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Embarrassing MediaDefender emails distributed on Bittorent

17 September 2007 6:40 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 22 comments

Embarrassing MediaDefender emails distributed on Bittorent MediaDefender, the company caught offering virus laden movie downloads, presumably on behalf of their client MPAA, has been embarrassed again when internal emails detailing the company's operations became available via Bittorent after an employee apparently forwarded them to his Gmail account. The worst part for the company, not to mention the MPAA, is that the emails directly contradict company statements about their ill-advised, and ill-fated MiiVi site, which was taken down after reports of its MediaDefender/MPAA affiliation.

In a text file distributed with the download, a group calling themselves MediaDefender-Defenders claims responsibility for releasing the emails, saying "we hope this is enough to create a viable defense to the tactics used by these companies."

When the story originally broke, MediaDefender's position was that the site was created purely for internal company use and that any distribution of viruses to Bittorent users' computers was unintentional, a story very few people believed. With the release of these emails all doubt about their dishonesty has been removed. They clearly show that not only was MediaDefender intentionally offering their torrents to the public, but they were also looking for ways to promote the site while hiding its affiliation with the company.

Apparently MediaDefender employees didn't learn their lesson after the MiiVi debacle either. The emails include discussion about what would be required to re-launch the site with ties to MediaDefender once again hidden. Another email indicated that the re-launch was underway under the domain name www.viide.com, which was described at that time as being completely locked down while the "look and feel" was being revamped. One developer remarked "I'm not sure if you guys are planning on going live with the Viide domain name... but in case you are... you might want to remove all references of Miivi on the homepage of viide.com before it gets Googled or someone public comes across it."

MediaDefender employees aren't the only ones who will likely have to answer questions about the emails either. Emails to and from representatives of the New York Attorney General's office are included indicating a plan to share P2P data with the agency, and indicating that the high ranking officials were involved. Given that the MediaDefender's operation of BitTorrent sites is at best ethically questionable, and at worst illegal, it will be interesting to see what New York officials have to say about it.

The emails show an incredible amount of arrogance about the emergence of stories on sites like Afterdawn, with one saying "So far the story has only been on techie, geek web sites where everybody already hates us. If the story stays on these sites, we should let it die." A response to that email stated "Truth is I don't give a crap about most of this shit."

Source: Ars Technica

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Related articles:

  • MediaDefender's illegal tactics take down legal video site (29 May 2008)
  • MPAA admits incorrectly estimating college piracy losses (23 January 2008)
  • MediaDefender stock plummets over 60 percent (25 December 2007)
  • The Pirate Bay starts "miivi.org" tracker (30 September 2007)
  • MPAA sues sites for linking to pirated video (28 September 2007)
  • DRM provider says the technology isn't being used correctly (20 September 2007)
  • Piracy figures used to increase profitability for record labels (19 September 2007)
  • MPAA wants ISP help in combating piracy (18 September 2007)
  • Hollywood still focused on piracy despite a record year (1 September 2007)
  • Media Defender denies MiiVi accusations (8 July 2007)
  • Sneaky MPAA-sponsored movie download site gives users Trojan horses (6 July 2007)
  • MPAA makes another bold claim (20 May 2007)
  • MPAA to distribute anti-piracy brochures to schools and libraries (6 April 2007)
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    DVDBack23 (Staff Member) 17 September 2007 7:21 Send private message to this user   
    Thank you for posting this vurbal, its an excellent read....good to know we are a "techie, geek website"...cant wait for the backlash they recieve for this :)
    hughjars (Inactive) 17 September 2007 7:47 Send private message to this user   
    So this what the ba*tards have reduced themselves to.
    Figures.
    They can't engage & carry the public -their potential customers - so now they attack us.

    Well f*ck 'em, bunch of worthless greedy c*nts.

    If they f*ck up a vital computer with a virus traceable to one they released this way what are the chances of a stinging vast law-suit?

    I'm wondering (knowing how once out 'in the wild' these things are rarely conmtrollable or containable) what happens if an important Dr's PC or maybe the local Heathcentre's PC gets screwed over by this and people suffer?

    They've lost they know it and this is just the spiteful (reckless) actions of the grasping turds lashing out in their death-throws.
    Evil vicious ba*tards the lot of them.

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17 September 2007 7:47

    nobrainer (Inactive) 17 September 2007 8:22 Send private message to this user   
    there is also a 25 min telephone conversation from mediadefender talking to the DoJ that has been leaked too! http://thepiratebay.org/search/MediaDefender/0/3/0

    did someone say entrapment?

    http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=42380

    Quote:
    They also show that MiiVi was having some difficulty with "unexpected content" including a torrent where a woman was having sex with a dog. If, as MediaDefender claimed, the site was internal and not meant to be seen by man, er woman plus dog, then one has to wonder where this particular video classic came from.
    great line from inquirer about a man's i mean, a woman's best friend!

    Track What Companies Have Edited Wiki http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/ (very heavy load atm)

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17 September 2007 8:24

    WierdName (Senior Member) 17 September 2007 10:46 Send private message to this user   
    Wow, that's awesome. They could go down for this if they are prosecuted right.
    svtstang (AfterDawn Addict) 17 September 2007 11:02 Send private message to this user   
    Jeez took long enough, this leaked a couple days ago! It is a good read if you dont mind a scavenger hunt! Thanks for the link to the phone conversation :)

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17 September 2007 11:05

    c.trigger (Newbie) 17 September 2007 19:53 Send private message to this user   
    How much do theses guys charge to do there job badly, couldn't it be use to help starving millionaires get bigger houses or boats...mc hammer need your help, please give generously
    edsrouter (Newbie) 17 September 2007 22:02 Send private message to this user   
    Here's something to ponder.

    What percentage of malware/virus's aren't from nerdy teenage "hackers" at all, but from professional companies like this one either trying to extract information from you or thwart unexpected "competition"? This is an excellent read. Thank you.
    hughjars (Inactive) 18 September 2007 2:40 Send private message to this user   
    Originally posted by edsrouter:
    Here's something to ponder.

    What percentage of malware/virus's aren't from nerdy teenage "hackers" at all, but from professional companies like this one either trying to extract information from you or thwart unexpected "competition"?
    - The vast and overwhelming majority of it?

    Afterall what else are zombie-bots about other than just another dreary little marketing exercise, spewing their spam sh*te & preying on the gullible & vunerable?

    The myth of the 'geek' or 'hacker' is just a tired old cover story for what it's really about IMO.
    o0cynix0o (Junior Member) 18 September 2007 17:50 Send private message to this user   
    WOW is all I can say. I guess this is what it means to get caught with your pants down.
    cousinkix (Newbie) 18 September 2007 18:40 Send private message to this user   
    This would be on the news, if america's corporate whores (who control the networks) weren't so heavily involved with their own movie studios and record companies in HollyWood. Silence is what you get from marriages like these:

    CNN = Time Warner HBO/Cinemax
    FOX = 20th Century Fox
    NBC = Universal
    CBS = ViaCom Showtime etc.
    ABC = Disney/TouchStone Pictures
    nobrainer (Inactive) 19 September 2007 1:59 Send private message to this user   
    Originally posted by cousinkix:
    This would be on the news, if america's corporate whores (who control the networks) weren't so heavily involved with their own movie studios and record companies in HollyWood. Silence is what you get from marriages like these:

    CNN = Time Warner HBO/Cinemax
    FOX = 20th Century Fox
    NBC = Universal
    CBS = ViaCom Showtime etc.
    ABC = Disney/TouchStone Pictures
    information and propaganda is how to control a population!

    Who owns CNN? or MSNBC? ABC?

    Originally posted by link:
    Who owns CNN? or MSNBC? ABC?
    by systemfailure Wednesday, Apr. 09, 2003 at 1:43 AM

    So ya think we have a "free press" eh? Check out who owns who, and who owns what you think.......

    GENERAL ELECTRIC --(donated 1.1 million to GW Bush for his 2000 election campaign)

    Television Holdings:
    * NBC: includes 13 stations, 28% of US households.
    * NBC Network News: The Today Show, Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Meet the Press, Dateline NBC, NBC News at Sunrise.
    * CNBC business television; MSNBC 24-hour cable and Internet news service (co-owned by NBC and Microsoft); Court TV (co-owned with Time Warner), Bravo (50%), A&E (25%), History Channel (25%).
    The "MS" in MSNBC
    means microsoft
    The same Microsoft that donated 2.4 million to get GW bush elected.

    Other Holdings:
    * GE Consumer Electronics.
    * GE Power Systems: produces turbines for nuclear reactors and power plants.
    * GE Plastics: produces military hardware and nuclear power equipment.
    * GE Transportation Systems: runs diesel and electric trains.
    ==================================================

    WESTINGHOUSE / CBS INC.
    Westinghouse Electric Company, part of the Nuclear Utilities Business Group of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL)
    whos #1 on the Board of Directors? None other than:
    Frank Carlucci (of the Carlyle Group)

    Television Holdings:
    * CBS: includes 14 stations and over 200 affiliates in the US.
    * CBS Network News: 60 minutes, 48 hours, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, CBS Morning News, Up to the Minute.
    * Country Music Television, The Nashville Network, 2 regional sports networks.
    * Group W Satellite Communications.
    Other Holdings:
    * Westinghouse Electric Company: provides services to the nuclear power industry.
    * Westinghouse Government Environmental Services Company: disposes of nuclear and hazardous wastes. Also operates 4 government-owned nuclear power plants in the US.
    * Energy Systems: provides nuclear power plant design and maintenance.
    ================================================================
    VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Television Holdings:
    * Paramount Television, Spelling Television, MTV, VH-1, Showtime, The Movie Channel, UPN (joint owner), Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Sundance Channel (joint owner), Flix.
    * 20 major market US stations.
    Media Holdings:
    * Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Video, Blockbuster Video, Famous Players Theatres, Paramount Parks.
    * Simon & Schuster Publishing.
    =============================================
    DISNEY / ABC / CAP (donated 640 thousand to GW's 2000 campaign)
    Television Holdings:
    * ABC: includes 10 stations, 24% of US households.
    * ABC Network News: Prime Time Live, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America.
    * ESPN, Lifetime Television (50%), as well as minority holdings in A&E, History Channel and E!
    * Disney Channel/Disney Television, Touchtone Television.
    Media Holdings:
    * Miramax, Touchtone Pictures.
    * Magazines: Jane, Los Angeles Magazine, W, Discover.
    * 3 music labels, 11 major local newspapers.
    * Hyperion book publishers.
    * Infoseek Internet search engine (43%).
    Other Holdings:
    * Sid R. Bass (major shares) crude oil and gas.
    * All Disney Theme Parks, Walt Disney Cruise Lines.
    ======================================================

    TIME-WARNER TBS - AOL (donated 1.6 million to GW's 2000 campaign)
    America Online (AOL) acquired Time Warner–the largest merger in corporate history.
    Television Holdings:
    * CNN, HBO, Cinemax, TBS Superstation, Turner Network Television, Turner Classic Movies, Warner Brothers Television, Cartoon Network, Sega Channel, TNT, Comedy Central (50%), E! (49%), Court TV (50%).
    * Largest owner of cable systems in the US with an estimated 13 million subscribers.
    Media Holdings:
    * HBO Independent Productions, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera.
    * Music: Atlantic, Elektra, Rhino, Sire, Warner Bros. Records, EMI, WEA, Sub Pop (distribution) = the world’s largest music company.
    * 33 magazines including Time, Sports Illustrated, People, In Style, Fortune, Book of the Month Club, Entertainment Weekly, Life, DC Comics (50%), and MAD Magazine.
    Other Holdings:
    * Sports: The Atlanta Braves, The Atlanta Hawks, World Championship Wrestling.
    =======================================================
    NEWS CORPORATION LTD. / FOX NETWORKS (Rupert Murdoch) (donations see bottom note)
    Television Holdings:
    * Fox Television: includes 22 stations, 50% of US households.
    * Fox International: extensive worldwide cable and satellite networks include British Sky Broadcasting (40%); VOX, Germany (49.9%); Canal Fox, Latin America; FOXTEL, Australia (50%); STAR TV, Asia; IskyB, India; Bahasa Programming Ltd., Indonesia (50%); and News Broadcasting, Japan (80%).
    * The Golf Channel (33%).
    MEDIA HOLDINGS:
    * Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight.
    * 132 newspapers (113 in Australia alone) including the New York Post, the London Times and The Australian.
    * 25 magazines including TV Guide and The Weekly Standard.
    * HarperCollins books.
    OTHER HOLDINGS:
    * Sports: LA Dodgers, LA Kings, LA Lakers, National Rugby League.
    * Ansett Australia airlines, Ansett New Zealand airlines.
    * Rupert Murdoch: Board of Directors, Philip Morris (USA).

    *(Phillip Morris donated 2.9 million to George W Bush in 2000)*
    georgeluv (Member) 20 September 2007 5:52 Send private message to this user   
    what they need to do is publish all the PERSONAL emails of the staff and their home addresses and contact information.
    who would want to work for MediaDefender if they knew at any moment their entire life could go on the net for every little mischief makers perusal? with no one to work for them how effective are their anti-p2p campaigns going to be? (ill give you a hint, theyll be even less effective than now, and right now they are about as effective at stopping piracy as paper is at stopping a bullet)
    nobrainer (Inactive) 20 September 2007 8:08 Send private message to this user   
    @ georgeluv


    that's a tricky as ppl do need to make a living and feed their family, i doubt all the staff knew exactly how illegal MediaDefender's tactics actually are, so destroying their lives would be a little harsh.

    i bet the entrapment and ddos attacks are overlooked by the corrupt American government!

    http://mediadefender-defenders.com/?

    http://www.digg.com/security/MediaDefend...ender_Defenders

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 20 September 2007 8:10

    edsrouter (Newbie) 20 September 2007 8:26 Send private message to this user   
    georgeluv - come on... home addresses? These MDD folks are like modern day civil disobedients, but they're not the Weather Underground. Geez some issues get so stuffed to the "left" sometimes they come out on the "right". There are some employees already that are going to have to change their social security numbers. Fascism brings us to their level.

    Besides the bigger news is today MDD reeased the source code for their anti-P2P programs see it here
    georgeluv (Member) 20 September 2007 8:35 Send private message to this user   
    I disagree; you can?t just say "I didn?t know what they were doing". If you work for someone it?s your job to know what they are doing because you are partially responsible at the least. And with something like mediadefender I?m pretty sure the employees knew the goal of the company was to screw over social file sharing because a few people want to stay rich.

    There should be no sympathy for people who aid the anti-p2p movement.
    We should go easy on them because they have kids? They are helping corporations SUE KIDS! That?s like saying the whole anti-p2p push should be allowed because some ceo of a record company has ?kids to feed?. Your one family doesn?t trump the familys of the 20,000 people you helped *bleep* over. The public has the right to know exactly who these people are who are helping usher in corporate fascism, their info should definitely be published.

    This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13 October 2007 6:52

    edsrouter (Newbie) 20 September 2007 11:42 Send private message to this user   
    There are bigger fish to fry than a 60 employee company trying (yet miserably failing) to destroy P2P. How about ones that screw us over and effect our very way of living every day i.e. Wal-Mart or Exxon-Mobil? If MDD start publishing these guys' e-mails, one could only imagine the outcry.

    Besides you don't realize there are some major players much much bigger than Mediadefender on your side. (Check out these afterdawn articles here and here and here)


    If you truly feel that strongly about something direct your energy here. They could use your help.
    icepir8 (Newbie) 21 September 2007 8:12 Send private message to this user   
    I am not surprised at this. I think the next generation of P2P programs will need to addresss this type of tactics. I don't know how this will be delt with but I know there is the needed talent out there to create a P2P program that will be resistent to such underhanded attacks.
    pmshah (Newbie) 22 September 2007 3:41 Send private message to this user   
    Ignorance of some people relating to corporate fascism really surpris3es me.

    You should watch some of the documentaries aired by BBC. One such that I do remember dealt with I.G.Farben of Germany, ICI of UK & DuPont of USA. Even during the second world war these companies were working hand in glove to form a cartel, dividing up the world market & line their pockets in a very big way.

    Why should it be any different now especially in Peace Time !!!!

    The day so called Free Enterprise, capitalistic & uncontrolled branch banking gets a nod from the government US public is going to get a royal shaft.
    mx6bfast (Junior Member) 22 September 2007 18:01 Send private message to this user   
    I've noticed mediadefender.org pop up in PeerGuardian. Is there anything I need to do?
    borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 24 September 2007 14:36 Send private message to this user   
    Originally posted by DVDBack23:
    Thank you for posting this vurbal, its an excellent read....good to know we are a "techie, geek website"...cant wait for the backlash they recieve for this :)
    Ditto. I love reading articles aboutcompanies shooting themselves in the foot.
    WierdName (Senior Member) 24 September 2007 20:21 Send private message to this user   
    Quote:
    Originally posted by DVDBack23:
    Thank you for posting this vurbal, its an excellent read....good to know we are a "techie, geek website"...cant wait for the backlash they recieve for this :)
    Ditto. I love reading articles aboutcompanies shooting themselves in the foot.
    Who doesn't like reading about companies shooting their feet on here?
    xhardc0re (Inactive) 28 September 2007 7:05 Send private message to this user   
    MD ceo needs to have s3x on camera w/a dog, unless he hasn't already o_0 Lawlz
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