119 points by aquatica 5 days ago | 90 comments
johnklos 4 days ago
As it is, I have to explain to people regularly that clicking on "sponsored" links, or whatever Google calls them, doesn't work because we have to block "googleadservices.com" due to their hosting of malicious Javascript payloads. Certain very large companies that are very, very privacy and security focused insist on blocking known malicious Javascript hosting services, and Google is no exception.
bithead 4 days ago
Google addresses started show up about 4 - 6 months ago; their IPv6 addresses. So I prominently mentioned in those bitcoin abuse reports that google should make any effort at all to secure their servers and notified their NOC/security email addresses. I also mentioned their addresses would appear in those public bitcoin abuse reports.
After a couple of months the google addresses stopped appearing as sources.
NOTE: I used a honeypot email address to snare these emails.
behringer 4 days ago
ruthmarx 4 days ago
Honestly I find it incredibly silly companies are still sending out notices to take down copyrighted content. Give up already. The battle is lost and now it's purely a waste of time and money.
jazzyjackson 4 days ago
ruthmarx 4 days ago
Trying to shut down piracy is playing whack-a-mole with one hammer, 10,000 moles and 100,000,000 holes.
> The legal actions against free streaming sites
The only people using those are people too scared or lacking in knowledge of how to download.
ben_w 4 days ago
That's most people.
Also, most laws aren't perfectly enforced; part of the reason for disproportionately high penalties is to create that fear.
ruthmarx 4 days ago
That aside though, there isn't any chance of stopping piracy with the way the current internet is. SO all they do is spend disproportionate amounts of money, i.e. throw that money down the drain, just to take down a website here and there, and maybe, comparatively rarely, get a few people thrown in jail here and there.
That isn't deterring anything, not remotely, so it just seems like revenge.
ben_w 4 days ago
Likewise.
I think that as we've already developed the technological capacity for mere organised crime to build a surveillance system that would make the actual literal Stasi jealous, it's important for the legal system to catch up, and move to the combination (because neither would work in isolation) of (1) penalties that are much much smaller and directly match the offence with (2) so much surveillance that basically everything is caught.
Now, is there a way for this to avoid falling into a horrific dystopian nightmare? Because it's one thing for an internet pirate getting an illicit copy of one episode of Space 1999 getting dinged for $0.99, and quite another if the same capabilities are used to interfere with or supress political opponents a-la the Watergate scandal.
> That isn't deterring anything, not remotely, so it just seems like revenge
I know what you mean, I think that's also part of it, and that kind of attitude in parts of the legal system also interfere with the thing I've just suggested.
appplication 4 days ago
Sometimes it does feel like the pirates did lose. At the very least it seems almost impossible to casually pirate something like you used to in the late 2000s. Now it feels like you don’t have a homelab setup with plex/jellyfin/arr/arr/arr and a network of private trackers and god knows what else the. You’re not really going to be able to find much.
It feels like piracy morphed from being like stealing a pack of gum at a gas station to being more of a time and equipment intensive hobby.
behringer 4 days ago
appplication 4 days ago
It may be obvious to you what the right release groups and software are but this isn’t how it used to be. You used to be able to just search for torrents, and find high quality ones for just about anything. It’s not the case anymore. Even going to TPB and searching there feels like I’m missing something because of how poor the catalog and average health is.
ruthmarx 2 days ago
> it’s almost impossible to achieve an even half-decent experience without significant knowledge and research now.
The thing you have to learn is how to find resources at short notice. That skill is adaptable and should never require significant knowledge and research. Most of what you learned as as 12 year old should still apply.
behringer 3 days ago
And don't forget a good VPN like proton VPN
dxbednarczyk 4 days ago
I believe this is not mainly due to big companies and/or governments cracking down on piracy, but a massive loss in knowledge and shift in perspective about piracy, especially in younger generations.
It's true that piracy numbers have been declining, but this largely comes as a result of "piracy is dangerous, don't do it! you'll get viruses!!1!"
leoedin 4 days ago
Spotify did the same for music piracy. I just stopped bothering with files.
I think as others have said, the increased balkanisation of the tv streaming world might change that.
drekipus 4 days ago
I'm about to pick up piracy again so I can watch good shows that I like
dylan604 4 days ago
I can absolutely see where piracy surges again as people fight back against the onslaught of YASS (yet another streaming service).
Ekaros 4 days ago
troupo 4 days ago
Now with 10+ streaming services gatekeeping their content piracy is likely to be back on the rise
dariosalvi78 4 days ago
Streaming has reduced the need for piracy a lot, and that's probably a good thing, but it hasn't made it completely obsolete, because of silly models that media companies still enforce.
zapkyeskrill 4 days ago
olddog2 4 days ago
It is funny listening to podcasts with billionaires who have unlimited financial resources but can’t watch a show recommended to them because they haven’t downloaded or subscribed to a particular streaming service.
LaundroMat 4 days ago
Media companies have IP as an asset on their books. Battling piracy is a means to defend the valuation they attach to that IP.
ruthmarx 4 days ago
LaundroMat 4 days ago
You can maintain or increase the value of your IP (and therefore tour company) by _showing_ you're investing in the protection of your IP.
After all, the value of IP in your books is subjective. That perceived value increases if you can report you've "removed thousands of links to pirate versions of our content". So in that regard, battling piracy is money well spent.
smallnix 4 days ago
Got it removed from most Google page 1's? -> probably worth it
Trying to take down all torrents? -> probably not worth it
ruthmarx 4 days ago
People share these links in Discord, Reddit, Telegram etc - companies are not taking them down anytime soon. It's literally an unbeatable hydra.
dr_kiszonka 4 days ago
ruthmarx 4 days ago
behringer 4 days ago
SkiFire13 4 days ago
johnklos 4 days ago
Daniel87654 3 days ago
the source is in italian, couldn't find one in english that describes how it works but you can just translate it and it's more or less readable, from the source (google translated):
"On the platform, those who hold the rights, for example Sky and Dazn for football, upload the IP addresses or the Fully qualified domain name (Fqdn) , i.e. an unambiguous domain name that allows an online resource to be identified without a doubt, pirate sites that are broadcasting content without authorization , together with forensic evidence certifying the violation . Those who make the request have a few minutes to correct any errors, after which Piracy Shield generates a ticket and includes the report in the list of incriminated sites. Telecommunications and network operators draw on this, and have 30 minutes to block them. The process can also be automatic.
In the case of the Aiip trial, for example, the association has developed an interface, which it will provide to its members, which connects regularly, with a frequency of 1-2 minutes, to Piracy shield , checks the update of the list of sites to be blocked and, if there are new ones, executes the request. The platform also contains a white list of resources that, on the contrary, must not be reset. Piracy Shield is located on the Microsoft Azure cloud and can be reached by accredited operators only via VPN (virtual private network). At the moment the project aims to tackle piracy of sports content"
tourmalinetaco 4 days ago
MacTea 4 days ago
gumboshoes 4 days ago
tourmalinetaco 4 days ago
lormayna 4 days ago
dylan604 4 days ago
lormayna 4 days ago
ranger_danger 4 days ago
Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead
Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to mil04s43-in-f1.1e100.net
Error code: SSL_ERROR_BAD_CERT_DOMAIN
VoidWhisperer 4 days ago
fulafel 4 days ago
Psilocibin 4 days ago
xanth 4 days ago
BLKNSLVR 4 days ago
I have to add exclusions for some google-owned network ranges just so my auto-blocking setup doesn't break some basics critical to just web browsing.