5 ms·

Huh? It's still trivial to pirate media. Grab a copy of the Tor browser, go to the same pirate bay you used ten years ago, download the same content you did the

Huh? It's still trivial to pirate media. Grab a copy of the Tor browser, go to the same pirate bay you used ten years ago, download the same content you did then. Zero investment, it's just as straightforward. The legal options have improved, but the illegal ones are still there and just as good.

Freak_NL 9y ago
That's trivial to us (hypothetically), not to the average consumer who is, quite frankly, well-advised not to risk getting 'fined' in an out-of-court settlement for infringing copyright. And how do they even know if they're on the real Piratebay? The original domains are blocked in many countries. TOR? VPN? These require knowledge or guidance; doable, but not zero investment.
- ryanlol 9y ago
  If you can google, you can find a mirror or a clone. Whether it is the real pirate bay or not doesn’t matter, you could never trust TPB.
  - on_and_off 9y ago
    why is that ?
    - ryanlol 9y ago
      Why is what? You can find things with google because it's a search engine, that's what it's for. You can't trust TPB because the content is user generated, TPB does not do much to stop people from uploading malicious content and boosting it to top10 by seeding with bots.
- AlexandrB 9y ago
  > That's trivial to us (hypothetically), not to the average consumer who is, quite frankly, well-advised not to risk getting 'fined' in an out-of-court settlement for infringing copyright. Pirating content has gotten SO easy that my elderly parents do it regularly by simply searching for streams of movies they want to see on google. DRM has stopped none of this - and the risks of getting drive-by malware are an afterthought to most people.
- nicoburns 9y ago
  It's actually far easier to pirate media now. No need to setup a torrent client at all. Simply browse to one of the hundreds of free streaming sites and download over http directly in your browser.
- TYPE_FASTER 9y ago
  Search Craigslist for "kodi" and find pre-configured devices for sale to access pirated content. This is dangerous, because I'm not sure the people buying them understand that the content is pirated...
- flukus 9y ago
  The average person now get's dozens/hundreds of movies and shows on a cheap USB stick from their friends, then the plug it into their TV to play. Piracy is easier for the average consumer now than it ever was in the past.
ryanlol 9y ago
Why Tor browser?
- durzagott 9y ago
  Maybe to bypass local blacklisting? For example, in the UK major ISPs block access to the popular torrent sites.
  - ryanlol 9y ago
    There are countless mirrors, Tor browser seems like a hassle.
fixermark 9y ago
Nothing that involves "Tor" fits the "trivial" definition. If Netflix captures the market of people who aren't comfortable subverting encryption, they win. 100% capture is unnecessary if they get the people who can't and intimidate the people who won't with the occasional prosecution of the people who do.
- romwell 9y ago
  Right, that's why there's usually no need to bother with Tor.
drdaeman 9y ago
Not exactly correct. The illegal ones are not "just as good" - they faced the competition and got better in the past few years, learning from others successes. Remember the Popcorn Time. It dropped a bomb because it was an evolution from "go to some tracker, find what you want, download it, wait, watch when it's done" to the modern standards of "think of a title, grab the popcorn and start watching". (Just in case - I'm not approving or condemning of anything. Just stating the facts what had happened.)

Freak_NL 9y ago

That's trivial to us (hypothetically), not to the average consumer who is, quite frankly, well-advised not to risk getting 'fined' in an out-of-court settlement for infringing copyright. And how do they even know if they're on the real Piratebay? The original domains are blocked in many countries. TOR? VPN? These require knowledge or guidance; doable, but not zero investment.

ryanlol 9y ago
If you can google, you can find a mirror or a clone. Whether it is the real pirate bay or not doesn’t matter, you could never trust TPB.
- on_and_off 9y ago
  why is that ?
  - ryanlol 9y ago
    Why is what? You can find things with google because it's a search engine, that's what it's for. You can't trust TPB because the content is user generated, TPB does not do much to stop people from uploading malicious content and boosting it to top10 by seeding with bots.
AlexandrB 9y ago
> That's trivial to us (hypothetically), not to the average consumer who is, quite frankly, well-advised not to risk getting 'fined' in an out-of-court settlement for infringing copyright. Pirating content has gotten SO easy that my elderly parents do it regularly by simply searching for streams of movies they want to see on google. DRM has stopped none of this - and the risks of getting drive-by malware are an afterthought to most people.
nicoburns 9y ago
It's actually far easier to pirate media now. No need to setup a torrent client at all. Simply browse to one of the hundreds of free streaming sites and download over http directly in your browser.
TYPE_FASTER 9y ago
Search Craigslist for "kodi" and find pre-configured devices for sale to access pirated content. This is dangerous, because I'm not sure the people buying them understand that the content is pirated...
flukus 9y ago
The average person now get's dozens/hundreds of movies and shows on a cheap USB stick from their friends, then the plug it into their TV to play. Piracy is easier for the average consumer now than it ever was in the past.

ryanlol 9y ago

Why Tor browser?

durzagott 9y ago
Maybe to bypass local blacklisting? For example, in the UK major ISPs block access to the popular torrent sites.
- ryanlol 9y ago
  There are countless mirrors, Tor browser seems like a hassle.

fixermark 9y ago

Nothing that involves "Tor" fits the "trivial" definition. If Netflix captures the market of people who aren't comfortable subverting encryption, they win. 100% capture is unnecessary if they get the people who can't and intimidate the people who won't with the occasional prosecution of the people who do.

romwell 9y ago
Right, that's why there's usually no need to bother with Tor.

drdaeman 9y ago

Not exactly correct. The illegal ones are not "just as good" - they faced the competition and got better in the past few years, learning from others successes. Remember the Popcorn Time. It dropped a bomb because it was an evolution from "go to some tracker, find what you want, download it, wait, watch when it's done" to the modern standards of "think of a title, grab the popcorn and start watching". (Just in case - I'm not approving or condemning of anything. Just stating the facts what had happened.)