Warriors Fall, Heros Live Forever.

R.I.P. Michael Vita

1972-2012

Forever in my prayers.

Shiver Me Timbers, There Be Piracy Abound!

Thou shall not...

Stealing is one of the oldest forms of crimes. Copying information and acquiring it without paying for it is one of the oldest forms of stealing. File sharing is the oldest form of piracy on the Internet. File sharing is what actually help build the Internet in the first place. So why is everyone acting like this is something new? 

Mo' Bandwith, Mo' Problems

Partially because since the explosion of technology from the 1980's until now. The growth of technology in the way of increased bandwith has sent piracy from a private practice only available to the tech-savvy elite into the mainstream market. 

Web industry giants like Google have made the search for information a clean, easy and streamlined process. One can search-and find, many forms of software used to download, swap and share files. Easy as pie.

Downloading and installing said software is a very easy process as well. One can also find a large number of websites to use to download files for free. You can find any type of file and medium to use, from large movie files to small pdf files of scanned books or magazines. The increased bandwith and the advanced technology of torrent file sharing makes these files accessible within seconds; while some larger files might take longer to download, sometimes hours or even days.

A New Challenger Arises

As public technology has increased, so has the level of technology for law enforcement departments. The FBI has assembled a large department just to target the various forms of cybercrime. Anywhere from the all-popular infringment of intellectual property rights to the  disgusting exploitation of children on the internet. 

The seizure of the Megaupload websites and arrest of CEO Kim Dotcom is the latest example of the power and technological prowess these departments possess. In a huge 72-page indictment against Megaupload.com and Kim Dotcom, the Justice Department gives a detailed account of all of their illegal activities.

One step is that the U.S. Government is trying to censor the internet. From the dust of the Congressional hearings over two Bill's that almost became laws: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), It is easy to see that the U.S. Government and large industry giants are hard at work to stop this popular form of cybercrime.

As One Ship Sinks, Another Sets Sail

Over half a decade ago, the Swedish authorities derailed the internets most popular file sharing websites, The Pirate Bay. That only lasted but a day until the website was up and running again, back in business. 

The Pirate Bay recently changed from a .org domain to a .SE domain to prevent seizure. Even if they were seized and no longer functioning, how long until another website, much like TPB, would being sharing torrent files?

How long until another Megaupload is formed? Or some of the other cyberlocker sites like Megaupload begin to grow with their absence from the marketplace. Technology does not seem as if it slowing down one bit. As the demand for heavier hitting mobile hardware grows, so does the availability of stronger mobile bandwith. 

With the growth of e-tablets and smartphones, the future of the internet is mobile, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see it. How are the powers that oversee all the intricate rules and regulations of anti-piracy laws going to stop one person from pointing their phone at another and sharing a file?

Nothing.

 Unless they stop the technology that this society is consuming at lightning fast speed. Piracy, in the form of file sharing will always be here as there is a demand for entertainment and information gathering. It is human nature to want new stuff. Not every single person is going to pay for every single little thing they want. It is really going to come down to personal ethics at some point.

Are you one to sit on the shore and wave at the ship, or be on the ship to wave at the shore? Act accordingly.

Meet the New Face of Cybercrime.

A name that some of you might of heard of from a British history lesson: Guy or Guido Fawkes was originally a British terrorist dating back to 1600's. He was tried for treason, found guilty, and was tortured and hung for his crimes in 1605. Guy Fawkes was commonly known for his attempt to blow up Parliament with gunpowder, which failed and led to his arrest and ultimately his death. 

Flash forward to 1982 when Vertigo Comics, a division of DC comics, published the V for Vendetta series. This series was set in a bleak Orwellian future of England. The anarchistic antihero known only as V spent most of his career wearing  a characterized Guy Fawkes mask. 

V for Vendetta was also made into a popular movie in 2008, where the antihero never removed his mask throughout the entire movie. During one part of the comic series also seen in the movie, V sends his mask to every person in London with the hope to create an uprising.

This uprising has sprung from the pages of comic books and taken life in the deep, dark corners of the internet. From these webways  spring a group of activists who attack the websites of various different corporations by way of hacking into the computer code of such websites or virtual communities. Hactivism is just another fancy word for cybercrime.

Among the admirable list of hactivism that this Anonymous group has wreaked havoc upon is the FBI website, the Playstation Network, the Church of Scientology, Amazon.com, Paypal, Mastercard, Visa, and 40 Child Porn websites.

Anonymous has been known to rise up to protect the rights of who they feel is being overwhelmed by corporate or government bureaucracy by speaking out against them. The most famous backlash was the large scale assault for the arrest and detainment of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange and his informant, Bradley Manning.

This mask has been seen as the hidden supporter of the Occupy Wallstreet demonstration movement that spread across the United States and Europe.  

The Guy Fawkes/V mask has been recently spotted at a demonstration to protest against Pope Benedict XVI's arrival in Mexico. 

As life often imitates art, Guy Fawkes did not meet a good end for his attempts to terrorize the British Government during the 1600's. Treason was treason, no matter how you slice it. Could this Anonymous group be facing the same fate going forward. Cybercrime is cybercrime no matter what the cause or reason even if you want to attach a fancy word to it such as "Hactivism."

After listening to their reason and causes, but not exactly agreeing with the methods,  Anonymous has stood up for many causes against corporate corruption and governmental manipulation. It depends on the stance one can take if this mask is the new face of fear, or the new face of freedom. 

I,Robot and then some.

The topic I chose from The Media Machine is I, Robot. I believe that the dark future that William Gibson wrote in Neuromancer can become reality if Intel creates brain implants that enable people to connect to the internet directly with their minds.

I...came to class...today...

To see what I could learn.

Must focus... my little... brain.

Is that why I smell some-thing burn?