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Feds Shut Down Elite Torrents

honkimon writes "Cnn Money reports, "Government agents said the onslaught included 10 search warrants and the shut down of a central Web site used to coordinate all file-sharing activity on the Elite Torrents network. That Web site, Elitetorrents.org, had a selection of copyrighted works that government officials described as virtually unlimited.""

15 of 738 comments (clear)

  1. Had copies? by Luigi30 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How can a bittorrent tracker have copies of something?

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    1. Re:Had copies? by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 3, Interesting

      What about the press releases?

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  2. RTJKJAS? by christose · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What on earth is the hidden "RTJKJAS" that appears on the bottom of http://elitetorrents.org/ ?

    I guess somebody didn't like the FBI and HS insignias... Is this an indication of HS abusing the power it gained after 9/11 ?

  3. Terrorent by EnronHaliburton2004 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I suggest a new word:

    Terrorent: A terrorist who uses bittorrent to illegally distribute American Freedom ©.

  4. Re:Department of Homeland Security was involved? by Morlark · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yes, it's been said many times, both here and elsewhere, but US government agencies are getting uesd to having these 'anti-terrorist' powers, and they seem perfectly happy to apply them to situations where they really shouldn't be applied.

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  5. seems to be fake by ChoGGi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    from the irc channel

    SithLord changes topic to 'Site Status : Down : ET Was DNS Hacked'
    ET thanks everyone for there patience ... we are trying to get ionfo as fast as we can
    info*

    also at the bottom of the page it says RTJKJAS

  6. Re:Department of Homeland Security was involved? by johnhennessy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not wanting to appear to side the RIAA and the MPAA but with the amounts of money involved its not surprising that the law is after these sites.

    But you can be sure it's not because of terrorism.

    How much of California's income comes from the film industry and the industry that services it.

    At this stage, the movie studios are nearly nothing more than specialised banks (do I get credit for quoting Neal Stephenson !) - and with the vast sums of money involved, its not surprising that the law appears to re-act quicker.

    But the law folks need a semi-genuine excuse to pursue these cases without alienating the public.

    For example, if their line was "Yeah, well we need to help the movie industry backers get richer" - how many people would be taken to their cause. As a matter of spite, people would swing the other way - anything to go "get the system".

    In Britain, before the motto for pursuing these sites and pirates was "to fight terrorism" it was "to fight organised crime".

    In the end, it's all down to money, and in the movie business there's loads of it floating around.

    Every wonder how dangerous driving in some countries can only incur a penalty of a few hundred dollars/euros (if you are really unlucky) while recording a film in a cinema (which I don't condone) can incur an _unlimited_ penalty where I come from.

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  7. Re:Most people don't know any better... by Olix · · Score: 4, Interesting

    God, that patriot act of yours is darn scary. does anyone know if there is an equivilant in Britain? I hope not, I like to think that British norms are more informed than American norms (Though the results of our last election seem to suggest otherwise.)

    It scares me that any body, even governments, can have such power. I like to think that in the modern age, people are protected by bodies like the UN. It pisses me off when the governing bodies of countries like America ignore UN rules because they think they are above the international law. In a perfect world, no one would have such extreme power over anyone else...

    Screw it, maybe I'll just give up the real world. People are always saying that nerds like me have 'poor social skills'. What a load of crap! Sure, in their world I might be considered a bit strange, but in the world that is most important to me, the internet, I am a good member of society. But I am off topic, so I'll stop.

  8. MM... looks strange by xtracto · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Some questions, why does the DHS and FBI signs are from the elitetorrents.org site??

    FBI:
    http://elitetorrents.org/Shut%20Down%20By%20FBI%20 AND%20ICE_files/image002.gif
    http://elitetorrents.org/Shut%20Down%20By%20FBI%20 AND%20ICE_files/image006.gif

    So they shut it down, and the ip is:
    192.31.21.68

    And although ping do not respond. Who is throws:
    OrgName: San Diego Supercomputer Center
    OrgID: SDSC
    Address: P.O. Box 85608
    City: San Diego
    StateProv: CA
    PostalCode: 92186
    Country: US

    NetRange: 192.31.21.0 - 192.31.21.255
    CIDR: 192.31.21.0/24
    NetName: SDSC-APOLLO
    NetHandle: NET-192-31-21-0-1
    Parent: NET-192-0-0-0-0
    NetType: Direct Assignment
    NameServer: DNS1.SDSC.EDU
    NameServer: NS0.SDSC.EDU
    Comment:
    RegDate:
    Updated: 1994-12-20

    TechHandle: TH60-ARIN
    TechName: Hutton, Thomas
    TechPhone: +1-858-534-5136
    TechEmail: hutton@sdslug.org

    # ARIN WHOIS database, last updated 2005-05-24 19:10
    # Enter ? for additional hints on searching ARIN's WHOIS database.
    interesting domain no?

    --
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  9. Re:Santa Claus was the first through the door w/ m by EnronHaliburton2004 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you're an American, you really need to know this. There's really no excuse considering the hundreds of news stories that have covered this issue over the last several years.

    The government underwent a massive reorganization in the last two years. 22 agencies-- including big departments like the CIA, FBI, Secret Service, Coast Guard, Customs, and FEMA; have all been moved to, or are in the process of being moved to the DHS.

    This is a BIG change... it's the most signifigant restructuring of the US government in the last 50 years.

    You really, really need to know this stuff.

  10. Re:And this ended piracy for all time... by iminplaya · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Seriously, spend money on fixing the outdated media distribution channels and piracy will stop being worth it.

    Please! This isn't about piracy! This is an industry trying to save itself from DIY publishing and distribution. This piracy thing is a really good distraction, apparently. It seems to have clouded almost everybody's vision of what's really at stake. If piracy is so rampant, why is the industry making record amounts of money every year?? The new Star Wars flick is in the Guiness Book, and yet these ninnies are crying about Bittorrent. Screw 'em. We just need to build more resistant systems. This should be our unified goal, and we need to resist frivilous diversions like this.

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  11. I saw 10 minutes of a pirated version by EvilStein · · Score: 4, Interesting

    (NO, I didn't download it. Friend did and had it on his laptop.)

    Bunch of us watched the first 10-15 minutes. Everyone said "Ok, so far it doesn't suck. Let's go see it." .... and off the group went to the next showing.

    Remember when Apple let the first 7 minutes of "Chicken Run" loose on their trailer site? Good move, I say. I'm fed up with biased movie reviews and trailers that show the only cool parts of the whole movie. I'm still pissed off that I wasted $30 + 2 hours of my life to see "Mission to Mars" after seeing the trailer. Bastards.

  12. A better link for the punishment thing... by KingSkippus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was in a hurry to get the post on here, so I missed the link in the geek.com story to the original article (non-Coral) at USA Today. That still doesn't change the fact that this kid got three months of a deferred jail sentence, three years of probation, 200 hours of community service (for those of you with a 40-hour a week job, that's five weeks off from work, or three months of weekends), $5,400 in fines, and he must take a class on copyright at the University (presumably at his own expense of time and money), and avoid file-sharing programs (I don't see any stipulation that the avoiding of file-sharing programs is limited to illegal downloads).

    And in the article, it says that he was lucky that he was just a kid. If he had been older, the penalties would have been stiffer, including a mandatory three month jail sentence up front.

    Oh, and I dug up the story from February 10 about the comparison between shoplifting and copyright infringement. Here is a link (non-Coral ) to the original article.

  13. Re:Ripoff? by mesach · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How about removing the brats that talk on thier cell phones, or throw things, use laser pointers, get up and leave, then come back and mess with thier friends.

    People who bring baby's and toddlers to movies because they cant get a sitter that night.

    The guy who translates the entire movie line by line for his spanish speaking family of 8 so they can see it in the theater.

    How about removing those people, because they RUIN my $10/ticket movie going experience. Which in turn makes me download the movie and sit at home and watch in comfort. They arent losing ANY money because I didn't go to the theater and buy a ticket. I have no intention of going to theaters because of the 10% inconsiderate fucks in the world.

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    moo.
  14. Re:Ripoff? by thynk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ok, so I disagree with almost everything you said in your post, and think that those who claim it to be brilliant must have an IQ close to that of your average house plant.

    I do however respect your right to your point of view and you put your thoughts forth in an organized manner. I was able to clearly understand your point of view, and that generally is the point of communication (even on /.)

    I could go on for hours and hours with the flaws of unions and liberal philosophies, but it's really not worth the effort. Let me just say that they both had a place and a time when they were useful and needed, but that time has passed.

    corporations are antithetical to values that most people consider good qualities: fairness, sharing, caring, and that other kumbaya stuff that you probably would like your kids to learn.

    Sure, I'd love my kids to learn that stuff. In fact, I've been teaching them that their whole lives. However, they also are learning that they need to work for what they want, they are learning that rewards only go to those who are willing to take the risks to get them. They are also learning that it's wrong for a government to do for the people what they can do for themselves.

    I have no clue to your background, nor do you have any clue to mine. I suggest that further discussions be taken offline, I'd be happy to discuss philosophies with someone as rational as yourself.

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