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Microsoft Blocking Pirate Bay Links In Messenger
RemyBR writes with an excerpt from an article at El Reg: "Microsoft has confirmed that users of its instant messaging app will not be able to send each other links to popular torrent site The Pirate Bay, citing malware fears. 'We block instant messages if they contain malicious or spam URLs based on intelligence algorithms, third-party sources, and/or user complaints. Pirate Bay URLs were flagged by one or more of these and were consequently blocked,' Redmond told The Register in an emailed statement."
I know which of those three I'll bet on being responsible for TPB being blocked.
does anyone care for that company anymore? are there people still using MSN? o.O
I guess Microsoft has never heard of goo.gl
--
PressTV - The News Channel the UK Government doesnt want you to watch
Now Microsoft owns Skype, I wonder if they'll be applying the same intelligent algorithms to voice and video conversations.
Messenger usage must be diminishing, a lot of people seem to use Facebook for IM these days. Anyone more serious about IM who doesn't use Facebook probably uses a different network/client anyway. One which they do control.
They also block all posts containing the string 'no-ip.org' - I've ran into it myself, as I use my home server on a no-ip.org dynamic IP to host the occasional game and transfer files via HTTP. I just have to specify it by IP instead to get around the block. I don't know exactly why Microsoft blocks mention of no-ip.org, but it is concieveable that it might be used to host malware downloads which are then advertised via IM-spamming, so there is grounds for some legitimate reason there. Even if it does inconvenience me personally.
In the case of TPB though, there is no such excuse. If TBP hosts malware (And I'm sure there are a few files, given the volume there), it'll have to be something that requires downloading a torrent(/magnet) - and if you can't get infected just by visiting a browser-exploiting website, it fails as malware. Besides, anyone uneducated enough to follow IM spam links isn't going to know what a torrent client is. It seems far more likely that Microsoft are just doing a corporate favor for either an external company they want to maintain a good relationship with or one of their own divisions concerned about piracy.
So they block URLs, marking them as spam. Use a URL shortener, like t.co / bit.ly / what.ever, so you can bypass the scheme.
msn messages are between sender and receiver. Microsoft has a duty to encrypt these messages so that no one else can read them. No one includes Microsoft.
What next? Microsoft will start auto correcting my grammar? So that the receiver gets messages with everything spelled correctly and with correct grammar? Why not just start sending messages with what Microsoft thinks I want to say?
Really. This should be the same as the post office. Stay the fuck out of my personal correspondence. If you can't do that, there should be a law saying you are spying and should be in jail.
Honestly people. How can you tell China that deleting content is bad when an American company is setting this type of example? I'm tired of "Do as we say, not as we do."
You may think that it is some grand anti-piracy conspiracy, but Microsoft is right. TPB is infested with torrents that contain malware. There are people who use it to spread viruses and malware. It makes sense too - it's quite easy method to infect peoples computers.
Facebook also blocks TPB links, and has for ages.
Microsoft and Facebook can do what they want - people can't complain too much, they are the company's networks after all, they can do what they want. But at least it's good in reminding people that their messages aren't private, and that there is going to be at least some automated checking of the contents before it's granted clearance to be sent through unaltered. If you really want to use an IM platform that's completely under your control (and not at the risk of censorship), then host your own XMPP server.
I remember when Linux was good... too...
Let's face it people, TPB isn't exactly a shining example of virtue. They do not give a shit who's ads they serve.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
I worry about Windows 8 with the tight integration with all your personal email, data everything sitting on the Microsoft Live cloud. Your Live email, Skydrive, Photos, Windows 8 IE history, bookmarks, apps, the desktop settings everything is on the MS Cloud and transiting through their network. What is there to stop them from giving the same treatment to the your entire computing.
Out of the many many years I've been using TPB only once did I ever download a torrent that was an infection. It tunred out they were getting blasted with numerous ups by someone intending to infect others. All the infections from that particular campaign were taken down within 10 minutes of reporting them. So far as I've been able to see the moderating on that board is quite good considering what it is.
TPB is infested with torrents that contain malware.
That may or may not be the case, but don't you think it is funny that now that tpb is becoming a legitimate source of music and video from independent artists, corporations with creative industry ties have starting unilaterally blocking tpb without worrying about the law?
I guess they don't mind free advertising, but they HATE competition.
You can never know everything, and part of what you do know will always be wrong. Perhaps even the most important part.
It won't make much difference, people will just type "www.theporitebay.org/xxxxxx" instead. Like all other MSN 'blocking' it will be just another Windows annoyance rather than an impediment.
No sig today...
Part of the issue is that most users don't update their browser plugins. There has been a rash of Java exploits stemming from malicious code embedded in some banner ads (partly because users just don't update Java). The exploit causes redirection to another site and drive-by installation of malware.
TPB is serving whatever ads they get paid to serve and don't really care to identify and remove the malicious ones.
Unless your messages are GPG or PGP encrypted when they leave your PC, you cannot be sure they are not intercepted, read, spied on, modified, data-mined and used to target ads, etc. It doesn't matter which company handles them. If you want your messages to be between sender & receiver- use proper encryption. There is no other way and there never was. Small shop Linux admins can cat /var/mail/ebonum just as well.
Now Microsoft has no duty to do anything. They provide messaging service for their own benefit & profit, not yours, with features they think benefit THEM most. Even if they include some encryption, it will be closed-source, lame and with backdoors. If you want to use their service, you have to accept these terms. If you don't- use something else. Jabber is still there, and so is IRC.
Ugly thing is that 99% of people using MSN will not know about these issues nor care about them. But that's just people. Unless it affects their salaries or pensions or benefits or religious sensibilities or beer prices, 99% percent of people will not care about it.
Oh, and even if you have GPG, you can still have a trojan or a hardware keylogger on your PC, so you'll never be 100% safe & secure. But you can tilt the odds somewhat in your favour.
--Coder
You're right. And you know another site that is full of avenues for spyware and malware? Facebook. They should block all links to Facebook too. In fact, I'd contend that Facebook is an exponentially more threatening vehicle than TPB.
TPB is infested with torrents that contain malware.
I've been a Pirate Bay user for at least 5 years now, and must say, your statement is BS: tpb has an excellent community that actively comments on the torrents. tpb is probably the strictest torrent site out there. Only http://1337x.org/ comes close in terms of the quality of the torrents that _remain_ on the site.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
"TPB is infested with torrents that contain malware."
So are Google and Bing.
Out of Google, Bing, and TPB one of these sites has a trusted users flag from whom you can trust that content is unlikely to be infected. Guess which one of these sites it is.
And people here are always moaning how insecure Windows is - yet when MS try to take action, they are lambasted for "blocking free speech".
That's because it's what they're doing. The wider internet is full of malware, that doesn't mean you block the whole internet. You just block the URLs that are known to contain malware. Which is, incidentally, what they almost certainly do on other sites -- download.com is probably full of malware too, do they block the whole site? What about RapidShare or the like?
It's very clear that this "Pirate Bay is unsafe" is just a pretense. There is no excuse for blocking an entire domain unless the entire domain contains nothing of value, and that isn't the case here.
You may think that it is some grand anti-piracy conspiracy, but Microsoft is right. TPB is infested with torrents that contain malware. There are people who use it to spread viruses and malware. It makes sense too - it's quite easy method to infect peoples computers.
It depends on what you call "right". I would expect a messaging app to send any message, not block something that it thinks won't be good for me. What if I work for a studio and want to let someone know that our latest blockbuster has been pirated? Or if I am researching antivirus software and want to tell someone of a zero-day virus I have discovered?
More importantly where does it end? When AI is good enough will I be prevented from discussing "dangerous" topics, like making explosives? Or dangerous political parties? Or making non-PC criticisms of religions? Will there be calls for email services to do the same? I want to be able to send any message and discuss any topic I want.
What do you think the whole MegaVideo take down was all about? (Hint.)
So, essentially, you're saying, if we want to fight AIDS, it's better we outlaw prostitution and make access to them impossible instead of making sure everyone uses condoms?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Why would you want to MAKE SURE everyone uses condoms?
Are you their goa'uld overlord or something?
Or are you trying to cram your Ori religion down their throats?
Invite them to use condoms by all means, but "make sure" - you certainly let slip your real feelings there. I think outlawing prostitution is a lesser degree of interference than making sure EVERYONE uses condoms.
blog.sam.liddicott.com
contains nothing of value
That is highly subjective. One man's trash is another man's treasure. The fact that a given domain would exists at all means that someone took the time to set it up, so it obviously has value to at least one person. I'm stretching a point but isn't that the basic underlying argument behind censorship anyway? Don't look at this because it's garbage because I say it is.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I agree... I want e-mail software that removes e-mail from spammers, but if a friend sends me an e-mail with a link to a spam site, I can decide for myself if I want to click the link.
Of course, if the software warns me and asks me to confirm when I click the link, that's ok too.
You could make a prostitute detector and equip it on cars so they don't start when they detect a prostitute in it. That way you can't bring one home and contract viruses.
Or ... Microsoft could just fix their software.
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
Easy enough to solve, don't install Java at all.
... but who is going to sue?
All communications between two private parties need to be encrypted. It'll eventually be that way.. we're just going through the Dark Ages again, this time Technology is the focus instead of Religion (history.. repeating itself.. didn't anyone learn anything from the last Dark Ages?)
You have a sick, twisted mind. Please subscribe me to your newsletter.
More importantly where does it end?
When every switch and router does DPI and knows what's good for you. Hey, there could be a new standard for network cables that only allows approved devices to communicate. Hmm, where have I seen this before?
thegodmovie.com - watch it
Why do you think the RIAA labels sued Napster? Same thing. During Napster's heyday, CD sales soared. But not just RIAA CDs, indie CDs as well. But the indies were dependant on P2P and the RIAA has radio and TV.
Note that after Napster was sued was when CD sales plummeted, and the lying bastards at the RIAA claimed it was Napster's fault that their sales were dropping. You don't have to be a physicist to know that cause never follows effect. Also note that none of the corporate media at all said one single word about the very large boycott against the RIAA labels after they sued Napster.
You are correct, the entire anti-piracy crusade by the MAFIAA is a fight against their independant competetion.
Free Martian Whores!
You forgot to block access to the back seat. Historically, it's a major concern.
Also, I'm thinking of the fun implications of the system. You'll drive you daughter to college and the car won't start. I imagine a long, awkward, suspicious pause before you decide either to check the battery or start the sobbing and the beating...
A "banner ad" is a block of HTML which is supposed to stay within its allotted "banner" area.
As such, it can contain anything that HTML can contain and which doesn't clearly (i.e. noticeably) break out of its rectangular frame when the site's admin tests it out.
Scripts, Flash, Silverlight, Java, you name it; if it's installed and can be embedded in HTML (or included by the HTML referencing another file), it's possible. But the only reason the banner's HTML would really ever contain a Java embed would be if the banner's designer wanted to execute a Java exploit on visitor's computers. And a conscientious site's admin would delete the offending banner in short order if this was discovered to be the case.
Does that clear up your question any?
WTF!? Who on earth downloads software from TPB? Movies: sure, music: yup, pr0n: definitely, but software!?