Feds shut down Megaupload

[sick among the pure]

Damn, I use Megaupload all the time to upload and sent full-size RAW image files when I work on projects with/for people. The files are far too large for e-mail, or any free website I could setup to use for the same thing.
Do these people think Megaupload is only ever used for illegal shit? Don't they realize there are legit and legal reasons for people to use it, same with torrents? Idiots...

[PQHooligan]

I want my money back for the annual subscription I bought to use the website legally

My job depends on being able to send big files to clients - professionally, this is making me look bad - I hope everyone understands while I try to find an alternate.

[PQHooligan]

Reuters reports that a number of curious details have emerged surrounding this week's arrest of the German programmer and entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, who founded Megaupload in 2005. Dotcom was in the safe room of his leased New Zealand mansion when dozens of local police (some in helicopters) swarmed his residency. The Wall Street Journal notes that Dotcom had a loaded shotgun in his possession at the time.

An official from New Zealand's Organized and Financial Crime Agency told Reuters, "Despite our staff clearly identifying themselves, Mr. Dotcom retreated into the house and activated a number of electronic-looking mechanisms."

Police seized two firearms from the premises, and, according to The Telegraph, more than 20 automobiles. Among the vehicles was a 1959 pink Cadillac, as were several others with vanity plates baring such titles as "HACKER," "MAFIA,"and "STONED."

U.S. authorities are labeling the Megaupload case "one of the largest copyright cases in history," says Reuters. As previously reported, following the Megaupload bust, hackers attacked the websites for the Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, the Recording Industry Association of America, and the Motion Picture Association of America.

http://pitchfork.com/news/45184-poli...er-kim-dotcom/

[Conan The Barbarian]

jesus, you'd think they were describing a drug bust. lol @theworld.

[JessicaSarahS]

jesus, you'd think they were describing a drug bust. lol @theworld.

I know, right?! I'm sure the items they seized were legally owned. It's just the media trying to further criminalize the offender. Hell, if someone kicked down my door, they could seize two firearms, three automobiles, and six computers from my house too. I be rollin' (No, I'm not really rollin',Yes, they're legally owned. DONTKICKMYDOORINFEDS!!!)

[aggroculture]

My taxes pay for the FBI and I find it pretty disgusting that they're using their resources working as bailiffs for Hollywood and the music industry, who for years have been resisting rather than working with new models of selling their wares. As many others have pointed out, piracy has always existed. Find a way to get people to voluntarily choose to pay for products they support: NIN/Radiohead were onto something. Browbeating customers into submission with the FBI is not going to work. Making things fucking available at decent prices (new DVDs are $30? What. The. Fuck.), and without region codes, would be a first step: I paid a grand for my laptop, and I'm not allowed to play foreign DVDs on it? Fuck that. It's this kind of bullshit that has created an environment in which the megauploads of this world will continue to thrive. Personally I try to pay for everything I consume: more often than I'd like, the stuff I want just isn't available for sale, so downloading it is.

[Conan The Barbarian]

regardless, the guy did brake the law.

[DF118]

Megaupload founder: World Ranking No. 1 Modern Warfare 3 player in the world.

[Harry Seaward]

I want to hear TR's take on this.

[Frozen Beach]

The big problem is a lot of people have reportedly lost a lot of stuff they stored on megaupload that was THEIRS, some stuff they can't replace.

[redshoewearer]

I think what authorities are missing, is 1) whenever a site is taken down, another one pops up in its place, and 2) there is the misconception that if people aren't able to download what they want, they'll buy it all instead.

[Carpathian Psychonaut]

Now Filesonic is stripped back to bare bones (ie dead as a sharing service) and a number of others either quietly deleting everything or blocking USA IP address.

Seems they don't want the FBI knocking on their door.

The fallout continues.......

[Conan The Barbarian]

Add mediafire to the list.

[Sallos]

can't acess other's files in filesonic now aswell.

[slave2thewage]

RIP internet.

[Dra508]

The big problem is a lot of people have reportedly lost a lot of stuff they stored on megaupload that was THEIRS, some stuff they can't replace.

Yet, this is not being reported in giant block letters.

[frankie teardrop]

Add mediafire to the list.

not yet:
http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/22/me...-model-piracy/

[emptydesk]

yeah i'm not exactly sold on what that guy has to say

[Frozen Beach]

If Mediafire is shutdown, then the Deerhunter(the band) blog is fucked because loads of the free releases are hosted on mediafire.

[Conan The Barbarian]

dude on angrychairs blog got his account deleted and all links dead. making his blog useless. Mediafire is cracking down.

[frankie teardrop]

oh... well, shit.

seems like my blog is still online at the moment, but who knows for how long.

[PQHooligan]

Great....now I have to scramble to download all my legal files uploaded to Mediafire (to save space on my computer) now in case it happens for no reason

I mean people are cool with SkyDrives - all the other sites shouldn't automatically look criminal.

[halloween]

this is just making me so frustrated.

[burn.]

What the fuck is going on?

I hope services like Dropbox, Mediafire and Sendfile make it through this mess.

[Maurish]

[The Fifth Witness]

Everyone defends Schmitz and thinks he was given too harsh of a sentence. But given what he's got in his criminal history:

• In 2001, Schmitz purchased $375,000 worth of shares of the nearly bankrupt company LetsBuyIt.com and subsequently announced his intention to invest €50 million in the company. Unknown to others, Schmitz did not have the funds available to invest, although the announcement caused the share value of LetsBuyIt.com to jump by nearly 300%. Schmitz quickly sold the shares and profited $1.5 million as a result.
• As a teenager, Schmitz earned a reputation in his native Germany for cracking corporate PBX systems in the United States, and tried to parlay it into a career in data security. That effort led to his arrest on charges of using and selling stolen calling card numbers.
• He has a criminal history that includes being convicted of computer fraud, insider trading, embezzlement, possession of stolen goods and abuse of titles.

Yeah, I miss MegaUpload... but he is a piece of shit and I’m glad he was arrested for this as well.

[Wretchedest]

What the fuck is going on?

I hope services like Dropbox, Mediafire and Sendfile make it through this mess.

Drop box is integral to my profession. Id be pissed if it got taken down....

[joplinpicasso]

If Mediafire is shutdown, then the Deerhunter(the band) blog is fucked because loads of the free releases are hosted on mediafire.

I can't say I'm not guilty in pirating, but it will be interesting to see what copyright and internet laws the new generation of lawmakers will come up with in twenty years. For now, this all sucks.

[konstantin]

i personally find it quite puzzling that any professional would use those particularly cheesy sites. i mean, do you send a link to a client and say, "oh, don't mind all those boobs, videos starting automatically, pop-ups, and most importantly, be careful which link exactly you click (hint: the boring one is usually the right one)!"

[PQHooligan]

They had that issue before, but after they revamped the site and made the stupid song, all of the ads and videos playing automatically became a non-issue

Mediafire allows 10GB with a free account, but has a bunch of popups and ads - YouSendIt only allows 50MB unless you get a paid account - MegaUpload was just the nice free way to go for those who didn't want to pay for an annual account (even though I did so I could upload even more)