Careful in what you download using bittorrent

[lost_bulak]

what about personal/private use of downloaded movies about 1-3 movies a month? Is't bad?

A friend of mine got a letter from this firm (ACS:Law, they said it used to be Davenport Solicitors) accused her of alleged file sharing. So now they are asking her to pay for amount of money (as a settlement) for the damage it had caused to the file she downloaded/uploaded. The said file was a Scooter album and it was downloaded/uploaded back in 2008 and she had received the letter a week ago. If she won't pay the money in 21 days they would take her to court. I think it's a harrasment, the only evidence they got is an ISP. What if she hasn't got a secured network or if she has what if someone hacked it?

You don't get done for downloading, the industry goes for the uploaders.

Apparently, this one doesn't care whether you do upload or download.

[KeithD]

I think it's a harrasment, the only evidence they got is an ISP. What if she hasn't got a secured network or if she has what if someone hacked it?

The ISP will not share it's information unless told to do so by a judge.

The companies sending these letters need to send proof beyond reasonable doubt, and then have a solicitor look at it.

[LadyJ]

The ISP will not share it's information unless told to do so by a judge.

The companies sending these letters need to send proof beyond reasonable doubt, and then have a solicitor look at it.

I agree It might be just a fake letter from someone who's trying to make money.

[Arturo]

I agree It might be just a fake letter from someone who's trying to make money.

I have thought about this.... but how would a scammer know the details of any downloads or even if teh peson had a computer!

Some may be genuine "threats" - but back in the UK, I recall there woul dbe a blitz of publicity on TV or some kid aged 10 was being threatened with jail if not paying a ridiculous high figure for a downloaded film!

As an aside on the high cost of downloading music and films etc,.
there are also pirate programmes being downloaded or discs copies.

My S I L works for a bank in Sydney as an IT manager. I just legally bought a full version of Microsoft Office 2007 for less than GBP£20.
If Microsoft applied a similar price (a single licence ie use on only one computer) to all their software... nobody would bother about using pirate software. They would get more revenue and have to spend less on anti piracy.
Same applies to films and music downloads.

[somebody]

A friend of mine got a letter from this firm (ACS:Law, they said it used to be Davenport Solicitors) accused her of alleged file sharing. So now they are asking her to pay for amount of money (as a settlement) for the damage it had caused to the file she downloaded/uploaded. The said file was a Scooter album and it was downloaded/uploaded back in 2008 and she had received the letter a week ago. If she won't pay the money in 21 days they would take her to court. I think it's a harrasment, the only evidence they got is an ISP. What if she hasn't got a secured network or if she has what if someone hacked it?



Apparently, this one doesn't care whether you do upload or download.

I dont wish to sound callous but its your problem if you had a unsecure network. You would then most likely have to prove you let someone else use your network.

Be like leaving your door unlocked and someone using your land line phone surely?

People have been proven to be in a location or make/recieve a call due to mobile/landline phone records so why not an ISP?

I hope your friend sorts out the problem with as little hassle as possible

[joebloggs]

I dont wish to sound callous but its your problem if you had a unsecure network. You would then most likely have to prove you let someone else use your network.

Be like leaving your door unlocked and someone using your land line phone surely?

People have been proven to be in a location or make/recieve a call due to mobile/landline phone records so why not an ISP?

I hope your friend sorts out the problem with as little hassle as possible

you beat me to it Andy,

well i disagree Andy there is no law saying you need a secure wireless network, so not my problem if someone used my unsecured wireless router to download a scooter album , as i would be the victim here, as i'm pretty sure it is illegal to connect to some elses router.

yes like scouser keith said they would need to contact your ISP.

i would probably write back to them telling that i know nothing of IT, only know how to turn the pc on, and i have only just found out from a friend my wireless router is unsecure , and now its secure, but i have never downloaded any scooter album nor would i want to and so please supply evidence you have it was me or stop harassing me

and if i was taken to court, that would be my defence, must have been some scouser using my unsecured router

[somebody]

you beat me to it Andy,

well i disagree Andy there is no law saying you need a secure wireless network, so not my problem if someone used my unsecured wireless router to download a scooter album , as i would be the victim here, as i'm pretty sure it is illegal to connect to some elses router.

yes like scouser keith said they would need to contact your ISP.

i would probably write back to them telling that i know nothing of IT, only know how to turn the pc on, and i have only just found out from a friend my wireless router is unsecure , and now its secure, but i have never downloaded any scooter album nor would i want to and so please supply evidence you have it was me or stop harassing me

and if i was taken to court, that would be my defence, must have been some scouser using my unsecured router

But is igornance a defence?

I would not want to be the one to test it.

Look how many people have been prosecuted because they claim their children used the pc in download cases. Still prosecuted the parents.
No one says you have to lock your car, and take the keys out but it would be hard to prove someone stole your car and had an accident then put it back unless they had stolen the keys. Ie its common sense surely? Same with pins numbers the banks big reason for pin numbers was it meant that if someone used the account they knew the code and that you were not supposed to allow anyone to know it. Of course card cloning meant many people get quite rightly compensation in most cases but if you said you didn't take precautions to protect it or gave someone the details you would be at fault.

I wonder what the ruling would be if you had an unsecured wirless connection and used online banking would it invalidate any insurance/protection. As if you read the t and c's of most i et you would find yo must run av, antispyware, update pc and most likely use secure connection? I remember at least one police force was reporting you if you leave a house or car unattended with a window/door open to insurance companies (not sure how but i rember the report well)

But depends as you say on the laws view and what they think.

The police and courts in the UK seem to think tracking where people are with mobiles and if they made calls makes good evidence. Surely they have to prove the phone not cloned or borrowed, or do they?

I doubt the law firm would take it all the way but who knows. A law firm threatened to sue my firm and other partner companies, as they said it costs us near to nothing and gives the juniors something to do (an actual quote) Luckily we were covered our tracks with good audit trail keeping and the issue was sorted. Law firms big and small make money from nothing a lot of the times, very few doing bad at the present...


Of course you would have wiped all the hdd's in your house to nth degree.

Could you claim that no youtube/google etc account signed in your name had never searched for a scooter album.

youtube had to release their logs a while back i think? I dont follow filesharing it bores me to be honest so early noughties i think only old blokes do it now
Most people spotify, last fm or stream somehow it seems

Go for the plead igorance but make sure you get proper legal advice i would have thought cases on this matter are setting precedent at the moment and i would not want to be the test case with possibly a judge who doesn't get technolgy or one that thinks he does..


Good luck and worth checking out with the CAB at least just in case that there is no issue.

[joebloggs]

But is igornance a defence?

that may be true in law, but as i said there is no law that says you need to secure your wireless router, so ignorance is not a defence as you've committed no crime..

if you leave your keys in the car while your warming it up, on a winter morning and turn your back for a mo, and some scally scouser nicks your car and commits a crime using it, do the police prosecute you ?

[somebody]

that may be true in law, but as i said there is no law that says you need to secure your wireless router, so ignorance is not a defence as you've committed no crime..

if you leave your keys in the car while your warming it up, on a winter morning and turn your back for a mo, and some scally scouser nicks your car and commits a crime using it, do the police prosecute you ?

Only if they knew the scouser had taken the car and had done the crime if all they knew is your car was taken. If you couldn't prove where you was not there etc...
If you left your keys in your car and the door open unattended you most likely invalidate your insurance. Also in a court of law if you had no evidence or witnesses to say you elesewhere they may think it odd you didn't lock the door and unlikely. Even odder if the car was in your possession again after the act was carried out...

No law you need to lock your front door as far as im aware but if you didn't do it people would think you deserve what you had coming and insurance would in most cases be invalidated.

I repeat also if you use your pc for any intrernet banking or commerce you would be well advised to secure your pc as many banks have now started providing a lot of advice on securing networks and pc's even supplying security software. I wonder if you did have a issue with fraud which was i.t related to your home pc they might get out of any repayments if they could prove you did not use a secure pc and network?

[Northerner]

use rapidshare Bittorrent also uploads as well as downloads, Rapidshare is a download only service (unless you actually upload stuff on it but that can be traced)

[KeithD]

and if i was taken to court, that would be my defence, must have been some scouser using my unsecured router

If it was I'd have filled your PC with gay pron and informed your wife

[joebloggs]

If it was I'd have filled your PC with gay pron and informed your wife

so it was you , i thought my misses had some sort of fetish after i found my harddisk was full of that