Month: September 2024

Magis TV IPTV Crackdown Blocks 70 Domains, Hundreds Already Wiped Out

There have been many durable pirate sites over the years with The Pirate Bay perhaps the most high-profile of them all. While it has fewer years under its belt, pirate IPTV service Magis TV is under attack from all sides. The latest broadside in Argentina will see the country’s ISPs block around 70 domains, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment has seized a similar number yet Magis TV has somehow managed to stay afloat.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

magis_tv_sLast December when the MPA and other rightsholders renewed calls for site-blocking measures to be implemented in the United States, much of the focus was placed on Fmovies.

Before its recent sudden demise, Fmovies was considered the world’s largest illegal movie and TV show streaming site, yet some lawmakers in attendance at last year’s hearing had never heard of it before.

Fewer still would’ve heard of pirate IPTV service Magis TV, but for the MPA and enforcement coalition Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, Magis TV is the source of a persistent headache for which there’s currently no cure.

China and Latin America

According to the MPA, Magis TV is believed to operate out of China. Its focus is on the Latin American market where millions consume content mostly via the platform’s ubiquitous, subscription-based Android app.

Cybersecurity firm ESET has linked the popular app to malware and botnets, but that doesn’t appear to have had any negative effect on Magis TV’s continued popularity.

Indeed, despite being under significant pressure from anti-piracy measures across the entire region, limiting Magis TV’s ability to operate has proven quite the challenge.

An order published in Argentina dated September 13, 2024, reveals that the country’s Internet Service Providers are now required to block dozens of Magis TV-linked domains for violating intellectual property law.

Telecoms body ENACOM is responsible for arranging the blocksargentina-block-magis-tv

The original order in Spanish (translation above) runs to four pages, most of which list Magis TV-linked domains. As screenshots of those domains shows, there’s no obvious design consistency, which suggests that whoever operates them have received no specific instructions from the owners of the IPTV service.

Chaotic, perhaps usefully somagis-domains-ecuador

Some domains on the list claim to offer services to those considering becoming a reseller, so at least in theory they may have closer links to the service itself. In other cases, site operators may not have any direct connections beyond buying subscription credits at one price and then selling them on at another. That’s not to downplay their importance, but it does highlight the difficulties when it comes to enforcement.

In total, 69 domains (full list below) must be blocked to ensure they’re inaccessible from Argentinian territory but how effective that will be at limiting access to the service remains to be seen.

ACE Has Already Seized or Shut Down as Many Domains

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment has been working on the Magis TV problem for at least a couple of years. In the summer of 2022, a series of DMCA subpoenas targeting dozens of illegal streaming sites aimed to unmask their operators, including whoever is behind Magis TV.

In November that same year, another subpoena sought information from Zenlayer. Whether any, all, or none of these efforts bore fruit is unknown, but ACE soon started to take possession or exercise some type of control over dozens of domains with links to Magis TV. As is usually the case, many began diverting to the ACE anti-piracy portal.

Quietly commandeered, no official announcement from ACEace-seized-magistv

The lack of an official announcement to celebrate such a big haul was somewhat unusual. However, it seems likely that having assessed the situation, ACE may have concluded that the seizures wouldn’t provide the clean kill the coalition is known for.

The true scale of the problem hasn’t been revealed in public but an ACE report seen by TorrentFreak suggests a continent-wide problem.

Focused on piracy in Latin America, the report reveals that by the end of 2023, the anti-piracy coalition had taken down around 50 Magis TV websites in the region. Starting in Chile and heading north, up through Peru, into Ecuador, then Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and finally back on home turf in the United States, sites were systematically taken down.

The only issue, albeit quite a significant one, is that ACE concluded that Magis TV and/or its affiliates, including an unknown number of resellers, were together operating over 370 websites.

Inevitable Site-Blocking

Ecuador has been blocking pirate sites since 2019 and earlier this year it began blocking Magis TV.

In August, ISPs in Ecuador added a further 183 Magis TV-linked IP addresses to the existing blocklist, followed by a dynamic blocking order last week, which allows a rightsholder to add new blocking targets without a court intervention.

As the image below shows (right), Ecuador has also managed to place warnings directly on the screens of pirates watching illegal streams, while Bolivia (left) issued direct warnings as far back as July 2022.

magis-warnings

Limited blocking also takes place in Peru (magis-tv.app, magstv.com, tvmagis.com, magistv.news, magistv-app.net) and other countries in the region. But with domains both cheap and easy to replace, pirates at the consumer end of what is effectively a pyramid sales operation, will always be one step ahead.

ACE has been keeping up the pressure by obtaining new DMCA subpoenas in March and June 2024, so presumably intends to tackle this problem by taking out those at the top.

If they are indeed based in China, that’s unlikely to be straightforward; yet, with enough patience and the right leverage, nothing is impossible.

The domains listed for blocking in the Argentinian order read as follows:

magistv-la.com, magistv.net, tvmagis.pro, magistv-app.net, magistv.video, magistvplus.com, magistv.app, tvmagis.com, magistvonline.com, magis123.com, magistv.film, magistvoficial.net, magistviptv.com, magistv.live, magistvlatin.com, magistvlatino.es, fullmagistv.com, magistvv.com – redirects to > tvsnipers.com, magistv-ecuador.com, magistv.agency, soportemagistv.com, panelmagistv.com, magistvstream.net, magistvmas.com, magistv-venezuela.com, comprarmagistv.app, magistv.ai, descarga-magistv.com, magispro.com, magistvgo.com, magislatamtv.net, magistvecuador.app, magistvinternational.com, magiscr.org, magistv.mx, magistvmexico.net, oficialmagistv.com, magistv.so – redirects to > magistv.film, magistvapk.app – redirects to> magis-tv.vip, comprarmagistv.com, magistvmex.com, magisapp.app, magistvperu.org, magistvusa.net, magistvoficial.com, magistv-app.net, renovarmagistv.net, panelmagistv.net, magistvgratis.com, magistvpty.com, getmagistv.com, magistve.com, magistvoficial.org, magistvpc.com, magistv.la, magistv.club, tvmagis.pro, magistv.stream, magis.com.ec, magistvtv.com, planesmagistv.com, magistvpremium.com, magistv-latino.net, magistvhn.com, magistvplus.com.co, magisapk.com, magis-cr.com, magistvoficialchile.com, magistvapp.app

To our knowledge, ACE has shut down at minimum the following domains:

magistvgroup.com, magistv.global, magistv.org.pe, magistvnicaragua.com, magistvperu.com, magistvusa.com, magistvapk.com, magistvecuador.com, magistvlatino.app, magistvdemo.com, magistvargentina.com, magistvrepublicadominicana.com, magistvchile.com, magistvpanama.com, magistvfacil.com, magistvbrasil.com, magisglobal.net, magistvcostarica.com, magistvpuertorico.com, magistvmexico.com, magistvuruguay.com, magistvglobal.com, magistvoficial.vip, magistvparaguay.com, magistvbolivia.com, magistvcolombia.com, bolivia.magistvgroup.com, cuba.magistvgroup.com, colombia.magistvgroup.com, argentina.magistvgroup.com, magistvfull.com, magistv.biz, magistv.services, magistv.solutions, magistv.fyi, magistv.us, magistvoficial.online, magistv.group, magistv.social, magistvoficial.digital, magist.vg, magistvvenezuela.com, magistv.es, magistvglobal.co, magistv.place, magistvrepublishedadomenica.com, magistv.store, magistv.asia, magistvoficial.services, magistv.life, magistvoficial.info

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Anzeige: Effektive Cloudstrategien und Containerorchestrierung

Erfolgreiche Cloud-Implementierungen sind für moderne Unternehmen entscheidend. Diese Workshops zu Kubernetes und Ansible vermitteln praktisches Wissen zur Containerorchestrierung und IT-Optimierung. (Golem Karrierewelt, Betriebssysteme)

Erfolgreiche Cloud-Implementierungen sind für moderne Unternehmen entscheidend. Diese Workshops zu Kubernetes und Ansible vermitteln praktisches Wissen zur Containerorchestrierung und IT-Optimierung. (Golem Karrierewelt, Betriebssysteme)

Nintendo, The Pokemon Company sue Palworld maker Pocketpair

Japanese patent infringement lawsuit follows “investigation” announced in January.

Artist's conception of Pocketpair lawyers establishing a defensive position against Nintendo's coming legal onslaught.

Enlarge / Artist's conception of Pocketpair lawyers establishing a defensive position against Nintendo's coming legal onslaught. (credit: Pocketpair)

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company announced they have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, the makers of the heavily Pokémon-inspired Palworld. The Tokyo District Court lawsuit seeks an injunction and damages "on the grounds that Palworld infringes multiple patent rights" according to the announcement.

"Nintendo will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights including the Nintendo brand itself, to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to establish over the years," the company writes.

The many surface similarities between Pokémon and Palworld are readily apparent, even though Pocketpair's game adds many new features over Nintendo's (such as, uh, guns). But making legal hay over even heavy common ground between games can be an uphill battle. That's because copyright law (at least in the US) generally doesn't apply to a game's mere design elements, and only extends to "expressive elements" such as art, character design, and music.

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“Dead Internet theory” comes to life with new AI-powered social media app

SocialAI takes the social media “filter bubble” to an extreme with 100% fake interactions.

People in a hall of mirrors.

Enlarge (credit: gremlin via Getty Images)

For the past few years, a conspiracy theory called "Dead Internet theory" has picked up speed as large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT increasingly generate text and even social media interactions found online. The theory says that most social Internet activity today is artificial and designed to manipulate humans for engagement.

On Monday, software developer Michael Sayman launched a new AI-populated social network app called SocialAI that feels like it's bringing that conspiracy theory to life, allowing users to interact solely with AI chatbots instead of other humans. It's available on the iPhone app store, but so far, it's picking up pointed criticism.

After its creator announced SocialAI as "a private social network where you receive millions of AI-generated comments offering feedback, advice & reflections on each post you make," computer security specialist Ian Coldwater quipped on X, "This sounds like actual hell." Software developer and frequent AI pundit Colin Fraser expressed a similar sentiment: "I don’t mean this like in a mean way or as a dunk or whatever but this actually sounds like Hell. Like capital H Hell."

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After 20 years, World of Warcraft will now let players do solo raids

People have been playing WoW solo for years, so this was just the final step.

An insect queen in a video game

Enlarge / The final boss of the new WoW raid, who will now be beatable as a solo player in Story Mode. (credit: Blizzard)

After 20 years, it's now possible for solo players to finish storylines in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft that previously required a group to do an intensive raid.

That's thanks to "Story Mode," a new raid difficulty that was added for the final wing of the first raid of the recently released The War Within expansion.

Over the years, developer Blizzard has expanded the difficulty options for raids to meet various players and communities where they're at in terms of play styles. The top difficulty is Mythic, where the semi-pro hardcore guilds compete. Below that is Heroic, where serious, capital-G gamers coordinate with friends in weekly raid schedules to progress. Then there's Normal, which still requires some coordination but isn't nearly as challenging and can typically be completed by a pick-up group within a few tries.

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Patents for software and genetic code could be revived by two bills in Congress

PERA and PREVAIL want to re-enable patents struck down by Supreme Court rulings.

Image from the patent office of a patent for

Enlarge / An image from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where in 1874, the newest thing was not software or genetic compositions, but shutter fastenings from H.L. Norton. (credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider two bills Thursday that would effectively nullify the Supreme Court's rulings against patents on broad software processes and human genes. Open source and Internet freedom advocates are mobilizing and pushing back.

The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (or PERA, S. 2140), sponsored by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), would amend US Code such that "all judicial exceptions to patent eligibility are eliminated." That would include the 2014 ruling in which the Supreme Court held, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing, that simply performing an existing process on a computer does not make it a new, patentable invention. "The relevant question is whether the claims here do more than simply instruct the practitioner to implement the abstract idea of intermediated settlement on a generic computer," Thomas wrote. "They do not."

That case also drew on Bilski v. Kappos, a case in which a patent was proposed based solely on the concept of hedging against price fluctuations in commodity markets.

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Lilbits: Intel Foundry to operate as a subsidiary, HTC Vive Focus Vision XR is a premium headset, and Bose unveils “Personal Surround Sound”

Setting up a surround-sound system at home usually involves arranging at least five speakers plus a subwoofer around the house. But Bose has introduced a new “Personal Surround Sound” system that lets you do it by pairing a soundbar placed …

Setting up a surround-sound system at home usually involves arranging at least five speakers plus a subwoofer around the house. But Bose has introduced a new “Personal Surround Sound” system that lets you do it by pairing a soundbar placed by your TV with a pair of open-ear earbuds. Since the earbuds don’t cover your […]

The post Lilbits: Intel Foundry to operate as a subsidiary, HTC Vive Focus Vision XR is a premium headset, and Bose unveils “Personal Surround Sound” appeared first on Liliputing.

Landmark AI deal sees Hollywood giant Lionsgate provide library for AI training

Runway deal will create a Lionsgate AI video generator used to augment filmmaking.

An illustration of a filmstrip with a robot, horse, rocket, and whale.

Enlarge (credit: Benj Edwards / Malte Mueller via Getty Images)

On Wednesday, AI video synthesis firm Runway and entertainment company Lionsgate announced a partnership to create a new AI model trained on Lionsgate's vast film and TV library. The deal will feed Runway legally clear training data and will also reportedly provide Lionsgate with tools to enhance content creation while potentially reducing production costs.

Lionsgate, known for franchises like John Wick and The Hunger Games, sees AI as a way to boost efficiency in content production. Michael Burns, Lionsgate's vice chair, stated in a press release that AI could help develop "cutting edge, capital efficient content creation opportunities." He added that some filmmakers have shown enthusiasm about potential applications in pre- and post-production processes.

Runway plans to develop a custom AI model using Lionsgate's proprietary content portfolio. The model will be exclusive to Lionsgate Studios, allowing filmmakers, directors, and creative staff to augment their work. While specifics remain unclear, the partnership marks the first major collaboration between Runway and a Hollywood studio.

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