VPN For Kazaa Users Launched

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Posted by simoniker on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @02:14PM from the hiding-behind-screen dept.

prostoalex writes "AnonX allows Kazaa users to connect to its own VPN, effectively obfuscating their original IP address that certain association has been using to subpoena the file-sharers. The company is created by a Texas ISP employee, but is registered in Vanuatu, and already has 7,000 users paying $6 a month."

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Which is wonderful.... by Your_Mom · 2004-02-11 14:25 · Score: 3, Insightful

...until the RIAA somehow finds a way to get access to their user records...

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1. Re:Which is wonderful.... by pilot1 · 2004-02-11 14:28 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  If they're smart, they'll check for any attempts at cracking, and then send their logs straight to /dev/null.
  Or is that illegal?
2. Re:Which is wonderful.... by red+floyd · 2004-02-12 06:05 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Except that there's those inconvienent billing records. Of course, getting the FBI out to Vanuatu is another matter.
  
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Confusion by mhesseltine · 2004-02-11 17:36 · Score: 3, Insightful

So, let me get this straight; these users can't or won't pay to purchase music/videos/software/etc., but they will pay some company a monthly fee to protect them as they illegally download said music/videos/software/etc.

I actually hope that this company is a front for the RIAA, nailing those who are too stupid/greedy to figure it out.

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1. Re:Confusion by 0x0d0a · 2004-02-11 17:51 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Sure. It's a lot cheaper. If the music has equivalent value to you as a CD, downloading a single album has just paid for at least two months of service.
  
  Remember that anyone downloading music/movies is investing time, hard drive space/bandwidth, and potentially CDRs anyway.
  
  I actually hope that this company is a front for the RIAA, nailing those who are too stupid/greedy to figure it out.
  
  [shrug] I kind of wish that all speeders would get nailed for breaking the law, potentially with speed-detection devices hidden in all cars. With speeding, people's lives are actually at risk (as opposed to folks just infringing copyrights). However, most people don't like the idea, because they like breaking the law to some degree. I suspect that the same applies to your "I hope the company is an RIAA front" idea -- probably most other people, like me, find the idea of going after users in such a manner distasteful.
  
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Re:geez by 0x0d0a · 2004-02-11 17:46 · Score: 3, Insightful

1) why doesn't the RIAA just get an account, see who's swapping, and subpoena usernames?

The company just doesn't have to keep logs (at least of information like time-IP-username mappings). There is no requirement to log information, just to turn over any information that *has* been logged. They might want to store aggregate data usage with a username, but that should be more than sufficient.

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May we never see th
Is This Article a Kazaa Ad? by DynaSoar · 2004-02-11 20:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

Because I don't see anything on the AnonX site that says anything specifically about Kazaa or any other file sharing system. It says it's for security for any online activity.

I think it's a damn shame that the first thing that comes to mind is file sharing, when far worse things like human rights violations are far more worth protecting. Yes, this proxy system is for that too.

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"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Why don't use Freenet? by DrMorris · 2004-02-12 00:51 · Score: 2, Insightful

As it gets more and more insecure to use P2P filesharing services, the users should consider switching to a filesharing network which fully respects privacy and completely disables censorship (achieved by encryption)

For details see the Freenet Project homepage.

BTW there is another interesting (though by far not as widely used) filesharing network, called GNUnet.
Re:He'll be arrested real soon now.... by Mr.+Slippery · 2004-02-12 02:01 · Score: 5, Insightful

Let me get this right. A guy physically residing in the States is earning money from a service whose primary and almost sole intent is to facilitate the commission of a crime

No, you don't have it right. The intent of this service is to protect privacy.
Yes, the service could be used to anonymously perform illegal activities; it could also be used to anonymously send important information to law enforcement.

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Just Ducky - A new argument for key escrow - curse by MadHungarian1917 · 2004-02-13 04:53 · Score: 3, Insightful

Now the feds will have a new argument for _requiring_ key escrow "to protect IP" just wonderful. and the broadband providers will have a new excuse for blocking VPN connections on residential circuits. Which will make it really inconvenient and _expensive_ for those of us who need these tools for productive work. Ahh the tragedy of the commons writ large

I just wish for once people would think about the consequences for the rest of us before rolling out a commercial service.

The place to fight the DMCA is the courts and we do have some judges on our side. Does anyone remember the Cartervision case where Hollywood wanted to ban VCR's the judge in that case found while the VCR's could be used to infringe copyright they had substantial 'non-infringing' uses which is the same tack the judge in the p2p case is taking. Let's not give _big media_ any ammo for their view of the world.