Got Caught Downloading! How? Zonealarm?

[jack7777766]

I got caught last week downloading 50 first dates from kazaa. I got an email from at&t that they would cancel my account or who knows what and that I had to delete the file and inform them, and couldnt breach copyright notices again, and Im pretty sure the email said they were told about this by someone, that had all the big movie names under it, paramount, time warner, tristar guys like that.

Normally I wouldnt care if they disconected my account Id probably do it myself and tell them to go@#$@ themselvesm but my whole ouse is hooked up to it and I cant get caught again.
Before my only security was my router, now I just installed zone alarm and I have some questions.
Does anyone know exactly how they found out that I downloaded 50 first dates from kazaa??? Did they get into my computer?? where they sharing the file???
AlsoI had to use port forwarding since im on a nat, and I put zonealarm on my computer, but does this stop anyone from getting in?? Should it be on all the computers, even though someone set one computer up and called it a server, even if its down the internet works so I dont think its a server.
And also they reported the ip of my entire network not my comp (IP of my router, not the IP's my router distributes to the different PC's using it) so Im not sure which computer I should put zonealarm on can anyone tell me???
I was also thinking of using protowall or something else like that, and not downloading any movies for a month or so.
What else can I do thats worth while???
Are they cracking down allot harder now, or was it just bad luck for me????

Thanks
Jack

[james_bond_rulez]

bad luck for you :)


btw, your getting caught has nothing to do with zonealarm and routers and nat and shit

it's your ip address :)

[danyj]

Where are you from?

[oldjagman]

AT&T can scan their network for consistently heavy use (it's basic practice for a Telecom business).

If you show up as a very heavy user from a private address they will be interested and they can then trace who you are connected to and the rest is simple.

Forget computer security! If your download goes through the PSTN at any stage then you can be traced, the nature of the traffic discerned and the end user (uploader) found.

If AT&T are your ISP then they can deal with you directly, if you use another ISP who sells on AT&T lines then they wil go to the ISP not you.

What we are doing is illegal if the download is not in the public domain so they have every right to attempt to stop us if they so wish.

My guess is AT&T have links with the distributors you mention and are acting on their behalf.

My advice - emigrate to Canada, Holland or the UK where the thought police have better things to do!

[jack7777766]

Originally posted by oldjagman@15 June 2004 - 12:24
AT&T can scan their network for consistently heavy use (it's basic practice for a Telecom business).

If you show up as a very heavy user from a private address they will be interested and they can then trace who you are connected to and the rest is simple.

Forget computer security! If your download goes through the PSTN at any stage then you can be traced, the nature of the traffic discerned and the end user (uploader) found.

If AT&T are your ISP then they can deal with you directly, if you use another ISP who sells on AT&T lines then they wil go to the ISP not you.

What we are doing is illegal if the download is not in the public domain so they have every right to attempt to stop us if they so wish.

My guess is AT&T have links with the distributors you mention and are acting on their behalf.

My advice - emigrate to Canada, Holland or the UK where the thought police have better things to do!
By heavy use do you mean that Im downloading to fast 150k/s or that I download too much in a certain time period say 5 gigs a month??

What is a PSTN???

Thanks

P.S. AT&T is my ISP.

[jetje]

just mail them back you were dl a big file, cause a friend told you your ISP would spy on you, and that you said you thought they wouldn't do that. To test it out you were dl his trashcan that was renamed to 50 first dates. So ask them why they spy on your internet activities :lol:

They can't prove anything without having your harddisk. So don't be worried.

[Sparkle1984]

Short for Public Switched Telephone Network, which refers to the international telephone system based on copper wires carrying analog voice data. This is in contrast to newer telephone networks base on digital technologies, such as ISDN and FDDI.
Telephone service carried by the PSTN is often called plain old telephone service (POTS).

Heavy use means that you are downloading/uploading too much in a certain amount of time. Although the faster your speed is, the more likely you are to go over the limits and be considered as a heavy user.

[oldjagman]

PSTN was always used as the generic for any telephony network open to the public where calls are directed by the customer - or did I waste 30+ years working for a Telco. ISDN is a digital service purchased by individual customers for their own use needing special equipment like modems and routers and FDDI is normally restricted to LANs.

It's the local loop that is key here. Any telephony that uses a home to local exchange route (nearly always copper, Sparkle - even the cable people use some co-ax in the route) is open to intercept at the LE or beyond. And remember

Size is relative - 5 gigs a day from and too Microsoft is peanuts but my 10 gigs a month is big bang from my leafy suburb - too many like me in a residential area and we are talking serious congestion in the local loop - and that means the road comes up if the duct won't take any more cable (co-ax, fibre optic whatever).

This is why they are interested in overall traffic levels; snooping on your usage is just something that can be done if they have a mind to.

[Bobohiotk]

If he were using an anonymous proxy server such as anonx, wouldn't that help since the data is encrypted and the IP is that of the proxy?

[javelinmansst]

:huh: i recieved a similar message from mediacom high speed internet(mchsi)
its my service provider.
the first time it was in Email form that told me to delete the file in 24 hrs or THEY will . and talked more about sharing files on a peer to peer network than downloading files.
i wrote about this in general filesharing talk under the topic "busted"
well, just recently they got me again for the movie walking tall.
they had my port # the file name , user name etc.
this time they shut me down and sent the message to me in writing.
I had to sign it to show that i had recieved it and send it back and they turned me back on in 48 hrs.
they said next time i will be cut off permanant and could face criminal charges.
blah blah blah

they told me i could get the name of the person or group that informed on me if i filled out some consent form .
basically -they said if i give them complete access to my harddrive and let them give my name and address to local authorities-they would give me info on who turned me in.
their argument is that if im not guilty of anything then i shouldnt worry about filling out the form.
any way Im still downloading
just not sharing
I know , I know, I should share. but I dont want to get cut off again.
what would you do??

[oldjagman]

what would you do??

Emigrate!


If he were using an anonymous proxy server such as anonx, wouldn't that help since the data is encrypted and the IP is that of the proxy?

Anything encrypted can be decrypted - its a lot of trouble and probably not worth the bother unless you are using a commercial encryption system that is as watertight as the Titanic!

[Sparkle1984]

Originally posted by javelinmansst@16 June 2004 - 00:15
:huh: i recieved a similar message from mediacom high speed internet(mchsi)
its my service provider.
the first time it was in Email form that told me to delete the file in 24 hrs or THEY will . and talked more about sharing files on a peer to peer network than downloading files.
i wrote about this in general filesharing talk under the topic "busted"
well, just recently they got me again for the movie walking tall.
they had my port # the file name , user name etc.
this time they shut me down and sent the message to me in writing.
I had to sign it to show that i had recieved it and send it back and they turned me back on in 48 hrs.
they said next time i will be cut off permanant and could face criminal charges.
blah blah blah

they told me i could get the name of the person or group that informed on me if i filled out some consent form .
basically -they said if i give them complete access to my harddrive and let them give my name and address to local authorities-they would give me info on who turned me in.
their argument is that if im not guilty of anything then i shouldnt worry about filling out the form.
any way Im still downloading
just not sharing
I know , I know, I should share. but I dont want to get cut off again.
what would you do??
Please don't download any files off me, as I don't like it when people do that without sharing anything themselves.
;)
If I was you, I would avoid using bittorrent for movies as it's unsafe, and use the bad ip blocker in k-lite. Don't let people browse your folder, and then you should be safer.
Did you take any of these precautions?

[jack7777766]

Wouldnt BitTorrent with protowall be the same thing as kazaa with the bad ip blocker???

I used to think kazaa was safer, but go figure I get caught using kazaa not BT.

[Sparkle1984]

The reason I say BitTorrent is more unsafe than other p2p programs is because everyone on that tracker can see what you are downloading and uploading, especially because it uploads parts of files even before the download is complete. A film company could easily join the tracker and see what everyone else is sharing.
That's what I mean.

[Bobohiotk]

James Bond Rulez,
I know you have been an advocate for anonx. What's your opinion about it's use in this situation? It's uses commercial grade encryption doesn't it?

[AnonXO]

AnonX uses some of latest encryption technologies. We use mppe-128 stateless encryption between end-users and the gateways. Then AnonX rescraples the pipe again between gateway and proxies using a propritery encryption similar to a stateless 2048 bit blowfish.

If an internert users is worried about his security and anonomity he should use a comerical proxy service. AnonX is jsut one that has started up in the last year and support many style of internet connections. AnonX can brag that it is one of the largest proxy services that supports p2p.

If you are shopping for a proxy service look for
1. The service is well established.
2. Offers a trail offer, so that you can verify performance and test the connection with products like Shields-Up at ww.grc.com (Gibson Research Center)
3. They offer a known and secure payment method.

AnonX has signed up new users that where discuessed with performance of other proxy services and even complaints that some where no more than a SCAM to gather credit card information.

There has been internet company (like hiddenconnect) that set up a shell to look like AnonX. They offer now support. They even copied our end-users agreement and forgot to strip out refrences to AnonX.

I am plugging proxies services in general. If you choose another service other than AnonX and it works for you great! If it doesn't meet your expection try AnonXx or look around on the internet. There are many postive reviews of the AnonX service from users.


--AnonX O




















and use a known and trusted paypment method. AnonX has recieved emails from users of other so-called "proxy privacy companies" that were nothing more that a scam to retrieve credit card infomration.

[Sony]

Originally posted by jack7777766@17 June 2004 - 01:19
Wouldnt BitTorrent with protowall be the same thing as kazaa with the bad ip blocker???

I used to think kazaa was safer, but go figure I get caught using kazaa not BT.
Comcast owns AT&T high speed internet....i got caught two times before i realized that this fuckers where scanning my computer to find illegal downloaded movies....if i was you i dump AT&T and go for anything ells that is round available in your era.

i canceled my Comcast for for a better ISP that doesn't bother me at all...i have been downloading 24/7 now and no complains from my ISP.

and why the hell are you using Kazaa? you are one step closer to a law suit..

[nukemdomis]

Great information, thank-you.

About the sharing though, you can't just say !@#$ sharing, I do understand where your coming from so why don't you share some other type of downloadable media other than movies?

I currently have the last 20 years of primetime television available for all on my hard drive.........yeah right!!



:gossip:

[ishmoo21]

cant the companys just read all of these things and find out whether u are downloading or not

[erRor67]

You know, thats just messed up if they scan your harddrive. I mean, yea sure they could probably see all the network info going around, but harddrive scanning??? Talk about privacy.... You swear the government had nothing to hide :angry:

So even with a hardware firewall (router) and a software firewall (zonealarm) and IP blocker (Protowall) people are still getting caught? DAMNIT&#33;&#33;&#33; Freaken ComCast and AT&T&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; <_< People are paying for their service and they turn around and stab them in the back..... <_< freaken morons. Like they dont download stuff....
Does anyone know if people got caught using SBC Yahoo DSL? Thats what i use... I know ComCast sucks ass, but i dont know about SBC Yahoo DSL.....

And about those Proxies. I suppose they are good. But the only problem is if you want one free, its hard to find a really annomus proxie with good speeds. I found alot of slow ones. And, when you use a proxie, the HOSTS file is bypassed, which sucks since i use it to block ads and stuff..

[AnonXO]

With a good proxy. You should not lose more than 10% of your speed. If that. Secondly you can still usee a pop-up blocker with AnonX and other VPN style proxies. They aren&#39;t free :( Bandwidth still cost money :(


--AnonX

[tracydani]

You need to decide what is more important to you. Speed or security. Then everything just sort of falls in place. You either are willing to pay anonx or you are willing to (potentially) pay the mpaa/riaa.

There are other advantages to using a proxy. For example, I joined a movie download site(pay version) that is only available in the states. Whenever I try to view the site, I get a friendly "thanks for your interest, but we are not available in your area" screen. But when going through my proxy, I can surf all over the site.

TD

[longboneslinger]

Just remember kiddies, they are looking at bandwidth.If you come up on hte high end, and they spend a lot of money to figure out where the &#39;highend&#39; is, they&#39;ll still start shit. Encrypted or not, the bandwidth usage is what is important (So they say :rolleyes: B) ) to them.

I actually got a call from my ISP asking if I was running a server from my home. It&#39;s against the rules. I asked what prompted this question. I was told that "We monitor bandwidth usage to insure proper distribution (Whatever that means) to our customers." I replied "No, no server. And before you ask, I am not violating any contract rules by my downloads. So, it&#39;s none of your damn business what I&#39;m doing. So fuck you very much and have a nice day&#33;" I hung up in his face. Ripping down several Gigs a week, no calls.

Tell&#39;em where to get off and they usually will.

BoNe

[nsane]

Originally posted by longboneslinger@12 July 2004 - 19:17
No, no server. And before you ask, I am not violating any contract rules by my downloads. So, it&#39;s none of your damn business what I&#39;m doing. So fuck you very much and have a nice day&#33;"
:lol:

[Switeck]

Originally posted by javelinmansst+15 June 2004 - 19:15--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (javelinmansst &#064; 15 June 2004 - 19:15)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> they told me i could get the name of the person or group that informed on me&nbsp; if i filled out some consent form .
basically -they said if i give them complete access to my harddrive and let them give my name and address to local authorities-they would give me info on who turned me in.
their argument is that if im not guilty of anything then i shouldnt worry about filling out the form. [/b]
If there&#39;s scammers and identity thieves threatening to have your internet connection cut off if you don&#39;t give them your name, location, and whatever else private info they want to know about you...

Replying to the email is almost certainly how they tie your ip to YOU, so doing so is considered unwise...

Instead complain to your ISP that such harrassment, especially sponsored by your ISP, is considered a violation or 2 of several privacy laws.<!--QuoteBegin-Bishtawiman@11 July 2004 - 22:28
So even with a hardware firewall (router) and a software firewall (zonealarm) and IP blocker (Protowall) people are still getting caught? DAMNIT&#33;&#33;&#33; Freaken ComCast and AT&T&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; <_< People are paying for their service and they turn around and stab them in the back..... <_< freaken morons. Like they dont download stuff....

Does anyone know if people got caught using SBC Yahoo DSL?[/quote]
The original poster thought routers and Zone Alarm would reduce BSA/MPAA/RIAA&#39;s ability to monitor you, but made NO mention of IP blockers such as Peer Guardian or Protowall.

But unless you set your firewall programs to SPECIFICALLY BLOCK ip address ranges... routers and Zone Alarm has basically ZERO ability to HIDE you from their monitoring.

Your ISP may monitor traffic AMOUNTS, but they cannot legally monitor traffic specifics without violating wiretap/privacy laws... unfortunately the PATRIOT ACT following Sept 11,2001 weakened the privacy laws on that. :(

The ones monitoring for copyright violations (AKA:&#39;copyright cops&#39;) AREN&#39;T ISPs&#33;

They&#39;re businesses dedicated to that purpose what are being paid megabucks by various companies (Microsoft, McAfee, Norton, Adobe, RIAA, MPAA) wishing for strict enforcement of their copyrights. They have dedicated servers and ip ranges for this purpose and also SOME connections that are either using regular &#39;home user&#39; broadband connections on dynamic ip addresses and/or proxies to hide their real ip addresses.

An IP blocker (Protowall) would block most but not all of their activities.

Comcast is just a bigger TARGET for these groups because it holds a huge number of broadband users... or as MPAA and RIAA like to call them digital thieves who should all be in jail.

Being on a smaller ISP may offer a tiny amount of extra protection, IF their legal departments handle copyright violation cases better... but have virtually NO effect on making your ip address harder to find&#33;

[mstanfa]

Just to let you guys know if you already have not heard. The film industry is now seeding or baiting the file sharing networks with tagged files that report back when played. They are also maintaining their own systems that have the files set to share which is the more likely way that they found out you have the file. The articles were posted on yahoo and one point and on movie web. Taking the file off of your system or taking the system that you are going to watch movies on off your home network / internet by physically unplugging it while you watch the movie will prevent them from knowing you have it. You can also copy the movie to another format (like mpg to avi or which ever) and that should remove the tags from the file.

You could also try blocking the outgoing IP and ports so they cannot see what you are doing.

Mind you these are just guesses based on my experiences and things I have read and heard from friends so you can take it for what it is worth. I can tell you that nearly 20% of all of the porn files are tagged so they can trace who has them and get email addresses and such. They plant the files and see where the files report back from whan played.

Take care

MAZ

[Arm]

Goddamn, AnonXO is like Derek Smart. You say his name and he&#39;ll appear. :blink:

[NightStalker]

Originally posted by mstanfa@13 July 2004 - 12:02
Just to let you guys know if you already have not heard. The film industry is now seeding or baiting the file sharing networks with tagged files that report back when played. They are also maintaining their own systems that have the files set to share which is the more likely way that they found out you have the file. The articles were posted on yahoo and one point and on movie web. Taking the file off of your system or taking the system that you are going to watch movies on off your home network / internet by physically unplugging it while you watch the movie will prevent them from knowing you have it. You can also copy the movie to another format (like mpg to avi or which ever) and that should remove the tags from the file.

You could also try blocking the outgoing IP and ports so they cannot see what you are doing.

Mind you these are just guesses based on my experiences and things I have read and heard from friends so you can take it for what it is worth. I can tell you that nearly 20% of all of the porn files are tagged so they can trace who has them and get email addresses and such. They plant the files and see where the files report back from whan played.

Take care

MAZ
Or get a firewall? :rolleyes:

[Switeck]

Originally posted by mstanfa@13 July 2004 - 12:02
The film industry is now seeding or baiting the file sharing networks with tagged files that report back when played.
...
You can also copy the movie to another format (like mpg to avi or which ever) and that should remove the tags from the file.Tagging = &#39;phone home&#39; capabilities.

From my experience, the ONLY video media types with phone-home capabilities are Microsoft&#39;s ASF and WMV formats. Although a file may be one of these types its filename may be intentionally misnamed as .AVI or .MPG, so only downloading those types offers ZERO protection. I&#39;ve seen this alot with Dragon Ball Z episodes.

However opening these files in raw byte format (probably using a HEX editor) will show the file headers in it which are dead giveaways for the filetype and structure. .MPG files look like random garbage or lots of long, repeating patterns. .AVI files at their beginning and end are very organized -- some of which is readable.

.ASF and .WMV files look almost identical to each other, with both randomness but words mixed in the first section, and will probably have the site/s they phone home to in the first 10 KB -- often in the first 2 KB of the file&#33; You could type over the web address/es these files try to contact and &#39;defeat&#39; their &#39;phone home&#39; capabilities easily.

However, Microsoft&#39;s newest media types, Windows Media Player v9 codecs, has DRM (Digital Rights Management) features AND &#39;phone home&#39; capabilities -- but I think this only applies to their WMV3 and WMV9 video codecs which work in .AVI and .WMV file formats.

[erRor67]

But if you have a firewall, they shouldnt be able to get to the internet without the user letting it. right?

[Switeck]

Originally posted by Bishtawiman@14 July 2004 - 15:05
But if you have a firewall, they shouldnt be able to get to the internet without the user letting it. right?
Correct, IF you have a GOOD firewall that has security settings SET HIGH ENOUGH, it shouldn&#39;t be able to connect to the internet... unless it&#39;s Microsoft Media Player&#39;s phone-home &#39;feature&#39; masquarading as regular Internet Explorer traffic... which you probably have allowed in your Firewall&#39;s settings.

[erRor67]

I see what you mean. I have set Windows Media Play to have access to the internet a looong time ago, but now i guess i should change it.. <_<

But i dont use Windows Media Player anymore. I usally stick to Video Lan, Winamp, Jet Audio,..ect..

[Switeck]

Originally posted by Bishtawiman@15 July 2004 - 20:58
But i dont use Windows Media Player anymore. I usally stick to Video Lan, Winamp, Jet Audio,..ect..
Even if you use a different media player, the underlying Win OS may well recognize you&#39;re playing a media file and make a call to Media Player to open a website and/or check DRM.

Don&#39;t trust Microsoft to protect your security... your safer with 3rd party security software and freeware stuff that hackers make.

[NTWEAK]

get a firewall that&#39;s what i did

[erRor67]

i already have two firewalls running from like along time ago. ;)

Then you got ur n00bs that have no clue about PC security, suxs... :(

[Switeck]

Originally posted by Bishtawiman@17 July 2004 - 20:30
i already have two firewalls running from like along time ago. ;)

Then you got ur n00bs that have no clue about PC security, suxs... :(
Is 1 a hardware firewall and another a software firewall?

If not, why have 2?

[jack7777766]

Originally posted by Switeck@13 July 2004 - 15:52
Your ISP may monitor traffic AMOUNTS, but they cannot legally monitor traffic specifics without violating wiretap/privacy laws... unfortunately the PATRIOT ACT following Sept 11,2001 weakened the privacy laws on that. :(

The ones monitoring for copyright violations (AKA:&#39;copyright cops&#39;) AREN&#39;T ISPs&#33;

They&#39;re businesses dedicated to that purpose what are being paid megabucks by various companies (Microsoft, McAfee, Norton, Adobe, RIAA, MPAA) wishing for strict enforcement of their copyrights. They have dedicated servers and ip ranges for this purpose and also SOME connections that are either using regular &#39;home user&#39; broadband connections on dynamic ip addresses and/or proxies to hide their real ip addresses.

An IP blocker (Protowall) would block most but not all of their activities.

Comcast is just a bigger TARGET for these groups because it holds a huge number of broadband users... or as MPAA and RIAA like to call them digital thieves who should all be in jail.

Being on a smaller ISP may offer a tiny amount of extra protection, IF their legal departments handle copyright violation cases better... but have virtually NO effect on making your ip address harder to find&#33;
This is correct, I thought this topic was dead awhile ago, but I came back looking for a reply to another post I made (which hasnt been replied to :( ) and I saw this.
I never posted but I did find that AT&T received a letter which they forwarded to me from the MPAA which gave them my ip this and that and told them to take action, so what you are saying is totally right, its not the isp&#39;s,
But what kind of action could be taken against somebody for downloading and sharing legally? Fines? jail??? Anyone know the laws on this??

And how is the MPAA getting this info?? I could understand if I was using BT but how can they through kazaa???

And why hasnt any hacker group or what not done something against these people?????????

P.S. Im using firewall, and protowall (with BlockList Manager now) but Im not downloading any movies, however since I got that email, I havent and wont pay or go to any movies or buy any dvd anymore from any of the companies under the mpaa. I suggest everyone do the same and BOYCOTT These PRICKS

[erRor67]

Originally posted by Switeck+18 July 2004 - 11:13--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Switeck @ 18 July 2004 - 11:13)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Bishtawiman@17 July 2004 - 20:30
i already have two firewalls running from like along time ago.&nbsp; ;)

Then you got ur n00bs that have no clue about PC security, suxs... :(
Is 1 a hardware firewall and another a software firewall?

If not, why have 2? [/b][/quote]
yeah, one is a hardware and the other is a software. :D

[EasternFlame]

Great tip. Everything I try to dowload comes up saying I need more sources. Can U help?

[erRor67]

That happens. Just keep the download running, jump supernodes, search for the file while ur downloading that file. ;)

[bujub22]

Originally posted by jetje@15 June 2004 - 12:14
just mail them back you were dl a big file, cause a friend told you your ISP would spy on you, and that you said you thought they wouldn&#39;t do that. To test it out you were dl his trashcan that was renamed to 50 first dates. So ask them why they spy on your internet activities :lol:

They can&#39;t prove anything without having your harddisk. So don&#39;t be worried.
damn good idea , ill remember that if i ever get caught &#33;




you know it&#39;s funny i only use klite++ for like 3-4 yrs now and not once have my internet connection or my ip ever threaten my dl&#39;s and i have a really big collection


i wonder does sharing have anything to do with this??

cuz it seems like all the ones who get caught are the ppl who share big ammount of movies,music w/e

so that &#39;s why i only keep like maybe 5 movies and rarely dl a song
guess that the real safe way ?

[bujub22]

Originally posted by Bishtawiman@18 July 2004 - 22:33
That happens. Just keep the download running, jump supernodes, search for the file while ur downloading that file. ;)
yup that works majority of the time&#33;

[Peerzy]

Yeah movie companys target the people whoa re uploading the movie becuase it is them who is spreading it. thats why its safer not to share or to t least hide your shared folder and maybe only uplod music in Kazaa Lite.

[Alex H]

Originally posted by Switeck+14 July 2004 - 15:17--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Switeck @ 14 July 2004 - 15:17)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-mstanfa@13 July 2004 - 12:02
The film industry is now seeding or baiting the file sharing networks with tagged files that report back when played.
...
You can also copy the movie to another format (like mpg to avi or which ever) and that should remove the tags from the file.Tagging = &#39;phone home&#39; capabilities.

From my experience, the ONLY video media types with phone-home capabilities are Microsoft&#39;s ASF and WMV formats. Although a file may be one of these types its filename may be intentionally misnamed as .AVI or .MPG, so only downloading those types offers ZERO protection. I&#39;ve seen this alot with Dragon Ball Z episodes.

However opening these files in raw byte format (probably using a HEX editor) will show the file headers in it which are dead giveaways for the filetype and structure. .MPG files look like random garbage or lots of long, repeating patterns. .AVI files at their beginning and end are very organized -- some of which is readable.

.ASF and .WMV files look almost identical to each other, with both randomness but words mixed in the first section, and will probably have the site/s they phone home to in the first 10 KB -- often in the first 2 KB of the file&#33; You could type over the web address/es these files try to contact and &#39;defeat&#39; their &#39;phone home&#39; capabilities easily.

However, Microsoft&#39;s newest media types, Windows Media Player v9 codecs, has DRM (Digital Rights Management) features AND &#39;phone home&#39; capabilities -- but I think this only applies to their WMV3 and WMV9 video codecs which work in .AVI and .WMV file formats. [/b][/quote]
So, hypothetically it would be possible to find out where the "phone home" messages are gong to, and hypothetically use that information to instgate a DoS attack on the "home", or even hack into it?

[Switeck]

Originally posted by Alex H@21 July 2004 - 00:25
So, hypothetically it would be possible to find out where the "phone home" messages are gong to, and hypothetically use that information to instgate a DoS attack on the "home", or even hack into it?
I&#39;ve done the first part before -- locating the "home" that gets phoned. I&#39;ve even chopped the parts that are used to phone home out (often just by changing the web addresses used from http://www. .com to xxxx://xxx. .xxx) AND blocking that web address in my hosts file, then that file NEVER phones home again&#33;

DoS attacks aren&#39;t effective ussually against a site that hosts streaming video to 100+ people at once. :P

Hacking into the site can mean you&#39;re hacked into their Linux or Win 2k sever portal box...and it&#39;ll require some .rooting around before you find where they go from there. All the while the sysadmin on that computer may be monitoring you&#33;