April 2016 – Page 98 – news.buyenne.com

From MUD to MMOG: The making of RuneScape

Where many MMOGs faltered, RuneScape and its legions of fans have endured for 15 years.

When he was a boy, growing up in Nottingham, England, Andrew Gower couldn't afford to buy all of the video games he wanted to play. Rather than mope, he rallied. A wunderkind programmer, Gower created his own versions of the most popular games, pieced together from clues printed in text and image in the pages of video game magazines. Gower's take on Lemmings—the 1991 Amiga game that was developed by DMA Design six years before the studio made Grand Theft Auto—was his masterwork. "I was proud of that game," he says. "It was the first [computer game] I’d made that didn't look like it had been put together by a kid."

Gower would grow up to become, along with his brothers Paul and Ian, the co-founders of Jagex Games Studio and creators of its flagship title RuneScape. It's one of the longest-running massively-multiplayer online games (MMOG), in which players quest together across the Internet in a fantasy world that, like Facebook, continues to rumble and function even when an individual logs off.

Launched in 2001, the earliest version of the game looked rather like a fantasy-themed version of The Sims. Characters were viewed from a divine camera, looking down on the action from an isometric perspective. RuneScape takes place in the world of Gielinor, where gods roam among men. The game eschews a linear storyline, allowing players to set their own goals and objectives. Now in its third iteration (the basic game was superseded by a new version in both 2004 and 2013, each of which upgraded its graphics and overhauled the underlying code base), RuneScape has reached an enviable milestone in the fickle world of MMOs: 15 years old.

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Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture: Systemanforderungen für die PC-Apokalypse

Ein Spaziergang durch ein idyllisches Dörfchen, es passiert fast nichts – und doch liegt der Weltuntergang in der Luft: Das innovativ-spannende Abenteuer Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture erscheint in den nächsten Tagen für Windows-PCs. (Indiegames, DirectX)

Ein Spaziergang durch ein idyllisches Dörfchen, es passiert fast nichts - und doch liegt der Weltuntergang in der Luft: Das innovativ-spannende Abenteuer Everybody's Gone to the Rapture erscheint in den nächsten Tagen für Windows-PCs. (Indiegames, DirectX)

Berliner Zeitung & Co.: Hacker attackieren Dumont-Verlag

Die Berliner Zeitung, der Kölner Express und andere Webauftritte der Dumont-Verlagsgruppe sind offenbar von Hackern angegriffen worden. Es gibt Hinweise darauf, dass persönliche Daten und unverschlüsselte Passwörter von Abonnenten sichtbar gewesen sind. (Hacker, Server)

US-Justiz: Apple soll iPhone von Drogenhändler entsperren

Der Streit zwischen Apple und US-Behörden um das Entsperren von Smartphones geht in eine neue Runde: Das Justizministerium will, dass der Konzern das iPhone 5S eines Drogenhändlers knackt. (iPhone 5S, Apple)

Wachs als Treibstoff: Bremer Öko-Rakete startet in Kiruna

Vier Jahre lang haben Bremer Studenten getüftelt, getestet und gefeilt. Nun hebt ihre mit Kerzenwachs angetriebene Rakete ab. Der Start wird im Internet live übertragen. (Raumfahrt, Technologie)

Bitsoup Torrent Site Farce is Worse Than DRM

All Internet services need some kind of funding to survive and torrent sites are no exception. However, there is one site in the private tracker scene that’s taking the “donation” model to such extremes that it would be completely at home in a Monty Python sketch. Not even the world’s worst DRM is as bad as this.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Here at TF we generally believe that private torrent site politics are something best kept out of.

Not only do most private trackers have their own community dramas that few outsiders are interested in, but it’s also almost impossible to get to the truth when even important events are underway.

Every now and again, however, something ridiculous raises its head. Something so absurd that it pisses off everyone who believes in the spirit of sharing, inside and outside the gated community. Ladies and gentlemen – welcome to the bizarre world of Bitsoup.

Bitsoup is a long-standing private torrent site that operates a ratio system like most others in its niche. After downloading, Bitsoup users are expected to upload content to other users of the site or face their accounts being closed.

Those who struggle to maintain their ratio can fix the problem by
making a cash donation. In private tracker circles this is pretty common fare and this delicate issue (sometimes called “pay to leech”) is handled better by some sites than others. Bitsoup does not handle it well, not by a long shot.

For some time now there has been a feeling among Bitsoup’s members that they are being used as cash cows. Without going into too many details there have been accusations, for example, that competitions which effectively cost money to enter have had winners that don’t even exist – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But that fades into insignificance when one looks at the latest ploy by the site to extract cash ‘donations’ from its users. It’s called ‘Lights Out’ and it makes most DRM seem pleasurable in comparison.

The way it works is pretty simple. Whenever the site likes, users are arbitrarily stopped from accessing the tracker for an unspecified amount of time unless they ‘donate’ money. The system is marketed as a great solution for keeping the site online but in reality it’s really grinding gears.

“Welcome to Lights-Out! A new dynamic program to ensure site funding by the masses for the ability to stay online for all,” non-paying users of the site were recently informed.

“Lights-Out will only run when needed, in the place of having to beg our members for donations. All restrictive periods will be different and expected to last just as dynamically as the need to use the program itself.”

While some shareware/demo programs might introduce a 30 second wait for non-paying users to encourage a contribution, the use of the word “dynamic” in this instance could easily be replaced with unpredictable, random or simply annoying.

“While we can not say for sure just how long each downtime period will be or when they will happen, we can however support the means for you to get instantly back into the action without the wait!” the site notes.

No prizes (even imaginary ones) for guessing how.

It’s not as if this scheme is only applicable to bad users or those just stepping through the door either. One member who contacted TorrentFreak earlier this week has been a member of the site for eight years and had uploaded more than 10TB of data while downloading less than 3TB.

Quite bizarrely, in a recent announcement Bitsoup said that so-called ‘Power Users’ (those who contribute most to the site in terms of bandwidth) are not considered valuable to the community unless they hand over hard cash too.

“It is one thing to support the site by seeding over the years, but a member that has enjoyed access to Bitsoup for 12yrs and never, even in the face of major financial failures, have said ‘OK, they need help I will pitch in a donation’ does not belong here,” the site said.

“It is one thing to share back, but to abuse the site is something we have made very clear that in 2016 will not be accepted. Without a site, you have nothing to share.”

For those who understand torrents, this is keyboard-smashing stuff. Without users contributing their upload bandwidth, sites like Bitsoup simply cannot exist. Equally, if users are deemed to be unworthy of being on a site due to them not sharing enough, the site must also acknowledge that those who share the most are of great value. Calling them site abusers is ridiculous.

While sites like Bitsoup are free to make whatever rules they like, it is crystal clear that there is growing discontent over how things are being handled. In fact, things have gotten so bad that the site now has its own sub-Reddit, filled with little but complaints.

People can spend their money where they like but at this point giving it to Spotify and Netflix each month would be infinitely more rewarding than contributing to this farce.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Security: Bundestrojaner kann nur Windows

Der umstrittene Bundestrojaner kann offenbar weniger als bislang angenommen: Whatsapp und andere Messenger können nicht abgehört werden. Ermittlungsbehörden kritisieren außerdem, dass die Software nicht auf Smartphones funktioniert. (Überwachung, Skype)

KickassTorrents Ups Privacy With 2-Factor Authentication

KickassTorrents has become the first public torrent site to offer two-factor authentication to its users. The new feature helps users to increase their privacy and makes it harder for malicious parties to hijack their accounts.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

kickass Most torrent sites are not known for their advanced security features, but KickassTorrents recently made a change in this direction.

The most used torrent site on the Internet has millions of visitors per day, and the site now offers registered users the option to secure their accounts with two-factor authentication.

Simply put, this offers people an extra later of security, similar to what most other large services including Google, Facebook and Twitter offer.

“Using a username and password together with a piece of information that only the user knows makes it harder for potential intruders to gain access and steal that person’s personal data or identity,” KAT’s Mr.Gooner explains.

The feature can be enabled in the profile settings, after which a second screen pops up detailing the authentication procedure.

KAT’s “2FA”

KAT’s two-factor authentication requires users to use a third party authentication app of their choosing, which is then required to login to the account. This means that even if one’s password is compromised, outsiders can’t get into the account.

While there’s very little valuable information to “steal” from a KickassTorrents account, quite a few people can appreciate the extra layer of security. After all, some download and upload habits are better left private.

Sloppy users should keep in mind that if one loses access to the app, he or she can no longer get into their account. As a precaution, it’s wise to write down the code and store it somewhere safe.

The new two-factor authentication feature is entirely optional. So, torrenters who feel pretty confident about their security already can just continue to use the ‘plain’ old password.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Weekly News Roundup (10 April 2016)

From sensible copyright ideas to the ridiculous, read the news roundup for the week ending 10 April 2016
Continue reading …

From sensible copyright ideas to the ridiculous, read the news roundup for the week ending 10 April 2016

Mounting data suggest antibacterial soaps do more harm than good

Few pros, but cons include upped risk of infection, microbiome changes, drug resistance.

(credit: UGA)

Whether you’re coming home from an airport fluttering with international germs, a daycare full of sticky-fingered toddlers, or just a grimy office building, scrubbing your hands with bacteria-busting soap seems like a great idea. But the data that have washed up on the cleansers in recent years suggest that they actually do more harm than good—for you, those around you, and the environment.

Scientists report that common antibacterial compounds found in those soaps, namely triclosan and triclocarban, may increase the risk of infections, alter the gut microbiome, and spur bacteria to become resistant to prescription antibiotics. Meanwhile, proof of the soaps’ benefits is slim.

There are specific circumstances in which those antimicrobials can be useful, civil engineer Patrick McNamara of Marquette University in Milwaukee told Ars. Triclosan, for instance, may be useful to doctors scrubbing for minutes at a time before a surgery or for hospital patients who can’t necessarily scrub with soap but could soak in a chemical bath. Triclosan and triclocarban do kill off bacteria during long washes. But most people only clean their hands for a few seconds. “There’s evidence that there is no improvement with using soaps that have these chemicals relative to washing your hands under warm water for 30 seconds with soaps without these chemicals,” he said.

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