Archive for the 'DRM and Other Evil' Category

Hacker Mulls Banning Pirate Apps With iOS 5 Apple Jailbreak

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

A hacker working on a jailbreak for Apple’s upcoming iOS 5 says he is considering introducing a very controversial feature. Stefan Esser, known online as i0n1c, says the idea of installing his own DRM in order to block pirate apps is going “ping pong” in his head. The team behind Installous, the world’s largest cracked app repository, informs TorrentFreak this is a very bad idea.

Source: Hacker Mulls Banning Pirate Apps With iOS 5 Apple Jailbreak

Witcher 2 DRM Dumped, But CD Projekt Is Watching Torrents

Friday, May 27th, 2011

Following reports that security features were damaging the playing experience of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, today CD Projekt will release an update to remove all DRM from the game. But while the company informs TorrentFreak it was pleased to avoid a pre-release on this major title, as promised it will monitor and go after illegal file-sharers.

Source: Witcher 2 DRM Dumped, But CD Projekt Is Watching Torrents

ISP Cannot Be Forced To Block Copyright Infringing Files

Friday, April 15th, 2011

An advisor to the European Court of Justice has said that an ISP involved in a long-running file-sharing dispute cannot be forced to block or filter copyright-infringing files at the behest of copyright holders. Such an action would amount to an invasion of customers’ privacy and violate rights guaranteed under EU law.

Source: ISP Cannot Be Forced To Block Copyright Infringing Files

ISP Cannot Be Forced To Block Copyright Infringing Files

Friday, April 15th, 2011

An advisor to the European Court of Justice has said that an ISP involved in a long-running file-sharing dispute cannot be forced to block or filter copyright-infringing files at the behest of copyright holders. Such an action would amount to an invasion of customers’ privacy and violate rights guaranteed under EU law.

Source: ISP Cannot Be Forced To Block Copyright Infringing Files

Proposal Suggests Browsers Should Block Users From BitTorrent Sites

Friday, April 8th, 2011

As the United States heads off firmly down the domain seizures route, other countries around the world are also considering how best to deal with the issue of online piracy. Blocking sites via the web’s DNS system has been high on the agenda but doubts exist over its effectiveness. A suggestion coming out of Europe this week would mean that malware filtering in web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome would do the dirty work.

Source: Proposal Suggests Browsers Should Block Users From BitTorrent Sites

Proposal Suggests Browsers Should Block Users From BitTorrent Sites

Friday, April 8th, 2011

As the United States heads off firmly down the domain seizures route, other countries around the world are also considering how best to deal with the issue of online piracy. Blocking sites via the web’s DNS system has been high on the agenda but doubts exist over its effectiveness. A suggestion coming out of Europe this week would mean that malware filtering in web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome would do the dirty work.

Source: Proposal Suggests Browsers Should Block Users From BitTorrent Sites

BitTorrent Site Admin Kidnapped & Beaten at Gunpoint

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

According to staff at a large Russian BitTorrent site, earlier this month their admin was lured to another country under false pretenses, held hostage by a criminal gang and beaten at gunpoint until he handed over the site’s domain name. The plan was thwarted, but not before a ransom was paid by his family.

Malware Extorts Cash From BitTorrent Users

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

A new type of malware is riding the wave of file-sharing pre-settlement letters by infecting BitTorrent users’ machines and then demanding payments in order to make imaginary lawsuits go away. ICPP Foundation try to give the impression they are RIAA and MPAA affiliated but the whole thing is a scam to extort cash and obtain credit card details.

Code To Track BitTorrent Users Bought For $750 (Max)

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

As the practice of hunting down alleged file-sharers and then issuing legal threats in order to force money out of them gathers pace, questions are continually raised over the quality of the technical systems used to gather the evidence. According to information on a rent-a-coder site, such a system was bought in 2008 for between $250 and $750.

Fake Game Installer Punishes Pirates Via Epic Privacy Breach

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Over the years would-be game pirates have been targeted in a number of ways such as through draconian DRM schemes and even viruses. Now it appears that file-sharers who thought they were going to download a high-profile interactive erotic novel have been instead treated to a security and privacy breach of epic proportions.