Kazaa and the RIAA

[hotzot]

My kids use Kazaa alot. The RIAA have issued over 870 subpoenes and it looks like it's getting serious. I want to get rid of it off our computer and my oldest (19) says I'm worring about nothing. Any ideas folks?

[Pragma]

Well, I'd say if you're worried about it, be on the safe side and nuke it. Chances are though, unless you're sharing a LOT of illegal stuff, you won't get targetted.

Better safe than sorry though, huh?

[juanvaldes]

They went after some students at MIT over 5 songs. Disable uploads if your worried and if your paranoid delete it.

[TwistedFate]

or get Kazaa++ supposedly it blocks known RIAA ip's and allows you add more. It also eliminates the PL by maxing and keeping it at 1000 and few other handy things.

[Pragma]

I'd be pretty wary of feeling secure with anything that says it "blocks the RIAA addresses" as what's to stop the RIAA from just buying a dial-up modem connection from some ISP, connecting to Kazaa, and watching and writing down names, addresses, times, and files?

If you are going to share files (which I pass no judgement on), then you may want to use DirectConnect, as that greatly limits the number of people who you're "exposed" to at once. Sure, it also limits what's available, but it may be "safer" in terms of the RIAA tracking you down and trying to sue you.

Despite that, if you're going to do filesharing on public networks, it's a very distinct possibility that you will be found out before too long.

[sixate]

I'm not worried even a little. I always have Kazaa downloading at night and when I'm at work. There are soooo many people using it the rick is very low they'll come after you, but if you're worried then get rid of it.

[The_Dude]

i only thought they went after "the big dogs".

i use kazaa lite mostly for software, but have a couple of country songs.

[Pragma]

I wouldn't recommend using it at work for a few reasons: (1) Your network admins will notice if they're halfway competent and tell you to stop immediately, as chances are that there are company policies telling you not to (I know we have those policies set in place) and (2) the RIAA loves going after corporations with users who share files more than individuals, as they can nail the corporations for a lot more money.

But yea, statistically, chances are slim that you'll get caught in the near future.

[cliffxpro]

Tell your son to check out other less "targeted" apps, like soulseek, or bittorrent. The RIAA admits they aren't targeting BT users (but the MPAA is).

[Trilobster]

I myself have personaly ceased all downloading for the time being, just until I hear more about what's going on. So far I've not heard of anyone caught in my area, but I'm still laying low for a bit. I have just left kazaa on my computer just to listen to songs with just never downloading and I highly doubt I'll get caught. But the choice is up to you, either be the asertive father or the ... um.... not so asertive father.

[darkure]

Originally posted by Pragma
I wouldn't recommend using it at work for a few reasons: (1) Your network admins will notice if they're halfway competent and tell you to stop immediately, as chances are that there are company policies telling you not to (I know we have those policies set in place) and (2) the RIAA loves going after corporations with users who share files more than individuals, as they can nail the corporations for a lot more money.

But yea, statistically, chances are slim that you'll get caught in the near future.

I read Sixate's statement differently. I thought he meant that while he was sleeping and while he was at work, he set his home/personal computer to download not his computer at work.

But you do bring up a good point. Any intelligent sysadmin will probably protect the company by having you remove Kazaa.

[sixate]

Originally posted by darkure
I read Sixate's statement differently. I thought he meant that while he was sleeping and while he was at work, he set his home/personal computer to download not his computer at work.

Yeah, it's my PC I have at home. I would never do that at work. That just wouldn't be smart.

[Gman]

It's really nothing to be that worried about. Just think about it, MILLIONS of people use Kazaa constantly everyday. The chances that they are going to come after you are slim to none. I would be more worried about being hit by lightning than this.

But, to be safe though, there are a couple of ways you can slim down your chances. Disable all uploads, unshare everything in your Kazaa directory, and if you download any songs, go after the versions that only one user has. Stay away from versions of songs that over 5 people have. If I was the RIAA and I wanted to catch people downloading from me, I'd be sure to be one of the 40 users that has that one version you'll get, because I know everyone goes after the 40 user version rather than the 1 user version since it's faster.

[punx1325]

Heres my soapbox:
The RIAA is soooo STUPID! They lost against the software companies because they have that loophole. Which was pure genius. Personally i think that judge was downloading it to but...Anyways the RIAA is doing this because theres nothing else they can do. They are sooo desperate, and don't know what they are doing. I dispise the RIAA, they are nothing more than a national organization to inflate cd prices. There is no reason I should have to pay 20 bucks for a cd that i want one song. Get a clue! I will buy a CD when it is reasonably priced, and we are talking 5 bucks. I have no problem even doing the apple.com thing.

But heres what I say to cheat the system. First of all don't use Kazaa. That program has so many viruses and hackers I don't trust it. Use WinMX, its known, but not to the degree as Kazaa and the RIAA isn't using it to search for the ppl. 2, Keep your older downloaded files in a seperate folder which is not shared. I have a seperate download folder which I clear out once a year. It gets maybe 100 files in it. and 3, If you ever get caught the best way to rub it in the RIAA's face is to go out and buy every CD which song of music is on that pc. Keep most of them in wrappers, but as long as you have that reciept you can take the back after the trial. Just my way of telling the RIAA to stop inflating prices....

[Dilbert1234567]

I’ve stopped, completely, I never really shared music but it’s just the right thing to do ... even though RIAA brought this alone there self. If they would not charge $20 per CD, they would increase there sales, if they sold CD's for like $5 apiece, I would buy just about any CD, because $5 is not that much, but since they are $20, I don’t want to buy it unless it is worth $20, being that most cds only have 3-4 good songs on them, its not worth it.

Simply said if they were to reduce the price to $5 (or there about) they would increase there sales 10 fold. Further they must make it easier to buy the CD then to download it, and making it cheep does this.

Further what is with the prices, you can buy a cd for $20 or the cassette for $10. I don’t know about you, but I can buy 100 CDR's for like $20 that’s 20 cents a piece. Where as the cheapest cassette (per 100) is 57 cents nearly 3 times the price, why are cd's not cheaper?

[MPower]

Im being a cheater and i share my image folder (pr0n). Also i dont think they are going after the downloaders, just the uploaders. I allways assume that the user im downloading a file from has permission to share it from riaa.

[J-Dubs]

I for one am not worried in the least.

Kazaa as of 5 mins ago.

3,655,258 users online | 765,771,120 files (5,755,480 GB)

RIAA Hit List

Even if you take the 870 users quoted above and the current number of users online which I have seen as high as 5 millon. you chances are very small you'll be in any trouble. The percentage is in your favor.

Only .00023% of the current users are targeted and the RIAA surely doesn't have the $$ to go after everyone. But they will target the biggest abusers.


List of targeted users.

Aab@Kazaa
Aboggs2@Kazaa
allstatetide@Kazaa
Amissann2@Kazaa
AngelaMikesell@Kazaa
anon39023@Kazaa
anthonybotz@Kazaa
aoster1@Kazaa
Ariel167@fileshare
asheejojo@Kazaa
Ashley@Grokster
azn_bahamut@Kazaa
B.B.C@Kazaa
badandy@Kazaa
Benchy987@Kazaa
Bigeasssy24@Kazaa
Bigpimpinitopey187@Kazaa
bigjohnhc@Kazaa
blazel@Kazaa
bluemonkey13@Kazaa
Boilermaker1214@Kazaa
brentandjonna@Kazaa
brich410@Kazaa
budman5000@Kazaa
Bush323@Kazaa
cado@Kazaa
Carolyn@fileshare
Casal@Kazaa
cbegalle@Kazaa
cherriie@Kazaa
CLOVER77@Kazaa
Corky101@Kazaa
Cortez1023@Kazaa
CowgirlMDR@Kazaa
crazyface@Kazaa
d-dubb@Grokster
dallass@Kazaa
daredevil@Kazaa
DEFAINCE357@Kazaa
definitely_ditzy@Kazaa
dimples0530@Kazaa
dmadigan@Kazaa
dotzbadger@Kazaa
dubcha@Kazaa
dulfingurl2@Kazaa
Dyellagurl22@Kazaa
Dziion@Kazaa
eddieh@Kazaa
emmi4@Kazaa
enbbarnes@Kazaa
ERIKA@Kazaa
felicia_alvarado@Kazaa
flowerpower0818@fileshare
fox3j@Kazaa
freckles72587@Kazaa
fritzbuilding@Kazaa
Generalby@Kazaa
Ghettobootybabe8@Kazaa
h2ochamp@kazaa
harris@Kazaa
heather_thee_amazing@Kazaa
hoami316@Kazaa
hooterzzz@Kazaa
hottdude0587@Kazaa
HyDang@Kazaa
ilovemydez@Kazaa
indepunk74@Kazaa
inthisroom@Kazaa
jamonie@Kazaa
JE_WV@Kazaa
Jeff@Kazaa
Jessica@Kazaa
jim@Kazaa
joanjett@Kazaa
joe@Kazaa
jomada@Kazaa
JustineRiot@Kazaa
kelney12@Kazaa
kenne007@Kazaa
KrAyZiE@Kazaa
ktgurl13@Grokster
kunstrukter@Kazaa
ladypimp8669@Kazaa
laurelbean@Kazaa
leahpate@Kazaa
LiLHuNnIe1480@Kazaa
Lisweet@Kazaa
Lyssy348@Kazaa
madkirk@fileshare
Marge4131@Kazaa
Marla262@Kazaa
mgokey@Kazaa
mike@Kazaa
Motivator@Kazaa
munkeyspanker21@Kazaa
nikki@Kazaa
Niltiak@Kazaa
Nodopefor2@Kazaa
paulina@Kazaa
pdia@Kazaa
PDJ1846@Kazaa
Playgirlmama@Kazaa
Prtythug23@Kazaa
qjade512@Kazaa
rebecca_m_122@Kazaa
rips42@Kazaa
rochelle@Kazaa
RockOn182@Kazaa
samlionofzino@Kazaa
shakobe@Kazaa
shonga84@Kazaa
sk8boyben@Kazaa
sneil@Kazaa
soccerdog@Kazaa
StolenSi@Kazaa
sus@Kazaa
Sweet3114@Kazaa
sweetthang1421@Kazaa
TheLastReal7@Kazaa
TMONEYNDHIZOUSE@kazaa
Tyler@Kazaa
Unit984@Kazaa
Westly_NoGood@Kazaa
www.k_lite.tk_Kazaa_Lite@Kazaa

[tinfoil]

They are targetting people at random, not only people sharing alot of stuff. No one is truely safe, though the risk is slight. At last count there is 911 subpoenas out there. Take the risk if you want, but it could cost you alot.

Of course, if everyone just disabled uploads, then the file sharing networks wouldn't be as usefull as they are now.

[The_Dude]

so, what if more than 1 person logs in using a user name??

can they pin point which person is which?

[tv.]

You got nothing to be worried about.

[emopwr]

well theres ALWAYS an outside chance that you could get caught. dont be fooled by those kazaa++ programs either, they may block RIAA DOJ CIA NASA blahblah addresses, but the RIAA is outsourcing now to find offenders so that blocking specific addys isnt going to help. you cannot mask (with out proxies or some other work around) yourself if you are sharing and someone makes a connection to your computer to download.

right now they are ONLY going after people who are SHARING mp3s. not downloading. depending on how you interpert the law, you are allowed to download copies of music you already own, so the RIAA cant go after people just for downloading. how can they prove you dont own it? they cant.
so just make sure you arent sharing ANYTHING. you can still download anythign safely. but that kind of defeats the purpose of p2p, and this is their goal. tell your kids to research the wonders of irc (xdcc,fserve) and newsgroups, and private ftp trading groups. those are by FAR better than any kazaa or crap like that.

in response to the_dude:
right now _i think_ theyre going after whoever is responsible for the internet connection. theyre getting ip adresses, unique no matter what login you use, and getting the account/contact information from the ISP. it would be kind of hard to figure out WHO exactly installed the program and used it whenever. basically, the riaa isnt hard up for cash and suing people for it, this is just a giant scare tactic to put an end to p2p. i do believe its going to take down kazaa in time, but everyone will just switch to something else like we all did after napster. there will always be p2p. this is somethign the riaa does not want to believe.

[The_Dude]

so, what about 56kers?? wont their ip's change and how can they pinpoint (or does the isp keep track of what ip who used when??).

and how exactly would you get somebody's ip off of a kazaa?

[Pragma]

They give a specific time with the IP address, so your ISP will know exactly which user was logged in to their system at that time and was given that IP address.

As for finding out what Kazaa user has what IP, it's pretty easy.

Just start downloading the file off the user, then type "netstat -an". One of the entries will be them. If you keep close track before and after downloading, you should be able to pinpoint the IP address with no trouble at all.

Also, you could use a program like "ActivePorts" to show you what application is using what port, and what they're connecting to. From there, you should be able to find out what IP addresses Kazaa is connecting to.

[R_one]

Originally posted by tv.
You got nothing to be worried about.

Oh really? http://www.techtv.com/news/politicsa...444548,00.html

[hotzot]

I really appreciate all the info gang. We've eliminated kazaa and the others and put all the songs and tv shows and programs on disk. I agree that the chances are small of getting caught but my wife will sleep easyer tonight. Thanks.

[Pragma]

Originally posted by hotzot
I really appreciate all the info gang. We've eliminated kazaa and the others and put all the songs and tv shows and programs on disk. I agree that the chances are small of getting caught but my wife will sleep easyer tonight. Thanks.

Better safe than sorry, to say the least. It'd certainly ruin your day (and make the wife unhappy) to get slapped with an RIAA lawsuit.

[ndulacd]

I work in the IT department at a University and I can tell you that the MPAA has contacted our University legal counsel about going after a number of our students individually. They seem to be going after individuals harder than the RIAA is.

[MSD]

Originally posted by The_Dude
and how exactly would you get somebody's ip off of a kazaa?

DOS prompt: netstat -n

All connections will be displayed.

[huuge65]

Getting subpoenaed by the RIAA for running kazaa would be like winning the lottery. Except you pay them.

[NastyMan]

There are millions upon millions upon probably even more millions of people downloading "pirated" music. The chances of you getting caught are almost zilch.. I think they are just catchin the big time downloaders or the people who have servers to hold pirated music.

[propaganda]

Can they detect what I have if I only run K++

[emopwr]

well either way there is still the chance you could get caught by the riaa using kazaa. and thats pretty shitty. i have absolutely no money right now to be paying the riaa 10,000 dollars for some bs mp3s, so ill stick to other means of obtaining mp3s, heh.

about the mpaa going after people:
they have been going after people sharing movies on kazaa for a while now. they did not make this big of a deal about it though. ive seen emails that have been sent to people sharing pirated movies, but they are more along the lines of cease and desist letters telling people to delete or stop sharing the file in question. they havent threatened lawsuits yet. but who fucking knows. its so funny though, because when you think about it, what are the riaa/mpaa supposed to do? i mean they arent stupid, they know no matter what they do, we will always share/steal/borrow/lend/tryout/preview their material. they actually do KNOW this. they just cant conceed to this fact. i dont blame em really. they do lose some amount of money because of p2p. the actual amount is arguable, but you have to admit they are losing at least some amount of money, so what company is going to be like ' fine, ok, take our money without a fight'. if that makes any sense which i hope it does

and in response to the previous reply:
yes they can detect you regardless of what kazaa version you are using. you are using peer to peer, which means one peer makes a direct connection to another. like all these other kind folk have said, do a 'netstat -a' at the commant prompt to see what connections are exactly connected to you. easy advice. stop sharing files on kazaa if you are concerned.

[Pragma]

Originally posted by NastyMan
There are millions upon millions upon probably even more millions of people downloading "pirated" music. The chances of you getting caught are almost zilch.. I think they are just catchin the big time downloaders or the people who have servers to hold pirated music.

Even so, how lucky do you feel? It would suck to be wrong and get slapped with a lawsuit. "But, but, look at all of those people with more!" They'll get their turn, too.

Can they detect what I have if I only run K++

As I think I said above in this thread, I really wouldn't trust K++ to protect you. After all, anyone can grab a list of files, the time, your Kazaa username, and what IP you're using, not just "specific RIAA addresses", so there's nothing to stop someone from going home, connecting via their dial-up, and writing down your info.

[Brewmaniac]

Are they going after Winmx users yet does anyone know?
What about porn and Kazza?

[human]

I'm just concerned about the fact that these scare tactics are working. I got half a dozen emails when this was first announced from friends of mine who promptly turned off uploads in Kazaa. We're doing exactly what the RIAA wants and if people stop sharing, then they have won. Personally, I used to only share my recent downloads 'bout 500MB (mostly pr0n). Soon as I heard about these lawsuits, I shared all of my MP3's, which include rips of the roughly 200 CD's I've bought over the years.

I don't want the **AA to win this round. Stick it to the legal bullies and share. (especially if you are outside of US jurisdiction, stick it to the ***of America organizations. Worst case is they pull a Skylarov on you, but that's pretty damned unlikely seeing has there have been no arrests for mp3 piracy yet.)

[extalin]

Originally posted by J-Dubs
I for one am not worried in the least.

Kazaa as of 5 mins ago.

...snip...

www.k_lite.tk_Kazaa_Lite@Kazaa

damn they got me!
(that's the default name for any kazaa lite user)

[souzafone]

2 outs---#1 "give'" your computer to a household minor and play innocent to the feds if busted & #B Use a less known file swapping site, such as WinMx

[YaWhateva]

i hope the RIAA realizes that they have made a hell of a lot of enemies by doing this and their record sales are gonna drop significantly more than the measley 6.8% they lost from 2002, and the majority of that is due to lame music thats out there.

They better realize that people will work as hard as they can to get around all this now that the RIAA has started attacking people. Filesharing is not going away and they will learn that the hard way.

they have also probably spent more money now on finding people's IP's and getting subpoenas than they ever lost in record sales.

Kazaa++ also is very good because they cannot see your IP at all, or just putting up a firewall will do the same thing. The RIAA is just digging themselves a huge hole that they are gonna have a hard time getting out of because a lot of people are pissed about this.

I see it that most people download music that they wouldnt have bought in the first place, thats what i do. I buy cds that i like and download songs that i dont feel like spending $20 on.

Also most of my mp3s are ripped from cds i own, and they are planning getting people for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song. This means i can be charged $3,324,750 (low end) and $664,950,000 (high end). Ya right. RIAA will end up being so hated that some other music industry will be able to dominate and thus get rid of the lame ass RIAA.

[jmad]

If you are at all interested in this kazaa and the RIAA stuff, i suggest checking out fark. Take every comment with a grain of salt, though. Oh ya, by the way, the new Kazaa lite blocks RIAA ip addys and doesn't let other users search through your shared file, lowering the risk significantly.

[Pragma]

jmad, please see above for the (numerous) times I've stated that Kazaa lite cannot possibly "block RIAA IP addresses" without blocking every single IP address in existence.

What do you mean "doesn't let others search through your shared file" ? You mean "doesn't share any files" or what? If it doesn't let you share files, and everyone uses it, then you'd quickly run out of content on Kazaa.