Feds Shut Down Megaupload.com

cyberguypr

Feds Shut Down Megaupload.com File-Sharing Website | Techland | TIME.com

All hell breaking lose. Anonymous fighting back killing sites like crazy.

CodeBlox

I figured it was bound to happen sooner or later but man... I used the website a lot! Rest in peace megaupload!

In tribute to megaupload:

Megaupload Mega Song HD - YouTube



I don't get the "seized" banner when going there though. The page just doesn't load.

Qord

And so it begins.

I have a feeeling those laws will pass. Maybe not as they are currently written, but they will pass. This is just the first of many to come.

Roguetadhg

Now it gets interesting.

nicklauscombs

If they can shut down sites at will why even bother with SOPA?

cyberguypr

nicklauscombs wrote: »

If they can shut down sites at will why even bother with SOPA?

According to news outlets the investigation began 2 years ago. SOPA would drastically reduce the time frame to bring a site down, possibly bypassing due process.

nicklauscombs

cyberguypr wrote: »

According to news outlets the investigation began 2 years ago. SOPA would drastically reduce the time frame to bring a site down, possibly bypassing due process.

didn't see the time line before but yes that makes sense.

Roguetadhg

Im sure megauploads & the retailation will add fuel to the fire.

chrisone

R.I.P. , I had many downloads which helped entertain and educate my life. On the the next one

NOC-Ninja

1 goes down, hundreds or thousands more left. They are trying to make this as a example. Piracy cant be stopped unless they block sites from our isp which will need lots of man power. At the end, someone will still find a way to pirate.

Dakinggamer87

This is disappointing!!

jibbajabba

NOC-Ninja wrote: »

1 goes down, hundreds or thousands more left. They are trying to make this as a example. Piracy cant be stopped unless they block sites from our isp which will need lots of man power. At the end, someone will still find a way to pirate.

All you need is a PayPal account and you got yourself a virtual server in another country ....

Turgon

jibbajabba wrote: »

All you need is a PayPal account and you got yourself a virtual server in another country ....

The internet will be a very different place inside 5 years.

DevilWAH

Turgon wrote: »

The internet will be a very different place inside 5 years.

I still think that we will be moving back to the good old days pre search giants. where text based chat rooms and BBS boards ruled the net. There is still a huge amount of file sharing going on in splinter groups. I do think the anti piracy laws will push the network away from the web sites in to other technologies. WE moved from BBS and IRC because the websites offered more freedom and access to larger audiences. If this gets restricted what most people think of as the web will change dramatically over then next 5 years.

jmritenour

cyberguypr wrote: »

According to news outlets the investigation began 2 years ago. SOPA would drastically reduce the time frame to bring a site down, possibly bypassing due process.

I think yesterday's events were sorely lacking on the due process thing. Sure, they had warrants, but at the end of the day, several websites were shut down, several million dollars worth of personal property was seized, 4 non-American citizens were arrested by the American government in foreign countries, and people who had legitimate, legal content on Megaupload are now up the creek.

All of this is on the accusation of copyright infringement - something that SHOULD be a civil matter, not criminal.

Even if MU comes out of this cleared of all charges, this case is likely to take a year or more. Can they survive being down for a year?

veritas_libertas

jmritenour wrote: »

I think yesterday's events were sorely lacking on the due process thing. Sure, they had warrants, but at the end of the day, several websites were shut down, several million dollars worth of personal property was seized, 4 non-American citizens were arrested by the American government in foreign countries, and people who had legitimate, legal content on Megaupload are now up the creek.

All of this is on the accusation of copyright infringement - something that SHOULD be a civil matter, not criminal.

Even if MU comes out of this cleared of all charges, this case is likely to take a year or more. Can they survive being down for a year?

Agreed. The movie and music industry's lobbyists are doing very well.

the_Grinch

Seems the government forgot that the original setup of the internet was to provide communication in the event that a nuclear bomb went off. Tons of links in the chain can go down, but communication remain in place. All I keep thinking is about Captain America (the movie) and the group Hydra....when one dies, two will come in its' place. People can and will find a way, given enough time and resources anything is possible (time being the bigger of the two)....

tpatt100

Was there any non copyrighted material on that site lol? The only thing people seemed to go there for was copyrighted material and pron. The people making millions off the site must have known this.

djfunz

*lol* Such a shame. That just leaves:

Hotfile
Wupload
Uploaded
Letitbit
Extabit
Mediafire
Depositfiles
Netload
Crocko
Filefactory
Badongo
4shared
Przeklej
****
Uploading
Storage
Megashares
Furk
4FastFile
GoldFile
GigaSize
TurboBit
Diglo
HitFile
Oron
Kickload
ZippyShare
SoundCloud
BitShare
FreakShare
SpeedyShare
Fyels

Whatever will we do?

DevilWAH

djfunz wrote: »

*lol* Such a shame. That just leaves:

Hotfile
Wupload
Uploaded
Letitbit
Extabit
Mediafire
Depositfiles
Netload
Crocko
Filefactory
Badongo
4shared
Przeklej
****
Uploading
Storage
Megashares
Furk
4FastFile
GoldFile
GigaSize
TurboBit
Diglo
HitFile
Oron
Kickload
ZippyShare
SoundCloud
BitShare
FreakShare
SpeedyShare
Fyels

Whatever will we do?

Well why not make it easy for the FBI!!!

What's crazy is I bet we could all write a list that long and not repeat our selves, when will they learn, cut of one head and two will grow back!

alan2308

tpatt100 wrote: »

Was there any non copyrighted material on that site lol? The only thing people seemed to go there for was copyrighted material and pron. The people making millions off the site must have known this.

Yes, a lot of unsigned artists used it to get their music out and try to get heard.

And then there's the little issue of this.

tpatt100

alan2308 wrote: »

Yes, a lot of unsigned artists used it to get their music out and try to get heard.

And then there's the little issue of this.

Was that how the owner making all of their money though? The owner of Megaupload has a criminal record for embezzlement and insider trading among other things. This guy was kind of sleazy.

Since 2001, Schmitz has received media coverage as a founder of a Hong Kong based investing company called Trendax. The company claimed to use artificial intelligence to maximize investment return and Schmitz tried to find investors for a hedge fund managed by the company.^[41] According to media reports Schmitz never had a proper license to start the fund.^[42]
In 2010, Schmitz leased a NZ$30M mansion at Coatesville, near Auckland, owned by Richard and Ruth Bradley, the British founders of Chrisco, and considered the most expensive house in the country. He had an arrangement to buy the mansion when the lease expired,^[43] but the New Zealand Government declined his application to buy the land on the basis that he did not meet the "good character" test.^[44] Schmitz was granted permanent residency in New Zealand in 2010.^[45][8]
An investigative piece found Schmitz in Hong Kong business records with the new name "Kim Tim Jim Vestor", allegedly bearing a Finnish passport, and acting as director of several "Mega-" companies, among them Megaupload Ltd. and Megarotic Ltd.^[7] According to Megaupload spokesperson B. Lam, Kim is one of many shareholders at Mega and not involved in most day-to-day business decisions.^[7]

alan2308

tpatt100 wrote: »

Was that how the owner making all of their money though? The owner of Megaupload has a criminal record for embezzlement and insider trading among other things. This guy was kind of sleazy.

No, that was something that was about to launch, which makes the whole timing of the shut-down a bit suspicious.

But I agree, the guy is a total dirt-bag. If it wasn't this, he'd be locked up for something else sooner or later.

colemic

BBC News - Megaupload users face data deletion US prosecutors warn

OK - the Feds froze all their accounts, now they can't pay their hosting bill, so all their stored data is in danger of getting wiped. Wouldn't the Feds order the hosting companies to freeze the data, not just for evidence of the prosecution, but because it is is deleted, haven't they denied the defense the right to evidence?

korbas

Could the Feds be liable in a civil case for wanton destruction of data? Many people backed up their HDs on there. Kinda sucks for many.