KickassTorrents down: Feds have seized domains and arrested owner

[Hervé]

KickassTorrents down: Feds have seized domains and arrested owner

July 21, 2016 (http://kickasstorrents.eu/news/kickasstorrents-down-feds-have-seized-domains-and-arrested-owner/)

Yesterday the US authorities arrested the owner of KAT in Poland. The Ukrainian is accused of copyright infringement under the US laws, and also charged with money laundering. Therefore the feds have now seized many domains operated for KickassTorrents. Right now the main search bar is offline and a lot of people are unhappy for seeing KickassTorrents down.

KAT has become the most used public torrent site in the world. The torrent directory receives millions of unique visits per day and is even more popular than other large torrent sources. However, KickassTorrents got a setback yesterday when the US authorities arrested the owner of this torrent site, the 30 years old Ukrainian Artem Vaulin. He was captured in Poland. The US government now accuses the young man of criminal copyright violation and also money laundering. The US District Court in Chicago is going to proceed with the case.

Steps to capture the owner included the feds acting as an advertiser for the website, so they became aware of a bank account connected to KickassTorrents. Secondly, Apple gave the authorities personal data of Artem Vaulin after they matched an IP address used for iTunes with the IP address used for logging in to KAT’s Facebook account.

Together with arresting the owner, the bank account and several domain names got seized. One of the attorneys working on this case commented that KickassTorrents was the source for piracy worth over one billion dollars. He added that Vaulin used servers of different locations worldwide and changed domain names because of continuous issues from the authorities.

At the very moment, several websites connected to KAT are not loading. Though some proxy sites are up and running, there is yet no update from the team behind KickassTorrents for additional details.

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

Meanwhile: US Navy sued for $600mn by German tech company over 'unlicensed software' (https://www.rt.com/usa/352443-us-navy-pirated-software/)

[Bill Ryan]

.
That's pretty discouraging news. I usually use The Pirate Bay (various URLs, often ThePirateBay.org (http://ThePirateBay.org) or ThePirateBay.se) (http://ThePirateBay.se), but I occasionally go to KAT when TPB doesn't have something.

* For a really wide-ranging search, if something seems unusually hard to find, I turn to Torrentz.eu (http://Torrentz.eu), which does an excellent job of mining all the torrent engines for sources.

[Star Tsar]

Apple gave the authorities personal data of Artem Vaulin after they matched an IP address used for iTunes with the IP address used for logging in to KAT’s Facebook account.


So sloppy he had no clue authorities where after him?
:facepalm:

[TigaHawk]

iptorrents.com is what i use. It's invite only and you will get the boot if your download / share ration is not even or more share than download.

Id advise people to find and use private torrent sites. The public ones are constantly watched because that's where the bulk of people go to download.

Also i use a seedbox in the netherlands (lax internet law's / no data retention) feralhosting.com

If watching me they'll see me download the torrent file - but they'll never see me download the actual file via torrent. Straight to the torrent box then FTP download from there to my PC.

I got this setup because they were going to introduce the 3 strike policy over here. That seems to be in limbo but i have no doubts they'll eventually push it through.

[petra]

A friend of mine ended up with windows 10 so he cant get torrents at all, apparently Putlocker is pretty good, we watched the new one with the Rock in it a few days ago :D

[angelfire]

.
That's pretty discouraging news. I usually use The Pirate Bay (various URLs, often ThePirateBay.org (http://ThePirateBay.org) or ThePirateBay.se) (http://ThePirateBay.se), but I occasionally go to KAT when TPB doesn't have something.

* For a really wide-ranging search, if something seems unusually hard to find, I turn to Torrentz.eu (http://Torrentz.eu), which does an excellent job of mining all the torrent engines for sources.

Thanks for the recommendations, Bill but have just tried all of those sites and they all seem to be down! Not good.

[Carmody]

I don't recall ever using a torrent site even once. Don't have a clue how it works....

[KiwiElf]

Can confirm torrentz.eu is working (along with associated sites) with a magnet link through VUZE (just tried it now) - they have most of what KAT had (VUZE is a Torrent Client which links to several torrent sites; KAT was their biggest)

KAT was my favourite... darn!!!! I guess only a matter of time before torrentz.eu get closed down too :(

[Positive Vibe Merchant]

thumbs up for putlocker.is dont have to download, just stream. has alot of current movies and series.

[Conde]

http://extratorrent.cc/today/

[Mike Gorman]

I don't recall ever using a torrent site even once. Don't have a clue how it works....

It is a very grey area Carmody, on the one hand I love the original spirit of the internet for being an 'accidental resource' for humanity and the freedom of intellectual and commercial life, the exchange of ideas, software, information and cultural growth-and on the other hand I feel uneasy about accessing the intellectual property of artists, writers and academics beyond the realm of Copyright and license - I have zero qualms about the resentment of "Mammon" for its jealous guardianship of the 'dream machine'
(Hollywood productions e.t.c) but the fact that you get anything you want 'for free', expensive software applications, tools, books, esoteric information is a great, great temptation! (Torrents are dispersed files which are distributed on the network and re-assembled into complete works-thereby avoiding detection, it is complex and ingenious).

[TargeT]

iptorrents.com is what i use. It's invite only and you will get the boot if your download / share ration is not even or more share than download.

Id advise people to find and use private torrent sites. The public ones are constantly watched because that's where the bulk of people go to download.

Also i use a seedbox in the netherlands (lax internet law's / no data retention) feralhosting.com

If watching me they'll see me download the torrent file - but they'll never see me download the actual file via torrent. Straight to the torrent box then FTP download from there to my PC.

I got this setup because they were going to introduce the 3 strike policy over here. That seems to be in limbo but i have no doubts they'll eventually push it through.

I use this one also.. it's GREAT! never had a bad download ever from iptorrents.

[Sophocles]

Ukpirate.org (https://ukpirate.org/) still works for me (ThePirateBay.org (http://thepiratebay.org/), ThePiratebay.se (http://thepiratebay.se/) and extratorrent.cc/today (http://extratorrent.cc/today/) does not).

[TargeT]

but the fact that you get anything you want 'for free', expensive software applications, tools, books, esoteric information is a great, great temptation! (Torrents are dispersed files which are distributed on the network and re-assembled into complete works-thereby avoiding detection, it is complex and ingenious).

well some companies learned & now offer a service that pays them MORE than their "expensive one time purchse" crap.

I'm speaking spesifically of adobe.

Their full suite used to cost something like 800+, now you can subscribe to them for different levels of monthly payments (depending on what you want to access) with the full suite costing 50$ a month.

it only costs me 20$ a month for the application I want to use... easier than stealing & their stock prices reflect success.

I think the internet will even out & I also think tech companies will adapt. like adobe did.

all we are seeing is how "un fairness" is genetically preprogrammed into us,, we do not accept being taken advantage or being treated unfairly.. it's a "rule" with mammals at least.
-KSryJXDpZo
I think it's clear that some software companies make far too much money for effort expended & humanity will always react to traetment like that.

[Snoweagle]

KickAss Torrents was taken down by Homeland Security. Highly recommended article at ABC News:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-21/how-the-us-government-brought-down-kickass-torrents/7649862

It was the result of years of investigation by Jared Der-Yeghiayan, a special agent with the US Department of Homeland Security.

The investigation was done both online and in meat space (the real world), and was a mixture of old-school police work and top-of-the-line digital forensics.
Mr Der-Yeghiayan laid out his evidence in the criminal complaint, filed to the US District Court of Illinois.

The article describes in detail how investigators conducted their enquiries and the various organisations that provided assistance.

It does appear that Homeland Security appears to be a security agency that may overlap as the policemen for TTIP as well. The Corporate Enquirers. Just a muse at this time.

[Ewan]

I don't know International Law but how do US authorities make arrests in Poland? I assume the ultimate step has to be Polish Authorities giving the ok?

[HaveBlue]

Polish authorities must have acted the same way New Zealand ones did over Kim Dotcom, the German living in NZ. Except NZ is part of the 5 eyes spy sharing network. Unless they did a Mordachai Vanunu on him and just kidnapped him as Israeli mossad did.

But a District court in Chicago? Shouldn't it be a Federal or International Court if any? Chicago, the most corrupt place in the USA and home to Obama and Eric holder.
I suspect there is more to it than just crying movie executives over lost revenue. Remember that The Pirate Bay hosted Julian Assanges Wikileaks when they went after the dutch TPB founder who was living in Cambodia when they nabbed him.
Chicago has fear by some in govt of what data that guy has, written all over it. Chicago is organised crime central. The best place in the USA to do a cover up and a rail road, maybe even a 'died in custody'.
My bet is they are in cover up and damage control mode. Hillary's emails for a start. And then there is the frauds and the paedophila, the murders and so on and so on.

The timing of all this is interesting. If I was Russian intel, I'd release damning material through proxies such as Ukraine and Poland too! Wouldn't you?

David Hawkins of abeldanger.org or .net has done some very thorough research on Chicago over the last years and the nefarious activities of those 'in charge' there.

[petra]

all we are seeing is how "un fairness" is genetically preprogrammed into us,, we do not accept being taken advantage or being treated unfairly.. it's a "rule" with mammals at least.


YES! Sometimes it's hard to see from the other's perspective though. I recall Google made me watch an educational video about why not to place their ads next to sexually provocative imagery (no nudity). At first I thought they were being like nazis! They changed their terms - but after watching the video, I totally agree with why they did, because I see it from the advertiser's point of view. I wouldn't want my product advertised next to a big hairy arm-pit either (hahaha)

[norman]

The site that updates Peer lists for Peerblocker 2 has started charging a high subscription fee for updates. I've not used torrents for a while because of this.


I heard somewhere that Windows 10 is using a system similar to torrents as part of it's services delivery.

[Akasha]

It's not down.

you just need to access via a proxy.

I just typed kat proxy into Google, then clicked on the first result (https://www.google.hu/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjbxtbQqIfOAhVMbhQKHSN7Aw0QFggcMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fproxyof.com%2Fkickasstorrents-proxy-unblock%2F&usg=AFQjCNFwCToBoo1P6MnnxxMZjoX79u1zxw&sig2=lXWhaMmDxOEzwDjWKV0eyw), then proxy 1 and hey presto - job's a good un'. Tested and coming down rapid.

Contingency plans are clearly in place for this scenario. The title should read "some domains" if in fact any have been seized and it isn't in reality just Hollywood fueled BS to deter potential users.

[poetbil]

...Poland (a Great Country) unfortunately wants to be the watchdog of USA in EU

[Hervé]

[...] The title should read "some domains" if in fact any have been seized and it isn't in reality just Hollywood fueled BS to deter potential users.

The main domain was indeed down and inaccessible for two days, here; with a "Server not found" then a "This site has been seized by DHS" page.

Only a few proxies are still up and running.


33845

[norman]

Google might be playing games with me here in UK, I'm not having any luck finding a link for KAT that isn't one of the now dead links.

[Conde]

Kickass Torrents returns after a whole day offline

http://kickasstorrents.website

[bluestflame]

no doubt they'll be going through database of ip addresses that have downloaded from the various connected sites


uh oh

[Lifebringer]

Care must be used if they/feds installed address tracking cookies on the streamers that follow.

[Anchor]

Apple gave the authorities personal data of Artem Vaulin after they matched an IP address used for iTunes with the IP address used for logging in to KAT’s Facebook account.


So sloppy he had no clue authorities where after him?
:facepalm:


I doubt his was sloppy.

Let's assume I am right - then that means this story is the US GOV's parallel construction done in order to hide how they really got him.

[Jancy]

With what black projects, elite, cabal have got tech wise I just assume they have the most advanced equipment to hone in on any one at any time.

[KiwiElf]

KickassTorrents resurfaces online, as all piracy sites do

By James Vincent on July 22, 2016 06:07 am @jjvincent

http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/22/12255426/kickasstorrents-alternate-sites-spring-up

The alleged founder and operator of the most popular torrenting site in the world, KickassTorrents (KAT), has been apprehend by the US authorities and the site's domains seized. However, as we learned with the campaign to stop The Pirate Bay, you just can't keep a good pirate site down. We've already spotted at least two clones of KAT, including one created by IsoHunt (KickassTorrents.website — a fairly limited mirror), and a second located at KAT.am.

http://kat.am/

""hosted on multiple cloud servers to prevent blockade.""

A statement emailed to The Verge from the creators of KAT.am claims the site is "hosted on multiple cloud servers to prevent blockade, and the hosting information is well hidden behind Cloudflare." The anonymous contact said they'd improved on the original KickassTorrents site by adding a mobile version, and noted (with the original, ambiguous, wording retained here) that the site "will has the complete torrent database of KAT, including the comments, user information intact." We're not sure whether that means KAT.am has this complete log of comments, etc., or will have it at some point in the future. At the time of writing this article, access to KAT.am was spotty.

All this shows what we already knew: that you can't completely remove piracy sites from the internet, but you can discourage those who want to run them. The Department of Justice's statement on KAT's alleged founder and operator, 30-year-old Artem Vaulin, charges him with "unlawfully distributing well over $1 billion of copyrighted materials," and claims that he collected roughly $16 million in advertising revenue a year. KickassTorrents may be back (sort of), but Vaulin's future is about get a lot tougher.

[kanishk]

If you Google EXTRATORRENT, then you can find the same website hosted on different domains. Everyday they change the domin and host the entire website on that new domain. So just search EXTRATORRENT on google and find their links.

[Ewan]

[B][SIZE="3"]

http://kat.am/

""hosted on multiple cloud servers to prevent blockade.""

A statement emailed to The Verge from the creators of KAT.am claims the site is "hosted on multiple cloud servers to prevent blockade, and the hosting information is well hidden behind Cloudflare." The anonymous contact said they'd improved on the original KickassTorrents site by adding a mobile version, and noted (with the original, ambiguous, wording retained here) that the site "will has the complete torrent database of KAT, including the comments, user information intact." We're not sure whether that means KAT.am has this complete log of comments, etc., or will have it at some point in the future. At the time of writing this article, access to KAT.am was spotty.


Didn't last long, not found. :)

[KiwiElf]

Yeah, it was pretty "iffy" when I posted, (altho it sounded good - they probably will make a comeback ;))

[bluestflame]

something going on with the internet in general , have noticed a seemingly coordinated altering of a few sites i regularly visit

[muxfolder]

KAT was only brought down because the owner made s**tloads of money and didn't pay any taxes to any country. Of course, only big corporations and elite can get away with it. This guy was not part of the club.:)


As for the business side, the complaint mentions a variety of ad payments, suggesting that KAT made over a dozen million dollars in revenue per year.

It also identifies the company Cryptoneat as KAT’s front. The Cryptoneat.com domain was registered by Vaulin and LinkedIn lists several employees of the company who were involved in the early development of the site.

“Many of the employees found on LinkedIn who present themselves as working for Cryptoneat are the same employees who received assignments from Vaulin in the KAT alert emails,” the complaint reads.

Interestingly, none of the other employees are identified or charged.

To gather further information on the money side, the feds also orchestrated an undercover operation where they posed as an advertiser for “a website purportedly advertising a program to study in the United States.” This revealed details of several bank accounts, with one receiving over $28 million in just eight months.

“Those records reflect that the Subject Account received a total of approximately €28,411,357 in deposits between on or about August 28, 2015, and on or about March 10, 2016.”

https://torrentfreak.com/can-kickasstorrents-make-a-comeback-160721/

I think this has only little to do with copyright infringements. After all, The Pirate Bay is still up and running.:)

[KiwiElf]

Likewise with torrentz.eu - still up & running

https://torrentz.eu/

[muxfolder]

Another good one is Demonoid (http://www.demonoid.pw/).

Does anyone have an invite to iptorrents? Please pm me. I have a seedbox so there won't be any ratio problems.:)

[muxfolder]

Likewise with torrentz.eu - still up & running

https://torrentz.eu/

Looks like it's now down as well.

https://torrentfreak.com/torrentz-shuts-down-largest-torrent-meta-search-engine-says-farewell-160805/


Torrentz.eu, one of the world's largest torrent sites, has announced "farewell" to its millions of users. The meta-search engine, which hosted no torrents of its own but linked to other sites including The Pirate Bay, has decided to shut down.

torrentzFounded in 2003, Torrentz has been a stable factor in the torrent community for over 13 years.

With millions of visitors per day the site grew out to become one of the most visited torrent sites, but today this reign ends, as the popular meta-search engine has announced its shutdown.

A few hours ago and without warning, Torrentz disabled its search functionality. At first sight the main page looks normal but those who try to find links to torrents will notice that they’re no longer there.

Instead, the site is now referring to itself in the past tense, suggesting that after more than a decade the end has arrived.

“Torrentz was a free, fast and powerful meta-search engine combining results from dozens of search engines,” the text reads.

TorrentFreak was contacted by the operator of Torrentz, who prefers not to comment at the moment. It’s clear, however, that another major torrent site is shutting down, leaving a gaping hole.

Breaking story, more updates will follow

[Bill Ryan]

torrentz.eu - still up & running

http://torrentz.eu (https://torrentz.eu/)

Very sadly, now apparently gone.

The welcome message now says (my emphasis)
Torrentz was a free, fast and powerful meta-search engine combining results from dozens of search engines.And a search for anything at all yields
Torrentz will always love you. Farewell.

[norman]

Is there any special significance to the timing, I wonder?

Errr.... if there was a special operation to take over the internet while the banks are down, or something similar, What check-box items would they have during the count down ?

[Ewan]

KAT seems to be functioning via -

https://kickass.unblocked.live/

How safe it is, well was it ever?

[Ewan]

Don't think this is worthy of a topic so I'll add it here.

How are http://123movies.to/ still up and running. All the latest cams from cinemas available to watch along with a hunge range of films and tv from around the world.

Note: Even with HTTPS Everywhere script running in Firefox the site loads as HTTP and NOT HTTPS, manually entering the address as HTTPS defaults to HTTP.

[Akasha]

I have to say after a few weeks since the bust, it's pretty clear that even with proxies, KAT is a mere shadow of its former self.
Pirate Bay (https://thepiratebay.org/) and ExtraTorrent (http://extratorrent.cc/) appear to be the best alternatives at the moment.

[Sophocles]

Also kickass.unblocked.live/ (https://kickass.unblocked.live/) from Ewan`s post #40.

[Ewan]

Wasn't worth a thread so posted here as an aside to main info below.



https://8ch.net/index.html

8chan was hacked

Earlier today, April 1, 2017, 8chan was hacked.

We are investigating the problem and hope to have the servers back online soon.

Pay attention here for updates.

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


Just listing a few addresses that have held reliable for the last few months..... (right click - open in a new window. If you so wish)

https://rarbg.to/torrents.php?

https://1337x.to/home/

https://dirtywarez.org/cat/tracker

https://thepiratebay.red/ -this page claims Kickass is back, with a 'click here' to access it. The address is https://kickass.cd

edit: However, it just seems to mirror Pirate Bay content at present.

[Bill Ryan]

Just listing a few addresses that have held reliable for the last few months..... (right click - open in a new window. If you so wish)

https://rarbg.to/torrents.php?

https://1337x.to/home/

https://dirtywarez.org/cat/tracker

https://thepiratebay.red/ -this page claims Kickass is back, with a 'click here' to access it. The address is https://kickass.cd

edit: However, it just seems to mirror Pirate Bay content at present.

Thank you! That's really very useful. :thumbsup:

I regularly use http://thepiratebay.se (or http://thepiratebay.org, same thing). It's sometimes down, but (somehow! :) ) is still pretty reliable.

[Wizard Of Ozark]

Just curious as to why people feel it is okay to basically steal digital content from their producers/creators. Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should. I think that's where personal morality steps in. I'm hardly judgmental, but I think we need to up our game in the conscience department. I am a music producer and felt somehow okay about downloading all kinds of pirated software for a while. Like a kid in a candy store! Like Christmas every day! Eventually I felt like it was actually becoming detrimental to my music-making process, because of my guilt, so I began to purchase only my favorite affordable tools, after demoing them, and I feel a lot better about myself. I'm not exactly swimming in money but I can make certain spending decisions that allow me to make a considered purchase over another. I think I justified it by thinking that "I've got good intentions and I'm making music to make the world a better place." I'm the last one to point a finger, because of my past behavior, but I'm curious as to how you justify downloading pirated... i.e. stolen media/software. I guess I'm just surprised that it is okay with many of you. What am I missing? Maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to go back to my former ways! But seriously... I don't get it. It seems like torrents would be awesome for distributing forbidden, or otherwise unavailable, information, but illegally downloading movies because you don't want to spend a couple of dollars? That bothers me a bit. I mean... these torrent websites are making money off of property that is not theirs. They're not doing it for some sort of altruistic or nobly anarchistic reason, I would think by gauging the advertising on their sites. Okay, I'll shut up now and probably listen to some music illegally on YouTube. :bigsmile:

[ThePythonicCow]

Just curious as to why people feel it is okay to basically steal digital content from their producers/creators. Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should. I think that's where personal morality steps in. I'm hardly judgmental, but I think we need to up our game in the conscience department.
My take is that the morality issue is genuinely a little more complex than that.

Yes, it's wrong to deprive someone of fair compensation for their work.

But it's also wrong to extort excess compensation, on the basis of having some choke hold on a desirable resource.

Some of the major music, film and other such entertainment corporations obtain near monopoly control over certain works or media channels that are in high demand, and then, using copyright law in part, extract profits well above their reasonable cost of business or fair compensation for their labor. Such profits often go primarily to the corporations, their executives, their investors, their legal staff and such, not to the actual creators of the content.

Corporations (the large ones) often have little or no morality. In such cases, I consider it more "moral" to resist them, rather than to invent some moral duty to submit to them.

[Wizard Of Ozark]

Just curious as to why people feel it is okay to basically steal digital content from their producers/creators. Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should. I think that's where personal morality steps in. I'm hardly judgmental, but I think we need to up our game in the conscience department.
My take is that the morality issue is genuinely a little more complex than that.

Yes, it's wrong to deprive someone of fair compensation for their work.

But it's also wrong to extort excess compensation, on the basis of having some choke hold on a desirable resource.

Some of the major music, film and other such entertainment corporations obtain near monopoly control over certain works or media channels that are in high demand, and then, using copyright law in part, extract profits well above their reasonable cost of business or fair compensation for their labor. Such profits often go primarily to the corporations, their executives, their investors, their legal staff and such, not to the actual creators of the content.

Corporations (the large ones) often have little or no morality. In such cases, I consider it more "moral" to resist them, rather than to invent some moral duty to submit to them.

I've got a few problems with this, as not everyone trying to sell software or digital media are the "corporate big guys" if you know what I mean. For instance, when I'm purchasing music production software from someone it may not be from out of their garage, but it still may be the way they put beans on the table. I want you to tell me how I'm missing the point. I'm just injecting something to think about. Thank you for your reply!

[Wizard Of Ozark]

And replying to your reply, Paul. Yes, by bypassing the major studios with our pirating of their offered goods, we may be doing something noble in terms of our resistance. But what about the mid-level or low-level players in the game? I, personally, will not "lift" software offered commercially because it is convenient. Because I can! Do you hear what I'm saying? I'm not trying to be a twat, but I don't understand the disregard to respecting a monetary system when we are all already living by it. It's absolute hypocrisy to say that it's okay to steal from others because... *insert here*

[norman]

There's so much music production software out there to try. I actually think the so called cracked stuff helps to sell the software long term. People try stuff they wouldn't otherwise. Then they settle on a few they really get on with and become real fans of the creators and start supporting them. I know I did !

Same thing is true for the crazy days of music piracy that the record companies complained about far more than the artists ever did. Here's why. Bands and artists who's careers were 'over' relaunched themselves on the back of the free publicity that the millions of pirated tracks gave them. Whole new generations of people heard their stuff and became interested in them enough to start tracking their new careers and go to their shows. Yea, there are a few vocal complaints from artists but not many. Their record companies were ripping them off like crazy and they knew it. They were worried about piracy for a while but quickly saw how it was boosting their exposure to the public and doing them a lot of good. The big losers were the lazy old farts like the Paul McCarneys and the old bands who were already so stupidly rich they thought they could pop a new album out every year or so to keep their egos stroked for little effort.

Nah, piracy put oomph into the music scene. It didn't kill it.

Some argue that what we've lost is the way the old record companies used to nurture new talent even if it took several albums to break even. That was true and very valuable at the time but the technology and the interface with the audience has completely changed now. New artists don't need record companies.

[Wizard Of Ozark]

Maybe I'm missing something and stealing human-created data is now okay. Human persons WORKED to create the product/thing that you are downloading for free. Just let me in on the joke and I will gladly not spend the money I spend on the fruit of others labor. I've got a real issue with the monetary slavery system, but I've still got to work within it, for now, you know? I'm a little disappointed here, but I'll probably be okay!

[Wizard Of Ozark]

There's so much music production software out there to try. I actually think the so called cracked stuff helps to sell the software long term. People try stuff they wouldn't otherwise. Then they settle on a few they really get on with and become real fans of the creators and start supporting them. I know I did !

Same thing is true for the crazy days of music piracy that the record companies complained about far more than the artists ever did. Here's why. Bands and artists who's careers were 'over' relaunched themselves on the back of the free publicity that the millions of pirated tracks gave them. Whole new generations of people heard their stuff and became interested in them enough to start tracking their new careers and go to their shows. Yea, there are a few vocal complaints from artists but not many. Their record companies were ripping them off like crazy and they knew it. They were worried about piracy for a while but quickly saw how it was boosting their exposure to the public and doing them a lot of good. The big losers were the lazy old farts like the Paul McCarneys and the old bands who were already so stupidly rich they thought they could pop a new album out every year or so to keep their egos stroked for little effort.

Nah, piracy put oomph into the music scene. It didn't kill it.

Some argue that what we've lost is the way the old record companies used to nurture new talent even if it took several albums to break even. That was true and very valuable at the time but the technology and the interface with the audience has completely changed now. New artists don't need record companies.

I didn't read your reply until after my last post, but yes, I get all that. I don't think I agree with all of it though. The "digital age" is a mixed bag. Not everyone benefits from it. There's no "right" answer, but IMO it's a good conversation to have. I appreciate your response!

[Wizard Of Ozark]

For me, it kind of degrades your credibility when you are openly promoting torrent sites as a legitimate way of procuring media. Like it's the alternative thing to do, man. Human beings put out creative effort that they hoped to be compensated for. But you are frequenting sites that pimp out someone else's product as if they owned it? I think I'm done here, but maybe that's something to think about. Out of the large membership here I got two lousy replies to a sincere, and I think, relevant, inquiry. Later kids, signed a sincere heart.

[Ewan]

For me, it kind of degrades your credibility when you are openly promoting torrent sites as a legitimate way of procuring media. Like it's the alternative thing to do, man. Human beings put out creative effort that they hoped to be compensated for. But you are frequenting sites that pimp out someone else's product as if they owned it? I think I'm done here, but maybe that's something to think about. Out of the large membership here I got two lousy replies to a sincere, and I think, relevant, inquiry. Later kids, signed a sincere heart.

I suspect you have a personal stake with this issue, you mention you are a music producer. It also seems to me reading all your posts that you have jumped to a few conclusions regarding what people might want to use a torrents site for.
Maybe there have been so few responses because most people don't even look at this thread, or perhaps, like me, they've been sleeping for a period of time. :)

There are generally only two things I look for and infrequently at that. A complete TV Series or a particular film that might hold interest for me. I unplugged the aeriel from my TV several years ago as I have no interest in 90% of what is on TV. Occassionally I hear good things from others about a particualr series and even I like to unwind sometime by just switching off from other matters and losing myself for a while in a little entertainment. So I have watched all the series of Game of Thrones to date for instance.
As regards an occassional film. I don't go the cinema, find it to actually be an unpleasant experience and I literally could not justify paying for a new DVD given my financial situation - yes, each month is that tight. So in the past I have bought my films on Ebay, paying £1 for a used DVD usually a year or so after it was at the cinema- I actually have well over one hundred DVD's in a plastic bag upstairs. It looks like a ridiculous pile of plastic.

In short, the giants of media production never got any money from me anyway and I have no interest in ripping off individuals and small enterprises. I even make small support payments when i find something useful or worthwhile - even I can afford the odd $5 here or there.

Hope this helps your understanding.

[Cristian]

https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/13/130393/3758067-7352516736-pirat.jpg

















































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http://img.memecdn.com/the-pirating-dog_c_1461597.jpg

[Wizard Of Ozark]

For me, it kind of degrades your credibility when you are openly promoting torrent sites as a legitimate way of procuring media. Like it's the alternative thing to do, man. Human beings put out creative effort that they hoped to be compensated for. But you are frequenting sites that pimp out someone else's product as if they owned it? I think I'm done here, but maybe that's something to think about. Out of the large membership here I got two lousy replies to a sincere, and I think, relevant, inquiry. Later kids, signed a sincere heart.

I suspect you have a personal stake with this issue, you mention you are a music producer. It also seems to me reading all your posts that you have jumped to a few conclusions regarding what people might want to use a torrents site for.
Maybe there have been so few responses because most people don't even look at this thread, or perhaps, like me, they've been sleeping for a period of time. :)

There are generally only two things I look for and infrequently at that. A complete TV Series or a particular film that might hold interest for me. I unplugged the aeriel from my TV several years ago as I have no interest in 90% of what is on TV. Occassionally I hear good things from others about a particualr series and even I like to unwind sometime by just switching off from other matters and losing myself for a while in a little entertainment. So I have watched all the series of Game of Thrones to date for instance.
As regards an occassional film. I don't go the cinema, find it to actually be an unpleasant experience and I literally could not justify paying for a new DVD given my financial situation - yes, each month is that tight. So in the past I have bought my films on Ebay, paying £1 for a used DVD usually a year or so after it was at the cinema- I actually have well over one hundred DVD's in a plastic bag upstairs. It looks like a ridiculous pile of plastic.

In short, the giants of media production never got any money from me anyway and I have no interest in ripping off individuals and small enterprises. I even make small support payments when i find something useful or worthwhile - even I can afford the odd $5 here or there.

Hope this helps your understanding.

Well it sounds like things are pretty tight. Sometimes I forget to factor that in as I am, barely, treading water, financially, here. Living in The United States is certainly as interesting as I think a lot of us knew would happen. I just was curious about the few responses. Like... I might see this issue this way but how would someone else see it? That's how I usually "test" life. It's never, hopefully, anything personal.

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That is funny!

[Franny]

When I was flipping thru the things that were available on piratebay my thought was that people love to gift and share things. And yes, it's not theirs to give but as Paul mentioned the products are corporate generated and owned. But corporations are not a true outgrowth of human nature and people simply bypass that.

The website doesn't charge, but I expect they pay hosting fees. Some of the software and other products are developed for free or so I have heard. People spend time gathering, organizing and uploading the products - and they do it all for free. There are millions of sites that share information, software, books and more for free because it's on the better side of human nature to give and share.

My apologies, I realize I'm not very cogent tonight so I hope it makes sense. :sun:

[KiwiElf]

I use torrents to replace my extremely OLD records, tapes & videos. As I already paid [a lot] for them at the time, I don't have a guilt problem replacing them with digital copies from the likes of PirateBay. If I really like something recent, I'll still buy the CD/DVD/BluRay once it becomes "old" and available in the "cheap" bin. ;)

(And from the Music/Author/Actor "Artist's" POV, you've been ripped off by the likes of SONY etc for decades; the artist should get a darned sight more than what they get, IMO - with the possible exception of "A" list actors who possibly earn wayyyy too much per movie - a bit more "balancing out" required me thinks... ;))

[leavesoftrees]

I often wonder who are these people such as EZTV who upload Torrents to Pirate Bay. It would be a lot of work to do, with very little or no financial compensation.
so why do they do it? Magnanimity, generosity or just to give the finger to the TV production studios?

[Conde]

:facepalm: (http://extratorrent.cc/search/?new=1&search=The.First.48&s_cat=8)

http://extratorrent.cc

[Hervé]

ExtraTorrent Shuts Down For Good
(https://torrentfreak.com/extratorrent-shuts-down-for-good-170517/)

By Ernesto (https://torrentfreak.com/author/ernesto/)on May 17, 2017

Breaking

Popular torrent site ExtraTorrent has permanently shut down. The abrupt decision was announced a few minutes ago in a brief message posted on the site's homepage. This means that after the demise of KickassTorrents and Torrentz.eu, the torrent community must say farewell to another major player.


https://torrentfreak.com/images/extratorrent-1.png

In a surprise move, ExtraTorrent decided to shut down today, for good.

Users who access the site’s homepage (http://extra.to/) are welcomed by a short but clear message, indicating that the popular torrent index will not return (the message appears intermittently).




“ExtraTorrent has shut down permanently.”



“ExtraTorrent with all mirrors goes offline.. We permanently erase all data. Stay away from fake ExtraTorrent websites and clones.

Thx to all ET supporters and torrent community.
ET was a place to be….”


TorrentFreak reached out to ExtraTorrent operator SaM who confirmed that this is indeed the end of the road for the site.

“It’s time we say goodbye,” he said, without providing more details.


https://torrentfreak.com/images/extratorrentdown.png

With ExtraTorrent’s demise the BitTorrent community has lost yet another prominent player. Whether this also means the end of associated release groups, such as EtHD and ettv, remains to be seen.



ExtraTorrent was founded in November 2006, at a time when sites such as TorrentSpy and Mininova were dominating the landscape. Nonetheless, ExtraTorrent was determined to develop an audience of its own.

The site went on to outgrow many of its predecessors and with millions of daily visitors, ExtraTorrent ended up as the second largest torrent site, trailing only behind The Pirate Bay.

The site’s popularity placed it in the crosshairs of various entertainment industry groups in recent months. These outfits regularly pressured hosting companies and domain name services to take action.

It’s unclear whether legal pressure had anything to do with the decision to shut down, but that wouldn’t come as a surprise.

ExtraTorrent is the latest in a series of BitTorrent giants to fall in recent months. Previously, sites including KickassTorrents (https://torrentfreak.com/feds-seize-kickasstorrents-domains-charge-owner-160720/), Torrentz.eu, TorrentHound (https://torrentfreak.com/torrenthound-shuts-down-another-big-torrent-site-bites-the-dust-160915/) and What.cd (https://torrentfreak.com/what-cd-shuts-down-following-reported-raids-in-france-161117/) went offline.

Update: We were informed by SaM that ExtraTorrent’s release group ETRG is gone now.

“Ettv and Ethd could remain operational if they get enough donations to sustain the expenses and if they [have] people handling it ready to keep going,” we were told.
—