P2P

Virgin Media to monitor filesharers

Virgin Media is trialling a deep packet inspection system that will see 40% of the ISP's network being monitored for file sharing activity. The network plans not to inform customers that they're being monitored.

The system is called CView and is being provided...

Mininova shuts down all illegal torrents

Mininova, one of the bigger Bittorrent filesharing sites on the Web, has shut down every single "infringing" torrent in its index and pledged to go legitimate. All torrents have been removed, except the ones that were uploaded through its content distribution service...

VIDEO: Skifta offers media sharing app

A small startup from Poole has created an app that aims to make it easier to share your digital media collection between your various gadgets. It's called Skifta, and allows you to shift content between a number of devices with just one catch - they have to be DLNA enabled.

If...

Pirate Bay tracker shuts down

The Pirate Bay has shut down its tracker in an unprecedented move that will see the filesharing network take a more decentralised stance. Despite the tracker closing, the site itself will stay online and active - using both trackerless solutions and the unaffiliated OpenBitTorrent...

Survey claims illegal downloaders spend most on music

A survey from London-based think-tank Demos has added weight to the position held by many that file sharers are the biggest music fans, revealing that those who admit downloading music illegally spend an average of £77 per year on music, compared to £44 for people who...

Bittorrent protocol gets anti-throttling update

A new version of the Bittorrent protocol is about to launch. Bittorrent is a distribution technique for online content that's used heavily by both legitimate software publishers (like Activision Blizzard) and illicit file sharing sites (like the Pirate Bay).

The...

Mandelson delivers on three-strikes warning

Peter Mandelson has, as expected, delivered an assault on filesharers at the C&binet Forum. He has laid out his intentions to submit legislation to parliament that would cut persistent file sharers off the web entirely, after a couple of warnings.

The process...

P2P traffic steadily dropping

A report from a network management firm called Arbor Networks has said that peer-to-peer traffic on the Web is falling rapidly. The company, which is used by more than 70% of the world's top ISPs, says that streaming video is replacing it, along with downloads from sites...

Microsoft Office 2010 leaks to Bittorrent

Microsoft Office 2010 is due next year, but a version has already leaked out to Bittorrent websites. It's the first that uses the term "beta", indicating that development of the software may be further along than previously believed.

The release, which is lablled...

Radiohead embraces torrents for music distribution

Late last week, a new Radiohead song leaked onto the web called "These Are My Twisted Words". Today, the band officially announced the song on their "Dead Air Space" blog, which came with not only a link to the band's official web store W.A.S.T.E., but also a link to download...

"Little evidence" file-sharing helps unsigned bands

A frequent claim among P2P defenders is that file-sharing sites are good for the music industry because they help less popular acts reach a wider audience. That appears not the be the case, if research from PRS for Music is to be believed.

Will Page, chief economist...

Woman fined £16,000 in file sharing crackdown

And so it starts ... the Italian government is trying to ban Pirate Bay, ISPs in the UK are sending letters to internet users who they know are illegally downloading content from the web, and now someone has actually been taken to court.

A woman, who hasn't...

LimeWire opens online store with 500,000 songs

They may have faced the wrath of the mighty music labels time and time again, but LimeWire just keeps going.

The company has now opened a music store with around 500,000 DRM-free songs, but none of them are taken from the catalogues of major record labels.