Megaupload out!

[alaa12]

U.S. court closes the download site Megaupload
The largest website for downloading files in the world, Megaupload.com, was blocked by the FBI Thursday, January 19. The federal prosecutor in Virginia accuses the site of violating copyright laws. Seven people connected to the network of Web sites "Mega" was indicted and face up to twenty years in prison.

 

[sofien72tu]

Feds say 7 from Megaupload.com ran massive worldwide piracy website

Published January 19, 2012

McLEAN, Va. – Federal prosecutors have shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, on charges of violating piracy laws -- a day after a 24-hour blackout of popular websites such as Wikipedia drew national attention to the issue.

"This action is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States," the Justice department said in a statement about the indictment.



The indictment accuses seven individuals and two corporations -- Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited -- of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. It was unsealed on Thursday, and claims that at one point Megaupload was the 13th most popular website in the world.

Megaupload was unique not only because of its massive size and the volume of downloaded content, but also because it had high-profile support from celebrities, musicians and other content producers who are most often the victims of copyright infringement and piracy. Before the website was taken down, it contained endorsements from Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and Kanye West, among others.

The Hong Kong-based company listed Swizz Beatz, a musician who married Keys in 2010, as its CEO. Beatz declined to comment through a representative.

The individuals in the criminal enterprise each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on racketeering charges, five years for conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, 20 years on money laundering charges and five years on related charges.

Megaupload was led by colorful Australian Kim Dotcom -- aka Kim Schmitz, or Kim Tim Jim Vestor. He is a a resident of both Hong Kong and New Zealand, and a dual citizen of Finland and Germany, who legally changed his last name to "Dotcom."

The website's founder and "chief innovation officer" was once convicted of a felony but has repeatedly denied engaging in piracy, according to CNET.com -- and he made more than $42 million from the conspiracy in 2010 alone, according to the indictment.

The indictment comes the day after a 24-hour "blackout" of Wikipedia, a protest doodle on the homepage of Google, and numerous other protests across the Internet against proposed anti-piracy legislation that many leading websites -- including Reddit, Google, Facebook, Amazon and others -- contend will make it challenging if not impossible for them to operate.

The Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House are bills backed by the motion picture and recording industries intended to eliminate theft online once and for all. S. 968 and H.R. 3261 would require ISPs to block access to foreign websites that infringe on copyrights.

Online piracy from China and elsewhere is a massive problem for the media industry, one that costs as much as $250 billion per year and costs the industry 750,000 jobs, according to a 2008 statement by Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

But how exactly the bills would counter piracy has many up in arms.

 

[Haitoku]

Megaupload shut down by US officials

Megaupload has been shut down by US officials with immediate effect.

The site is one of the world's most popular file-sharing services, but has now been closed following allegations that its founder and several other executives were charged with violating a number of piracy laws.

The allegations state that Megaupload has cost copyright holders a loss of over $500 million (£320m) in revenue from pirated films and other media.

It appears that its spinoff sites including Megavideo and Megapix have also been shut down for the time being.

A statement posted on the FBI's website read: "This action is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States and directly targets the misuse of a public content storage and distribution site to commit and facilitate intellectual property crime."

The Justice Department explained that Kim Dotcom (formerly Kim Schmitz) and three others were arrested in New Zealand.

Megaupload had released a statement shortly before the shutdown, stating that the allegations were "grotesquely overblown".

The statement read: "The fact is that the vast majority of Mega's internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch."

The website allows users to upload and transfer files that are too large for email, and is similar to several other sites including Rapidshare and FileServe.

The Motion Picture Association of America recently alleged that the vast majority of files used on Megaupload are in violation of copyright laws.

The move comes one day after many websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).

 

[Felli71]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCkI5I8vsBg"]YouTube[/ame]

 

[h0012]

Swizz Beatz as CEO? Really random too.

 

[sofien72tu]

Anonymous Reacts to Megaupload Takedown With “Largest Attack Ever”

Hacker group Anonymous isn’t happy about the takedown of file-sharing site Megaupload, and as a result, it’s targeting some big companies and government agencies.

Earlier this afternoon, interspersed with a stream of anti-SOPA and PIPA tweets, the main Anonymous Twitter account declared, “The government takes down #Megaupload? 15 minutes later #Anonymous takes down government & record label sites. #ExpectUs.” Specifically, the group claimed responsibility for taking down the Universal Music, RIAA (the record industry’s lobbying arm), MPAA (the movie industry’s lobbying arm), and Department of Justice websites, among others. As of 3pm Pacific, the sites were still down for me, although some comments on Twitter suggested that they were returning online sporadically.

The group also claimed that the current attacks were “the largest attack ever by Anonymous,” with 5,635 participants. And it looks like the campaign is ongoing — Anonymous says it’s going after the FBI’s website next: “Get some popcorn… it’s going to be a long lulzy night.”

 

[d.j.carusso]

Internet war is start now....
MU is up :

http://109.236.83.66

 

[lukas1994]

7 Charged as F.B.I. Closes a Top File-Sharing Site

In what the federal authorities on Thursday called one of the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought, the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the Web site Megaupload and charged seven people connected with it with running an international enterprise based on Internet piracy.

Coming just a day after civil protests in the United States over proposed antipiracy bills, the arrests were greeted almost immediately with digital Molotov cocktails. The hacker collective that calls itself Anonymous attacked the Web sites of the Justice Department and several major entertainment companies and trade groups in retaliation for Mega-upload’s seizure. The Justice Department’s site and several others remained inaccessible for much of Thursday afternoon.

Megaupload, one of the most popular so-called locker services on the Internet, allowed users to anonymously transfer large files like movies and music. Media companies have long accused it of abetting copyright infringement on a vast scale. In a grand jury indictment, Megaupload is accused of causing $500 million in damages to copyright owners and of making $175 million through selling ads and premium subscriptions.

Four of the seven people, including the site’s founder, Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz), have been arrested in New Zealand, the authorities said; the three others remain at large. Each of the seven people — who the indictment said were members of a criminal group it called “Mega Conspiracy” — is charged with five counts of copyright infringement and conspiracy. The charges could result in more than 20 years in prison.

As part of the crackdown, more than 20 search warrants were executed in the United States and in eight other countries. About $50 million in assets were also seized, as well as a number of servers and 18 domain names that formed Megaupload’s network of file-sharing sites.

Ira P. Rothken, a lawyer for Megaupload, said in a phone interview on Thursday that “Megaupload believes the government is wrong on the facts, wrong on the law.”

The case against Megaupload comes at a charged time, a day after broad online protests against a pair of antipiracy bills in Congress, the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, in the House, and the Protect I.P. Act, or PIPA, in the Senate.

The bills would give federal authorities expanded powers to crack down on foreign sites suspected of piracy. But technology companies and civil liberties groups say that the powers are too broadly defined and could effectively result in censorship. On Wednesday, Google and Wikipedia joined dozens of sites in political theatrics by blacking out some content and explaining their arguments against the laws.

Anonymous, which has previously set its sights on PayPal, Sony and major media executives, was more blunt in its response. The group disabled the Justice Department’s site for a time, and it also claimed credit for shutting down sites for the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, two of the most powerful media lobbies in Washington, as well as those of the Universal Music Group, the largest music label, and BMI, which represents music publishers.

“Let’s just say, for #SOPA supporters their #SOPAblackout is today,” Anonymous wrote in a Twitter post. In an e-mail, a spokesman for the group said it was responsible for the Web attacks.

The Megaupload case touches on many of the most controversial aspects of the antipiracy debate. Megaupload and similar sites, like Rapidshare and Mediafire, are often promoted as convenient ways to legitimately transfer large files; a recent promotional video had major stars like Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas singing Mega-upload’s praises. But they have become notorious inside media companies, which see the legitimate uses as a veil concealing extensive theft.

Mr. Dotcom, a portly 37-year-old with dual Finnish and German citizenship, has made himself a visible target. He splits his time between Hong Kong and New Zealand and casts himself in flamboyant YouTube videos. His role as one of the most prominent Web locker operators has earned him a half-joking nickname in Hollywood: Dr. Evil.

According to the indictment, he earned $42 million from Mega-upload’s operations in 2010.

The indictment against Mega-upload, which stems from a federal investigation that began two years ago, was handed down by a grand jury in Virginia two weeks ago but was not unsealed until Thursday.

It quotes extensively from correspondence among the defendants, who work for Megaupload and its related sites. The correspondence, the indictment says, shows that the operators knew the site contained unauthorized content.

The indictment cites an e-mail from last February, for example, in which three members of the group discussed an article about how to stop the government from seizing domain names.

The Megaupload case is unusual, said Orin S. Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University, in that federal prosecutors obtained the private e-mails of Megaupload’s operators in an effort to show they were operating in bad faith.

“The government hopes to use their private words against them,” Mr. Kerr said. “This should scare the owners and operators of similar sites.”

 

[kasrola]

Its a shame...!!! to loose such a good friend... a great website.
hopefully a new one will born sooner to replace it.

 

[sofien72tu]

Dotcom barricaded himself in mansion

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 7:14a.m.



The founder of the website at the centre of an FBI-led investigation into online piracy barricaded himself with what appeared to be a shortened shotgun during the raid, police say.

Kim Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, and three others were arrested in police raids in Auckland on Friday.

The 37-year-old is a German national with New Zealand residency.

The FBI probe resulted in one of the world's largest file-sharing websites, www.megaupload.com, being shut down on Friday morning.

Read yesterday's story about Kim Schmitz's dramatic arrest

Detective Inspector Grant Wormald says when police arrived at the mansion in Coatsville in two marked police helicopters, Dotcom retreated into the house despite police clearly identifying themselves.

He activated several electronic locking mechanisms inside the house, called the Dotcom Mansion, Det Insp Wormald said.

"While police neutralised these locks he then further barricaded himself into a safe room within the house which officers had to cut their way into.

"Once they gained entry into this room they found Mr Dotcom near a firearm which had the appearance of a shortened shotgun."

Making the arrest was "definitely not as simple as knocking at the front door", he said.

Police continued to search the Dotcom Mansion on Friday night, Det Insp Wormald said.

On Friday police executed 10 search warrants at houses and businesses across Auckland, seizing more than $10 million from financial institutions, and assets, including luxury cars worth $6 million and expensive art works.

Three of the men facing charges for alleged copyright infringement and money laundering on a massive scale were arrested at the Dotcom Mansion.

The fourth was arrested at a nearby property.

The other men are Megaupload's chief marketing officer Finn Batato, 38, chief technical officer and co-founder Mathias Ortmann, 40, all of Germany, and Dutch national Bram van der Kolk, 29, who is also a New Zealand resident.

They were denied bail when they appeared in North Shore District Court on Friday and remanded in custody to reappear on Monday.

The men face extradition to the United States.

More than 20 search warrants were executed in the US and eight other countries on Friday. Another three people were also arrested.

All the Insane Loot Seized from Megaupload’s Crazy Owners (Updated)

What do you spend your cash on when you're milking the hell out of the internet with your very own filesharing supersite? Buy things like a Rolls-Royce Phantom with a license plate reading "GOD." Now, the government owns it!

Revealed in the enormous 72-page indictment against Megaupload's operators is the huge list of forfeited property—and it's way more than just their data servers (of which there were sixty). Some highlights?
Cars. Lots of cars:

2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, VIN WDD2120772A103834, LicensePlate No. "STONED";73.
2010 Mini Cooper S Coupe, VIN WMWZG32000TZ03651, License PlateNo. "V";74.
2010 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, VIN WDC1641772A608055, LicensePlate No. "GUILTY";75.
2007 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG, VIN WDD2163792A025130, LicensePlate No. "KIMCOM";76.
2009 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, VIN WDC1641772A542449, LicensePlate No. "MAFIA";77.
2010 Toyota Vellfire, VIN 7AT0H65MX11041670, License Plate Nos."WOW" or "7";78.
2011 Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, VIN WDB4632702X193395, LicensePlate Nos. "POLICE" or "GDS672";79.
2011 Toyota Hilux, VIN MR0FZ29G001599926, License PlateNo. "FSN455";80.
Harley Davidson Motorcycle, VIN 1HD1HPH3XBC803936, LicensePlate No. "36YED";81.
2010 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG, VIN WDD2163742A026653, LicensePlate No. "HACKER";82.
2005 Mercedes-Benz A170, VIN WDD1690322J184595, License PlateNo. "FUR252";83.
2005 Mercedes-Benz ML500, VIN WDC1641752A026107, License PlateNo. DFF816
1957 Cadillac El Dorado, VIN 5770137596;86.
2010 Sea-Doo GTX Jet Ski, VIN YDV03103E010;87.
1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible, VIN 59F115669;88.
Von Dutch Kustom Motor Bike, VIN 1H9S14955BB451257;89.
2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM, VIN WDB2094421T067269;90.
2010 Mini Cooper S Coupe, VIN WMWZG32000TZ03648 LicensePlate No. "T";
1989 Lamborghini LM002, VIN ZA9LU45AXKLA12158, License PlateNo. "FRP358";92.
2011 Mercedes-Benz ML63, VIN 4JGBB7HB0BA666219

A lot of cars for seven guys. How about some dubious art?

Artwork, Predator Statue;
Artwork, Anonymous Hooded Sculpture

Predator statue?
But wouldn't be a kingpin operation without gadgets. And they had those too:

Sharp LC-65XS1M 65" LCD TV
Sharp LC-65XS1M 65" LCD TV
TVLogic 56" LUM56W TV
Sharp 108" LCD Display TV
Sharp 108" LCD Display TV
Sony PMW-F3K Camera S/N 0200231;101.
Sony PMW-F3K Camera S/N 0200561;
Samsung 820DXN 82" LCD TV
Samsung 820DXN 82" LCD TV
Samsung 820DXN 82" LCD TV

Duplicates! If only they'd made it free long enough to see an OLED for sale.

Update The elusive Rolls-Royce Phantom has been found! Eagle-eyed tipster Ming C. points to a CarJam (the New Zealand version of Carfax) listing for one black, drop-top Phantom with license plate GOD. What, the Feds are already getting it prepared to sell? Megaupload's corpse isn't even cold yet.

...those license plates are insane...

 

[carlcor]

megaupload

fatal noticia

 

[harryoz]

LOOK HERE Guys http://megavideo.bz/

 

[aerosmith]

Some shall we say'dodgy' files are disappearing like wildfire.

 

[TheHighLander]

I think One thing that must be done: Deleting the internet,so they can by safe and happy.

 

[Madd]

Electronic warfare begins...

 

[slugworth]

One of the drawbacks for forum sites that don't allow attachments.
A word to the wise.

 

[barney115]

It's this The real reason Megaupload was taken down!?

Probably ..plus the fact that FBI and other Legal pencil pushers dont like peeps to file share believing in thier twisted corrupt minds that the music industry will still sell copywrite material which is basically impossible truth be told since there doesnt exist anymore music shops ... only online shops which likely will be shut down in thier complete ignorance as they seem hell bent on killing and Censor the internet ...

Boy are the FBI and other outfits really that ignorant and dumb and Stoopid ?? ..Sure looks that way to me !!

----
barney

 

[mogembo]

MegaUpload - Closed.
FileServe - Closing does not sell premium.
FileJungle - Deleting files. Locked in the U.S.
UploadStation - Locked in the U.S.
FileSonic - The news is arbitrary (under FBI investigation).
VideoBB - Closed! would disappear soon.
Uploaded - Banned U.S. and the FBI went after the owners who are gone.
FilePost - Deleting all material (so will leave executables, pdfs, txts)
Videoz - closed and locked in the countries affiliated with the USA.
4shared - Deleting files with copyright and waits in line at the FBI.
MediaFire - Called to testify in the next 90 days and it will open doors pro FBI
Org torrent - could vanish with everything within 30 days "he is under criminal investigation"
Network Share mIRC - awaiting the decision of the case to continue or terminate Torrent everything.
Koshiki - operating 100% Japan will not join the SOPA / PIPA.
Shienko Box - 100% working china / korea will not join the SOPA / PIPA
ShareX BR - group UOL / BOL / iG say they will join the SOPA / PIPA

Japan, China and Korea have a say NO to the FBI and that even if laws are passed in the USA will not have any value within the sovereignty of their countries!

P/S: mediafire has start deleting copyright protected files. Only left is the personal files.

 

[2010dz]

yes closed
usind rayfile.com is good server and free

 

[sofien72tu]

Megaupload man refused bail

A New Zealand judge has ordered Kim Dotcom, the founder of online file-sharing site Megaupload.com, to be held in custody for another month, saying the suspected Internet pirate posed a significant flight risk.

Dotcom, a German national also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, was remanded in custody until February 22nd ahead of a hearing of an extradition application by the US.

Prosecutors say Dotcom was the ringleader of a group that netted $175 million since 2005 by copying and distributing music, movies and other copyrighted content without authorisation. Dotcom’s lawyers say the company simply offered online storage and that he will fight extradition.

The judge said there was a significant risk Dotcom, who had passports and bulging bank accounts in three names, could try to flee the country. “With sufficient determination and financial resources, flight risk remains a real and significant possibility which I cannot discount and bail is declined,” Judge David McNaughton said.