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MPAA Opens Anti-filesharing Website

PontifexPrimus writes "The MPAA's new advertising campaign against movie piracy has a home on the internet. Did you know that 'Network users have a back door to your hard drive while you're online, thereby seeing your personal, private information, such as bank records, social security number, etc.'? Learn about the dangers of filesharing!"

6 of 775 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What really happens by Robber+Baron · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "Don't cheat yourself out of the magic. Movies - They're worth it!"

    I know there's a plan to run commericals in theatres that are along those lines, but the last movie I saw in the theatre (T3) had a commerical for one of the local broadband providers with the tag line "listen to music online". Talk about mixed messages eh?

    I don't know about other people, but I know that all of the movies have downloaded in the past I had actually paid to go see them before/after I had downloaded it and/or bought the dvd if I thought it was good. Not even Kazaa can beat Dolby 5.1 and a dvd picture :)

    I'm the same. If I think it's going to be good, I'll see it in the theatre. If it's exceptional, I'll buy the DVD, even after I've downloaded it (after seeing it in the theatre). On the other hand, if it's a steaming pile of shit like Pearl Harbour (Thank heaven I didn't pay to see that abortion), I'll delete it immediately and contemplate sending a bill the the studio for the wasted time/bandwidth/disk space.

    --

    You're using her as bait, Master!

  2. Re:What really happens by AndyFewt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I personally don't use Windows Media Player, never had. But like you said, it requires a carefully chosen media file which would exploit it, execute the code and do this without anyone suspecting it. I believe MS said that they had no evidence anyone had exploited it. The bugs probably do exist in other software but whether they will buffer overflow and execute the code you want is another matter. But either way, the virus in any file would probably be crafted for one specific problem in one specific (popular) media player.

  3. At least they're not the RIAA by Robawesome · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yet another reason to prefer the MPAA over the RIAA. At least when the MPAA's profits go down, they try something new, like adding content to dvds and varying release dates. When I buy a dvd in a store, I don't feel like a complete sucker. WHen I looked at buying a CD, I felt like an ignorant "consumer". Yeah, pay $30 for 1 hour of content, 8 minutes of which I like. When I bought the extended version LOTR dvd, I got:

    1. The theater cut movie + deleted scenes
    2. 5, count'em 5, seperate audio commentary's
    3. Something like 8 hours of additional "making of" video
    4. around 2000 production photographs.
    I got so much content in those dvds I have not even watched it all yet. Whereas with a CD, you are done in one hour, tops.
    The MPAA may be doing some unsavory things, but at least they are trying, without ripping me off or treating me like a criminal. I am boycotting CD's, but I still enjoy movies, and will pay money for the quality and experience.


    "$DarlMcbride"==false

    --

    I did NOT learn everything I need to know in kindergarten.

  4. The commercials are comming... by Sven+The+Space+Monke · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I just saw American Wedding on friday (I'm not gonna give any opinions - I'm not a movie critic). They had one of these commercials just before the previews. This pne "starred" a set designer talking about how much he loves movies, and how he met his wife on the set of The Big Chill, and how "not everybody invloved in the production of a big movie makes 6-figures". and a lot of other stuff to put a human face on the MPAA side ('cuz Jack Valenti isn't human enough). It seems like they pulled out all the stops on this one. "Touching" music (sounds almost like something Williams would do), "artistic" font design, etc. This guy rambles on about how much he loves movies for what seemed like forever before he got to the point. Once he did, it became rather apparent that the plan backfired. The theater was packed (opening night), and several people started laughing openly at this guy say how stealing one copy of a movie online steals his ability to make a living for his family. I heard a guy behind me say to the person next to him that he was going to start pirating movies if this was the "sh*t these assw*pes are gonna make me sit through before they get to the f***ing movie". The person next to him agreed.

    --
    A man who can't pronouce "nuclear arsenal" shouldn't have one -sig ends here.
  5. Point by Point Analysis by Valen0 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    [Since I have never downloaded a full length movie from the Internet, most of this information is second hand. Some of it may be inaccurate. My comments are in braces.]

    YOU'RE CHEATING YOURSELF
    Most of the time, the movies available for download on the Internet are obtained when someone sneaks a camcorder into a theatre and illegally records the movie up on the screen.

    The sound isn't right, the picture isn't in focus, people are walking in front of the camera, and scenes are missing.

    [Most movies on the Internet today are high quality rips from the original. Point invalid.]

    Is that any way to experience the magic of the movies?

    Only 4 out of 10 films turn a profit. If people take the films for free and the Studios can't recoup their investment, they may not be able to make the big summer movies we all enjoy so much; the TITANICs, the SPIDER-MANs, the JURASSIC PARKs. So, not only will the creators lose, in the end, you, the consumer, will end up with fewer choices at the multiplex.

    [Slippery Slope. The Jurassic Park series is the only series in this list that I believe is decent. Spider Man is just not my type of movie and Titanic is a movie that should have never been made. The MPAA has no one to blame but themselves for their lousy sales ratio.]

    Do you really want fewer movies to choose from?

    [Seeing the current state of the film industry today... I'd love to see fewer but better quality movies.]

    YOU'RE THREATENING THE LIVELIHOOD OF THOUSANDS

    The entertainment industry isn't made up only of familiar actors, actresses and directors. It is made up of over 500,000 everyday working people that bring the magic of the movies to you.

    [And most of those 500K people don't see most of the money. Plus, the MPAA is assuming that every download would translate into a movie sales. This is not true for some people.]

    But, when movies are illegally downloaded from the Internet, these are the people that suffer the most.

    It's the woman who does the make-up, the guy who rigs the lighting, the sound technician, the costume designer, the set decorator and the caterer.

    [Wrong Answer. It's the stock holders, the executives, and all of the people that make a profit from sales that suffer the most. Most people working on movies do NOT get any of the profit from movies.]

    Do you really want these people to lose their jobs?

    [Slippery Slope. I honestly don't think filesharing is going to cause the movie industry to go bankrupt. They seem to be doing just fine, even though the economy is in a depression.]

    YOUR COMPUTER IS VULNERABLE

    Have you ever had your computer crash and had to replace it or reinstall all the files due to a virus or other such problem?

    [Never had a problem with viruses... That is what Norton Antivirus is there for.]

    The nature of "peer-to-peer" file sharing sites like eDonkey, Gnutella, KaZaA, etc., open your computer to destructive viruses and worms and annoying pop-ups.

    Common Viruses:
    Apher, Benjamin, Backdoor, Duload, Fizzer, Hantner, Klez, Neuer, Nimda, Livra and Magic Eightball

    [Appeal to Fear. All of those viruses are easily detected by Norton Antivirus and other virus detection software.]

    You also become a distribution source for illegal downloading of movies, music and more, which makes you just as responsible if you had downloaded the movie yourself.

    [Unless you don't share any of your downloads. Then you are not "just as responsible".]

    Network users have a back door to your hard drive while you're online, thereby seeing your personal, private information, such as bank records, social security number, etc.

    [Appeal to Fear. No real backing in the real world.]

    Is the theft of your personal information worth the free movie?

    [Sorry, most of the filesharing community has seen right through your FUD and know you are wrong.]

    YOU'RE BREAKING THE LAW

    --
    -Valen
  6. I'm a Key Grip! by Frogbeater · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a Grip, Key Grip actually, one of the "artists" listed on the site as being against the piracy of films, I am all for piracy as long as the studios aren't offering an alternative.
    (Notice they didn't use actors as the artists that are being harmed by piracy? What, you don't feel sorry for Ben Affleck?)

    I have to innovate to keep my job. The producers demand more efficiency from the crews and the "creatives" demand more creativity from the crews or I am not hired on the next job.

    I can't sue someone that is doing a more efficient or more creative job than I am like the MPAA/RIAA are.

    Fortunately "Respect Copyrights" reeks of "Just say No to Drugs."
    We know how well that worked.

    BTW-A Key Grip is the Head of the Grip department. The Grips are in charge of on set engineering. We build cranes to fly the camera, munt cameras on cars, fly lights from the tops of buildings, string light controlling cloth over a city street, etc.