Illegal downloading.

[Austinn1]

Mods - If this is an illegal post, If it is delete it.

A friend of my has been caught 2 times for downloading stuff ileegally. First time he got an email saying to stop. Second time the shut his net off for a day. and told him next time it will be legal actions. They were even able to tell what he downloaded. i know if he gets caught again, and they actually do press charges the fine is huge, i think its like 250k and up to 5 years in prison.


So he recently downloaded a program to hide himself. He said it uses proxies. I dont know if I can name it or not, so i wont. But anyways, im curious how safe is he?
They can still catch him cant they? Anyone know anyone thats actaully been charged for illegally downloading stuff?

Please dont ask what program it is or where he got it. I just want to know how safe he is?

 

[D-Lew]

I know someone who got a cease and desist letter emailed to them from the FBI via his ISP for seeding a particular movie.

I also know a guy who knew someone that had their house entered and their computer destroyed with a note saying basically "stop that." I trust the guy but that story sounds far fetched. Supposedly this guy was doing more than just illegal downloads though.

If I was threatened with legal action I probably wouldn't take my chances with proxies. Don't know how effective that would be but I imagine they are keeping a close eye on his traffic.

 

[Austinn1]

Wow. Id be pissed if someone entered my house and busted my PC.

But, I never really trusted proxies. He thinks he will be safe. But I am like you, I wouldnt push my luck.

Funny part is, He never got caught until after he changed ISP's.

 

[Computer Head]

I don't trust proxies. But if it were me, and I have been warned involving legal actions, I wouldn't take my chances. A lot of times those charges require you to surrender your computers and sometimes you are not allowed back on them. Something to consider.

 

[Cabbs]

I don't know too much about the legalities of what they can do, but don't they have to packet-sniff you to see what you downloaded? And isn't it illegal on their part?

 

[Bahawolf1]

I'd advise him to not challenge the extent of the law.. is it really worth it?
He could be sued and pressed with charges that would put him, or his family, through years of embarrassment and financial struggle.

Nothing in this world is guaranteed to you.. so I'd advise him to think a little more before taking such a irresponsible step.

 

[DJ-CHRIS1]

I don't know too much about the legalities of what they can do, but don't they have to packet-sniff you to see what you downloaded? And isn't it illegal on their part?

If I was threatened with legal action I probably wouldn't take my chances with proxies. Don't know how effective that would be but I imagine they are keeping a close eye on his traffic.

They are not packet sniffing. They are simply monitoring the torrent swarm (which anyone can do) and seeing what IP's are doing what.

 

[Cabbs]

I see. Guess he should lay-off the downloading.

 

[Teny]

i found out that i got an email too. I did not download this

The purpose of this warning is to inform you that Qwest has received multiple
notices of copyright infringement sent pursuant to the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act ("DMCA") in connection with your account. The DMCA, passed by
Congress in 1998, allows copyright owners to notify a service provider such as
Qwest of alleged copyright infringement carried out on the provider's network.
Copies of the DMCA notifications Qwest received are included below.

Please be reminded that unauthorized posting of copyrighted material is a
violation of Qwest's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) which prohibits use of the
Qwest Network and Services in any manner that would infringe, dilute,
misappropriate, or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of others.

If you believe the enclosed DMCA notices were sent to Qwest in error, you may
contact the copyright owner directly within the next five (5) days and email a
copy of your correspondence to Qwest at abuse@qwest.net. Qwest will give
consideration to this challenge in enforcing its AUP. If you choose not to
challenge the notices, we will assume for purposes of enforcing our AUP that
they were not sent in error.

then it goes on listing complaints, IP address, and what was downloaded.

 

[Cabbs]

So basically they sent that to you when you didn't actually download anything?