It is not secret that MegaUpload, as all file sharing sites, was used to share pirated material. The same happens in video sites like YouTube and any other technology like BitTorrent. Users tend to share anything in every opportunity but this does not means that every technology and every site is responsible for that. If anything, this way of thinking makes sites more popular. MegaUpload was shut down with no warning and users lost their files without knowing when and if they will ever retrieve their files. There is a huge number of MegaUpload users that were not sharing pirate data and those people want to sue FBI. Among them are scientists that were sharing their results, people that were sharing their work documents and many people storing and sharing their personal data and videos.
How Google got caught
Google paid a $500 million settlement to U.S government for showing ads from illegal online pharmacies. The reason is that Google was showing those ads in their knowledge and U.G government proved that with the help of a con artist. David Whitaker, the con artist sent by the government, appeared to Google sales executives as an agent for (illegal) online drug dealers. He spent about $200.000 (government’s money) in paid ads for selling illegal drugs. The website he created was very obvious to Google that it was not a licensed pharmacy but they accepted it (in order to make money). You can read the full story in the source link. Google now in not the Google we knew back then and they no longer follow their do no evil policy.
Clever phishing for Google accounts
Hackers found a way to successfully phishing Google users. They create a web page which looks exactly as the Google’s login page. This web page is not on Google so in order to appear as Google they use Google’s translation service and they put the URL that is returned by the translation. That URL starts with http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en and it is psychological manipulation. Some users think that the site is the original and they insert their credentials without second though. Hackers find more clever ways to gain what they want and users must be more careful with their personal details.
Another fake rumor that Anonymous is going to attack Facebook
This is not the first time we hear that Anonymous will attack Facebook but, just like the previous operation that was fake, this one is fake too. There are several reasons why someone spreads rumors for that. First of all, they get a lot of attention and thousand views on youtube which in most times means money. The second reason is that by telling that Anonymous will attack Facebook and nothing happens reduces the credibility of Anonymous. I have added the video for some of you that might want to watch it anyway but according to Anonymous on Twitter this attack will not happen and it is just another fake. Don’t get me wrong, some people may try to attack Facebook but it has thousands of servers and if Anonymous and their thousands of followers don’t participate do not expect to see Facebook down.
FileSonic disabled file sharing feature
Some of you have noticed that Ultra PDF Merger alternative links have been removed. The reason is that the files were hosted in FileSonic and the feature of file sharing is now disabled. It was a big file sharing site and now it is just another website for storage. It seems that the fact that MegaUpload was shut down scared other sharing sites or the feds are going after all of them. If this trend continues, the Internet will suffer. The Internet was created to share knowledge and files and they try to limit or block these features. Some people are very narrow minded and they don’t see the big picture. FileSonic is not the only one that limited its features and if that continues most of them will. I will not buy another music album or DVD unless the media companies stop attacking file sharing websites.
Anonymous retaliation
Anonymous strikes MPAA, Universal Music Group, RIAA, BMI, DoJ and many more as retaliations for the Megaupload take down. A new operation #OpMegaupload is on and hackers from all over the world show their anger against the shut down of the biggest file sharing network. Megaupload and Megavideo had a respective percentage of internet traffic and it is a huge loss for file sharing. Hackers try to coordinate their attacks against the ones responsible for Megaupload and they take down their websites mostly with DDoS attacks. Now almost every company that makes music, movies or T.V is a target. This is the first time I see so massive attacks and coordination among the hacking community. This move made many people angry and they will not stop until they see some justice. On the other hands, media companies report that the take down of their website is a minor thing regarding what they achieved with Megaupload case. Twitter is on fire about the operation #OpMegaupload.
Find about SOPA and PIPA
You probably see every day, at least once, the SOPA and how angry every internet user is about it. For those of you that you don’t have time to learn more about it or you don’t want to read now you can be informed by watching a ten minute video. It explains what Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) are and why they are bad for internet. You can easily see what these censorship regulations are all about and how they can affect you. Even if you think that SOPA and PIPA are not affecting you personally, you should be informed because they affect everyone that uses internet. And don’t believe that thay can’t shut down websites and they need such regulations to do it because it is a lie. Megaupload was shut down by US officials for violating piracy laws.
Virus found on JAXA’s data terminal
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have discovered a computer virus on one of their data terminals. They believe that the virus gathered sensitive information. They are investigating on how the specific computer was infected. Information about the unmanned vessel H-2 Transfer Vehicle and its operations are believed to be compromised. In addition, the attacker that put the virus there knew the login credentials of the employee who was working on that terminal. The virus was found on Jan 6 2011 but the same terminal was also infected on Aug 2011. The only sure thing is that JAXA will increase the security to prevent malware infections in the future.
Israeli hackers strike back
Israeli hackers are in a war with Saudi Arabian hackers and both parties increase their attacks. Israeli hackers published some credit card details but according to a Saudi Arabian hacker called OxOmar those credit card details were invalid and he called them idiots. After that he published valid Israeli credit card details as retaliations. In the past few days we have seen an escalation of hacking attacks and yesterday Israeli hackers stroked back by taking offline Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates stock exchange sites and called Saudi Arabian hackers lamers. The access to both stock exchange sites was restored but Haaretz confirmed that the sites were down. The war is far from end and we will see more attacks in the following days. There are some serious players/hackers in both sites and Israeli hackers warned that they will move to the next level if SA hackers continue to attack by taking down stock exchange sites for weeks or months.
The Pirate Bay without torrent files
The Pirate Bay has announced that it will stop serving torrent files in about a month. Don’t worry, you will still find torrents and you will be able to download them but by using magnet links and not torrent files (.torrent). The Pirate Bay will make this move to save bandwidth and because they think that .torrent files are not required. The default download link on The Pirate Bay is the magnet link and not the torrent file, a move that helps to make this transition smooth. We don’t know for sure if other sites will follow Pirate Bay but for now the other sites will have both magnet links and torrent files. What this means for you? This means that some times it will take a little bit longer to add the file to the torrent client because you will get the torrent file from other users instead of Pirate Bay’s server.