Piracy

Microsoft cuts off Xbox 360 hackers

It's believed that up to 600,000 gamers may have been cut off from Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service because they're running modded consoles that can play pirated games.

Microsoft has confirmed that "a small percentage" of Xbox's 20 million users had...

iPhone OS 3.0 leaks to torrent sites

The new iPhone operating system that'll be available on 17 June has leaked early to torrent sites. The build, labelled 7a341 can be installed on any iPhone.

We don't really recommend you give this a shot, as it's only a week until the update is out anyway and...

"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...

App-cracking "Crackulous" available

A piece of software has been released that strips copy protection from iPhone applications, meaning they can be distributed and shared.

Described as "instantaneous app-cracking", the application, "Crackulous" is said to be the easiest solution yet for pirating...

95% of music downloads illegal

The IFPI, a body that promotes and "safeguards" digital music, has released its digital music report covering 2008.

The group notes the changes in the industry over the last year, highlighting the likes of Nokia's Comes with Music and MySpace Music, and provides...

US gets online think tank on privacy

The US has come up with yet another way to tackle online piracy.

A new think tank has been founded called the Future of Privacy Forum.

According to Ars Technica, the Forum will be headed by Jules Polonetsky, formerly chief privacy officer at AOL,...

Publishers accuse non-gamers of game piracy

As games firms are getting tougher on illegal file sharers, and cracking down on pirates, it appears they could also be accusing hundreds of innocent people in the process.

These claims come from a Which? Computing investigation, which was kicked off when the...

Free downloads hit with ads

Lawsuits against illegal downloader’s could be coming to an end, but not a pleasant end for the downloader. Changes are being made to MP3s in order to recoup financial losses from peer-to-peer networks.

To legitimise songs being exchanged for free online Intent...

Church caught up in piracy

This is one for your weekend BBQs. Police in Italy have arrested a sacristan working the Duomo di Napoli, the main cathedral in Naples. Together with his son, he is accused of working with a criminal organisation that downloaded music and movie pre-releases from the Internet.

Sony Ericsson to acquire Symbian

Sony Ericsson has made a bid for UIQ Technology, a part of Symbian that creates the user interface for the company’s smartphones.

The company is the biggest licensee of the UIQ’s OS, have installed it on the P990, M600, and W950 handsets. The history of UIQ...