Posts tagged File sharing at Switched

Posts with tag file sharing

Bono to Blame for Illegal Leak of Four Tracks From New U2 Album

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 1:28PM

Bono Fingered for Pre-Release Leak of Own Album

The recording industry absolutely loves to take people who share a few songs illegally with others and nail them to the wall. People like Jammie Thomas, who was fined $220,000 for sharing a whole 24 songs online. By that account, we reckon U2's famous front-man Bono may be getting a bill in the mail as it's just been revealed that he is the source for some sharing of a very different sort.

Four tracks from U2's upcoming album 'Sexy Boots' have appeared on Internet file sharing networks for download. According to reports, they were recorded directly from outside of Bono's French villa. Bono was apparently playing the tracks so loudly from his home stereo that a fan passing by was able to capture those four tracks just standing there.

Now, posting those tracks online is most certainly illegal, but if Bono were a little more sensitive to the ears of his neighbors, this wouldn't be a problem, would it?. [Source: TorrentFreak]

Comcast Illegally Interfered With Web Traffic, Per FCC Ruling

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Jul 31st 2008 at 7:33PM

Three out of five FCC commissioners agree! Comcast acted illegally when it disrupted the transfer of specific digital video files.

Basically, Comcast slowed the transmission of files being shared by BitTorrent users. They say it was necessary to provide sufficient bandwidth for other customers. Unfortunately for Comcast, public interest groups and BitTorrent weren't buying it. Neither did the FCC.

The process of regulating users of heavy bandwidth is common, with some providers of wireless broadband prohibiting peer-to-peer file sharing altogether. The issue here, though, is lack of disclosure. The government doesn't want companies arbitrarily targeting high volume users, or any users for that matter.

It is unlikely that Comcast will end up being fined for this transgression, but it should set a precedent for the next company that tries to be sneaky.

That would be just fine with us. [Source: Washington Post]

Supreme Court Justice Breyer's Personal Data Compromised

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 8:14AM

You may think that that only average citizens are susceptible to security breaches that result in identity theft, but you'd be wrong. The rich, famous and powerful can also fall victim to the technological plagues of the 21st century.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer's name, birth date, and Social Security number were compromised when an employee of Wagner Resource Group decided to install LimeWire, a peer-to-peer file sharing program, on his PC. The default settings of the program resulted in the sharing of sensitive company data that included the names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of 2,000 of the firm's clients, which included Justice Breyer and a number of high-powered lawyers.

The breach went unnoticed for six months before a reader of the Washington Post's Security Fix blog found the information while searching LimeWire. Spokespeople for Justice Breyer have not acknowledged any negative consequences, though some of the company's other clients have reported fraudulent credit card charges and unexplainable cell phone bills.

The company has offered six months of free credit-report monitoring, but we're sure that is of little consolation to those whose personal data has been compromised. [Source: Washington Post]

New Fall TV Shows Already Leaked Online

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jun 27th 2008 at 8:23AM

Usually it's the RIAA that has to worry about advanced copies of albums leaking out. This year, TV stations have been hit hard by file sharers, who have managed to get their hands on a number of TV shows that aren't set to premier until this fall. Of course, the studios aren't happy about it, and some of the shows were never meant to see the light of day. Take, for instance, the ABC remake of 'Life on Mars,' a UK crime drama. The pilot was filmed in Los Angeles, but then scrapped and the entire production was moved and re-shot in New York. The L.A. version of the pilot still made its way online, however, to less than stellar reviews.

One thing the leak has done is confirm our assumption that there is nothing new coming down the pipe that we need to be planted in front of the TV for. Go take up Yoga, join a Muy Thai class, watch the leaves change color. Just please, please, please don't waste your autumn sitting in front of TNT's pun-tastically titled legal drama, 'Raising the Bar.' [Source: NewTeeVee]

Comcast Blocking Certain Types of Internet Traffic

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Oct 22nd 2007 at 4:44PM

From our 'so much for Net Neutrality' department comes a story from the Associated Press, which assigned a reporter to see if there was any validity to recent accusations that Comcast, the cable TV and Internet provider, is throttling and/or blocking file-sharing on its networks.

The AP turned to the Bible, which is public domain and legal to share. The tests were run from two different PCs in the Philadelphia and San Francisco areas. The reporter found that two out of three times, the peer-to-peer BitTorrent transfer was blocked completely. The third time the transfer only started after a 10-minute delay.

Control tests were run on other providers, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable, and no blockage or throttling was documented in those tests.

You can read more about exactly how Comcast blocked traffic on AP's more extensive story here, but suffice it to say that future blockage could be applied to more legit sites and services such as Joost, Skype, and online-video-rental-service Vudu.

This is exactly the sort of heavy handed tactic proponents of Net Neutrality have feared, and the widespread reporting may help bring the issue of Net Neutrality into the limelight.

From BetaNews and the AP

For further reading on Net Neutrality, visit these sites:

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File-Sharing Legislation Targets Colleges

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 24th 2007 at 5:28PM

Senate majority leader Harry Reid is ruffling some feathers in higher education circles. He has proposed an amendment (PDF) to the Higher Education Act, which is up for reauthorization, that would place tougher standards on colleges for fighting illegal file sharing. The amendment would require that all colleges report their policies on illegal downloading, and how they are effectively implementing them.

The part that has universities most concerned is a requirement that they provide evidence to the Education department that they have a technology based system to prevent illegal file sharing at least in the development stages. Many experts question the effectiveness of such hardware or software based solutions for preventing file sharing. Universities also worry that such technology may prevent legitimate file sharing for educational purposes or of non-copyrighted material.

The measure would also call for the 25 colleges with the most copyright violation notices to be reported to the government. Many complain that this will unfairly single out larger colleges who will just by nature of scale receive more notices.

If you're bothered by Harry Reid's proposed amendment we suggest you write your senator and voice your opposition.

From Slashdot and Inside Higher Ed

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