A look into this evil cybercrime
November 13, 2022 - Updated December 19, 2022
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT DO ANYTHING LISTED IN THIS ARTICLE. IF YOU DO, DO SO WITH CAUTION
Like everyone else, I respect every law that's placed on me because I know that our legislators have our best interests in mind. It really ruins my day when I hear of yet another crime being committed, especially when it benefits the middle class and prevents their hard earned money from going to the pockets of my favorite Hollywood executives and music labels. One such crime is internet piracy.
Internet piracy involves a file, often a movie, song, or application, being shared online without giving money to the creator of that file. It goes without saying that this is an abominable offense committed by the darkest creatures to roam this earth that are worthy of the worst punishment. As a journalist, I did a deep dive and studied the ways of internet pirates and will document my findings here.
Pirates find it easier to download content directly opposed to the morally superior "streamcucking" where you pay a monthly fee to enjoy content that is taken from you when you no longer wish to pay for the service. They find freedom in ownership of their property and find it's cheaper to pay for a monthly VPN (necessary for torrenting as later explained) and a large capacity hard drive to store the files than to make the necessary sacrifice of paying $65 a month for Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ , Spotify, and Audible, where they have complete control over what you can and can't consume and harvest loads of data that they are free to use as they please.
A torrenting application: This is used to connect pirates to one another so they can share files without the use of a third party. It works as a peer-to-peer connection, directly linking users of a shared file with one another in a web-like structure where each user shares a part of a file with someone downloading it. For those desiring a graphical user interface, pirates often use qBittorrent, while those seeking a command-line alternative might opt for Transmission.
A VPN: When pirates download a file available to the public, they use a VPN to mask their IP address from any connections they make, effectively anonymizing themselves. This precaution is necessary because many noble Hollywood Studios and music labels employ lawyers to automatically report pirates to their internet service providers, leading to potential internet service termination. A VPN IS NECESSARY FOR A PIRATE TO ILLEGALLY TORRENT FILES. Some pirates I observed take measures to cover their tracks using Mullvad due to its anonymous payment options and affordability.
A storage medium: As piracy involves downloading files, many pirates choose to store them for later consumption instead of deleting them and redownloading when needed, as is common with streaming. The easiest method is using an external hard drive, as they are cost-effective and easy to use. Terabytes worth of storage can be obtained for just a few months' worth of a Netflix subscription.
Optional additions
Adblocker: Many torrenting sites have ads, so pirates find adblockers like uBlock Origin helpful for removing them.
File Renamer: Torrented files are often unsorted and have messy filenames. Pirates can use programs like TinyMediaManager or mnamer to organize movies and TV shows, beets for music, and calibre for ebooks.
Network Attached Storage: Some advanced level pirates have home media servers that allow for streaming of pirated content to anyone that can connect to the server.
Seedbox: To keep their home network free from outside connections, some pirates will use a seedbox to upload and download files externally. Depending on the subscription, this could also double as a media server.
Remember, this section is purely for informative purposes. Engaging in piracy or any illegal activities is against the law and is not endorsed. It's crucial to respect copyright laws and support content creators by using legitimate means to access media content.
In the realm of internet piracy and torrenting, privacy and security become paramount considerations. Engaging in illegal activities can have severe consequences, which is why safeguarding your online activities is crucial. Here are some tips to ensure your privacy and security:
Use a VPN: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) masks your IP address when using peer-to-peer connections. By using a reputable VPN like Mullvad, you can anonymize your online presence and protect yourself from potential legal repercussions.
Avoid Dangerous Sites: While I've listed various websites used for piracy in this blog post, it's important to emphasize that visiting such sites is not only illegal but also potentially harmful. Some sites are notorious for hosting malware and malicious content that can compromise your privacy and security.
Regularly Update Software: Ensure that your operating system, torrenting clients, media servers, and other software are up to date. Updates often include security patches that protect you from vulnerabilities.
In our fight against piracy, we must advocate for the following sites to be removed: For a much more comprehensive list, visit this megathread.
(Note: many sites are taken down regularly but are reinstated on other urls)
1337x - Please get the games from only the following uploaders for games: (Any names from cs.rin.ru, 0xEMPRESS, anadius, DODI, FitGirl, JohnCena141 (Linux), KaOsKrew, s7on3r, TinyRepacks)
DODI Repacks: Provides repacked versions of various games, making them smaller in size while maintaining the gameplay experience.
Fitgirl Repacks: Offers repacked versions of games with high compression, providing smaller downloads without compromising on game quality. Slower than DODI but has a great soundtrack.
Torrminatorr: A website for downloading torrent files related to various games and gaming content. Great for Linux/Mac users.
ns2wu: A website offering Nintendo Switch game downloads and resources.
GOG Games: Provides a collection of games from the GOG platform, focusing on DRM-free titles.
cs.rin.ru: A gaming community forum where users discuss and share information about cracked games and related content.
Vimm's Lair: Vimm's Lair is a website that offers a vast collection of retro video game ROMs, providing nostalgic gaming experiences for classic console enthusiasts.
Myrient: Myrient is a video game content archive where you can download content to use in emulators and on real systems. Everything is free and no account registration is required.
hShop: hShop is the ultimate 3DS content preservation service.
For more, see this megathread.
MyAnonyMouse: The best private tracker for books and audiobooks, invite only
zLibrary: One of the largest collections of ebooks and articles on the internet. Fortunately, this site was taken off of the clear net, but it still lives on the deep web, meaning it's only accessible through the Tor Browser. Since its removal, there have been some issues downloading books, but the "send to Google Drive" option still works as designed.
Library Genesis: Massive collection of scholarly journal articles, academic and general-interest books, images, comics, audiobooks, and magazines.
LibriVox: Host of public domain audiobook readings
Hypothetically speaking, a seedbox, being a powerful remote server optimized for torrenting, could potentially use various automation tools to manage media content efficiently. These tools could include:
Ultra.cc: Ultra.cc is a versatile and powerful seedbox service that offers high-performance remote servers optimized for torrenting and media management.
Jellyfin: Jellyfin is a self-hosted media server that grants users complete control over their media library. Unlike streaming services, Jellyfin allows you to organize, stream, and share your media content seamlessly without relying on third-party providers. With Jellyfin, users can curate a personalized media streaming experience tailored to their preferences. This open-source platform puts privacy and security in the hands of the user, ensuring that your legally-aquired media stays private and under your control.
Radarr: Radarr is a movie management tool that automatically searches for and downloads movies via BitTorrent.
Sonarr: Sonarr serves a similar purpose as Radarr but focuses on TV shows, enabling users to automatically download episodes when they become available.
Bazarr: Bazarr complements Sonarr and Radarr by managing subtitles for downloaded TV shows and movies, ensuring the best possible media experience.
Lidarr: Lidarr is a music management tool that allows users to automate the download process for their favorite music via BitTorrent.
Readarr: Readarr functions similarly to Lidarr and is specialized for managing e-books and automatically obtaining new releases via torrents.
Jackett: Jackett acts as a proxy server, providing additional torrent provider support for Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr, and Readarr.
qBittorrent: qBittorrent is a popular BitTorrent client that works well with automation tools like Radarr and Sonarr.
Syncthing: Syncthing is a file synchronization tool that could potentially be used to transfer media files from the seedbox to other devices.
In a hypothetical setup within a single ultra.cc seedbox environment, all the previously mentioned systems could hypothetically collaborate harmoniously to create an efficient and comprehensive hypothetical media management system. The automation tools, Radarr, Sonarr, Bazarr, Lidarr, and Readarr, work in tandem with Jackett to automatically search for and download movies, TV shows, their respective subtitles, e-books, and music from various torrent providers via qBittorrent. With the addition of Jellyfin, the seedbox becomes a full-fledged media server, allowing users to organize and stream their media library seamlessly. Syncthing acts as a reliable file synchronization tool, facilitating the transfer of media files from the seedbox to other devices, such as a home computer, ensuring accessibility across multiple platforms. Together, these integrated systems enable users to effortlessly maintain and enjoy their media collection while emphasizing the importance of adhering to copyright laws and ethical practices in content consumption.
Again, I must reiterate that using these services for piracy is illegal and unethical. It is essential to respect copyright laws and support content creators by obtaining media through legitimate channels. This hypothetical setup should only be seen as an exploration of what is technically possible, rather than an endorsement of illegal activities. Always abide by the law and use technology responsibly.