They know what you're downloading!

beeza

Silver
Nov 2, 2006
3,480
732
113
I thought I'd share this as a warning to those who like to download movies and tv shows from alternative sources.

I fancied doing a marathon session of Game of Thrones and decided to search for a torrent link to download it from. I left my computer to download the whole lot from series one to seven and went off to work. About an hour later I received this email:

Dear MTI Technology Corporation,

This message is sent on behalf of HOME BOX OFFICE, INC. ("HBO").

We have information leading us to believe that the IP address 144.86.xxx.xxx was used to download or share Game of Thrones without authorization (additional details are listed below). HBO owns the copyright or exclusive rights to Game of Thrones, and the unauthorized download or distribution constitutes copyright infringement. Downloading unauthorized or unknown content is also a security risk for computers, devices, and networks.

As the owner of the IP address, HBO requests that MTI Technology Corporation immediately contact the subscriber who was assigned the IP address at the date and time below with the details of this notice, and take the proper steps to prevent further downloading or sharing of unauthorized content and additional infringement notices.

We also encourage you to inform the subscriber that HBO programming can easily be watched and streamed on many devices legally by adding HBO to the subscriber’s television package.

We have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted material detailed below is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law. The information in this notice is accurate and we state, under penalty of perjury, that we are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. This letter is not a complete statement of HBO's rights in connection with this matter, and nothing contained herein constitutes an express or implied wavier of any rights or remedies of HBO in connection with this matter, all of which are expressly reserved.

We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Your prompt response is requested. Any further enquiries can be directed to notice@hbo.copyright-notice.com. Please include this message with your enquiry to ensure a quick response.

Respectfully,

Brad Bo
On behalf of Home Box Office, Inc.
2880 Lakeside Drive, Suite 360
Santa Clara, CA 95054
E-mail: notice@hbo.copyright-notice.com

The email was sent to Delancer, who forwarded it to me. I subscribe to Delancer's fiberoptic service with a dedicated US IP address. It never occurred to me that they could find me here.
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
Torrents are inherently unsecure. Think back to the Napster days.

"They" acted because you are using a US IP address and anyone can see what you are downloading. Had you been using a DR address they may not have bothered as they won't prosecute here and they have little chance of having a foreign ISP divulge subscriber info or terminate the service.

You should not be using torrents without masking your IP. You probably shouldn't be using torrents at all. Consider getting a Usenet account and subscribing to a NZB site for your content to download. Back before the fiber upgrade, the US IP was a common IP used by everyone, much like a party telephone line from days gone by. Now, it's an individual IP assigned specifically to you which makes you identifiable.

Tough break, but these days, with all the snooping going on, you really have to be careful and understand what you are doing and the implications of doing something a particular way.

Hope you got the whole series. :)
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
In beeza's case, he's using a US based IP supplied by a US company, that can be petitioned for subscriber info and potentially held accountable for the unlawful actions of their users. The fact that beeza is in the DR adds a wrinkle in that he may be personally untouchable due to the difficulty and expense of a copyright action here, but the US company can be forced to terminate his service and thus he would loose his Delancer US IP address. I don't know if Delancer would be in a position to offer him another one.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
12,573
6,329
113
I thought I'd share this as a warning to those who like to download movies and tv shows from alternative sources.

I fancied doing a marathon session of Game of Thrones and decided to search for a torrent link to download it from. I left my computer to download the whole lot from series one to seven and went off to work. About an hour later I received this email:



The email was sent to Delancer, who forwarded it to me. I subscribe to Delancer's fiberoptic service with a dedicated US IP address. It never occurred to me that they could find me here.

Get a VPN ( I use Express VPN - it's simple & great but there are others) They mask your IP and while not fool proof you can watch Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos etc (Amazon is really smart however).

Hint: choose the settings option "TCP - Open VPN" for best compatibility

Also there are US Websites like some banks, T-Mobile, etc that you can not access from DR without a VPN
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
3,604
113
And in the DR, they can do exactly what about this?

Nothing. If they went after everyone in the DR that downloads torrents they would have to build a wall around the whole DR. Using a US IP is not good for this though. Just use a VPN from another Country. But I would not worry about this. If Delancer chases you not a big deal.
 

Uzin

Bronze
Oct 26, 2005
1,386
20
38
Yes, VPN is what you need, I also think there is not much they can do about this as you are here. You get some emails, but I doubt they can force or ask Delancer to stop your service (maximum they can do), there are millions doing the same from DR and, well, so many other countries....
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
In the past, demand letters went out, asking for something in the neighborhood of $1000 to make the issue go away. Those that did not voluntarily pay I suppose were evaluated to see if a legal proceeding was feasible. It's nothing to get a default judgement in a small claims court in the area of competent jurisdiction. Actually getting that judgement satisfied is an entirely different kettle of fish.

This copyright infringement is a big stick approach. Hassle the ISP to cut off the offender, maybe take them to court as an example to others, certainly threaten to take the offender's beer cap collection etc.

Those that get caught, do so because they failed to take the steps necessary to hide one's identity, usually because they are not paying attention to the changes in the internet landscape.

Everyone has been told they are being watched online. They most definitely are, by governments, companies, their ISP and by anyone else that is so inclined. You cannot fire up your computer without broadcasting information about you and your activities to a myriad of other people/organizations. If you perform a direct search on google for "How to kill your lover with a scrub brush", you do so at your own risk.

Technology and best practices change frequently. Everyone has to make a concerted effort to understand and at least maintain minimal opsec if they intended to dodge the consequences of any transgressions they choose to commit. Those that don't, get letters from companies whose sole function is to sniff these people out on behalf of a client or agents of the govt knocking on the door asking why they need the recipe for A-N-F-O-.
 

Jaime809

Bronze
Aug 23, 2012
1,152
0
36
Damages that will be collected from someone in the DR?

How?

If Beeza has any assets in the US, they can be seized and held as security against fines and perceived financial losses. Because Beeza is outside of the US, they'd move quickly to secure those assets.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
If Beeza has any assets in the US, they can be seized and held as security against fines and perceived financial losses. Because Beeza is outside of the US, they'd move quickly to secure those assets.

Any examples of where this has actually happened to people not living in the US?
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
Not for simple downloading of broadcast copyrighted material with no intent to further distribute it. The letters are a paper tiger meant to put the fear of a legal bill into your conscience. Hopefully convincing you not do do it again (Until you learn how to do it without getting caught that is).

Once in a while these 3rd party firms follow through with the legal threat but not often and only when it is easy. They prefer to wave procedural writs at ISPs and send demand letters to infringers with the expectation that at least some will pay without a fight. They certainly have no stomach or wallet for an international process. Even in the US, you can't be sued if you can't be served and no one is going to pay a process server to fly to the DR to track you down for downloading a show.
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
5,545
1,327
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Lets add in the mix that a whole bunch of cable TV networks in the dr make you pay ( in the form of a monthly subscription ) for stuff they stole !! Either whole channels ( i once had a cable company that had a whole bunch of channels cut off. The screen had a message saying basically that the operator hacked the channels and never paid a dime ), or individual films ( i once watched a film, on dr TV that was filmed with a camera in a slavic country lol ).
Sooooo...... I am guessing the OP wont be thrown into jail anytime soon.
 

Charlie888

New member
Aug 31, 2018
19
0
0
seamonkey is right, but should have offered an example like Chico. The one I use and recommend is windscribe. Its FREE, so you have nothing to lose Check it out..windscribe.com
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
3,330
333
83
In beeza's case, he's using a US based IP supplied by a US company, that can be petitioned for subscriber info and potentially held accountable for the unlawful actions of their users. The fact that beeza is in the DR adds a wrinkle in that he may be personally untouchable due to the difficulty and expense of a copyright action here, but the US company can be forced to terminate his service and thus he would loose his Delancer US IP address. I don't know if Delancer would be in a position to offer him another one.

I have a US IP address too, but I'm not in the USA. What can they do then? Also consider that if my actual server's IP for instance says Antigua, I could actually be in Anguilla or anywhere else and using a dongle with a data chip. Or the server IP could say Bahamas.. Which Island? they're not specific outside of the USA. Even in the DR, I use VPN servers. There are thousands of IP addresses. Why everyone doesn't use a VPN is beyond me. Saves a lot of trouble doing business online and keeps people from asking questions while doing bank business, or trading in the market. Even my phone is a Gainesville, Fl phone number. It's a VOIP phone. Cost's a whole $158.00/ year. How cheap for keeping anonymous. These things are a must have for doing business in the US when living outside of it IMO.

Sorry, keeping on topic, I listen to online music using pandora here. I don't download torrents, but I don't get the "This video is not available in your area" messages either.