Month: May 2016

Pirate Bay Gets a ‘Massive’ $9 in Donations, Per Day

When The Pirate Bay and other torrent sites started accepting Bitcoin donations a few years ago, copyright holders voiced concerns about this new ‘unseizable’ revenue stream. Thus far, this fear seems unwarranted with TPB raking in an average of $9 per day in Bitcoin donations over the past year. While hardly a windfall, it’s a fortune compared to the donations received by the leading torrent site KickassTorrents.

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

thepirateThree years ago many popular torrent sites added an option to donate via Bitcoin. The Pirate Bay was one of the first to jump on board, a development which caused concern among copyright holders.

The RIAA even informed the U.S. trade representative about this looming threat. The music industry group warned that Bitcoin could make it harder to crack down on pirate sites.

“In April 2013, the site started accepting donations from the public by Bitcoin, a digital currency, which operates using peer-to-peer technology,” the RIAA wrote.

“There are no central authority or banks involved which makes it very difficult to seize or trace Bitcoin funds,” the music industry group added.

Bitcoin does indeed make it harder to seize funds, as law enforcement would need access to the computer where the wallet is kept.

However, Bitcoin also makes it easy to see how much donations are coming in. All transactions are public and traceable which allows anyone to see how much money Pirate Bay is making through donations.

This is exactly what we decided to do. Using the publicly listed Bitcoin wallet address, which is shown on every Pirate Bay page we found that 376 donations, roughly one donation per day, were sent over the past year.

The total amount of Bitcoin received during this period adds up to 8.21 BTC. At the current exchange rate this equals $3,500 in donations over the past twelve months, or $9.34 per day.

Needless to say, Pirate Bay’s operators are not getting rich off user donations.

TPB featuring the Bitcoin address

piratebtc

It appears that the interest in donating has tapered off over the years. Last year Custos Media Technologies reported that the site had received 126.64 Bitcoin in its various wallets between 2013 and 2015, which is significantly more.

TPB Bitcoin earnings from 2013 till 2015

tpb-bitcoin

That being said, even the 8.21 it received last year is a fortune when compared to other prominent torrent sites.

ExtraTorrent also lists a Bitcoin address on its site, as well as in the uploads of their ETTV and ETRG release groups. This wallet amassed a total of 4.31 in donations since 2013 which is roughly $1 per day.

Again, that’s quite a treasure trove when we look at the donations that are coming in at KickassTorrents, which is currently the most-visited torrent site.

Since 2013 KAT has raked in a measly 0.96 BTC, which is roughly $250, or two dozen cents per day. Admittedly, KAT doesn’t promote donations and the address is only listed in the site’s FAQ.

It’s pretty safe to say that if the RIAA and other copyright holders are concerned about the revenue going to pirate sites and groups, there’s little to worry about in respect of Bitcoin or user donations in general.

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

Torsploit: Früheres Mitglied der Tor-Entwickler half dem FBI

Operation Torpedo zum Aufspüren von Pädokriminellen im Tor-Netzwerk ist vor allem durch die Arbeiten eines früheren Tor-Mitglieds erfolgreich geworden. Im Jahr 2008 arbeitete er noch an Tor selbst, 2012 wurde er indirekt für die US-Bundespolizei FBI tätig. (TOR-Netzwerk, Suchmaschine)

Operation Torpedo zum Aufspüren von Pädokriminellen im Tor-Netzwerk ist vor allem durch die Arbeiten eines früheren Tor-Mitglieds erfolgreich geworden. Im Jahr 2008 arbeitete er noch an Tor selbst, 2012 wurde er indirekt für die US-Bundespolizei FBI tätig. (TOR-Netzwerk, Suchmaschine)

Emulation: Windows 95 auf der Apple Watch

Einem Entwickler ist es eigenen Angaben zufolge gelungen, Windows 95 auf einer Apple Watch zu installieren. Basis waren Vorarbeiten von Steven Troughton-Smith. Die Emulation braucht allerdings sehr lange zum Booten. (Windows 95, Applikationen)

Einem Entwickler ist es eigenen Angaben zufolge gelungen, Windows 95 auf einer Apple Watch zu installieren. Basis waren Vorarbeiten von Steven Troughton-Smith. Die Emulation braucht allerdings sehr lange zum Booten. (Windows 95, Applikationen)

Valve Steam: Zwei-Faktor-Authentifizierung hilft gegen Cheater

Spieler, die ihre Telefonnummer mit einem Steam-Account von Valve verbunden haben, dürften in nächster Zeit vertrauenswürdiger sein als andere Spieler. Wer mit solch einem Zugang schummelt, verliert in Zukunft auf der ganzen Plattform seine Rechte. (Steam, Valve)

Spieler, die ihre Telefonnummer mit einem Steam-Account von Valve verbunden haben, dürften in nächster Zeit vertrauenswürdiger sein als andere Spieler. Wer mit solch einem Zugang schummelt, verliert in Zukunft auf der ganzen Plattform seine Rechte. (Steam, Valve)

U.S. Places Switzerland on ‘Piracy Watchlist’

In a surprising move, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has placed Switzerland on its list of countries that haven’t been cooperating enough on intellectual property enforcement.The USTR publishes its Special 301 Report annual…



In a surprising move, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has placed Switzerland on its list of countries that haven't been cooperating enough on intellectual property enforcement.

The USTR publishes its Special 301 Report annually to identify countries that are known to be piracy hotspots. The usual suspects listed are countries like China, Russia and the Ukraine, but this year's 301 report also includes an unlikely Western ally - Switzerland.

The listing largely relates to a Swiss court decision in 2010, one that classified IP addresses as private data. This effectively prevented many anti-piracy investigations, especially pertaining to file sharing usage.

"Six years have elapsed since the issuance of a decision by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, which has been implemented to essentially deprive copyright holders in Switzerland of the means to enforce their rights against online infringers; enforcement is a critical element of providing meaningful IPR protection," the USTR's report reads.

It's this decision that the USTR says makes Switzerland an uncooperative jurisdiction when it comes to copyright issues, and it's hoping the addition of the country to the U.S. watch list will be enough to force the independent nation to toughen up its copyright laws.

This isn't the first time the USTR has tried using its Special 301 Report to name and shame other independent nations into action. Neighbors Canada was added to the same list a few years ago, and despite the country implementing a tough notice based anti-piracy law last year, it wasn't enough for it to escape the USTR's attentions in this latest report.

"The United States continues to urge Canada to fully implement its commitments pursuant to the WIPO Internet Treaties and to continue to address the challenges of copyright piracy in the digital age," cited the report.