pirating

As expected, the U.S. Senate's Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to approve a bill that targets Internet pirates based overseas.

The Protect IP Act looks to hand the U.S. Department of Justice the ability to seek a court order against allegedly infringing Web sites. The order could be served on search engines, certain Domain Name System providers, and Internet advertising firms--which would in turn be required to "expeditiously" make the target Web sites vanish from the Internet.

The bill was backed by leaders of both major political parties and is supported by a wide range of … Read more

When the government seizes a dope dealer's car, it can put the auto up for auction. But what happens when agents seize a Web domain?

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) said today that those sites seized for trafficking in counterfeit and pirated goods will now serve to help spread the government's message that "unfairly devalue America's contributions, compromise American jobs, and put consumers, families, and communities at risk."

The Obama administration and the U.S. Congress have declared war on online piracy and law enforcement agencies have seized more than 100 sites in the past year. Of those, 65 domain names now direct visitors to a public service announcement. … Read more

Demonoid, clones of Allofmp3, Torrentz.com, Isohunt, Kickasstorrents, Btjunkie, and The Pirate Bay were among the Web sites included in today's "The Nortious Markets List" released by the U.S. Trade Representative.

According to the USTR, which acts as this country's chief trade negotiator, the list was created to identify "markets, including those on the Internet, which exemplify the problem of marketplaces dealing in infringing goods and helping sustain global piracy."

"The list below recognizes markets in which pirated or counterfeit goods are reportedly available," the USTR said in a statement, adding … Read more

Several months ago I set up a Google alert for my book, "Knife Music," to keep abreast of anything anybody was saying--good or bad--about the thing. Over the months I've received news of the occasional blog post and tweets, but more recently I popped open an alert to learn that my book was being pirated--both as a separate file and part of two larger Torrents called 2,500 Retail Quality Ebooks (iPod, iPad, Nook, Sony Reader) and 2,500 Retail Quality Ebooks for Kindle (MOBI).

I had the strange reaction of being both dismayed and weirdly honored … Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Torrents and the founders of The Pirate Bay won't be anywhere near the marbled halls of the U.S. Capitol, but their influence will play a part during a hearing taking place here today before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the committee's chairman, has called the hearing to garner testimony from some of the companies that could be asked to accept greater responsibility in the government's antipiracy efforts. Leahy is expected to reintroduce legislation into the Senate this year called the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), and he's … Read more

Web sites hawking pirated software and other digital goods are luring in about 53 billion visits each year.

That's according to a report (PDF) released yesterday by MarkMonitor, a company that protects online brands for its corporate customers.

Piracy sites made up the majority of the 53 billion visits, while those selling counterfeit goods such as fake prescription drugs and luxury items accounted for a considerably smaller amount of traffic: about 92 million visits a year.

MarkMonitor identified 43 sites as engaging in digital piracy. Among them, three sites--Rapidshare.com, Megavideo.com, and Megaupload.com--accounted for about 21 billion … Read more

Global Gaming Factory X, a Swedish company that operates Internet cafes but became far more noteworthy for attempting to acquire The Pirate Bay last year, is facing possible bankruptcy. In addition, the company is the subject of a police investigation in Sweden.

Two of GGF's creditors claim the company owes them the combined equivalent of $220,000 and want authorities to put the company into bankruptcy, according to reports in numerous Swedish newspapers. A bankruptcy isn't very exciting, but GGF's owner-operator, the mercurial Hans Pandeya, has a long track record of generating controversy--so things may perk up. … Read more

Hypocrisy, sadly, is not confined to politicians. It is not confined to any of those who tell us what to do, like priests, policemen, or leather-clad librarians.

Hypocrisy, you see, is one of humanity's most enduring and endearing traits.

I mention this, because of the cheery case of Norwegian author Anne B. Ragde. Ragde has written books for children. She has written crime novels. She has won awards.

And yet, like the rest of us pitiful, snarling humans, she may well speak out of several sides of her anatomy.

You see, I am indebted to Torrent Freak for telling … Read more

It's the last full week of the 404 Podcast before we take off for the holidays, and Mark Licea comes in to help us out with the story rundown that includes the weekend box office with a spoiler-free review of "Black Swan," a "Tron"-inspired hotel room in Sweden, and this weekend's Gawker security breach.

Also, be sure to join us after the break when we open a present from a special listener and introduce a new host on the show!

The online Web publisher Gawker Media is the latest victim of a security compromise that exposed the passwords of over 200,000 users last weekend.

The tech news and gossip site told its readers about the security breach in a blog post that urges all registered users to change their log-ins and passwords, especially if they use the same password for multiple accounts online.

A group of hackers called Gnosis took credit for the hack and has made all 200,000 passwords available for download on The Pirate Bay. Their motivations are still unclear, but Gawker may have brought the attack on itself after a blog posted last week mocking the group's hacking skills.

Gawker says it's in the process of improving security to prevent further breaches, but who knows how long that will take. And in other very serious hacking news, be sure to change your e-mail passwords if you subscribed to the McDonalds e-mail list, because that got hacked, too.

U.K. designers Ben Rousseau and Ian Douglas-Jones of Extreme Design are the masterminds behind a "Tron"-inspired hotel room made entirely out of ice and snow.

Located in Jukkasjaviri, Sweden, the hotel rooms look like they're cut directly from the movie, replete with lighting technology built right into the ice to recreate the laser motifs. Rousseau and Douglas-Jones are both "massive fans" of the "Tron" movies, and drew much of their inspiration from the 3D update's unique nightclub scene involving Daft Punk, who also scored the film.

Go see "Black Swan" as soon as you can. The ballet-themed thriller is directed by Daren Aronofsky, who also masterminded "Pi," "Requiem for a Dream," and "The Wrestler," and stars Natalie Portman as a dancer slowly losing her mind from the pressures of her company and a lead role in an updated version of "Swan Lake." This episode is spoiler free, so check out the trailer and see it for yourself!

We're in the process of recording several holiday episodes that will air while we're on vacation, but we need your help for ideas! Shoot us an e-mail at the404(at)cnet(dot)com with your favorite 404 episodes from 2010 and any questions for the hosts.

They can be personal or work-related, or anything else you'd like to know about me, Jeff, or Wilson! We'll send our thanks on the air if we choose your question, but be sure to either write "Favorite 404 episode from 2010" or "Question for The 404" in the subject line to make sure it gets read. Thanks!