Filesonic, Fileserve Pull File Sharing Services Following Megaupload Arrests
It didn’t take so long after the FBI shut down Megaupload.com and arrested its staff, competitors Filesonic.com and Fileserve.com have made the decision to get rid of all file-sharing functionality from their own services.
All these websites offer users the ability to upload any kind of file to the websites for their own personal storage, but also share a public link to allow others to download the file for free.
As of 23 January, Trying to download any previously shared file from Fileserve results in the error message: “FileServe can only be used to download and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally.” On a similar Filesonic message reads: “All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally.“
On the other hand RapidShare, based in Switzerland, has publicly stated that its users needn’t worry: “There is no reason to be concerned,” the site said on its Facebook page. “We aren’t threatened in any way.“
The whole thing comes as Megaupload.com has been shut down by US authorities. Its founders and several of its employees were arrested and charged on counts of copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit money laundering on a massive scale.
The scheme is alleged to have taken half a billion dollars (£320 million) away from copyright holders, while making more than $175 million (£113 million) in proceeds from subscriptions and advertising to non-paying users.
Not to mention Megaupload.com founder, Kim Dotcom also apparently known as MEGARACER, the No. 1 player worldwide in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer. Here’s Dotcom’s video showing him take the No. 1 spot as MEGARACER
If you were paying attention this week, you probably have noticed that on Wednesday, January 18th, few Websites, Wikipedia, Reddit, Google and Microsoft have gone blackout trying to stop the infamous controversial SOPA and PIPA Acts. The blackout has worked and both acts placed on hold indefinitely.
As reported by Reuters, Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee saying his panel would delay action on similar legislation until there is wider agreement on the issue:
“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.â€
“The House Judiciary Committee will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution.â€
Its nice to see how effective was the Internet protest.
Hacktivist group Anonymous have been busy this year. The group issued a press release this morning announcing that they and other groups will protest all over the United States considering a nationwide “Day Of Vengence†that to take place in various cities across the USA on September 24, 2011.
Various targets including Wall Street, Corrupt Banking Institutions and the NYC Police Department. Follow Twitter account @PLF2012 for ongoing reports.
The full press release:
Wednesday – September 21, 2011
On September 17, 2011 approximately 15,000 peaceful demonstrators
in dozens of cities around the USA gathered, marched – and occupied
public space to protest the unjust policies of the US government
and the corruption in our financial institutions. The central
protest site was in the financial district of New York City, where
peaceful protesters faced phalanxes of heavily armed paramilitary
police officers from local and federal jurisdictions. The arrests
began almost immediately, many for violating the 1845 so called
“mask†laws.
Later that day, and according to plan – many of these protests
ended with a peaceful occupation of public space. Again, the
central occupation occurred in NYC. More arrests continued to take
place. All of this was expected, it is part of progressive
activism. Anonymous was content to challenge these stupid “maskâ€
laws in court. Not only is the Guy Fawlkes mask covered under
freedom expression as a symbol of our movement, but we believe that
everyone has a right to protest anonymously using bandanas, masks –
etc.
But then on Tuesday – September 20, 2011 everything changed in a
flash of police instigated violence. As rain began to fall on the
NYC encampment, heavily armed police moved in; Removing tarps used
to cover media equipment, arresting independent journalists,
confiscating media equipment – and using excessive force against
and arresting innocent peaceful protesters, several of whom were
abused and injured.
This year, we heard President Barack Obama and Secretary Hillary
Clinton say over and over in country after country from the Balkans
through the mid-east to Africa that the right to peacefully protest
and occupy public space is a right that MUST be respected in every
instance. And they are correct, and this also applies to the USA.
In fact, even more so. In the USA of all countries in the world,
the police should have been deployed to PROTECT the protesters –
not a giant brass bull that is the ultimate symbol of greed and
corruption in America. And yet we were treated to the grotesque
picture of dozens of armored police surrounding this brass bull,
while thousands more police were deployed solely to harass, arrest –
and abuse peaceful protesters.
Anonymous & the other cyber liberation groups around the world
together with all the freedom loving people in the USA will NOT
stand for this. We will peacefully yet forcefully resist the abuses
of the NYC Police Department. And so Anonymous announces a
nationwide “Day Of Vengence†to take place in dozens of cities
across the USA on Saturday – September 24, 2011 at High Noon.
In coordination with these protests across the USA on September
24th, Anonymous and other cyber liberation groups will launch a
series of cyber attacks against various targets including Wall
Street, Corrupt Banking Institutions – and the NYC Police
Department. We encourage the media to follow the Twitter feed
@PLF2012 for ongoing reports throughout the day.
We Are Anonymous – We Are Everywhere – We Are Legion – We Never
Forget – We Never Forgive
Hacker group Anonymous, which has been responsible for cyber-attacks on the Pentagon, Sony, News Corp, hacked into Iran‘s government emails, possibly the IMF, Anders Breivik’s Twitter account, and much more, has a new target in its crosshairs: Facebook. The hackers have set the date for Facebook’s demise as November 5, 2011. The reason? Ironically, they’re worried about privacy.
Citing privacy concerns and the difficulty involved in deleting a Facebook account, Anonymous hopes to “kill Facebook,”. Anonymous leadership disowned Operation Facebook on Twitter.
So, only some Anonymous members are involved. This isn’t the first time Anonymous has spoken out against social networks. After Google removed Anonymous’ Gmail and Google+ accounts, Anonymous pledged to create its own social network, called AnonPlus.
The full text of the announcement, made on YouTube and reported by Village Voice, is below:
DATE: November 5, 2011.TARGET: https://facebook.com
We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows:
Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill facebook for the sake of your own privacy.
Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria.
Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your “privacy” settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you “delete” your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more “private” is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family. http://www.physorg.com/news170614271.html
http://itgrunts.com/2010/10/07/facebook-steals-numbers-and-data-from-your-iph….
You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.
The riots are underway. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. It’s unfolding because people are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they don’t understand the consequences. Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them “for their own good” while they then make millions off of you. When a service is “free,” it really means they’re making money off of you and your information.
Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook . Engaged.
This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias. We have the right to not be surveilled, not be stalked, and not be used for profit. We have the right to not live as slaves.
We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us
“Kill Facebook for the sake of your own privacy” — doesn’t that sound strange, coming from people who routinely steal private information as they please? But this echoes the manifesto of a related group, LulzSec, whose nihilistic perspective on the state of the Internet kind of made sense. An excerpt:
Do you think every hacker announces everything they’ve hacked? We certainly haven’t, and we’re damn sure others are playing the silent game. Do you feel safe with your Facebook accounts, your Google Mail accounts, your Skype accounts? What makes you think a hacker isn’t silently sitting inside all of these right now, sniping out individual people, or perhaps selling them off? You are a peon to these people. A toy. A string of characters with a value.This is what you should be fearful of, not us releasing things publicly, but the fact that someone hasn’t released something publicly.
Will Anonymous be able to successfully lay waste to Mark Zuckerberg‘s fortress? This is set to be the Internet showdown of the year.
What is expected actually, is that Facebook would not be “destroyed,” per se. What’s more likely to happen is a DDoS (denial of service) attack on Facebook which could, if successful, prevent users from reaching the site for anywhere from minutes to hours.
