MegaUpload Shut Down by the Feds, Founder Arrested

Cyberlocker Ecosystem Shocked As Big Players Take Drastic Action
In the wake of last week?s Megaupload shutdown, some of the biggest names in the market are taking drastic action. During the last 48 hours many sites have completely withdrawn their systems for paying uploaders when their files are shared with others, but one of the most dramatic moves came first from Filesonic and today Fileserve. Both services now forbid people from downloading any files they didn?t upload themselves.

While the shutdown last week of Megaupload and the arrest of its founder and management team was certainly dramatic, a situation of perhaps even greater gravity is beginning to emerge.

Over the past 48 to 72 hours, the operators of many prominent cyberlocker services have been taking unprecedented actions that can not simply be explained away by mere coincidence. The details in the Megaupload indictment clearly have some players in the file-hosting world spooked.

One of the key allegations is that between 2005 and mid 2011, Megaupload ran a program that rewarded users for uploading infringing material. A cited internal email allegedly shows staff members discussing cash payments going to people uploading ?full popular DVD rips? and ?software with keygenerators (Warez)?.

Although Megaupload stopped paying out rewards in July 2011, that didn?t stop the site from getting raided. Other cyberlocker services are clearly hoping they will be more lucky.

Last evening Filesonic, a top 10 player in the file-sharing world with a billion pageviews a month, not only withdrew its affiliate rewards program, but also banned any third parties downloading files. Simply put, users can now only download files from the service that they uploaded themselves.

But according to reports, there?s no guarantee of that. Account owners report that their files are being mass deleted, that?s if their entire account has been banned already.

Fileserve, another leading player, also ended its affiliate program this weekend. Additionally, this morning TorrentFreak received news that Fileserve has now joined Filesonic in banning all 3rd party downloads.


?I just paid for a premium account and can now only download my own fucking files an unlimited number of times,? said one angry user. ?What use is that??

Other users of Fileserve are experiencing an even further degraded level of service. Reports describe mass deletion of their uploads and the banning of accounts on apparent ?Terms of Service? violations.


But the changes at these two services appears to be just the tip of a very big and very complex iceberg. Developments at other file-hosting services are widespread.

As previously reported, Uploaded.to banned all US IP addresses in what appears to be an effort to distance itself from US jurisdiction. Its affiliate program is still listed as operational but the same cannot be said about those run by some of its competitors.

VideoBB and VideoZer have both reportedly closed their rewards program and according to reports have also been mass deleting accounts and huge numbers of files.

Other sites closing their affiliate programs and/or deleting accounts/files include FileJungle, UploadStation and FilePost.




Another interesting development involves so-called ?release blogs?, sites that report on leaked material but either provide links to the material on cyberlockers or allow their users to do the same. The number of overall releases hasn?t changed much but the links currently being posted on some of these sites show less variety and volume than they did this time last week.

Do you know of other file-hosts/cyberlockers taking similar action? Send us your stories and screenshots to the usual address.

Update: Smaller host UploadBox calls it quits. ?All files will be deleted on January 30th. Feel free to download the files you store with UploadBox until this date.?

Update2: Another host, x7.to, shuts down.

Update 3: TorrentFreak has seen evidence that on request PayPal is refunding cash paid to Filesonic over the weekend.

Update 4: FileJungle and UploadStation have disabled all 3rd party downloads.

Update 5: 4shared cancels affiilate program.

http://torrentfreak.com/cyberlocker-ecosystem-shocked-as-big-players-take-drastic-action-120123/

Looks like most file hosts are gone.
 
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Speaking of piracy, the greatest nonsense in the world is here, in Latvia. We have a burreau called AKKA/LAA (some sort of RIAA clone) and they charge a tax of every storage device (HDDs, SDs, USB flash drives etc etc), because there is possibility that these devices could be used for storing copyrighted material.
Logic says that when the tax is payed, we should get all music for free. And yet, we have to pay for them.

We got same thing. It's a tradeoff for copying to family (and even to friends) being legal. As long as it doesn't have "strong" copy protection. Like DVD's (lol).

People think it's there because of piracy, but actually it's not. Or at least they say it's not. Anyway, I order the few CD's/DVD's I need from Nierle.de.

And don't get me started on how they are responsible for not getting Spotify, Netflix and other services here.

That's the only thing why I would like to see EU wide copyright laws, maybe we could see something like Netflix when they don't have to negotiate with 30+ national organizations.
 
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Cyberlocker Ecosystem Shocked As Big Players Take Drastic Action


http://torrentfreak.com/cyberlocker-ecosystem-shocked-as-big-players-take-drastic-action-120123/

Looks like most file hosts are gone.
If I ran a service like this I'd first of all naturally not host anything in north america. Banning US IP's, sure why not altough it's not vital. Secondly do not use a US-based payment service. And don't go to New Zeeland, because it's filled with sheep in puppet governments.
 
Interesting Interview with dotcom:


He seems convinced himself he is innocent. Personally I think they didn't get to an important issue and that is the motive of users to upload infringing content in the first place which is often due to the fact that filehosts offer payments, commissions, for either number of downloads or numbers of premium accounts sold linked to the uploaded file of the user.
 
Interesting Interview with dotcom:


He seems convinced himself he is innocent. Personally I think they didn't get to an important issue and that is the motive of users to upload infringing content in the first place which is often due to the fact that filehosts offer payments, commissions, for either number of downloads or numbers of premium accounts sold linked to the uploaded file of the user.

Video not avaliable in New Zealand?!?! WTF. It was produced and broadcast in NZ and is on 3newsNZs channel. Me confused.
 
He seems convinced himself he is innocent. Personally I think they didn't get to an important issue and that is the motive of users to upload infringing content in the first place which is often due to the fact that filehosts offer payments, commissions, for either number of downloads or numbers of premium accounts sold linked to the uploaded file of the user.
I was waiting for that to come up as well. Legally speaking though there is no proof that they were paying commission for illegal files because they can hide behind the privacy policy saying that they don't track what users upload and are only looking at number of downloads or premium accounts opened or something along those lines.

I personally want him to win, I'm sure he knew EXACTLY what was going to happen but I don't a precedent to be set because that would open the doors to a lot more lawsuits.
 
Kim did exactly the same thing in the nineties, when he still went by the name "Kimble": He paid people to upload or even crack Warez to then sell subscriptions to his Warez BBS.
EDIT: Ooops, re-post.
 
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I was waiting for that to come up as well. Legally speaking though there is no proof that they were paying commission for illegal files because they can hide behind the privacy policy saying that they don't track what users upload and are only looking at number of downloads or premium accounts opened or something along those lines.

Based on quotes from emails in the indictment they discussed about who was uploading what, and who to give payouts to depending on content.
 
Kim uploads new video featuring Kim and Kimi

 
Kim Dotcom is launching a new file sharing website called Mega exactly a year after the FBI shut down his old site Megaupload and charged him with online piracy.
Dotcom, who is currently on bail and faces jail if found guilty, said the new site was not revenge on U.S. authorities who planned a raid on his ?16million New Zealand Mansion.
Dotcom said his new offering, Mega.co.nz, which will launch on Sunday, complied with the law and warned that attempts to take it down would be futile.


article-2265046-17082E9C000005DC-811_634x422.jpg


'This is not some kind of finger to the U.S. government or to Hollywood' Dotcom told Reuters at his sprawling estate in the bucolic hills of Coatesville, just outside Auckland, New Zealand, a country known more for sheep, rugby and the Hobbit than flamboyant tech tycoons.
'Legally, there's just nothing there that could be used to shut us down. This site is just as legitimate and has the right to exist as Dropbox, Boxnet and other competitors,' he said, referring to other popular cloud storage services.
Dotcom and three colleagues are currently awaiting the result of an appeal over an extradition order from New Zealand to the United States.

article-2265046-1709456E000005DC-70_634x377.jpg


Linky
 
I don't see many uploaders using Mega yet, hopefully it'll be as good as the old MegaUpload.
 
Hours after Twitter rolled out support for two-step verification, Kim Dotcom has claimed credit for inventing the security feature. In a series of tweets, the embattled Megaupload founder points to a patent dating back to 1997 as proof for his claim, and accuses companies including Google, Facebook, and Twitter of infringing his intellectual property rights.

"I never sued them," Dotcom continues. "I believe in sharing knowledge and ideas for the good of society. But I might sue them now cause of what the U.S. did to me." The faint threat is followed by a plea to the named companies for financial support in Dotcom's ongoing fight against extradition to the US. While there are likely many who could lay claim to an innovation such as two-step, Dotcom's patent ? filed under his birth name, Kim Schmitz ? appears to hold some water. It claims priority back to 1997, which would make it difficult to invalidate, and has wide coverage. Despite its age, it illustrates the current concept of two-step authentication by detailing how a secondary access code could be sent via pager or SMS


Linky


He said he might sue after what they did to him.
 
Honestly, good luck. But wrong targets, unfortunately, I'd like to see a grain of sand under the eyelid of companies such as Time Warner (Warner Music Group) etc. The kind of companies which will force you to take down a video of your birthday party just because one of their copyrighted songs was playing in the background. Those companies piss me off.
 
Kim Dotcom threatens to sue Google, Twitter, Facebook. :lol:

Kim Dotcom has announced that he is the inventor of the so-called two-step authentication system and has a patent to prove it. The Megaupload founder says the security mechanism, which has just been introduced by Twitter, is being used by U.S. companies more than a billion times every week without permission. Dotcom says he doesn?t want to sue, but might if the likes of Google and Facebook don?t help fund his legal battle with the U.S. Government.

While the United States Government paints Kim Dotcom as some kind of international super criminal, the Megaupload founder sees himself rather differently.

Continually over the past year and half, and particularly since his January 2012 arrest in New Zealand, the German-born entrepreneur has described himself as an innovator, someone who creates rather than destroys as the U.S. would have people believe.

Dotcom?s achievements are many and his cloud storage companies past and present have certainly generated hundreds of headlines. However, it seems that the New Zealand resident?s creative mind was already working overtime more than 15 years ago to come up with an idea that is now gaining serious traction online.

Two-step authentication is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to online accounts. If a user logs into a service from an unusual device or location, the service sends a message containing a password to a trusted device such as a cellphone. This enables the service to authenticate the access and allow the log in.

Just hours ago Twitter implemented the system but it?s already in use by companies such as Google and Facebook.

In fact, according to Kim Dotcom there are more than a billion uses of the system every single week and he?s got good reason to be interested. The businessman says he invented it, and to back up his claim he?s just posted his patent to Twitter.

The patent, US6078908 titled Method for authorizing in data transmission systems, was filed way back in April 1998 and published in June 2000 under Dotcom?s birth name of Kim Schmitz. There can be little doubt from the patent?s abstract that it does indeed describe a two-step verification system.

?Google, Facebook, Twitter, Citibank, etc. offer Two-Step-Authentication,? writes Dotcom. ?Massive IP infringement by U.S. companies. My innovation. My patent.?

It?s fairly apparent that none of these corporations are paying Dotcom for the use of his invention but as usual he?s approaching the matter in his own style, with a carrot in one hand and a stick in the other.

?I never sued them. I believe in sharing knowledge & ideas for the good of society. But I might sue them now cause of what the U.S. did to me,? he declares.

Of course, Dotcom has a problem. He?s up to his neck in legal action across several jurisdictions and has a legal bill set to top $50m. In realistic terms the last thing he needs is another legal front, however there might be other options for solving the problem, including partnership with those companies allegedly infringing his patent rights.

?Google, Facebook, Twitter, I ask you for help. We are all in the same DMCA boat. Use my patent for free. But please help funding my defense,? said Dotcom this morning.

It seems unlikely that any of the above companies would consider donating to Dotcom?s fighting fund in any direct manner. However, one or all of their hands might be forced by the Mega.co.nz chief?s latest announcement.

?Want to buy the worldwide license to my two-factor-authentication patent? (13 countries incl. US & China) Email: twitter@kim.com,? he concludes.

Asking price $50m? We?ll let the lawyers argue over that.

http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-...ok-i-own-security-patent-work-with-me-130523/
 
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