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Game of Thrones Pirates Being Monitored By HBO, Warnings On The Way (torrentfreak.com)
HBO is leaving no stones unturned in keeping Game of Thrones' piracy under control. The company is monitoring various popular torrent swarms and sending thousands of warnings targeted at internet subscribers whose connections are used to share the season 7 premiere of the popular TV series, reports TorrentFreak: Soon after the first episode of the new season appeared online Sunday evening, the company's anti-piracy partner IP Echelon started sending warnings targeted at torrenting pirates. The warnings in question include the IP-addresses of alleged BitTorrent users and ask the associated ISPs to alert their subscribers, in order to prevent further infringements. "We have information leading us to believe that the IP address xx.xxx.xxx.xx was used to download or share Game of Thrones without authorization," the notification begins. "HBO owns the copyright or exclusive rights to Game of Thrones, and the unauthorized download or distribution constitutes copyright infringement. Downloading unauthorized or unknown content is also a security risk for computers, devices, and networks." Under US copyright law, ISPs are not obligated to forward these emails, which are sent as a DMCA notification. However, many do as a courtesy to the affected rightsholders. The warnings are not targeted at a single swarm but cover a wide variety of torrents. TorrentFreak has already seen takedown notices for the following files, but it's likely that many more are being tracked.
I got two DMCA warnings a little over a year ago accusing me of pirating Game of Thrones, and I'm paying for HBO mainly just for that one show. I use BitTorrent, but I did not torrent Game of Thrones.
After I got a warning email from HBO by my ISP, I just decided to Stream instead of Downloading. I'd like to see them monitor that.
I'd like to get this straightened out: when you torrent, the file divided up into pieces and sent to your computer in more-or-less random order, where it's reassembled and stored. when you stream, the file is divided up into pieces and sent to your computer sequentially, and the pieces are deleted after you see them. Aside from not having the pieces afterwards, how is this different in terms of their tracking you? In both cases the files are sent to you. Do you mean "use a proxy"? Or is the difference that a streaming viewer isn't sending pieces to other viewers and you believe that watching it illegally is less criminal than watching it and distributing it?
As an Australian, I have no alternative but to torrent GOT. If I was burning the episodes to disc and selling them at the Caribbean Gardens Market on the weekends, that would be piracy. I consider what I'm doing to be "previewing" - if I think the content is worth it, I'll buy it on DVD, if and when they get around to actually SELLING the discs down here, to show my support for good content.
I watched half of the first season. It sucks.
I have been paying for HBO Now through Apple TV for about as long as it's been around. I know it's possible to get it for free by doing it the nefarious way, but I tend to support things I believe in, and $15 a month for a service I believe in is quite fine. I tried the CBS streaming service when it first came out and I quickly discovered it was not worth it, so I don't pay for that (but I don't watch any of their stuff either), so like I said: As long as I think it's worth it, I'll pay for it. If it's not worth it, I don't pay for it, and I don't watch it.
Sarbonn's blog: http://www.sarbonn.com/blog
What about "not giving a flying fuck" option?
Some of us have no way to legally see it, so torrents are the only option.
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What's the difference between someone who downloads a BitTorrent and someone who would never pay for the show if BitTorrent (or other options) weren't available? None.
It's not stealing, dumbfuck. Are you committing rape whenever you drive over the posted speed limit? There are different terms for different violations of the law for a reason.
Talking about the average income in the US is like putting a leg into the freezer and one into the oven and claim that on average the temperature is fine.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.