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You can click, you can hide, but can you sanitize your DNS records? (Source: MPAA)
Anti-piracy company's decoy betrayed by WHOIS records

Several days ago, anti-piracy watchdog MediaDefender launched MiiVi.com, a decoy piracy site claiming to offer "fast and easy video downloading."  It displayed copyright by "MiiVi, Inc," and mentioned no affiliation with MediaDefender, the movie industry, or Hollywood in general. The site's spartan layout enticed users to download a special MiiVi client, which would supposedly unlock access to the site's cache of full-length movies.

ZeroPaid.com, acting on a tip from The Pirate Bay, called MiiVi out late last Tuesday. The proof behind their accusations lies in archived WHOIS records, showing that MediaDefender registered MiiVi.net and MiiVi.com in February and March of this year.

Soon after the callout, MediaDefender took MiiVi down and updated their domain registration records. Currently, MiiVi.com is a parked page at GoDaddy, and the site's WHOIS records are now cloaked by a privacy service. However, MiiVi.net's WHOIS records point to MiiVi, Inc. and include an address that is the same as the address listed on MediaDefender's contact page.

According to "soulxtc" of ZeroPaid.com, in addition to baiting users to download illegal movies, the client also scans users' hard drives for downloaded content; a sharp contrast to MediaDefender's own stated policies and tactics, which in bold print claim the company only uses "non-invasive technological countermeasures."

MediaDefender's clients include the Motion Picture Association of America, record labels, and others in Hollywood. They are no stranger to these tactics and, together with other companies, have been responsible for providing bogus content to peer-to-peer networks in the past.

Update 07/10/2007: MediaDefender CEO Randy Saaf claims the accusations made by ZeroPaid and other outlets are completely false.  His response to DailyTech can be read here.

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Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By sxr7171 on 7/6/2007 2:39:44 AM , Rating: 5
Wow, deceptive. That is illegal for sure and the fact that they scan users' hard drives, they should be sued out of business.




RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By Proteusza on 7/6/2007 4:18:57 AM , Rating: 5
This is the kind of thing that makes me avoid the record and movie industry.

the games industry hasnt quite reached this level of idiocy, but its getting close.

one thing that I always think is stupid is how much money they spend on anti piracy measures, vs how much they stand to gain. Lets face it, the bulk of people who pirate cant afford the media anyway. You dont gain a customer by stopping them, you gain nothing. millions of people in asia, russia, and africa just cant afford these things, so that isnt lost revenue.

whats more, they turn off potential customers like me, who can afford these things. I will not buy anything with a rootkit or any other program that tries to verify its authenticity by compromising my computer (excluding Windows, I have no choice there). If the price I paid in currency terms isnt enough to get it to work without compromising my pc, then I wont buy it.

Everybody says that these big businesses have internal statistics that prove to them such extreme anti piracy measures are worth it to the bottom line, but really, I wonder if the decision maker has accurate information or uses appropriately.


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By kalak on 7/6/2007 7:46:36 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I will not buy anything with a rootkit or any other program that tries to verify its authenticity by compromising my computer ( excluding Windows, I have no choice there )


GREAT comment !!! :-)))


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By TomZ on 7/6/2007 8:52:50 AM , Rating: 2
Will you guys please give it a rest with the "I have to buy Windows" rhetoric? Do we have to again review the list of readily available alternatives?


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By PrinceGaz on 7/6/2007 9:30:33 AM , Rating: 3
You have to use Windows to play most PC games.


By omnicronx on 7/6/2007 10:24:10 AM , Rating: 5
and p0rn just isnt the same on linux (that damn penguin is always watching)


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By Nightskyre on 7/6/07, Rating: -1
By omnicronx on 7/6/2007 11:43:01 AM , Rating: 5
And you should have taken the choice to not write a reply.
You don't 'need' to do anything on a computer, as far as i know once upon a time there were no computers. A computer in itself is a luxury, you dont have to watch videos, you dont have to listen to music, you dont have to search the net, hell you dont need to type up your report.
quote:
if you're sacrificing your money to the game, you may have to "compromise your PC" to install Windows to play that game.

I would say most people should be much more worried about compromising their PC's surfing the net as installing a game would be much less 'comprimising' then surfing will ever be.
So in then end, any one of those things can be considered 'moot' depending what you use your computer for, if you only plays games its obviously not, then everything else is moot.. if you never play games then you are right, it all depends on how you use your computer.


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By TomZ on 7/6/07, Rating: -1
By Arramol on 7/6/2007 1:31:18 PM , Rating: 3
I choose my operating system based on what does what I want it to do. Having the ability to play PC games is worth the drawbacks of Windows in my mind, so I'm willing to put up with it. That doesn't mean I'm willing to put up with anything and everything, however.


By crazydrummer4562 on 7/12/2007 3:41:03 PM , Rating: 2
You don't have to do anything in life besides eat, breathe, piss and defecate. So basically pulling that argument on anything aside from what is listed above is invalid.


By Xerstead on 7/8/2007 5:07:56 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
You have to use Windows to play most PC games.

Did everyone else read this differently to me?
In order to play games on a PC Windows would be required.
Most games do not run on Linux or the alternatives and list MS Windows in the system requirements.
Not 'I MUST play games on my PC' as all the comments seem to imply.


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By mindless1 on 7/6/2007 10:08:33 PM , Rating: 3
Oh boo hoo, we're not supposed to have an opinion if it doesn't align with yours? You already knew you were wrong even before you posted.


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By TomZ on 7/6/07, Rating: 0
RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By harshbarj on 7/7/2007 5:07:06 AM , Rating: 3
Normally your posts are highly intelligent tom, But this one is downright dumb. The fact is if you want to play games you must run windows. It's not a choice. Other than windows you really only have one other choice, Linux (as mac is not truly a choice as you need new hardware / software). As most current game will not run on Linux it's not a choice. So that leaves us with one choice, Windows. So yes if you want to play real games, windows IS forced on you.


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By TomZ on 7/7/2007 10:45:35 AM , Rating: 1
OK, fine - I'll admit it - if you want to play Windows games, they you have to buy Windows. I guess I thought playing Windows games was something a person decided to do, but maybe I'm wrong about that.


RE: Sounds like a nice lawsuit is brewing...
By harshbarj on 7/7/2007 5:36:11 PM , Rating: 2
Are there really any other type of games? With most games being windows only it's hard to suggest any other platform. Sure macs have their games but they lag behind widows by years if they ever get the game (and they are forced to pay full price for a game that is 2-3 years old). A quick search on newegg shows bf1942 is 19.99 for the pc and 36.99 for the mac, ut2k4 is 12.99 for pc and 24.99 for the mac. You also have to buy a new computer to run the mac os so that alone makes the move to the mac os unrealistic for many people.

As for Linux it's even worse. Practically no good games exist that will run on Linux natively (wine really dose not count as it buggy and not simple to setup). only game I know of is ut2004 and I have yet to get that working (as epic will not support that version and will not answer my support questions).

Your trying to make it sound like both mac and linux are swarming with high quality games, I know thats not true as I have tried to switch many times. As most games are "windows" games that is the platform you have to use to get the most choice. Sure you can game on the mac or linux, I have never said you can't, but by doing so you cutting yourself out of most of the market and choosing to pay more for older games.

so in that sense , yes it's a choice.