a WARNING from MPAA

[Se7en]

so i got up this morning and went to click on firefox and received a disturbing message from the MPAA my home page did not exist and could not go anywhere on the net without click a agreement link.
yes i download movies from time to time.

here is the message:

Copyright Infringement Notice, MPAA



I am aware of this issue and will take steps to resolve it.

Dear Subscriber:

This notice is being sent to you by Road Runner Customer Care because we have received a
complaint that your computer has been used to distribute copyrighted material without authorization
through a peer-to-peer program. A copy of the complaint is attached below,and a more detailed
version containing information about the specific copyrighted file(s) has been emailed to you.

Please direct any relevant questions or concerns to the contact in the attached message.
Distribution of copyrighted material in this fashion may violate both copyright laws and Road
Runner’s terms of service.

Thank you for subscribing to Road Runner.

Very truly yours,

Road Runner Customer Care

FOLLOWING IS THE COMPLAINT FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER (OR ITS AGENT):

You are being contacted on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA)* and
one or more of its member companies. You are receiving this notice because your Internet account
was identified as having been used recently to copy illegally and/or distribute the copyrighted
movies and/or television shows listed at the bottom of this letter. This notice provides you with
the information you need in order to take immediate action that can prevent serious legal and other
consequences. These actions include:

1. Stop downloading or uploading any film or TV shows owned or distributed by any MPAA member
studio or its affiliates without authorization; and

2. Permanently delete from your computer(s) all unauthorized copies you may have already made of
these movies and TV shows.

The illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted works are serious offenses that carry with
them the risk of substantial monetary damages and, in some cases, criminal prosecution.

Copyright infringement also violates your Internet Service Provider’s terms of service and could
lead to limitation or suspension of your Internet service.

An MPAA website, Respect Copyrights, offers step-by-step instructions to ensure that your
Internet account is not being used to violate the copyright laws. The site also can point you to
an array of legal choices for enjoying movies and TV shows online. You can also learn there how
movie theft damages our economy and costs thousands of Americans their jobs.

If, after visiting Respect Copyrights you still have questions, or if you believe you have
received this notice in error, you may contact the MPAA by email at Graduated.Response@mpaa.org or
by calling 818-935-5860. In your voicemail or the subject line of your email, please cite the
Reference ID which can be found in the email sent to your RR account. You should take immediate
action to prevent your Internet account from being used for illegal activities and to enjoy movies
and TV programs legally.

Sincerely,

Motion Picture Association of America

* This letter is not a complete statement of the copyright owners’ rights in connection with this
matter, and nothing contained herein constitutes an express or implied waiver of any rights,
remedies or defense of the copyright owners, all of which are expressly reserved. MPAA members
include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures
Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLP; and Warner
Bros. Entertainment Inc.



I am aware of this issue and will take steps to resolve it.

anyone else had this issue? i just removed all downloaded movies from the HD wiped 6 passes and encrypted * its gone *

 

[Se7en]

maybe it was Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures i did recently download Tron Legacy.

 

[office888]

As the great poet Lazytown said:

Do what you want cause' a pirate is free,
you are a pirate.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

did you download The Expendables ?

Biggest BitTorrent Downloading Case in U.S. History Targets 23,000 Defendants | Threat Level | Wired.com

 

[CroMagnum]

PeerBlock is your friend.

 

[Happy_Hamer]

You will soon be visited by men in black, wearing badges, federal badges.

have fun

 

[pro151]

Most ISPs monitor traffic and if they find a customer downloading stuff like that they can override their dns and force their browser to display whatever page they want.

Malware can also do stuff like that.

I suggest downloading and running Malwarebytes anti-malware and running it.

Oh yeah, and if it's legit wiping your hard drive is pointless, the months of traffic logs are physical evidence in court. Whether you still have the movies or not wouldn't even get brought up in the lawsuit.

 

[pro151]

PeerBlock is your friend.

I disagree. Snake Oil for the most part. Your traffic is still logged on their servers and if you go and read the fine print, they state that they will release info to law enforcement with a valid warrant.

 

[GLR]

 

[pro151]

Way to go GLR. That should really cheer him up.

 

[jazzsinger]

I am aware of this issue and will take steps to resolve it.

anyone else had this issue? i just removed all downloaded movies from the HD wiped 6 passes and encrypted * its gone *

the easiest solution is just to hack someones wifi and dl via that. not that i'd do anything like that,:tongue:

 

[CroMagnum]

I disagree. Snake Oil for the most part. Your traffic is still logged on their servers and if you go and read the fine print, they state that they will release info to law enforcement with a valid warrant.

Who is "they" and "their servers?" Do you mean the MPAA or the ISP? Programs like Peerblock keep your IP Address from ever showing up to the MPAA, RIAA, law enforcement, etc. If they don't have your IP, then they won't know to look for you, and the ISP won't turn over any info.

Of course it's not perfect. It's kind of like running an antivirus - you have to keep it updated and even then something occasionally slips through. But it's still much better than running naked. Nothing will make you invisible, but it makes it much less likely you'll be singled out in such a target rich environment.

Also it pays to pick the right ISP. Some, like Time Warner, are notorious for dragging their feet and making it as difficult as possible for the MPAA to get info on their subscribers, begrudging names just a few at a time as they trickle out the data demanded, much to the chagrin of the MPAA. Article They've been doing this for years and continue to do so today.

pro151, you seem to be hung up on this "ISP monitoring" point, when in fact that doesn't happen. The MPAA is merely trying to get the names and addresses of the alleged infringers. ISPs don't have the time or staff to actively log and archive every packet from every customer. And besides, even if they did log all my traffic, a large percentage of that - including all my P2P - is encrypted, so just what are they going to glean from that?

 

[pro151]

Peerblock FAQ #7.

7. Does this mean my P2P downloading is completely safe now?

Not necessarily. While many people do use IP Filtering software like PeerBlock to help "protect" themselves from being sued for copyright infringement, it is not 100% protection. In fact some people believe that using blocklists like this are completely useless. Others disagree, and believe that even if it's not 100% safe, it still lets them download files more safely. Sometimes they invoke the "Bear Principle": when running away from an angry bear you don't need to be faster than that bear . . . you only need to be faster than the guy next to you. However, as I seem to remember seeing on the old Peer Guardian site at one point:
The only way to be "safe" with P2P downloading is to not share copyrighted content!
PeerBlock is good at what it does - keeping your computer from "talking" with ip addresses on your configured blocklists. Everything else is up to those blocklists themselves. And heck, even if the blocklists provided 100% coverage of "bad" ip-addresses, and if blocklists were 100% proven to work, there could still be some bugs in the PeerBlock software that may prevent it from working correctly on your machine; we offer no guarantees that it works, and disclaim any and all responsibility for the consequences of your own actions online. If you're sharing copyrighted music/video files and get sued by the relevant organizations, it's not our fault. If you're stuck in a country with an oppressive government and are trying to get out your plans regarding the upcoming revolution, and those in power break down your door and haul you away, it's not our fault. If you're sharing some secret footage of Area 51 and the "Men in Black" come knocking on your door, it's not our fault!
If you choose to download copyrighted material from the Internet, be aware that you may be breaking the law.

 

[C2]

From a practical standpoint, if you really were DL pirated content, and are getting busted, you will likely face about $1200 in fines and be marked. Don't do it again or you just might get an ass pounding opportunity...

 

[jazzsinger]

Who is "they" and "their servers?" Do you mean the MPAA or the ISP? Programs like Peerblock keep your IP Address from ever showing up to the MPAA, RIAA, law enforcement, etc. If they don't have your IP, then they won't know to look for you, and the ISP won't turn over any info.

Of course it's not perfect. It's kind of like running an antivirus - you have to keep it updated and even then something occasionally slips through. But it's still much better than running naked. Nothing will make you invisible, but it makes it much less likely you'll be singled out in such a target rich environment.

Also it pays to pick the right ISP. Some, like Time Warner, are notorious for dragging their feet and making it as difficult as possible for the MPAA to get info on their subscribers, begrudging names just a few at a time as they trickle out the data demanded, much to the chagrin of the MPAA. Article They've been doing this for years and continue to do so today.

pro151, you seem to be hung up on this "ISP monitoring" point, when in fact that doesn't happen. The MPAA is merely trying to get the names and addresses of the alleged infringers. ISPs don't have the time or staff to actively log and archive every packet from every customer. And besides, even if they did log all my traffic, a large percentage of that - including all my P2P - is encrypted, so just what are they going to glean from that?

its hardly in an isp's best interests to grass up their customers, lets be honest, isp's know exactly what happens on their servers. to think any programme (peer block included) is 100% effective is naive at best, in these days of global terrorism i doubt anything gets by places like gchq who intercept just about everything, and if you think encryption can't be broken, think back to ww2 and enigma, where there is a will, theres a lawyer (sorry, a way)

i think the point made in pro151's post is a very good analogy, you don't have to run faster than the bear, just faster than the guy next to you, in downloading/filesharing terms that translates to, if you minimize the risk using peer block or similar, and are not as greedy as the next guy, chances are he'll get pulled first,

if you run bare and dl everything in sight, its only a matter of time before you get your ass nabbed, i know people here who have had similar warning from the local isp, yet others go on almost unnoticed, sometimes it pays to look into older file sharing methods that don't grab as much attention as modern methods, usenet binaries are a classic example.i know hundreds of people who p2p with popular p2p programmes, but very few that source stuff elsewhere. guess who gets less noticed?

bottom line is you pay your money and take your chance, no point crying if you get caught, getting caught doing anything illegal is an occupational hazard. their own greed is always the biggest downfall of those doing anything iffy.