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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.

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)

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.

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

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In recent years there have been a lot of complaints about the current state of the DMCA takedown process.

To hear the growing concerns from all sides, the U.S. Copyright Office launched a public consultation in order to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the 1998 copyright law.

Just before the deadline expired last week, Fight for the Future (FFTF) and popular YouTube channel ChannelAwesome decided to join in. They launched a campaign through which people could protest DMCA abuse, triggering over 90,000 responses in less than 24 hours.

The public interest was so overwhelming that the Government’s servers reportedly “crashed” under the heavy load.

The protest organizers were delighted to see that so many people had voiced their concerns. Up until they got involved there had only been a few dozen responses so their efforts made a huge impact.

However, copyright holders and industry groups are not pleased with the public outcry. Earlier this week Keith Kupferschmid, CEO of the Hollywood funded Copyright Alliance, likened it to a “Copyright Zombie Apocalypse.”

“Well, in case you were unconscious and left for dead in a hospital last week, the copyright community experienced its own zombie apocalypse,” Kupferschmid writes.

His main complaint is that nearly all comments were sent through the TakedownAbuse campaign site, where people could send in the pre-filled form highlighting various abuse related problems.

“These 90,000 comments are all identical submissions generated merely by clicking on the ‘I’m in’ button at takedownabuse.org. Like the zombies in The Walking Dead, there was not a lot of effort or brainpower that went into the 90,000 plus submissions,” he notes.

“If there are problems with the DMCA the best way to understand what those problems are, and to attempt to address them, is for those with concerns to voice them in detail and not file yet another zombie comment. As we’ve learned from The Walking Dead, those zombies are rather easily disposed of.”

While Kupferschmid certainly has a point when he argues that the massive number of responses is unlikely to generate a broad range of insights, the harsh wording appears to be a sign of bitter frustration.

Knowing that tens of thousands of people share a certain point of view has value, and the Copyright Office is clever enough to take the context into account.

Interestingly, however, Kupferschmid notes that he would say the same if the comments were voicing pro-copyright sentiments.

This is rather ironic because the Copyright Alliance is actively promoting several pro-copyright campaigns that also allow the public to sign pre-written petitions. Unlike the form at TakedownAbuse.org, people can’t even edit the message. Like “zombies,” all they are encouraged to do is sign.

TorrentFreak spoke to FFTF’s Tiffiniy Cheng, who notes that people did edit or add their own comments. In any case, equating tens of thousands of concerned citizens to zombies might not be best move.

“The expression of a disagreement with a certain policy is valuable to our democracy and debate. And, that’s what we have here,” Cheng says.

“The people who filed comments have experienced real censorship that they want to stop and care deeply about stopping DMCA takedown abuse. You can’t discount that, they are getting organized and demanding a seat at the table the best way they know how – by coming together and showing how big this problem is,” she adds.

After the comment deadline passed the Takedownabuse campaign received thousands of additional comments. They plan to submit these additional responses to the Copyright Office as a petition.

Perhaps the Copyright Alliance should join in, rally some “zombies,” and launch a petition of their own?

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

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