MPAA Caught Uploading Fake Torrents

[jetsetter]

It is no secret that the MPAA and other anti-piracy organizations track down alleged pirates by uploading fake torrents. Up until now it was always unclear where those files came from, and how to identify them.


The MPAA and other anti-piracy watchdogs try to trap people into downloading fake torrents, so they can collect IP addresses, and send copyright infringement letters to ISPs. They hire a company to put up fake copies of popular movies, music albums, and TV series. They even use pirate like filenames such as “Battlestar Galactica S03E07 REPACK DSR XviD-ORENJi” and “Miami Vice[2006]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo“.

One of the btjunkie admins has found a unique way to identify trackers that host these fake files, which makes it easy to efficiently remove them.

Virtually all the servers that spread these fake files are located in Southern California and Las Vegas. The administrators of these servers follow patterns that make it easy to identify them. The content of the trackers and seed amounts make them stand out. There are more unique characteristics, but we wont reveal all the tricks because they could take counter measures. Here are some examples of servers that host and track fake torrents:

Tracker 1, Tracker 2, Tracker 3 & Tracker 4. (Screenshots: One & Two)

All the information was provided to me by one of the admins of btjunkie, who works together on this with other torrent site admins. He says that the MPAA and friends use a variety of tactics. The tracker will either stall everyone at around 90% or the content will just be a blank monochrome screen.

“I really think this is being done by professionals with a budget, that’s a lot of servers to setup and it takes some expertise to setup in the manner that they did it,” says the btjunkie admin. “I don’t think I really need to say who would spend money on something like this.”

Here are some good examples of how these fake torrents clutter up the search results. Virtually all of those X marked torrents are coming from the ip-ranges we mentioned, and are fake files. The good thing is that Torrentportal’s report system is well used by their users.

The server boxes that host these torrents fall in serveral ip-ranges, and are not yet blocked by blocklist software like peerguardian. Here are a few of the ranges that were discovered recently. You can easily add these to the blocklist of your torrent client (if it supports one), filewall, or blocklist manager.

66.172.60.XXX, 66.177.58.XXX, 66.180.205.XXX, 209.204.61.XXX, 216.151.155.XXX
The anti-piracy servers use hostnames like 101tracker.dhcp.biz, aplustorrents.qhigh.com, bitnova.squirly.info, bittorment.ocry.com, and pirate-trakkrz.leet.la. All these hostnames can be traced back to the same IP Ranges, these ranges contain possibly hundreds of fake trackers, so feel free to block them:

A list of infohashes of fake torrents can be found over here.

Note that it’s not only MPAA material that is hosted on these fake trackers. It is more likely that the servers are owned and operated by an organization that logs IP addresses for several copyright owners and or anti-piracy organizations.

Update: according to one of out readers these ip-ranges belong to “Media Defender“, a company that is hired by copyright owners, to log IP-addresses. This reader, who worked for Media Defender until recently, confirmed that some of the torrents that were mentioned, are indeed on the MPAA’s list.

http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-caught-...fake-torrents/

I suggest everyone be careful.

[epp_b]

I can't describe in words my contempt for the MPAA, RIAA and all their satan-driven cohorts in crime (and if anyone's committing a crime here, it's the **AAs).

It's the only industry that is so arrogant that it thinks it should be exempt from normal business and industry changes and disruptions.

They are no different than slime-sucking patent trolls who create a patent for an overly-broad and obvious concept and then attach their slime, money-grubbing phalanges to the first entity to actually make something useful out of it that's beneficial to society.

And since when was "intent to duplicate 1's and 0's" an offense, let alone "duplicating 1's and 0's"? Oh, yeah, since they paid the U.S Gov't to make the DMCA.

[Viper007Bond]

Glad I very, very rarely use public torrents.

[KaJuN]

Isn't what they're doing pretty much the same as a cop waiting outside a bar then pulling you over and charging you with DUI? (Entrapment much?)

I'm confused at how they can actually charge anybody with anything according to their system. Don't you actually have to have the file for them to be able to do anything? It sounds like the file you get is nothing. As far as I know, a blank screen isn't copyrighted.

[cvrefugee]

Originally Posted by KaJuN

Isn't what they're doing pretty much the same as a cop waiting outside a bar then pulling you over and charging you with DUI? (Entrapment much?)

I'm confused at how they can actually charge anybody with anything according to their system. Don't you actually have to have the file for them to be able to do anything? It sounds like the file you get is nothing. As far as I know, a blank screen isn't copyrighted.

To me is sounds like they're offering/baiting their content, although you don't actually get the goods.

[chaos386]

How can they sue you for copyright infringement when they're the ones giving you the files?

[D-Fence]

they actually AREN´t giving you the files.

You get some grey or broken stuff.......

see:



kdsde wrote:

”
I don’t understand? If the stuff they “offer” is not the copyrighted content the downloader is seeking, how can they claim that some copyright infringement has took place? I don’t believe the MAFIAA applied for copyrightregistrations for some junkfiles!
So your claim that they sent letters to ISP’s for Downloading fakes makes IMHO no sense, please Ernesto explain further.

A great part of their job is to scare people. Most of the time they try to settle before these things are played out in court, so they don’t need that much info. The MPAA (or other anti piracy lobbies) has proof that IP xxx tried to get file yyy. The name is enough to send out a letter that alleged copyright infringement has taken place.

Of course it is unsure how this will hold up in court.

You might want to check out this post by New York lawyer Ray Beckerman
It’s about the RIAA litigation process.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by chaos386

How can they sue you for copyright infringement when they're the ones giving you the files?

Because they never granted you permission to download it... or something.

[gtrietsc]

Recently here in my area, a bunch of drug convictions were thrown out when it was revealed that cops used fake drugs. It isnt illegal to by powdered drywall material afterall. So I wonder how that would apply here - I assume the game is to get your IP, send you threatening letters, assuming that you wont actually try to fight them in court...

[Buba]

^ x2

[Shadowness]

Interesting read. We got busted at home when my retard sister decided to download Saw III. Shat myself when I read the email, they had all our IP details, file details and time. I had to write a letter of appoloy and assured them that it wouldnt happen again!
So I never download movies anymore!

[epp_b]

We got busted at home when my retard sister decided to download Saw III. Shat myself when I read the email, they had all our IP details, file details and time. I had to write a letter of appoloy and assured them that it wouldnt happen again!
So I never download movies anymore!

While I understand your position, it's too bad that you let them get to you. You're only helping let them stop technology and continue to be copyright trolls (ala patent trolls)

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by gtrietsc

Recently here in my area, a bunch of drug convictions were thrown out when it was revealed that cops used fake drugs.

Depends on the location. I see this thing all the time on COPS. They do it on purpose and charge them with attempted purchase of drugs as that's what they did -- attempted to buy drugs, but failed.

[chaos386]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Because they never granted you permission to download it... or something.

But they did. Why else would they make a torrent, post it to a public tracker, and then leave servers up to upload the files to people?

On the other hand, if this works, I can see an easy way to make lots of money: just record some random clip with a camcorder, put it up on a public tracker, and then sue everyone who downloads it for $250,000. Brilliant!

That's way better than the paltry $14.99 they'd go for on iTunes.

[Shadowness]

Originally Posted by epp_b

While I understand your position, it's too bad that you let them get to you.

I dont get what u mean here. I didnt let them get to me (my sister), they traced the download!

[Atmikes]

I have some doubts about what they do...

example, I make a homevideo, i make it available for other people trough the p2p networks, and i call it "lord of the rings_DVD_iso_aTmIkEs.rar" is this copyright infringment? (as i am the owner of that video)

If they share files about 700Mb and there is nothing in them, just grey screens or corrupted data is this sharing illegal content?????


I have (maybe) once been caught with this way of working by the RIAA it was a movie, and the file held the movie but the image was distorted.
But I had the right to download that video, because i have the original movie on DVD and wanted a backup.

Now in Belgium, uploading copyright material is illegall, but downloading is not

my advice in this just look out for files that are too obvious! or go and by your dvd's and cd's

[gtrietsc]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Depends on the location. I see this thing all the time on COPS. They do it on purpose and charge them with attempted purchase of drugs as that's what they did -- attempted to buy drugs, but failed.

So that's the question - is attempted copyright infringement against the law?

Of course, I can already think of the perfect defense:

"Your honor, I can't stand movie pirates. They take money right out of those poor actors pockets. I was incensed when I heard the conditions these poor actors live in. So I decided to help seed these obviously fake files, to help combat movie piracy."

[epp_b]

I dont get what u mean here. I didnt let them get to me (my sister), they traced the download!

I mean that you let them use abuse their power to intimidate you.

[Shadowness]

Originally Posted by epp_b