Loki¹s Map Leads MPAA on Road to Nowhere

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 11:00:14 -0800
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Loki¹s Map Leads MPAA on Road to Nowhere

[Note:  This item comes from reader Scott Berry.  DLH]

> From: Scott Berry <sjb () optonline net>
> Date: February 17, 2005 2:48:46 PM PST
> To: 'Dewayne Hendricks' <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Subject: Re Lokitorrent
>
> Dewayne,
>
> Not sure if you saw this, but some of your blog readers might be
> interestedŠ
>
>    Scott
>
> <http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=665>
>
>  
>
> Loki¹s  Map Leads MPAA on Road to Nowhere
> February 12, 2005
> Michael Ingram
>
> ³By  Court Order [Edward Webber, former LokiTorrent owner] must
> provide the MPAA  with access to and copies of all logs and server
> data related to his illegal BitTorrent activities, which will provide
> a roadmap to others who have used LokiTorrent to engage in illegal
> activities.²

> The MPAA¹s press release is chilling. Not only has the money donated
> to the legal defence fund disappeared into a black hole, but all
> former registered users of LokiTorrent are placed at risk of future
> lawsuits.
>
> However, registered users will be relieved to hear that very little,
> if any, useful information will end up in the hands of the MPAA.
>
> ³They don't have anything, they have air,² an ex-torrent site owner
> told Slyck. He chose to remain anonymous. For arguments sake, we will
> call him Paul.
>
> Paul also ran a Torrent site based on the same scripts and source used
> by LokiTorrent. They conferred regularly.
>
> Referring to the website logs:
>
> ³Those access logs have no value it all. They only display whether you
> downloaded the .torrent file, not if you actually downloaded the
> content using that Torrent,² Paul explained to Slyck.
>
> The Torrent file is merely a key; the MPAA can not prove that it was
> used in any locks.
>
> Paul went on, ³We both didn't log [seed and leech] information because
> first it would allow us to know too much about the people using the
> network and what they were sharing. 2nd it would require huge
> resources to keep track of all that. That's the tracker's job.²
>
> At best, the information could be used in conjunction with other
> research to target ³serial uploaders². Much like the RIAA target those
> who share more than a set number of music tracks, the MPAA can now
> target those who have a history of trading Torrent files, although
> such a system would rely on static IP addresses.
>
> But Paul does not believe that there will be enough information even
> for this.
>
> ³Logs files tend to grow at a rate of 1GB per day on this kind of
> site. Most site owners Š either disable logging or purge the logs
> every few days. So there's little to no information for them,² he
> explained. ³Perhaps Loki [Webber¹s alias] even disabled his logging
> completely recently because of the large influx of new users.²
>
> LokiTorrent did kept track of which Torrents each user had uploaded,
> but the information was stored in the database by username, rather
> than IP address.
>
> The MPAA will find even less information in the logs for the trackers,
> which were also run by LokiTorrent. Unlike the website, the trackers
> do know who is uploading and downloading the actual files.
>
> ³Me and Loki both used XBTT as our tracker software. For a fact, XBTT
> is volatile, meaning that if you shut it down the active user list is
> immediately purged from memory and is NOT stored on disk,² Paul
> explained.
>
> ³The only thing they do know is who uploaded a torrent, but uploading
> and seeding is completely different. Even then, that information is
> only available for a few days [at most],² he concluded.
>
> The MPAA would be able to gather more usage statistics and IP
> addresses by monitoring public trackers themselves. The announcement
> that they have acquired a roadmap to those behind file sharing appears
> to be nothing short of a scare tactic.
>
> Paul also had a few words in defense of Webber, who has been accused
> of selling out those who donated to his legal defense fund, only to
> settle out of court.
>
> ³People should not think he ran with the money because he lost.
> Victory is not the only outcome of a costly lawsuit,² he said. ³The
> gag order is the weirdest thing, it seems that it's purely there to
> prevent him from telling the truth.²

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