MediaForce Spies Target Grockster - P2P-Zone

Marius · 11-06-02, 08:30 PM

I just read the following exchange on another board. I'm sure everyone here already knows all about MediaForce (every scoop I show up with here is always old news, LOL

).

Still, I know the guy concerned and can attest to his truthfullness, and I think that the exchange has a certain dramatic interest, so here goes:

Posted - 06/10/2002 : 11:09:28 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I recieved this today as a result of sharing files on the Grokster network...be careful what you get yourself into...it scared the shit outta me for a while until i called my ISP, but none the less..this is pretty serious...This is a copy of the letter sent to my ISP by a man from a company called MediaForce that was commisioned by Sony to battle online piracy...It's not illegal to possess it, but it's illegal to provide it...just be careful guys...

RE: Unauthorized Distribution of the Copyrighted Motion Picture Entitled

Spider-Man

Dear ********:

We are writing this letter on behalf of Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., ("Columbia Pictures").

As you may know, Columbia Pictures is the owner of copyright and exclusive distribution rights in and to the motion picture entitled Spider-Man.

No one is authorized to perform, exhibit, reproduce, transmit, or otherwise distribute the above-mentioned work without the express written permission of Columbia Pictures, which permission Columbia Pictures has not granted to ***.***.**.***.

We have received information that an individual has utilized the above-referenced IP address at the noted date and time to offer downloads of the above-mentioned work through a "peer-to-peer" service.

The attached documentation specifies the location on your network where the infringement occurred, the number of repeat violations recorded at this specific location, as well as any available identifying information.

The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted motion pictures constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). This conduct may also violate the laws of other countries, international law, and/or treaty obligations.

Since you own this IP address, we request that you immediately do the following:

1) Disable access to the individual who has engaged in the conduct described above; and

2) Terminate any and all accounts that this individual has through you.

On behalf of Columbia Pictures, owner of the exclusive rights to the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by Columbia Pictures, its respective agents, or the law.

We also hereby state that we believe the information in this notification is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that MediaForce is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification.

Please contact us at the above listed address or by replying to this email should you have any questions.

We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your cooperation in this matter. In your future correspondence with us, please refer to Case ID ******.

Your prompt response is requested.

Respectfully,

Mark Weaver,

Director of Enforcement

MediaForce, Inc.

------------------------------

Infringment Detail:

Infringing Work: Spider-Man

Filename: Spiderman.SVCD.TS-Centropy.CD1.mpg

First Found: 9 Jun 2002 23:09:35 EDT (GMT -0400)

Last Found: 9 Jun 2002 23:09:35 EDT (GMT -0400)

Filesize: 728,050k

IP Address: ***.***.**.***

Network: Grokster

Protocol: FastTrack

Username: ********@Grokster

I also think they are monitoring my connection, because I'm getting a lot of incoming activity for seemingly no reason. Isn't that illegal in itself? I get pings about every few seconds.
=========================
[end of first post]

The poster was then asked what his ISP had to say. He replied:

=========================

Posted - 06/11/2002 : 12:24:22 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was on Grokster on the Fast Track network...here's what my ISP had to say....

We have received notification that your computer is sharing copyrighted materials over the internet. Sony is requesting that you stop sharing the copyrighted material and to email them at ********@netpd.com to notify them that you have complied with their request. The files in question is ************** (you know what it is)

You may be liable for the infringing activity occurring from your connection. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if you ignore this notice, you may be liable for any resulting infringement.

We request that you carbon-copy your compliance to support@****.com so we can ensure that you have abided to their request.

I'm not really worried because all they wanted me to do was comply with their request to stop sharing the file. Although what I was doing was illegal, it's not illegal to POSSESS it..I contacted my ISP to make sure I was not going to be charged with anything or lose my service, and they said that as long as I sent a message to sony stating that the file has been removed from availablity for other users to get it, that everything is cool. SO...as far as NOW everythings cool...Got my attention in a BIG way...I uninstalled Grokster for good this time....BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING....

[end of second post]
========================

A respondent comments:

Posted - 06/12/2002 : 12:02:40 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have read about Media Force you will have found out that they use a propriatary (they developed it) crawler that craws all peer to peer networks and irc chat and news channels looking for files belonging to companys that have hired them. It is very effective. The BSA recently announced that they are now using the Media Force system (they have been trying it out the last few months). Since using the system for 3 months the BSA has sent out more than 8500 notices such as you received.... 2000 more than all the previous year. The only safe peer to peer is a private one, like F4, or least it is so long as you don't get a "plant or ringer" in it.

[end of third post]
======================

Comment: I don't use Grockster myself, but I'm always interested in what the likes of the BSA are up to. It doesn't really sound all that heavy: a warning is only a warning, after all. All the same, it seems to have shaken him up a bit.

I'm sure the denizens of this firum are made of sterner stuff!

Has anyone had a similar letter?

Marius

JackSpratts · 11-06-02, 10:13 PM

we've had some members get similar notices. these letters have been going out now for over a year, as it's been recognised that the weakest link in a p2p is the isp. because of a provision of the dmca, if an isp removes the offending file as soon as it's been informed of the violation it will incur no penalty, but if it doesn't, the isp can be liable for hundreds of thousands of $ in fines. obviously this is a major incentive to get the user (you in this case) to dump the file. it's a fine line they walk however. the isps are more than aware that most high speed users pay the big bucks to the telcos and cable companies so they can trade files, and if the isps kick everyone off the net who's sharing then their high speed divisions'll go bankrupt. the riaa knows this too and knows they can push the isps only so far. if the telcos and cables wanted to they could get the dmca rewritten to exclude this special liability (like regular pots laws) and that's the last thing the mpaa wants. so the game gets played one file at a time with the mpaa hoping your experience scares the sh*t out of 10 other people and the isps hoping evryone else thinks they won't "get caught".

- js.

assorted · 12-06-02, 08:11 AM

i just saw an ad for road runner high speed today where the yuppie chick says "I can keep up on the latest movies" and it flashed Rusell Crowe's digitized face on her laptop or something/someone similar...

I guess she was talking about movie trailers? hehehehe.

goldie · 12-06-02, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by assorted
i just saw an ad for road runner high speed today where the yuppie chick says "I can keep up on the latest movies" and it flashed Rusell Crowe's digitized face on her laptop or something/someone similar...

I guess she was talking about movie trailers? hehehehe.

Yea, I saw that one too and thoughts of P2P came immediately to mind.

Yea....just dl the trailors.... my butt, heehee

Does ANYone w/broadband actually take the time to dl a trailor? (seriously).

twinspan · 12-06-02, 11:31 AM

the guy shoulda just sent an e-mail back to MediaForce/Columbia saying that the file concerned was NOT material for which they own the copyright but just a black screen looped for 1 and a half hours.

Maybe fakes finally have a use: deniability in case of threats like these.

After all, surely it's not an infringement of copyright simply to have a file with spiderman in the name if it actually ain't spider-man the movie.

If everyone replies back with the challenge: prove it's not just a misnamed file! then the burden on f#kers like Media Force & Ranger just shot up out of sight.

e.g. compare time, bandwidth & labour for:

1. p2p search, connect to user, IP trace, e-mail threat, all by bot/crawler

2. p2p search, connect to user, DOWNLOAD the file and having an actual human being watch to verify the file is in fact what they suspect, then the IP trace & e-mail threat.

So remember, if you ever get one of these e-mails, tell all concerned it's actually NOT the material they think... hell tell them you're even helping them out, by hosting a fake so as to sabotage p2p sharing.

Can I be a BSA Junior Cub?

-----------------------
PS you don't have to keep files named in an incrminating way that makes it easy for bot-threats: after all FT & eDonkey use hashing. Name the file something totally unrelated. Other users can still download it (as the client will still pick it as a source for swarming, no matter what it's named).
And then the MediaEnforcers have no way BUT to go to all the trouble of d/l'ing & watching to be able to make some incriminating comments in their poncy e-mails.

Marius · 12-06-02, 12:50 PM

Thanks for the lowdown, Jackspratts - I thought you'd know what was what.

Twinspan: It's a nice idea in principle, but as Jackspratts pointed out, it really all comes down to the ISP. As you know, most ISP's have numerous clauses that allow them to terminate a contract. If you don't comply with their instructions, they'll dump you whether your file is *really* Spiderman or not. After all, even if it was a dummy, you might be trading the real file tomorrow. Why should they take the risk? It's like our English police. They turn a blind eye to many things, from dope-smoking to "massage" parlours, but once a complaint is made by some busybody, they're legally bound to act.

Marius

Mowzer · 12-06-02, 12:57 PM

Yeah, that would work

Same as I know of some guys that go around with the media enforcer pro tools and send notes telling users they are the RIAA and to use better means of protecting ones self when pirating.

Kinda culture jamming of the anti copy groups own means.
There are a bunch of anti copyright policing tools. Enforcer is the most expensive requiring you buy plugins to acess extra networks like grokster.

There are a few tools out that also will send emails to an isp or capture a users ip. More people need to start sharing them and using them when you are bored, that way in time ppl will see how easy it is to patrol the networks and find out if they are breaking laws.

Then you need to contact the user and tell them how to share files in better ways that wont get them snagged so easily. Re naming files is one example.

____________________
Media Enforcer Loves You! See you at RIAA love fest 2002! (Bring BDSM gear.)

11-06-02, 08:30 PM	#1
Marius Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 58	MediaForce Spies Target Grockster I just read the following exchange on another board. I'm sure everyone here already knows all about MediaForce (every scoop I show up with here is always old news, LOL ). Still, I know the guy concerned and can attest to his truthfullness, and I think that the exchange has a certain dramatic interest, so here goes: Posted - 06/10/2002 : 11:09:28 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I recieved this today as a result of sharing files on the Grokster network...be careful what you get yourself into...it scared the shit outta me for a while until i called my ISP, but none the less..this is pretty serious...This is a copy of the letter sent to my ISP by a man from a company called MediaForce that was commisioned by Sony to battle online piracy...It's not illegal to possess it, but it's illegal to provide it...just be careful guys... RE: Unauthorized Distribution of the Copyrighted Motion Picture Entitled Spider-Man Dear ******: We are writing this letter on behalf of Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., ("Columbia Pictures"). As you may know, Columbia Pictures is the owner of copyright and exclusive distribution rights in and to the motion picture entitled Spider-Man. No one is authorized to perform, exhibit, reproduce, transmit, or otherwise distribute the above-mentioned work without the express written permission of Columbia Pictures, which permission Columbia Pictures has not granted to ...*. We have received information that an individual has utilized the above-referenced IP address at the noted date and time to offer downloads of the above-mentioned work through a "peer-to-peer" service. The attached documentation specifies the location on your network where the infringement occurred, the number of repeat violations recorded at this specific location, as well as any available identifying information. The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted motion pictures constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). This conduct may also violate the laws of other countries, international law, and/or treaty obligations. Since you own this IP address, we request that you immediately do the following: 1) Disable access to the individual who has engaged in the conduct described above; and 2) Terminate any and all accounts that this individual has through you. On behalf of Columbia Pictures, owner of the exclusive rights to the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by Columbia Pictures, its respective agents, or the law. We also hereby state that we believe the information in this notification is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that MediaForce is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification. Please contact us at the above listed address or by replying to this email should you have any questions. We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your cooperation in this matter. In your future correspondence with us, please refer to Case ID **. Your prompt response is requested. Respectfully, Mark Weaver, Director of Enforcement MediaForce, Inc. ------------------------------ Infringment Detail: Infringing Work: Spider-Man Filename: Spiderman.SVCD.TS-Centropy.CD1.mpg First Found: 9 Jun 2002 23:09:35 EDT (GMT -0400) Last Found: 9 Jun 2002 23:09:35 EDT (GMT -0400) Filesize: 728,050k IP Address: ...* Network: Grokster Protocol: FastTrack Username: ****@Grokster I also think they are monitoring my connection, because I'm getting a lot of incoming activity for seemingly no reason. Isn't that illegal in itself? I get pings about every few seconds. ========================= [end of first post] The poster was then asked what his ISP had to say. He replied: ========================= Posted - 06/11/2002 : 12:24:22 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was on Grokster on the Fast Track network...here's what my ISP had to say.... We have received notification that your computer is sharing copyrighted materials over the internet. Sony is requesting that you stop sharing the copyrighted material and to email them at ****@netpd.com to notify them that you have complied with their request. The files in question is ********** (you know what it is) You may be liable for the infringing activity occurring from your connection. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if you ignore this notice, you may be liable for any resulting infringement. We request that you carbon-copy your compliance to support@**.com so we can ensure that you have abided to their request. I'm not really worried because all they wanted me to do was comply with their request to stop sharing the file. Although what I was doing was illegal, it's not illegal to POSSESS it..I contacted my ISP to make sure I was not going to be charged with anything or lose my service, and they said that as long as I sent a message to sony stating that the file has been removed from availablity for other users to get it, that everything is cool. SO...as far as NOW everythings cool...Got my attention in a BIG way...I uninstalled Grokster for good this time....BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING.... [end of second post] ======================== A respondent comments: Posted - 06/12/2002 : 12:02:40 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have read about Media Force you will have found out that they use a propriatary (they developed it) crawler that craws all peer to peer networks and irc chat and news channels looking for files belonging to companys that have hired them. It is very effective. The BSA recently announced that they are now using the Media Force system (they have been trying it out the last few months). Since using the system for 3 months the BSA has sent out more than 8500 notices such as you received.... 2000 more than all the previous year. The only safe peer to peer is a private one, like F4, or least it is so long as you don't get a "plant or ringer" in it. [end of third post] ====================== Comment: I don't use Grockster myself, but I'm always interested in what the likes of the BSA are up to. It doesn't really sound all that heavy: a warning is only a warning, after all. All the same, it seems to have shaken him up a bit. I'm sure the denizens of this firum are made of sterner stuff! Has anyone had a similar letter? Marius

12-06-02, 08:11 AM	#3
assorted WAH! Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 725	i just saw an ad for road runner high speed today where the yuppie chick says "I can keep up on the latest movies" and it flashed Rusell Crowe's digitized face on her laptop or something/someone similar... I guess she was talking about movie trailers? hehehehe. __________________ I hate hate haters

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11-06-02, 10:13 PM	#2
JackSpratts Join Date: May 2001 Location: New England Posts: 10,018	we've had some members get similar notices. these letters have been going out now for over a year, as it's been recognised that the weakest link in a p2p is the isp. because of a provision of the dmca, if an isp removes the offending file as soon as it's been informed of the violation it will incur no penalty, but if it doesn't, the isp can be liable for hundreds of thousands of $ in fines. obviously this is a major incentive to get the user (you in this case) to dump the file. it's a fine line they walk however. the isps are more than aware that most high speed users pay the big bucks to the telcos and cable companies so they can trade files, and if the isps kick everyone off the net who's sharing then their high speed divisions'll go bankrupt. the riaa knows this too and knows they can push the isps only so far. if the telcos and cables wanted to they could get the dmca rewritten to exclude this special liability (like regular pots laws) and that's the last thing the mpaa wants. so the game gets played one file at a time with the mpaa hoping your experience scares the sh*t out of 10 other people and the isps hoping evryone else thinks they won't "get caught". - js.

12-06-02, 11:31 AM	#5
twinspan - a rascal - Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: for security reasons, never the same as the President's Posts: 759	the guy shoulda just sent an e-mail back to MediaForce/Columbia saying that the file concerned was NOT material for which they own the copyright but just a black screen looped for 1 and a half hours. Maybe fakes finally have a use: deniability in case of threats like these. After all, surely it's not an infringement of copyright simply to have a file with spiderman in the name if it actually ain't spider-man the movie. If everyone replies back with the challenge: prove it's not just a misnamed file! then the burden on f#kers like Media Force & Ranger just shot up out of sight. e.g. compare time, bandwidth & labour for: 1. p2p search, connect to user, IP trace, e-mail threat, all by bot/crawler 2. p2p search, connect to user, DOWNLOAD the file and having an actual human being watch to verify the file is in fact what they suspect, then the IP trace & e-mail threat. So remember, if you ever get one of these e-mails, tell all concerned it's actually NOT the material they think... hell tell them you're even helping them out, by hosting a fake so as to sabotage p2p sharing. Can I be a BSA Junior Cub? ----------------------- PS you don't have to keep files named in an incrminating way that makes it easy for bot-threats: after all FT & eDonkey use hashing. Name the file something totally unrelated. Other users can still download it (as the client will still pick it as a source for swarming, no matter what it's named). And then the MediaEnforcers have no way BUT to go to all the trouble of d/l'ing & watching to be able to make some incriminating comments in their poncy e-mails.

12-06-02, 12:50 PM	#6
Marius Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 58	Thanks for the lowdown, Jackspratts - I thought you'd know what was what. Twinspan: It's a nice idea in principle, but as Jackspratts pointed out, it really all comes down to the ISP. As you know, most ISP's have numerous clauses that allow them to terminate a contract. If you don't comply with their instructions, they'll dump you whether your file is really Spiderman or not. After all, even if it was a dummy, you might be trading the real file tomorrow. Why should they take the risk? It's like our English police. They turn a blind eye to many things, from dope-smoking to "massage" parlours, but once a complaint is made by some busybody, they're legally bound to act. Marius

12-06-02, 12:57 PM	#7
Mowzer ' Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 209	Yeah, that would work Same as I know of some guys that go around with the media enforcer pro tools and send notes telling users they are the RIAA and to use better means of protecting ones self when pirating. Kinda culture jamming of the anti copy groups own means. There are a bunch of anti copyright policing tools. Enforcer is the most expensive requiring you buy plugins to acess extra networks like grokster. There are a few tools out that also will send emails to an isp or capture a users ip. More people need to start sharing them and using them when you are bored, that way in time ppl will see how easy it is to patrol the networks and find out if they are breaking laws. Then you need to contact the user and tell them how to share files in better ways that wont get them snagged so easily. Re naming files is one example. ____________________ Media Enforcer Loves You! See you at RIAA love fest 2002! (Bring BDSM gear.)