Acer Chromebox Mini CXM2 is a compact, fanless ChromeOS computer with Intel Twin Lake

The Acer Chromebox Mini CXM2 is a mini PC with support for Intel N150, N250, or Core 3 N350 Twin Lake processors and up to 128GB of RAM. But as the name suggests, this isn’t a mini PC designed to run Windows or other operating systems – it …

The Acer Chromebox Mini CXM2 is a mini PC with support for Intel N150, N250, or Core 3 N350 Twin Lake processors and up to 128GB of RAM. But as the name suggests, this isn’t a mini PC designed to run Windows or other operating systems – it ships with Google’s ChromeOS software pre-installed. Available in Europe […]

The post Acer Chromebox Mini CXM2 is a compact, fanless ChromeOS computer with Intel Twin Lake appeared first on Liliputing.

Alternativen gesucht: Paypal-Chaos offenbart gefährliche Zahlungsabhängigkeit

Der Ausfall von Paypal zeigt, dass Europa eigene Alternativen bei Online-Zahlungen bräuchte. Allerdings wird es für neue Anbieter schwierig, die US-Dominanz zu durchbrechen. Eine Analyse von Florian Hainzl (Paypal, Security)

Der Ausfall von Paypal zeigt, dass Europa eigene Alternativen bei Online-Zahlungen bräuchte. Allerdings wird es für neue Anbieter schwierig, die US-Dominanz zu durchbrechen. Eine Analyse von Florian Hainzl (Paypal, Security)

LaLiga Touts ‘Historic’ IPTV Piracy Crackdown, Key Questions Remain Unanswered

A massive police operation in Argentina, backed by LaLiga, dismantled a global IPTV network that reportedly served over eight million paid users. The piracy crackdown implicates several technology companies, including BitKernel and Goose, as key players in the network’s infrastructure. However, with no arrests announced, and official information kept to a minimum, the ‘historic’ takedown leaves crucial questions about their alleged involvement unanswered.

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

eppiAnti-piracy action in Argentina continues to expand, with tight collaboration between the Spanish football league LaLiga and local authorities.

Following raids in Argentina targeting MagisTV and Al Ángulo TV, new information reveals that a global network was taken down recently.

LaLiga says the historic enforcement action dismantled dozens of IPTV services with an estimated 8 million paid subscribers. Following an investigation by the Cybercrime Prosecutor’s Office of San Isidro (UFEIC), local police raided four office buildings in Vicente López, Buenos Aires.

The press release makes no mention of any arrests, but photos taken in an apparent office building show seized items including large amounts of cash, as well as a poster of Walter White. The images feature agents from the Provincial Investigations Police of Buenos Aires (DDI San Isidro) as well as a representative from LaLiga.

From the raids

raids

The raids were approved by San Isidro Guarantees Court No. 4, but no further information has been shared in respect of the criminal allegations.

My Family Cinema, TV Express, Eppi Cinema, Weiv TV and others

The list of targeted services includes My Family Cinema, TV Express, Eppi Cinema, Weiv TV, Red Play, Duna TV, Boto TV, Break TV, VTV, Blue TV, Super TV Premium, HOT, ONpix, PLUSTV, Mix, Venga TV, ALA TV, Pulse TV, Football Zone, Nossa TV, MegaTV+, Cineduo, Megamax+, GTV, Nebuplus, Onda TV, and several other brands.

A quick glance at the websites of these operations reveals that, at the time of writing, some are offline or under maintenance. It doesn’t appear that their domain names have been seized.

My Family Cinema Maintenance

maintenance

On social media, several users also report problems with these streaming services, even for those whose websites are still online. This suggests that the infrastructure of some of these brands was indeed partially dismantled.

Legitimate Companies Implicated

LaLiga’s information states that these allegedly illegal platforms “operated through” several legitimate companies that operate across the globe. These “associated” organizations include Valoroso, Space Place Consulting, Goose, BitKernel, Peliplat, and FatFish Media.

Company Name Description of Services
BitKernel BitKernel is a software development company that specializes in creating custom solutions for streaming and video platforms.
Goose Goose offers white-label platforms for streaming platforms
Peliplat Peliplat presents itself as content discovery platform, similar to a TV guide, allowing users to browse movies and TV shows and track what they have watched.

If or how these companies were involved is not disclosed. It is not immediately clear if any of the people involved are suspected of being part of the pirate streaming services’ operations, or whether the services simply used their infrastructure.

LaLiga mentions that some companies offered “seemingly legitimate services” such as Peliplat and Doozy TV.

Implicated?

implicated

TorrentFreak reached out to Goose, BitKernel and Peliplat for a comment, but those requests were not immediately answered. Their websites are online and there is no mention or visible impact of the raids.

Without drawing any conclusions, YouTube videos of Peliplat show that the company was in an office building with wall panels that look similar to the raid photos, while also featuring movie/TV posters.

From the raids

raid

According to LinkedIn job offerings, Peliplat has an office in Vicente López, Buenos Aires, the same city where the police raids took place. These links don’t prove anything, so we requested LaLiga to clarify the involvement of these companies; again, without an immediate response.

A Turning Point?

Commenting on the enforcement action, LaLiga president Javier Tebas suggests that the recent action in Argentina marks a turning point in the fight against online streaming piracy.

“This operation marks a before and after in the fight against digital piracy in Latin America. The scale of this network demonstrates that audiovisual fraud is a transnational organized crime issue,” Tebas says.

LaLiga further notes that ALIANZA, NAGRAVISIÓN, and Telecom Argentina played a role in the investigations. In addition, the Motion Picture Association was involved in the process. The latter informed TorrentFreak that it will not comment on the recent action.

The information made available suggests that this was a massive anti-piracy crackdown affecting millions of subscribers and a handful of companies that appear to have other legitimate operations as well.

It also leaves us with a bitter taste, however. Given the scope of the operation and the seriousness of the criminal allegations, one would expect more transparency, so the press can properly do its job instead of regurgitating press releases.

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

Acer introduces four big-screen Android tablets with 12.6 inch, 14 inch, and 16 inch displays

Acer is expanding its Android tablet lineup in a big way. Literally. The company is not only introducing four new models during the IFA show in Berlin this week, but all four of these tablets are BIG devices with large-displays ranging in size from 12….

Acer is expanding its Android tablet lineup in a big way. Literally. The company is not only introducing four new models during the IFA show in Berlin this week, but all four of these tablets are BIG devices with large-displays ranging in size from 12.6 to 16 inches. All four tablets feature built-in kickstands and quad […]

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