Slashdot Mirror
MPAA Releases Software For Parents
SnowWolf2003 writes "The MPAA have released their Parent File Scan tool, which 'helps consumers check whether their computers have peer-to-peer software and potentially infringing copies of motion pictures and other copyrighted material'. According to the MPAA, the software does not report any data back to the MPAA. However, users have noted that the software is not accurate; 'tagging' virtually every audio or video file it finds based on file extensions."
is what the software reports? ;-)
Timo's Audio Software http://www.esseraudio.com
Now we have a tool that lists all the filenames the MPAA are looking for, so if you don't fancy getting sued when using P2P, simply rename your downloaded files and use this handy tool to find out if the rename was effective or not. Thanks MPAA!
Does it work on linux?
Illegal? Samir, This is America.
Didn't we see this already?
1. Download tool.
2. Submit definition to ClamWin and other A/V firms.
3. Profit!!!
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
It really tags *any* media file, including soundtracks etc. of games, iTunes songs and just about everything else.
quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
Does this program have any internet connectivity? I was thinking of running it on my media drive for laughs, will probably unplug ethernet cable first :-P
Found [1] file(s):
C:\WINDOWS\UPDATE\AUTODOWNLOAD\TEMP\39FWI25\FOO\ DOWNWITHBIGBROTHER.MP3
Notify Ministry of Peace? (Y/y):
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
However, users have noted that the software is not accurate; 'tagging' virtually every audio or video file it finds based on file extensions.
You don't say? This from the same organization that files bland threats against BitTorrent server ops stating that they (the ops) have to determine what is copyrighted and what is not.
Proudly supporting the Libertarian Party.
Ahhhhh !!!!!! MP#Z = warez u noobz !!!!
Someone might want to check out if this "tool" reports back to the MPAA with names and address of people that have pirated stuff
Slashdot Relases Story Again.
I honestly wonder what percentage of people out there would actually be naive enough to go 'ohnoes! I may have illegal files! :o!' and download this at all, let alone care what it tells them. Can we make a list of them? _
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
Start, search, find files or folders.
I smell lawsuit!
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
dir *.mp3 /s
Does this mean my parents would now be able to view my perfectly legal porno collection if they installed it on my machine ? better get hiding it! Oh no wait I don't live with my parents, what a relief :)
This will really appeal to the tough love parents, not only will they grass their kids up to the police for smoking a reefer, they can also have them imprisoned for the rest of their life for swapping Britney....
That'll teach em!
Sounds like rebranded AdAware?
A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
so i wonder if this tags bittorrent as p2p software. It can be used for such, but has many legitamate uses.
Ha. And according to most criminals in prison, they are innocent.
OK...this first version might not. But in a few months, after people get used to it, and they send out an 'update' containing all the new songs/movies that have been put out, it will have a new unpublished 'feature'.
Do you REALLY want to trust the MPAA snooping around inside your PC?
According to most criminals in prison, they are innocent.
Great! Now the MPAA doesn't have to send out lawsuits. All the parents will just drag their kids off to the police and turn them in. "Here officer, my kid downloaded some movies. Arrest her."
It's the ultimate police state. The MPAA is trying to take over the world!
So what you're saying is is that all this does is tags files that could possibly be infringing based on the file format? And it's for "parents" to "protect" their children? Good god man, the propaganda machine has run amok!
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
Behold the riant ape! Beware, his crooked thumbs!
[quote]tagging' virtually every audio or video file it finds based on file extensions."[/quote] ofcource, mpaa is thinking, all mp3 = bad mkay
As one law professor points out (only half-seriously), the MPAA may need to worry about contributory copyright infringement.
find / -name "*.mp3" -print >> stolenmp3.txt
find / -name "*.avi" -print >> stolenvid.txt
If a parent is not active enough in their child's life or like my parents, not technical enough to understand what files are what, this tool does very little.
Parent Not Active - The parent either doesn't care what their child does on the computer/internet or at least does not monitor it. Indeed, that parent might not see this as doing something wrong and in fact do it themselves.
Non-technical Parent - My parents know about movie pirating and that it can be be done on the computer. However, I could also leave a new copy of a main stream movie on the desktop with little worry.
Personally, I think this is a sneaky (abeit overt) way of allowing the MPAA's software to take a peak in your drawers. Parents, if you feel like this is information you can't optain by talking to your kids, than them having some movies on their computer really isn't the problem.
-Teiresias
Uh, no kidding?
And if their software used some DRM or logging scheme to track the origin of every audio, video or archive file, you'd be saying that was a good thing?!?
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
"Son?"
"Yeah, Dad?"
"I got that tool from the MPAA, and I found some stuff on your computer."
"Dad, I can explain."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"But I--"
"Didn't I teach you to share? Now come on, let's find some good Doobie Brothers..."
Yeah.. I thought I have seen this before...
here
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
So this means that public schools in the US permit every shady business to slip in its personal agenda to the official curriculum, provide they bribe enough politicos.
This is a fucking scandal and a disgrace for the US school system. Since I'm a foreigner there's nothing I can do, besides urging you to act on this outrage.
The full post can be found here
ich bin der musikant
mit taschenrechner in der hand
kraftwerk
Suppose you record your own music, save it on your machine. You give it to your friends, or release it on the net. The MPAA claims that it's stolen, which implies that it's not yours go give away.
Isn't the MPAA infringing on your copyrights?
*ALL* this is is Start -> Search -> For Files or Folders... -> Music + Video, as well as something to look for the signature of installed P2P applications. It simply searches based on file extension. Even radnomly named mp3s are listed.
Move along, nothing to see here...
So basically this software is just as good as the "Find" tool in windows. You can actually even choose "Search for Pictures, Music, or Video" in the windows search util and don't have to type in the *.avi etc wildcards.
I can just see it now...
Mother - "Johnny! I'm going to use this new tool from 'the Man' to see if you've been doing anything illegal on here!"
Kid - "Oh no!"
Father - "Whoa you've been a busy little pirate haven't you?"
Kid "ARRRRR...."
Mother - "Go get the popcorn! I just found the new Johnny Depp movie!"
Father - "Wow! This is awesome, you can download these things for free? SWEEET!"
Why would you want to run this in the first place? If you buy a computer with pirated anything on it with out your knowledge you cant get sued right? If your a parent and dont know whats installed on a computer your perty dumb. ps:sorry I put this orignally as a reply not a post
I hear that they are working on ver 2 of this software. It checks for any tax returns and/or money management programs on your pc, calculates your net worth to see if you are worth sueing, generates some infractions on your pc, and signs you up for a law suit.
In God we trust, all others require data.
I hope someone can get this killer app to run under Wine...
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
It might make it remotely useful, if it did.
As someone who tries to use P2P legally, I find it annoying that sometimes months after downloading something, I find that it wasnt some independent legally distributed music, but rather some well-known artist I'd just never heard of. (at that point sometimes I delete, sometimes I buy)
What they've instead released is a useless tool designed to create fear through absolute blatant lies.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
search for *.mpg,*.avi, *.mp3, and for p2p programs .exe
If I download the flash file to play it, surely I'm copying the MPAA's copyrighted file onto my own machine. I'm worried that they'll sue me it I do that.
I swear, I had to read that headline three times before I got that it didn't read:
:)
MPAA releases software for patents
Just reading the first word probably made me automatically expect the rest of the headline to be some evil deed, so hey, it's understandable, right?
"WARNING: AUTOEXEC.BAT IS COPYRIGHT PROPERTY OF"... ah, forget it... From what I understand, they`d be better of just making a front-end for the Windows Search Assistant function. Hey, why not create a new stupid mascot, something like a "grinning lawyer" or something for it instead of taking time trying to pass it off as a new proggie?
Would it be evil if some software company held a patent on this technology and sued them?
aww how cute
you keep quiet about my MP3s, and I won't tell Mom about the porn in your browser cache.
dupe dupe dupe dupe dupe how any dupes can a single site do. one dupe twoooooooooo dupes.
and send you an automatic refund for their f***-up ?(if they are legal copies). I wish
Timo's Audio Software http://www.esseraudio.com
"...helps consumers check whether their computers..."
Helps consumers of what check their computers ?
Helps acid consumers check their computers haven't morphed into giant pigeons and hopped off ?
Helps cocaine consumers check their computers aren't taking the mick and needing a kicking ?
Helps burger consumers check their computers aren't edible ?
I hate the word 'consumer' which seems to me to imply that whatever the likes of the MPAA want to pump out I am their with my mouth open and my tounge flapping just dying to suck it all down. I make sensible, considered purchasing decisions based on what I need and what the adverts tell me.
Now I can keep up with what porn my dad is downloading. Why do they always assume that it is the younger generation that is the problem.
-----
No, I will not touch you there
...and replaced "Hello World" with "You have copyright violations!"
You should be actively involved.
;)
Talk with your kids. Make sure they know what Kazaa-Lite is and how to use it. Make sure they know about encryption and how to use it.
Even better, make sure they use something like mldonkey instead. They more you're involved with your kids, the better odds are that they will turn out how you want them to.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
So who is going to be the first to write software that will circumvent the MPAA Parent File Scan tool?
However, users have noted that the software is not accurate; 'tagging' virtually every audio or video file it finds based on file extensions
/Me turns off PCAnywhere
But virtually every file on my computer is taken from someone, yay infringement, my pR0n collection is definately the most extensive though, and I would be greatly disheartened if my parents found it all, on my computer, while I'm at college, half a country away.
"...potentially infringing copies of motion pictures and other copyrighted material'...users have noted that the software is not accurate; 'tagging' virtually every audio or video file it finds based on file extensions."
... the RIAA would sue you for the copy you bought from teh store if they could
How is that not accurate? it says "potentially infringing". From a blind look on any computer I think one would be wont to consider any media file to have the potential to be a copy rigth infringement.
And not only that, but as law makers struggle to decide how many copies (if any) you are allowed to make for yourself what you can and cannot have becomes vauge and as such the potential goes up, that is from the point of an objective ystander
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/begs.html
I just ran the program. 3118 files! I've been a busy little beaver, haven't I? *innocent smile*
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
One could implement checking against a database of checksums for some of the most commonly shared files; it obviously would not be comprehensive, however.
I'd be more curious as to what they intend to do with all the IPs of users that downloaded the program or perhaps even browsed the site.
Only the dead have seen the end of war.
Among the file extensions of the affected material are:
- .pdf
- .doc
- .xls
- .ppt
How much money is there in a tool to identify these files on a computer and warn parents? And how do we stop malicious people from distributing these so-called "Operating systems?". Oh wait a moment...Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
dir *.mp* /s
dir *.avi /s
dir *.qt /s
dir *.bmp /s
dir *.jpg /s
dir *.gif /s
echo The above files probably contain copyright material. Please delete them.
This was covered just yesterday. Pull your head out, Michael.
I'm not good in groups. It's difficult to work in a group when you're omnipotent. - Q
but does it run on linux?
They managed to use ls and grep on a windows machines, which is harder than it seems at first.
This way, it can be distributed even faster.
For example, their ratings system does a graet job of giving "Billy Elliott" and "Waiting for Guffman" R ratings, because goodness knows no 13-year-old has ever hear bad language or encountered tacitly gay characters. Violence like Daredevil's "paperclips stabbing your throat until you choke to death" gets a PG-13 -- and so does a fantastic family movie like "Whale Rider" -- because there was apparently a bong in the background in one scene.
We're ever so eager to hear their parenting advice in other areas.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
Visual Studio comes with several AVI files that represent copying, moving, deleting, etc. Imagine hubby or honey running this tool on those systems, and deleting the tagged files. Time to reinstall Visual Studio.
As an aside, I wonder if the EULA indemnifies the publishers of the software. If not, I can see lawsuits on the horizon for damages due to lost productivity.
OTOH, even if the EULA does indemnify them for damages, I can see how this might qualify as extortion...
MPAA: "Would you like to run our software?"
Parent: "No"
MPAA: "Nice life savings account. Wouldn't want something to...happen...to it."
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
How does a bunch of spit end up as one long string?
Parent File Scan is brought to you by DtecNet Software ApS. This free program allows you to search your computer for installed P2P applications as well as movie and music files. You will then be given the option to remove the identified applications and delete infringing movie and music files in a few easy steps. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies, as it is up to the user to determine, whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or whether the material should be deleted. Information generated by the program will be made available only to the program's user and will not be shared with or reported to DtecNet Software or any other body.
Taken directly from the download page. Bold emphasis mine.
Wow, what a great way to tell parents their kids aren't to be trusted.
Three men walk into a bar. They all got concussions.
Suppose you record your own music, save it on your machine.
Who wrote the song? And how can you prove that it was entirely original? Perhaps you did subconsciously copy the work as in Bright Tunes Music v. Harrisongs Music (the "My Sweet Lord" case), and the original songwriter and music publisher deserve their cuts.
The MPAA claims that it's stolen, which implies that it's not yours go give away.
Nitpick: Music publishers make up the NMPA/Harry Fox Agency, not the Motion Picture Association of America.
Does it include a handy form you can fill out to turn your kids in to the FBI?
And when you turn them in, and the MPAA sues your kids, do they indemnify the parents from the legal fees and penalties? Just send those subversive kids to prison where they belong.
I bet this is a big hit with concerned parents everywhere.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
BitTorrent is evil P2P software which is being used illegally and must be killed.
My entire music collection which I copied off my CD's is pirated.
The sound effects from Day of Defeat are pirated.
Ditto for Ceasar 3
Blizzard's 12 days of Christmas which they released for free download by all and sundry is pirated.
MP3's of my cousin's wedding are apparently pirated copyright material.
I'm suprised that it didn't throw a wobbly about the videos of the TA Spring engine.
FGD 135
Buying movies from non-MPAA affiliated studios also results in a loss in their profits since you're spending your money elsewhere, so does that mean we can get sued for buying movies from independent filmmakers? Will they start searching peoples homes and suing them for owning non-MPAA produced movies?
But I can't help but notice that on that site, there's no talkback form. No e-mail address. No way in which to leave feedback on what they are doing.
:\
Funny that.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
Not very accurate? The license agreement clearly states that the tool cannot distinguish between legally and illegally obtained movies and music and that it will therefore detect the presence of all such files. It does exactly what it says it does.
This may not be what the MPAA or their intended audience thinks the most desirable behavior, and if they could easily make it detect the difference between copyright violations and legal content, I'm sure they would, but for the Slashdot blurb to call the software "not accurate" is, well, not accurate.
Has anyone checked the eMails they are scrolling across their screens at the linked page? If these people ar enot convicted of piracy, wouldn't that be slander?
I've won two lawsuits against the BSA for slander myself, so it is worth pursuing.
Andy Out!
I can't believe they're a .org.
Not for profit my a**.
Spam 'em.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
I thought your sig came from Yoda?
Live forever, or die trying.
I feel we are getting closer and closer to 1984. Thanks George, we appreciate it.
"God of Rock, thank you for this chance to kick ass. "
I just installed this software to see what exactly it does. It just finds p2p software and all media. It tells you right up front that it can't tell the diff between legal and illegal media, that you must make up your mind.
This software tags every movie/music file, merely "virtually" all files. I love how when i ran it, it picked up the MP3's I had gotten from a local band first. And apparently, it doesn't pick up i2hub as a P2P app, but does pick up both Soulseek and Azureus.
Because obivously everything of those genres is stolen. Tips to anyone who's parents install this:
Step one, shoot yourself.
Step two...one was enough.
Technical merits, or lack thereof, aside, at least the MPAA is trying to get parents involved. Hopefully I won't get too old/lazy/senile to keep track of what my kids are doing on their computer. But sadly many parents don't know what their kids are watching on TV to say nothing of what's on their computers, otherwise spyware/malware wouldn't be so rampant.
Maybe the MPAA tool will serve as a gateway for hitherto uninvolved parents to get involved. Now for the cold reality, even if the tool worked well, it wouldn't be of much help to the MPAA. Why? Because I suspect the bulk of movie swapping is done on bandwidth rich college campuses, not on little Jane's DSL or cable hookup in the den. But maybe the MPAA knows that already and is just trying to educate the next generation of computer users and their parents.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
To be fair:
"The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies, as it is up to the user to determine, whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or whether the material should be deleted."
Though it should definately at least exclude default system sounds and the like. Perhaps even recognize certain common audio editors and ignore files saved in their default locations be those. This could actually be useful, if it were more refined, to the least computer savvy parents. (Read: The parents who "check their email" using voice recognition -- "Hoy Johnny, did I get any email?"
I hate grammar Nazi's.
Don't be amazed when your kids turn your uppermiddle class psychochristian soccermom Libertarian pot smoking ass over to the DEA.
I will fucking cheer when that happens.
All it does is search for files. It cannot distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate files.
But wouldn't it be much simpler for parents to simply search for "*.mpg *.avi *.mpg" on their computers?! Or is that too complicated for the average (l)user?!
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
atrrib +H *.mpeg,*.mp3, etc
...are belong to us.
We must be alert to the danger that public policy could become captive to a scientific-technological elite. - Eisenhower
Life is just nature's way of keeping meat fresh.
Anybody have a Torrent tracker for this software? I can't find it on KaZaA...
My Dad is the one who begs me to download the movies.
My Blog
Q: Is it possible to hide files from the program, by changing their name or extension?
A: No. The program uses advanced binary recognition, locating all known multimedia file types and P2P applications, regardless of their name and extension.
Q: Does the program distinguish between legal and illegal copies of multimedia files?
A: No. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies. It is up to the user to determine whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or if the material should be deleted.
So they claim they look for something like magic numbers/headers to detect "multimedia" files...but beyond that, it seems incredibly stupid.
Looks like a Windows port of 'file' to me.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
I tried this software just for fun, it tagged all my home videos and even access logs from my website! (extension .txt) :P
Wonder if they thought it was an ASCII movie or something
Download it from here if you want to avoid their EULAs
demon
-----
Nothing is ever a total loss; it can always serve as a bad example.
The FAQ sheds some light on the software functionality.
Parent File Scan communicates with the developer, DtecNet, only to tell it what version of the program you're using. I'm sure the devs will keep your IP address in a locked vault away from the MPAA. They'd tell you in plain English, in this FAQ or on their cutesy flash homepage, if they intended to connect to your IP with BT or Emule, right? Right!
They also state that the program cannot differentiate between "legal and illegal copies", whatever that means.
I would not be suprised, 4 years from now, if every Windows computer sold came with an application like this. It would be "improved" for "the children" and to "protect us": it would be unremovable, actually use signatures, and would automatically delete "bad" things, and most likely clandestinely report them with svchost.exe or something you cannot block with your firewall and still have a functioning internet connection.
i saw the baby, and the baby looked at me
In other news here in the U.K. the police have also produced a handy fill in form for you to list anything you've done "that you think they should be aware of". These forms are available from any good police station (open 12:00 'til 12:10, Aug 15th only)
Customs & Excise are expected to follows suit soon after with the Departments of Work and Pensions and the Child Support Agency lagging not far behind.
And don't forgot... You can also fill them in on behalf of your friends, neighbours, spouse or kids.
Sky subscribers are morons. They pay to be advertised at !
Hypocrisy is the gateway drug!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
From what i can tell, it suggests deleting anything with a media extension, even legally held parts of the OS, home movies and owned music.
It also seems to miss-identify printer and scanner drivers as p2p apps.
If some non-techy user (ie, most parents) used this and it deleted all their home movies and trashed all tehir peripherals, could they sue the MPAA?
Or is there something in the EULA that exempts the MPAA from any responsibility for what it suggests deleting?
Install the program, open PCBKDP.DAT. There's a list of "file sharing"-applications the program searches for. Among them is LordOfSearch 1.57.
3 44
http://www.spywareguide.com/product_show.php?id=1
Heh.
I thought it said "MPAA Releases Software for Patents". Eek!
Wow, this software actually helped me find some music I didn't know I had. I suggest them putting a 'delete duplicate files' option in and this could come quite popular..
It caught BitSpirit and Soulseek, but appears to have completely missed Shareaza and KaZaA Lite.
If parents are running this, they already don't trust their kids.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
IANAL, but couldn't this have interesting implications for the Grokster suit? If the MPAA can't get anything written that actually identifies their copywritten material, how can they say in court that the P2P networks should be able to do it?
Has anyone got a torrent for this program ?
$ wine: cannot determine executable type for L"Z:\\home\\mark\\Downloads\\ParentFileScan_setup. msi"
One of my favorite Eurythmics songs. Very spooky.
What do you suppose it does when it finds that MP3 on your hard drive?
Your mileage may vary, but mine is constant.
And the program overloaded!!! (I have at least 4960 songs on my computer, all copied, ripped and downloaded for free, without paying a single cent - and legally, of course).
A script that creates a heirarchy of artist and titles, full of zero length files, with differing extensions would be handy, and would really test a file system. Drive the *AA's nuts, but that is their problem.
the program is sending data out after the scan finishes, I've been running packet sniffs with ethereal, but can't find anything that says what is being sent, but after watching my packet count go up a couple thousand at the end of the scan sounds strange to me, and going from no traffic to a small spike after the scan gives me reason to not trust it at all.
and become voters.
"Oh yeah, the MPAA, I remember them, they tattled on me to my parents..."
I wonder what kind of effect the MPAA is hoping for when they keep targetting their patrons and future patrons with lawsuits.
They have GOT to be smoking some serious crack... Almost like all those Metallica users petitioning to get rid of producer Bob Rock because they blame HIM for how much Metallica has come to suck.
*rolls eyes*
I don't know the meaning of the word 'don't' - J
no comments on the annoying use of flash?
I didn't even see a button for "flash annoys me, get me to your 'content'"
Until I looked at it again. The program had flagged all the VOB files from the DVD movie that was in my DVDROM drive.
I didn't know that the MPAA was giving out a Desktop Search Tool so I could index all my video files!
I must prostest!
It found e-mule, DC++ and ABC, but it didn't find my kazzaa lite client!
How am I supposed to keep track of which clients I still have to install, if it doesn't find all of them...
+++ MELON MELON MELON +++ Out of Cheese Error +++ redo from start +++
Next time your parents step to you with some noise about homework and skipping school, fire back.
Coming soon. The MPAA compliance kit for parents:
1 Sledge hammer
1 Plastic Bag
*disclaimer: this kit does not check to see if what you are hitting is a computer or not. Not liable for bodily injury*
This is actually a great tool to quickly find all the dirty filth on any machine, when travelling to the US with a shared pool laptop, I can no longer be held responsible for other users pr0n as I can prove I checked and have nothing illegal in my possession.
The software does not seem to scan for any file with an mp3 extension. It is more sensitive than that. For example i took a cake mp3 and renamed it cake.doc the scanner still flagged it as being ilegal music. Also i took an executable and renamed it to an mp3 file. The scanner did not pick that up. It must check by ID3 tag or something similar.
Cool utility, I wondered where that Mark Ronson - Jackin had got to. hmmm, jackin....
Twenty-five years ago:
"Son, is this a marijuana pipe? Do you want me to call the police? You COULD go to JAIL for this!"
Today:
"Son, is this "Matrix Reloaded"? Do you want me to call the MPAA? You ARE going to JAIL for this!"
"I worked hard for it. I deserve it. And I have it," Campbell said. "It's all mine."
Scanning file names?
Are they forgetting that it is quite impossible to identify whether a video file on your PC is legal or not. 99% of all video files on my PC are recorded from TV or have been on TV at one time or another. Do they have a problem with that?
Are they also forgetting that MP3 players are legal? And that you need to rip your CDs to MP3 in order to use them...
Will someone please stop the madness
I know I preaching to the choir here, but how is it possible that these simple arguments don't stick. Any thoughts?
Did anyone else notice that part of the EULA requires you to assume legal responsibility for any copyright stuff that your kids have downloaded. That clause doesn't seem to exclude stuff that the program doesn't find, either.
Does it tag .wav files? If so, and the program says they're infringing files, which leads someone to delete them, Windows might not be too happy about that...
Funny, I just deleted all those tagged files. And I haven't heard any complaints from Windows. Not a peep, in fact !
--LordPixie
helps consumers ...
What is with the word "consumer"? I've noticed that in the past decade that its use has risen. I think it has quite a few negative connotations. Do I not create or producer/em? Am I simply a black hole where things dissappear without anything ever coming out of?
Why not at least use "customer"?
Can anyone think of how this software violates copyrights or patents?
This would be delicious revenge to get them on an IP violation.
Excuse me for not downloading the program, but their website makes it sound like the application offers the chance to delete files.
Could we all get together and flood the MPAA and the developer (assuming they're evil by association) and call them about all of our deleted home movies and recording and Windows missing its sounds?
No contact phone on dtecnet's support page.
--D
p.s. Did anyone else notice in the scrolling background of the MPAA page that their users names like gay1e@fileshare, wildchick29076, anonymous, and more!
Just tested it, and it works like it's described in the other posts. You could just as well use the find function of windows to look for media files.
Furthermore it doesn't seem to be able to recognise all file sharing software. It got Azureus and Shareaza but didn't get eXeem Lite.
--> Insert Funny Sig Here
Is this violating my copyright ?
All your mp[3g] are belong to us.
what about porn movies I have in my HD? ;)
It seems to me that this is just a company that completely ripped off the *AA, come to think of it. I mean, the software was thrown together, with half-decent P2P-app recognition and a basic file search, and how much must the *AA have paid them for this?
I fully support and/or endorse this company. Rip em off, boys!
Stuff.
Bummer.
Version 3: /s >> C:\ILLEGALFILES.TXT
/autotest /autotest /autotest
ECHO These files may be illegal, or potentially used to make or obtain illegal files. >>C:\ILLEGALFILES.TXT
c:
cd \
dir *.*
Version 4:
ECHO You might have illegal files, we will clean them.
FORMAT C:
FORMAT D:
FORMAT E:
(repeat until Z)
If you think education is expensive, you should try ignorance -- Derek Bok, president of Harvard
"-iname" people. '-name "*.avi"' will miss X3.AVI
Or at least do a '-name "*.[Aa][Vv][Ii]"' to try and make it somewhat case insensitive.
First off, I hope they didn't pay much for this - I ran it for fun, and it basically just lists all music files and video files between certain thresholds (default for music is 2-10MB, movies is 100-3000MB). I think most ./ readers could have programmed this minimalist interface in, say, 15 minutes. Oh, and by the way, it doesn't detect Shareaza :-)
Luckily though, even the attempts by the MPAA/RIAA to brainwash our children in school might run afoul. Last I checked, George Orwell still had a few books on the required reading list, and once kids get to "1984" and "Animal Farm", they might start to put two and two together.
On second thought, they might buy the "Intellectual Property" rights to his books, and ban them in schools alltogether... But as long as they don't snag Bradbury's "Fahrenheight 454" while they're at it, hopefully our next generation will have better luck fighting back than we are...
Back in my day, we just pirated with VHS copies and all our pr0n was tucked under the mattress where our moms "couldn't find" it. Then, we got computers and they REALLY couldn't find it. I'm just gonna give my kids pr0n and pirated movies and let them make their own decisions. I mean it's a pretty f**ked up world when a kid can't hide or share his crappy copy of "Spider Man 2" that was recorded from a DV cam in behind a bunch of rowdy kids. Party poopers.
I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
From the FAQ for the software we're all talking about:
"Q: Does the program distinguish between legal and illegal copies of multimedia files?
A: No. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies. It is up to the user to determine whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or if the material should be deleted."
http://dtecnet.purestatic.com/faq.html
Though, they also say:
"The program uses advanced binary recognition, locating all known multimedia file types and P2P applications, regardless of their name and extension."
Which is amusing. And false.
-JH
You must have some different version than what I have because I just sniffed packets throughout the whole process and nothing got sent out past my LAN the entire time. I did this on a clean system though, no mp3's or p2p apps, but it did find 3 system files for various OSes that I have loaded on here. Regardless, no information was sent out at all. Maybe that's some other application you have installed...
"IBM has also patented the LZW algorithm, but has never enforced this patent. According to the Free Software Foundation that patent will expire on August 11, 2006 in the United States." -Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gif#Unisys_and_LZW_pa tent_enforcement
Ratings were created in response to censorship actions in communities. That's all they were for, to prevent movies from being censored, by pointing out that material was for adults (this came after a supreme court decision stating that you couldn't censor material for adults simply because kids could see it.) It's not perfect, it never was, it gets abused all the time. It was only created to get government off their backs, so in that sense it works fine.
I'm pretty sure that if they hadn't HAD to have created them, they never would have done so. Prior to MPAA ratings, there were just organization "Seal of approval" sorts of relationships. This is the way ratings should be. You are a member of "concerned christians for movie piety" or whatever, and based on their rating for a movie, you go see it or not. If you're not a christian but you're concerned about something else, find a group that will rate your movie according to some criteria, or else form your own organization and provide your ratings to like minded people. The internet makes it really easy to do so. I think a case could be made that ratings are obsolete.
MOD PARENT UP!
Great screenshots! I use linux and was just going to rely on word-of-mouth, but its really neat that you showed just how dumb this scanner is.
Poor people are going to rely on it it and end up deleting printer drivers and default windows music, PLUS home videos and then proceed to yell at little johnny for doing illegal stuff.
*sigh*, poor sheeple.
find / -name '*jpg' -o -name '*mpg' -o -name '*avi' -o -name '*mp3' -exec rm {} \;
Since this is Slashdot, I have to ask: But does it support ogg?
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
It looks like it just looks for files and file extensions stored in the extensions.ini file it installs. (It might use the registry normally; I'm on a work computer without admin access, so it might have just installed the ini for that reason).
Anyway, it looks for mp3s, wavs, even midis, and for some reason, rars and zips, as well as a bunch of specific programs, for which it has the name of the uninstaller listed. Interestingly, mirc is listed here, as is gluz.exe, which apparently is an HP printer configuration tool.
Also, it contains some byte strings which appear to be bytes that appear in the beginnings of specific audio and video formats, so if you rename
foo.mp3 to foo.txt, it will still find it.
Of course, if you rename it to foo.txt, and put a padder 0 byte in the beginning, it won't find it. And if you rename foo.txt to foo.mp3, it will tell you to delete it. And if you use IRC, it will tell you to delete it.
The software is useless. All of the works oby Tetsuya Mizuguchi (creator of the synesthetic shooter Rn your computer are copyright (at least if you and the works are in the US), and P2P software in itself is not illegal, and chances are that most of the data on your machine may be legally sharable (and if it's not, perhaps it's not being shared).
The fact is that any data you produce on your machine is copyright by you. Home movies, book reports, vacation photos, etc. The software you have is copyrighted, but you probably have license to use it (or, at least have been led to think so by the person that sold it to you). Have a few ripped DVD images on there? Well, if they are ripped from a DVD you bought, then you've got a license for it (granted, the software you used to create the rip is technically contraband, as is the knowledge how to do it -- but the ripped content itself is legal).
Moreover, what if you actually have a license that explicitly allows you to redistribute another person's work (I have the Linux kernel source on my PC, and I have a license to redistribute it thought it's copyrighted by someone else). How would this software know it? It won't. And how could you determine if the content is copyrighted at all -- you could have digitized something in the public domain...
So what do you flag? Well, everything that's data on the PC is copyrighted material, more or less. So simply mark everything as copyright...
I was curious, so I installed this on a clean system I use for testing and set up Kerio personal firewall (like Zone Alarm) on the computer as well. Although the program found several "problems" that were just stupid (like every real player file on my computer, they are used for my distance eduation class, and who pirates stuff using real player?), it never tried to send any data anywhere because Kerio never popped up to approve any connections from the program (and it wasn't on the approved list).
Apparently they were telling the truth, even though the program is still pretty stupid.
I think your script conflicts with Totem or something... Since I executed it Totem keeps complaining about not being able to load some movie file at startup...
License agreement? Do you mean parents have to agree to the terms of a license in order to use the tool provided to them by the MPAA? Are they charging money for it too?
Maybe next they will start suing people for downloading copies of their anti-piracy software from unauthorized websites... As I don't do Flash, is there a direct link I could use?
Does this new tool automatically find ./ story duplicates about itself?
Son, can you show me how to download this software, and help me install it on your computer? I want to scan your computer for illegal files.
find / -name "*.mpeg"
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
This "software" is a joke. Unless it is doing some spyware crap, it shouldn't be more than about 20 lines of code. I bet I know why they are putting this software on their website. Now in court they can put the liability on the parents by saying, "You can't claim you had no way of knowing that this illegal media was on your computer because we've got free software for that on our website." Now the parents' $$$ is up for grabs.
My only regret... is that I have... bonitis..
Unfortunately, this would require parents taking an active interest in their children, and not blaming film makers and theater owners for corrupting junior.
Weapons of Mass Analysis
According to that shady tool freenet is a p2p-program, just so you know.
Looks to me like the MPAA just ran across this POS software and linked to it - they seem to do their best to disassociate themselves from anything the software might do - hell, they have a "Terms and Conditions" page when you try and follow the link to the dtecnet website.
This is from a person called "Southpaw018" on BBR:
Re: Nice tool for parents to keep eye on kids
This isn't about teaching kids right from wrong, it's about the MPAA using FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) to get their way. This amounts to a fear-based campaign. I ran it on my system, and it highlighted something like 10,000 files. Most of them were audio files that were legitimate parts of programs installed on my computer - including Windows itself.
Some copyright detector this is.
Ok, we all know the type of user I'm talking about... those windows folks who have 18 quirky sounds, some obnoxiously colored background/desktop, who change 'themes' every two days (often after I remove them so I can save my sanity while I fix their latest screw-ups), and who think the Internet is what a computer "is."
What's going to happen when these folks run the 'MPAA scanner' and it recommends that they delete these 'bad files' - whammo ! away go the freaky grunts and squirts and squeaks they love so dearly, and they race to phone to call me to 'fix their Internet' again... Oh my.
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
I believe that MPAA released this tool in order to take the very first step towards data censorship. Give it a couple of years and we'll have to run this tools on a weekly basis and report our findings to MPAA or Windows could do it for us automatically.
Everybody wants to cover themselves. Parents are afraid of getting sued for their kids downloads. Teachers are terrified of teaching or not teaching religion in school because somebody may or may not like it. We can't even show a boob or a bare back on TV without generating a lot of fuzz from folks lke this. Americans have become so paranoid that even Super Bowl is taking a hit as described in this article. It takes only one person to turn this world upside down.
That is why I am not surprised that MPAA is doing what it does. FCC fined radio broadcasting corporations for indecency; some stations dropped Howard Stern because they did not want to be fined in the future. Now that there are lawsuits against people who download movies, MPAA released a product that will help you to avoid the fines. I bet you $20 many people will fall for it. When you're a single mother of two, the last thing you want to see is a law suit against you. For some people it is a no-brainer. Once you start the ball rolling, it will never stop unless something major happens. People will "clean" their computers and bend over as far as MPAA wants them to because people do not want to lose their money.
Imagine a slogan that says, "If you run product X and we still find illegal movies on your computer, you will not be fined! Otherwise, we'll charge you because you did not put any effort in protecting our copyright!"
Couldn't Fraunhofer sue the MPAA for defamation, since the tool labels all mp3's as potentially infringing material? It implies the format itself is illegal.
Here's who created the scanner, and what they have to say about it...
Thank you for choosing to Download DtecNet Parent File Scan. Parent File Scan is brought to you by DtecNet Software ApS. This free program allows you to search your computer for installed P2P applications as well as movie and music files. You will then be given the option to remove the identified applications and delete infringing movie and music files in a few easy steps. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies, as it is up to the user to determine, whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or whether the material should be deleted. Information generated by the program will be made available only to the program's user and will not be shared with or reported to DtecNet Software or any other body.
The FAQ is even more insightful, here's a few choice items:
Q: Does the program distinguish between legal and illegal copies of multimedia files?
A: No. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies. It is up to the user to determine whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or if the material should be deleted.
Q: How do I recover deleted files?
A: You can't. Once files are deleted, they cannot be recreated.
Oh, and it removes some "P2P software" if you want as well (Because obviously BitTorrent is for thieves)
From ZDNet:
Parent File Scan also uses a very liberal definition of file-swapping software. In a test on a CNET News.com computer, the software identified Mirc--a client for the Internet Relay Chat network, where files can be swapped, but where tens of thousands of wholly legal conversations happen every day--and Mercora, a streaming Web radio service that uses peer-to-peer technology but does not allow file swapping.
Argh...
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
The parents are the ones nailing the illegal videos!! Thats like asking OJ to volunteer to take his own DNA test. Not very effective.
It sucked having to click through a myriad of folders to play music, now I can just use this to search, find, and launch my media files. Thanks MPAA!
Suppose a moron deletes all the marked files after all the legal threats from the **AA groups and didn't recognize the windows stuff. Does it totally break windows?
Doesn't this person have a legal case against the makers of the software that told them to fuck up their system? Maybe..
Regardless, it's worth a deterrent force suit.
Wouldn't the MPAA tagging them as potentially infringing material unfairly deny people access to my movies?
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
a penny saved used to be a government oversight. now is it an mpaa oversight?
Hey, .oggs
At least it detects
Sueing kids for sharing mp3's is not very sympathetic, a PR nightmare. Sueing parents is a lot easier.
This is how it works:
The mpaa sniffs out your kid sharing mp3's.
the mpaa looks up the offending IP.
The mpaa sees you have downloaded the tool.
Now your kids won't get sued for Copyright infringement but you do. You knew about it.
Fsck'd
The mpaa sees you haven't downloaded the tool.
Now your kids won't get sued for Copyright infringement but you do. You could have known about it and did not prevent it. Fsck'd
--
We are doing our best, but quite frankly, I don't think we're doing bad. We have the infernal DMCA, but there's a chance the CMCRA will go through, and I don't like the INDUCE act's chances.
Comparing us to other countries, e don't have a tax on consumable media (CD-R), like Canada and a number of othersdo. I haven't heard of a kid getting penalized here for putting up *hyperlinks* to free music sites, though I could be mistaken.
Not trying to start a flame war, that's not at all the point. But the magnifying glass is on the US - rightfully so to a degree, but I think govs in a lot of other countries are taking a lot of bribes and selling out your liberties without getting enough heat. As bad if not worse than what's going on here. You didn't mention where you're from - unless you're one of the lucky ones, I'd start looking in my own back yard if I were you.
-Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat
All Your Files Are Belong To Us.
But Officer, I DID read the f**king article!
An illegal service is one that directs you to somewhere where copyrighted material can be found?
Add some net support to ParentScan and it would be . . . NAPSTER!
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
I already have software to search for illegal copyrighted music.
In fact, that's what got them upset in the first place.
By these conclusions, it seems that what we need is a tool that will slice and dice all media files into little bits (I vote for cluster size, for the inherent "compression" benefit of no wasted slack-space), and then sit in memory and reconstitute them as needed.
You know... The way we used to send pr0n over usenet.
The REAL jabber has the user id: 13196
What you do today will cost you a day of your life
Just like the US president has shown us: if you perform bold and brash enough, often enough, people will believe just about anything you tell them.
I don't really care for this trend at all, with world politics or the recording industry.
Actually for a long time there was "the Hays code," the strict era of censorship in Hollywood that made it impossible to refer to such extreme topics as divorce in any kind of positive light, that limited the length of kisses on screen, that essentially prohibited movies in which the bad guys didn't get theirs, and so on. The code came about earlier, but started being enforced in the early 50s or so I think. (Gee, right around when the HUAC started pillorying writers, too. Whaddaya know.)
Even back then the movie industry was bowing to pressures from a subset of the religious right. Mostly, for whatever reasons, it's been a Catholic thing. Hays himself was very much a public Catholic in a political sense. As a result, both ratings and the earlier censorship was hard on any sort of sexual material and far easier on violence.
I do take your point, but it doesn't dispel the basic irony: the MPAA isn't making any effort to "help parents" but it routinely claims to be -- as with this lovely, helpful piece of spyware.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
The US Copyright system places the burden of proof on the copyright owner. It's YOUR problem.
We will not do your dirty work for you.
Love,
The Parents
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
.\.\att Clare
This thing found every single .wma file I have paid for from the new Napster, as well as tagging various .mp3 and .wma files from video games, like Sid Meier's Pirates!, Colin McRae Rally 2005, and Medal of Honor. Fucking asshats, I don't want to delete that stuff!
On the plus side, it also turned up some pr0n I had forgotten about...
Isn't it interesting how you come to recognize posters based solely on their sigs???
But see, they added FUD. You can't just use any ol' tool for that. If you want to truly fear the gestappo breaking down your door, seizing your equiptment, and slapping you with a billion dollar fine, you've got to use the GUI that labels "Billy - first haircut.mpg" as "WARNING STOLEN FILE FOUND".
Never confuse volume with power.
I'm not a musician and I don't make movies, but if I did, I'd be pretty annoyed about this program listing my songs/movies.
If I decide to give away my movies/music to boost their popularity and my fanbase, then I'd be very angry when this program misled everyone who had my movies/music into thinking that they're illegal. I'd also be very angry that the MPAA was representing me without my permission.
The MPAA shouldn't be giving out legal advice that they know is incorrect. This isn't much different than me writing a program that tells users downloading Hollywood movies is perfectly legal, and assists them in doing so.
that Windows comes with a "Search" tool anyway?
From the site where you can download the program:
This free program allows you to search your computer for installed P2P applications as well as movie and music files.
The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies
So basically it lists all media files and gives you the option to delete these files. Amazing that they are not charging for this service...heh
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Can somebody who's more hip to law please answer tell me, wouldn't this app's claiming that ding.wav as an infringment be an infringment?
Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
Now we have just another thing that parents will trust (in its validity) about what their kids are doing. But in reality, its just something thats going to get gullible parents pissed at their kids for something they didn't do. Reminds me of this: http://www.adequacy.org/public/stories/2001.12.2.4 2056.2147.html
Does anyone have the hash for this f**e piece of work?
so they're giving parents a tool that will return a list of *.mp3 and expecting what?piracy to drop off significantly or parents to engage their children in a debate on copyright issues... people with free time don't waste it trying to help the riaa/mpaa
Get your torrents...
How about:
Honey... What are these bangbus_13.avi and goatsnhos.avi files?
Argh. Don't forget to password protect your computer kiddos. Including the bios.
If mom wants to run l0pht crack and pull the computer's battery...