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Game of Thrones Pirates Being Monitored By HBO, Warnings On The Way (torrentfreak.com)

Posted by msmash on from the winter-is-here dept.

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.

40 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. Meanwhile... by Narcocide · · Score: 2

    HBO GO is only like $15/month, which in most of the first world is less than the value of the time you'd spend trying to find a pirated copy of every new episode before your co-workers spoil it for you.

    1. Re:Meanwhile... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Not available outside of the US, so there's that.
      If I want HBO's content, I need to pay an expensive cable subscription, I ain't doing that.
      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.

    2. Re:Meanwhile... by sheramil · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

    3. Re:Meanwhile... by jonwil · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Good luck getting Game of Thrones in Australia legally without paying $46/month to Foxtel for the privileged (and another $10/month if you want HD)

    4. Re:Meanwhile... by Baloroth · · Score: 5, Informative

      Streams are (usually) hosted by a single pirate site, which (presumably) isn't inclined to share their IP logs with the media companies. Torrents, however, are hosted by users, which can (and do) include monitoring companies hired by the media companies, which allows them to track the IP of pretty much everyone torrenting that file.. The only way the media companies can track streams is to either have direct access to the ISPs or hosting sites logs, both of which are possible, but considerably more work than tracking a torrent.

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    5. Re:Meanwhile... by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Informative

      As an Australian, you can pay $15/mo for Foxtel Now "Pop pack", which includes Game of Thrones and a bunch of other TV shows.
      That's cheaper than Americans who pay for HBO GO who have to pay $15USD

      https://www.foxtel.com.au/now/...

    6. Re:Meanwhile... by ma1wrbu5tr · · Score: 3, Informative

      Get a VPN. You can get a year for about the price of 2 months of HBO.

      --
      Why can't we go back to using jumpers to configure slot adapter cards? Why? I say!
    7. Re:Meanwhile... by Powercntrl · · Score: 3, Funny

      Its a corruption of the market.

      No, if you don't want to pay: don't watch it. We're not talking about some movie Disney made a million years ago and everyone who worked on it is retired or dead - this is a show which is in current production. They have every right to earn money on something they've just invested money in bringing to the screen.

      Perhaps in 20 years you'd be right to bitch if they're still being copyright nazis about something they've long since abandoned, ya know?

      --

      ---
      DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
    8. Re:Meanwhile... by rastos1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As an Australian, I have no alternative but to torrent GOT.

      What about "not giving a flying fuck" option?

    9. Re: Meanwhile... by cyber-vandal · · Score: 2

      Care to name said laws.

    10. Re:Meanwhile... by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      I think more legally important is that torrenting relies on user "sharing" i.e. uploading and downloading the content, while streaming is a typically one way process.

      Has anyone ever actually been charged for "downloading" content? I know we have hundreds of stories of people being done for uploading or making available.

    11. Re:Meanwhile... by gravewax · · Score: 2

      you left out the part that with Foxtel Now it will be a gamble as to whether the service works, you have limited device types you can view it on and it won't be streamed in HD on the day. seems fucking expensive for such a poor offering.

    12. Re:Meanwhile... by Carewolf · · Score: 3, Informative

      The VPNs are now blocked by the geo-lockers such as Netflix and HBO. So that doesn't help, unless you find a particularly small and obscure VPN provider they haven't identified and blocked yet.

    13. Re:Meanwhile... by cmseagle · · Score: 2

      $15/mo. Link.

      At $3.75/episode, I think that pretty convincingly sinks the argument of "I have NO CHOICE but to pirate Game of Thrones because no one will offer it at a reasonable price!"

    14. Re:Meanwhile... by mjwx · · Score: 2

      As an Australian, you can pay $15/mo for Foxtel Now "Pop pack", which includes Game of Thrones and a bunch of other TV shows.
      That's cheaper than Americans who pay for HBO GO who have to pay $15USD

      https://www.foxtel.com.au/now/...

      But that involves giving money to the most evil man on the planet. Given the fact that they cant actually do anything but send warnings to Australians, it's a no brainier.

      If you want my money, you need to give me the video forever, which I can watch on my schedule, in a format I find acceptable and from a source I dont find evil. Right now, torrents beats the legitimate option on 3 or more of those criteria.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    15. Re:Meanwhile... by WolfgangVL · · Score: 2

      You're doing it wrong, or spreading FUD on purpose.

      Connect through a decent privacy focused VPN and all your ISP or anyone between you and your VPN provider sees is an encrypted connection. Yer ship be sailin under bleedin fog cover, matey.

      Use not-chrome to browse with. Seriously, Chrome is fast, but it's designed by the company that makes is bread by harvesting your data and selling it. Think about it. Arrr! Leaky ships sink, me buckos!

      A decent private site wont get raided, as it's a small community of users on an invite only basis. Tough to find, hard to get into, and worth it 1000X over.
      If it does get raided then you can rest easy cuz you use a VPN and a unique alias when doing less than legal activities.. right? The crew dont take just any ol wet behind the ears landlubber sir, your gonna have to commit to me crew, and me crew has to believe it.

      TPB is a big free-for-all, and useful for obscure files you can't find anywhere else. The things listed on the top 100 should be avoided at all costs, they are the perfect place for a snitch to join a swarm and harvest IPs. If using the TPB without a VPN, set your upload to nothing. It's bad form to leech like that, but it's also bad form to act as an easy honeypot. It is what it is. Guarded treasure!

      Bit torrent over TOR is the best huh? How about you keep yer bleedin sailin advise to yerself if that the best ye got there, scallywag.

      And GOT? Are they going to send 100k threatening letters a week? No chance. Not even the crown itself can field that many ships friend, but you can bet yer jack they be tryin ta make ye believe they can.

      --
      You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
  2. The monitoring services they use suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:The monitoring services they use suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I think they pick IP addresses at random. I work for a tiny cable ISP, and we've gotten DMCA notices for addresses that have never been used.

    2. Re:The monitoring services they use suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      There's also the possibility that the torrent swarm list has false endpoints in it deliberately to poison any data gathered from monitoring the swarm. Personally, I would _expect_ all public trackers to add false peers into the mix as doing so increases plausible deniability for the real peers. Whether they actually do, I don't know, since I don't use them, but I've heard rumours of this activity in the past.

      Anyone wanting to monitor would then have to actively connect to advertised peers to ensure they exist, then transfer some valid data, to check it's a legitimate peer - a simple TCP handshake is not sufficient since it might be some other random service you've connected to. This increases the resources required from whoever is trying to monitor the swarm.

    3. Re:The monitoring services they use suck by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      In fact they do pick at random. The trackers throw in a few random IP addresses and the tracking services don't bother to check if they can actually connect and download the data in question from them.

      You have to remember that the trackers are not motivated to do a good job. They don't bother with forensic quality evidence, they just spam as many people as possible and rely on some percentage of them panicking and paying up. If it gets as far as court and the defendant actually shows up, they almost always lose.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:The monitoring services they use suck by PigleT · · Score: 2

      I'm not at all surprised. Years ago (around 2002-3, I guess) I wrote a little honeypot website - it would emit random words and phrases from the titles of songs, actors/actresses, movies etc, appended with various file extensions. The kicker: all the "links" were handled by the same script that only ever emitted text/html with yet more links...

      That garnered an officious legalistic DMCA screed back in its day; my colo ISP was suitably amused when he heard the nature of the site.

      Goes to show they just ran brute-force searches for keywords and automated the sending of offensive emails. There's a word for bulk unrequited email again, isn't there? :P

      --
      ~Tim
      --
      .|` Clouds cross the black moonlight,
      Rushing on down to the circle of the turn
  3. I refer you to The Oatmeal. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

    I have no problems paying for something when it's easy to pay for that thing and reasonably priced. HBO and the cable companies are all off their rockers where I live, so pirating content is often the only solution available if I want to know what the hell my online friends are yammering about the next day.

    1. Re:I refer you to The Oatmeal. by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Informative

      Since then HBO has a $15 streaming service that doesn't require a cable subscription.
      There's a $15 Foxtel service for Australians
      There's a $15 NeonTV service for New Zealanders...

      There's probably a $15 streaming service for most countries.

    2. Re:I refer you to The Oatmeal. by Uberbah · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Is watching Game of Thrones now a human right or something?

      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.

      Are you arguing that you are not willing to pay for the content so your only choice is left is to steal it?

      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.

    3. Re:I refer you to The Oatmeal. by gravewax · · Score: 2

      Sadly the Australian option sucks balls. very limited device support and streams in Standard Def. basically Foxtel now at the moment is a piece of shit. Personally I don't want to watch a low definition artifacting stream which I have to PAY for when I can torrent a high definition version. If Foxtel moves into the current decade with their encoding and streaming technology without increasing the price further then I would happily subscribe, as it is I refuse to pay for lesser quality.

    4. Re:I refer you to The Oatmeal. by Bert64 · · Score: 2

      Pirating is often the ONLY solution available irrespective of cost...

      Not all shows are available through legitimate channels in all countries... Game of thrones is simply not available AT ALL in some countries. And yet we live in a world with global connectivity where people from all around the world can communicate. Why should HBO get away with discrimination against some countries?

      Even in countries where a show is available, doesn't mean its available to all residents of that country...
      Cable TV does not have 100% coverage, many areas aren't cabled up.
      Some shows are only available on streaming services, yet some people only have internet connections which are too slow or unreliable to stream video.
      Some people in apartments aren't able or permitted to install satellite dishes for receiving TV signals.
      Some people have no internet access at home, and have to download files in other locations, or buy copies from people who have done so.
      Visa restrictions often make it difficult, if not impossible to travel to a country where such shows are available.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
  4. Re:Yard Arms by sheramil · · Score: 4, Funny

    British criminals were often Transported for crimes as small as stealing a loaf of bread, but I already live in Australia. Where are they going to send me?

    "Mega-Australia? Ultra-Australia?... Maximum Over-Australia?" - Tien

  5. Re: VPN by viperidaenz · · Score: 2

    VPN provider gets bad name for cutting off clients, VPN provider loses business and makes less money.

  6. Re:I buy the blurays, but.... by Nermal6693 · · Score: 2

    I fully agree. I have licensed copies of all episodes that are available for purchase. A few years ago you could buy episodes from Australian iTunes but that's no longer possible. My only options are to pay a monthly fee for a streaming service for a couple of months (and then the episodes will vanish once that period is up - and of course I don't get any sort of discount on the Blu-rays) or I can torrent them now and then buy them when the Blu-rays became available.

    If I was able to buy each episode as it was released then I'd happily do that (as I was doing when they were on iTunes) but for some reason HBO doesn't want my money... but still wants to complain about piracy.

  7. Game Of Thrones DMCA Notices a Form Of Advertising by ZippyTheChicken · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just did a quick google because I cant really use torrent freak as a source.. seems that HBO has been sending out DMCA Notices every year since 2012 for the Premier of Game of Thrones .. Seems like Clickbait Advertising to get people riled up and to get word out about the new season.. they probably get billions in advertising by every site talking about it.

  8. HBO has always been worth it to me by sarbonn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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
  9. Re:This is what happens... by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 2

    FWIW, I've never watched GoT and never will, having suffered through the first 3 or 4 books until I came to the realisation that George RR Martin is a nothing more than a very long-winded troll taking cruel advantage of all of those who've never read I, Claudius.

    If I ever meet him in person, I may well have to be restrained from punching him in the face.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  10. Re:This is what happens... by Bert64 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Some of us have no way to legally see it, so torrents are the only option.

    --
    http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
  11. Re: This is what happens... by stealth_finger · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I watched half of the first season. It sucks.

    Same, for me its main problem was it started at the same time as spartacus and that was shit hot! While spartacus was basically equal parts hardcore violence, softcore porn and devious politics, game of thrones was all people being mopey, foreshadowing and a whole lot of fuck all going on.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  12. Re: Yard Arms by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.
  13. Re:This is what happens... by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 2

    ...when you have a good show, people want to see it.

    Well, GoT gets slightly "walking deaded": the previous season (6) showed what happens when the show and the books take (slightly) different paths, sensationalism takes over the depth and subtlety found in the books, at times (season 6). Not awful - yet. But let's hope season 7 will not ressemble a Marvel recipe.

    --
    Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
  14. "I'm justifying pirating because " by Ayano · · Score: 2

    It doesn't matter how you justify it, you're pirating/copying content without paying. There's this huge love of free market so why don't you exercise it by not seeing said content.

    --
    I don't read AC
  15. Re:This is what happens... by Drethon · · Score: 2

    Some of us have no way to legally see it, so torrents are the only option.

    I've got ways to see it but paying for HBO is just annoying so I don't bother (to pay, or see it). I gave up after the fourth season or somewhere near there.

  16. Re:This is what happens... by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 2

    The TV series has gone beyond the books. Didn't you get the memo?

  17. Re:This is what happens... by gnick · · Score: 2

    Apologies - I thought HBO Now was available globally. I guess you'd need a VPN. From the Wikipedia entry:

    HBO Now is only available to customers in the United States, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, certain U.S. territories, and a few more countries.

    --
    He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.