How does Media Sentry Work? (RIAA's Spy Software)

[TheBluePill]

Out of curiosity, I see that all of these lawsuites from the RIAA are filed after the data on a person's computer is gained from Media Sentry. How does this software work?

 

[Nasty_Savage]

i would doubt that its a software per-se. I believe all they do is make dummy accounts on the peer to peer software and track the IP addresses if someone was downloading something. If they are actually breaking into computers, they would not have gotten this far as someone would have hung them out to dry by now. This is the claim that the woman on the front page, or their lawyers are making. If they find out that its true, expect a huge backlash that will put the RIAA on its knees...much the same that they've done to folks in the name of squeezing every penny from every person possible because their industry is rehashed horseshit

 

[IanG]

I don't think that mediasentry is 'software' as much as it is a company. AFAIK they log into p2p services, try to get a list of your shared files (thank goodness emule allows you to turn this off!) and will then download a few files from you to make sure they are actually the right files and not misnamed.

They then pass this info to the RIAA lawyers, who file the John Doe lawuit to get your IP and begin debt collection/extortion (depending how you view it.)

There's programs like peerguardian which can be used to block connections from IP ranges known to be used by mediasentry and similar companies, but I'm not sure how effective they are - it would be pretty easy for them to use an IP outside that range if they wanted to.

I think the MPAA are going about things slightly differently as they are targeting bittorent more, but they probably employ similar henchmen.

 

[SamuraiInBlack]

Whenever I go onto any P2P or find something via BitTorrent, whether what I'm downloading is freely distributed as per the company/artist/manufacturer/whoever published it, even if it's just a copy of Slackware from their official tracker, or something questionable, I have PeerGuardian running. Nobody has the right to remotely access my computer in any way, shape, or form without my knowing, for any reason. It's obvious they can't get warrants to search my computer if they have to take these kinds of measures, so they're doing it like this.

Judging by the log outputs it blocks incoming as well as outgoing and is also good in blocking out websites that may attempt access as well. Peerguardian updates everyday as well, so I'd say it's pretty secure seeing it covers TCP as well as UDP, and even blocks HTTP if you want it to.

 

[IanG]

Whenever I go onto any P2P or find something via BitTorrent, whether what I'm downloading is freely distributed as per the company/artist/manufacturer/whoever published it, even if it's just a copy of Slackware from their official tracker, or something questionable, I have PeerGuardian running. Nobody has the right to remotely access my computer in any way, shape, or form without my knowing, for any reason. It's obvious they can't get warrants to search my computer if they have to take these kinds of measures, so they're doing it like this.

Judging by the log outputs it blocks incoming as well as outgoing and is also good in blocking out websites that may attempt access as well. Peerguardian updates everyday as well, so I'd say it's pretty secure seeing it covers TCP as well as UDP, and even blocks HTTP if you want it to.

PeerGuardian isn't all that effective, I know at least 2 large torrent sites that were using it but still ended up in a lawsuit. It's not that difficult for mediasentry/others to use an ip from a different block (say from a separate T1 line or local telco business account) if they wanted to.

You claim that nobody has the right to acess your PC while running a P2P app is almost laughable. By using these programs you are offering files to others, plain and simple. They're not doing anything that any other P2P user can do. It's not like they're all l337 h4x0rs breaking in while the PC user sleeps, they're simpy pretending to be another P2P user. If you don't want to share, limit you upload or block it with a firewall. imo peerguardian does nothing that a decent firewall can do, except it updates the range of IPs to block automatically. It gives a greater sense of comfort than it actually provides.

 

[SamuraiInBlack]

Then laugh all you want, because i specified the part about "without my knowing". If I'm running a P2P program, obviously at some point someone's going to be legitimately trying to download something off of me. What I am referring to is accessing my computer to find out if I have certain things on it so they can write me up accordingly. To my knowledge a police officer can't search your home without a warrant. I didn't get any email or letter or even a knock at my door with a presentation of a signed warrant by a judge stating that some schmuck at a corporate office now retains the right to search my PC as they see fit to find things on there I shouldn't have. And until I get such a letter, fuck them and anyone else who thinks they have a right to know what's on my computer.

As for my uploading? Anything I have to upload that I don't feel like sharing is taken out of my shares, and anything I do feel like sharing is capped as hard as I can cap it. And if I wanted a regular firewall, I simply would have gotten a regular firewall. I'm not -that- paranoid about the security, but when I do, I'll snag one. I already sit behind a router with an integrated firewall and it automatically blocks WAN requests. If they can bust that, AND get past PG? I guess they really are convinced I have some dollars on me. Thus far, I still believe PG is a great tool to have. To say that you can still get busted while having it or even a 'decent' firewall as you put it, is like saying you can still get a girl pregnant even though you're wearing a condom - it can happen. The only difference is the RIAA and their MediaSentry shit are the needles poking holes in your latex.

 

[IanG]

Mediasentry isn't poking through your pc, all they do is look in your shared folder. If you stop people being able to do that, you'll be golden. It's not like a police officer busting your door in, it's like a cop looking through your car window when you are getting a speeding ticket and noticing the open 6-pack on the passenger seat.

Running a p2p app is 'with your knowledge' - if you want to be safe, go join a darknet or an ftp ring, just don't spread FUD about what mediasentry and the RIAA is/isn't doing.

Moving stuff out of your shared folder is one of the smartest things you can do.... if the odds of being sued by the RIAA is about equal to being hit by lightning, sharing 3000+ MP3s with the world is like standing on the sears tower with an umberella in a thunderstorm.

Just don't believe that peerguardian is the magic bullet to protect you, cause it ain't.

 

[SamuraiInBlack]

It's exactly why I take my downloads out of the shared folder. The only crap I do share is shit you can find on any random website or hell, even google it on google images and get. I think those websites posting it on google images will be busted before filesharers do, and even then the RIAA's focus, to my knowledge, is on mp3's, not pr0n and pictures that are hosted on numerous celebrity galleries across the web.

And yes, running a P2P app is with my knowledge. Searching my shares specifically with the intent to bust me, is not, unless I am at fault for not enabling chat so an RIAA bot can message me and let me know they're specifically looking to see if I've got things I shouldn't. The tactics of MediaSentry reminds me of True Crimes where you can randomly frisk people and hope you can bust them for drugs or weapons and boost your good cop score. Everyone is out on the street and some of them are -bound- to have something, so let's start frisking away and see who we catch!

But let me ask you this - how do we honestly know that it stops with MediaSentry's "I just happened to notice..." tactics, as you describe them? How do we know the RIAA and its various like-minded groups/people beneath aren't actively trying to bust in and find a way to scan computers for things, or finding people with the know-how? I'm not trying to spread FUD. I'm trying to find out how sure you are that it stops where you say it does.

I've never said PeerGuardian is the magic bullet. As I said before it is like a condom - it can protect you, but it is still suseptible to busting. And just like one, it is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it..

 

[IanG]

But let me ask you this - how do we honestly know that it stops with MediaSentry's "I just happened to notice..." tactics, as you describe them? How do we know the RIAA and its various like-minded groups/people beneath aren't actively trying to bust in and find a way to scan computers for things, or finding people with the know-how? I'm not trying to spread FUD. I'm trying to find out how sure you are that it stops where you say it does.

If they were to bust in without your knowledge, they would have absolutely zero chance in court - any half decent lawyer would get a judge to toss it, and it would jeapordize all other cases they have. Of the few court documents I've seen, the RIAA 'proof' in their cases is a screenprint of a search from within kazaa, and an affidavit from a mediasentry employee that they downloaded specific files from you which were RIAA-owned music.

I think the MPAA had a program which would scan a computer to find potentially 'pirated' material, but the user had to download it and run it, and I'm not sure if it actually reported anything back to the home server. Needless to say, I won't be running it anytime soon.

At least you'e only hiding your 'artistic images' from the rest of the world.

 

[TheBluePill]

Good Discussion, Bump.

 

[Joe Fristoe]

If they were to bust in without your knowledge, they would have absolutely zero chance in court - any half decent lawyer would get a judge to toss it, and it would jeapordize all other cases they have.

That's the problem....almost all haven't had a lawyer. Until recently...nobody had really challened them....it's all changing now and we'll see what happens.