanted to say that I haven't been following the issue because at the beginning I believed individual rights would be protected. Since then I have been waiting for the conclusion of this story. Have laws been passed and enforced? Is it official?

    -HandsOff
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2005
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