Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Pirates shed tears of illegal grief as Mininova goes legit and deletes infringing torrents]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/26/mininova-goes-legit-deletes-all-illegal-torrents/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/26/mininova-goes-legit-deletes-all-illegal-torrents/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/26/mininova-goes-legit-deletes-all-illegal-torrents/#commentsFiled under: ,

Just one week ago, The Pirate Bay permanently shut down its BitTorrent tracker. Now, in the wake of a civil dispute in the Netherlands, Mininova has removed all of the 'useful' torrents from its search listings. Just like that -- no more films, anime or TV for you!

For five years, since the demise of Suprnova, Mininova has ruled the P2P roost. While Mininova itself didn't track torrents it did act as a great 'middle man', with links to almost every torrent out there. But as usual with such 'hiccups', all is not lost: with Mininova gone we will simply head to other torrent search sites for our illegal and grey-market fix. God bless the many-headed hydra that is peer-to-peer!

What this may represent is the beginning of the end for the humble Torrent -- if not, it is at least a strong shift towards decentralized 'magnet link' channels of distribution such as DHT and PEX.

[via TorrentFreak]

Pirates shed tears of illegal grief as Mininova goes legit and deletes infringing torrents originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bittorrentmininovapiracysuprnovatorrentThu, 26 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Ding dong the torrent's dead -- Pirate Bay's tracker closes down]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/ding-dong-the-torrents-dead-pirate-bays-tracker-closes-down/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/ding-dong-the-torrents-dead-pirate-bays-tracker-closes-down/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/ding-dong-the-torrents-dead-pirate-bays-tracker-closes-down/#commentsFiled under: ,


In rather shocking news this morning, The Pirate Bay (TPB) has shut down its torrent tracker. The search engine remains, but instead of dishing up torrents it will instead serve as a magnet-link repository.

TPB cites that the concept of the BitTorrent tracker is dead. "There is no need to run a tracker any more" says their blog. Long-live DHT and PEX -- dynamic, decentralized torrenting technologies!

What this actually means for you and I -- the implications -- is that you need to make sure you have an updated torrent client, like uTorrent or Azureus. Something that supports DHT and PEX. Most of you will already have these technologies enabled by default -- you just don't know about them. In fact, even with this rather dramatic announcement, you probably won't realise any difference in your download speeds.

Piracy will continue as normal, don't worry.

It's simply the end of an era. Perhaps more interestingly, TPB have been talking to other tracker owners and torrent-download sites. They're pushing for everyone to move away from trackers and towards decentralization.

Whether this is simply a 'viva la piracy!' move, or a more sinister strategy by their new owners remains to be seen.

[via TorrentFreak]

Ding dong the torrent's dead -- Pirate Bay's tracker closes down originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>piracythe pirate bayThePirateBaytorrenttpbtrackerTue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[httpTorrents offers direct downloads of popular torrents]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/httptorrents-offers-direct-downloads-of-popular-torrents/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/httptorrents-offers-direct-downloads-of-popular-torrents/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/httptorrents-offers-direct-downloads-of-popular-torrents/#commentsFiled under: ,

Torrent sites are a lot of people's first stop for music, movies and other files, but not everyone has figured out how to use BitTorrent. If you don't know or don't like BitTorrent, you might still be able to find the downloads you want using regular old HTTP. The site that's making this happen is called httpTorrents.

Although only a small percentage of the most popular torrents have been added for direct download, trying to download a torrent that httpTorrents doesn't have will put it on their list to be added. Using httpTorrents is as simple as grabbing the hash of the torrent you want (which you can find this on most torrent search sites) and pasting it in. If you're a fan of KickassTorrents, you may have spotted httpTorrents links there, as the two sites seem to have partnered up.

It's an interesting idea, but who knows how long httpTorrents will stick around. Because direct download requires the files to be stored on a central server somewhere this project is a bit of a legal toss-up compared to BitTorrent.

httpTorrents offers direct downloads of popular torrents originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bittorrentdirect downloadingDirectDownloadinghttptorrentskickasstorrentstorrentMon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[How do you download torrentless torrents? Use Magnetiser for Firefox]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/how-do-you-download-torrentless-torrents-use-magnetiser-for-fir/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/how-do-you-download-torrentless-torrents-use-magnetiser-for-fir/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/how-do-you-download-torrentless-torrents-use-magnetiser-for-fir/#commentsFiled under: ,

Want to download torrents without downloading a .torrent file first? You can do it with Magnet links, which are supported in a bunch of major torrent clients, including uTorrent and Vuze (formerly known as Azureus). Instead of using a .torrent file, the magnet protocol uses DHT and the torrent's hash, so you've essentially got a torrentless torrent. Magnet links can be tricky to find, but a new Firefox add-on called Magnetiser lets you pull them from Torrentz or isoHunt.

With Magnetiser installed, go to any torrent detail page and click the "magnetise" button in your toolbar. You should be prompted to pick a torrent client that supports magnet links, and then your download will start. As TorrentFreak points out, this is pretty cool when a .torrent file has been removed, but Torrentz or isoHunt still have the hash data. You can add trackers to Magnetise manually, but it comes preloaded with the most commonly-used trackers, so it should work right out of the box.

Magnetise isn't up on the Mozilla add-on index yet, but TorrentFreak has linked to the .xpi file, which you can download and drag to Firefox to install.


[via TorrentFreak]

How do you download torrentless torrents? Use Magnetiser for Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>add-onbittorrentfirefoxmagnetmagnetisetorrentTue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Now finally available - ubiquitous media sharing with Orb for Mac]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/now-finally-available-media-sharing-with-orb-for-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/now-finally-available-media-sharing-with-orb-for-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/now-finally-available-media-sharing-with-orb-for-mac/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,


It was pretty exciting news at Download Squad to hear Orb, the "sort of software version of Slingbox," was available for Mac. Orb allows you to broadcast your media to any device that has a web browser. After downloading Orb to your "always on" Mac with a high speed internet connection, you can access all your photos, songs, TV shows, and videos from any device with a browser and media player.

After downloading the app, Orb indexes your media and then prompts you to either log in to mycast.orb.com, or create a log in if you don't have an account. After you log in you can see your dashboard and all your media goodies.



Though my songs appeared immediately, my photos did not. There are various feed settings you can play with and channels to explore. Also, with a simple drag drop interface you can share your media with your friends via email, SMS, widget on your blog, or a public URL.



Checking it out from my home computer is one thing, but would it work on other devices? Success! I was able to access my media from my Dell PC.

A note for iPhone owners: The esteemed and indefatigable Jay Hathaway noted that he received errors when he tried to download the free version of OrbLive for the iPhone, which he tried from both his iPhone and his iTunes account on his Mac. There are 3 flavors of Orb available for the iPhone: OrbLive free, OrbMedia ($4.99) and OrbLive ($9.99)

Note to Orb: Please update your landing page to include PC and Mac, ok?

Now finally available - ubiquitous media sharing with Orb for Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>iphoneMacmedia sharingmedia streamerMediaSharingMediaStreamermobileOrbThu, 05 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[New version of BitTorrent heralds a new age of uncongested file sharing]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/new-version-of-bittorrent-heralds-a-new-age-of-uncongested-file/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/new-version-of-bittorrent-heralds-a-new-age-of-uncongested-file/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/new-version-of-bittorrent-heralds-a-new-age-of-uncongested-file/#commentsFiled under: ,


You probably all know what BitTorrent is: it's the technology that powers almost every peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing tool currently in existence. Whether for nefarious, dubious downloads, or for grabbing the latest distribution of Ubuntu, BitTorrent comes to our swift rescue on its mighty steed of share-and-share-alike virtuosity.

What you probably didn't know is that BitTorrent Inc., the company created by the technology's inventor Bram Cohen, spends most of its time extolling the virtues of its tech and campaigning all over the world for the relaxing of P2P restrictions by ISPs. The thing is, while BitTorrent really, really rocks for its users, it tends to clog up networks really quickly. It also costs the ISP -- such as Verizon or Comcast -- a lot more than 'normal' Internet usage.

But it's this disparity between what the ISPs consider to be 'normal' Internet usage and what we the users consider 'normal' that has driven the development of 'BitTorrent 2.0' or uTP. (uTorrent Protocol? I'm not sure.) BitTorrent Inc. firmly believes that P2P is part of our every-day Internet lives. It is our right to download and distribute files via BitTorrent.

And if ISPs won't let us, insisting on limitations and traffic-shaping the bandwidth that we use, then they're going to develop a new protocol that meets them at least half way. uTP now automatically limits its own bandwidth use when it detects congestion on the network -- uTP limits itself so that the ISP doesn't have to.

Genius, pure, simple genius -- if it works. It's already being tested by thousands of users of the new version of uTorrent 2.0 -- which you should probably go and download! (Direct download link is available on that page.)

[via TorrentFreak]

New version of BitTorrent heralds a new age of uncongested file sharing originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bittorrentfile sharingFileSharingutorrentutpSun, 01 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Share unlimited media files for free with Libox]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Libox got my attention with free and unlimited - as in unlimited - media sharing. It's a new beta desktop application that allows you to share all your photos, videos and music with your friends and contacts. Unlike other social media sharing sites, whose free accounts are 1 GB or 100 photos/files, Libox is unlimited.

A colleague and I gave the app a trial run today and we liked it. After downloading and installing (7.9 MB Mac and Windows) the beta, Libox prompts you to import your files from your computer. The UI is clean, minimalist and intuitive. After importing your media files from your computer, you can share them by email with your friends and groups. Your friends will also have to install the app to open the files you send.

Libox allows you to sync your media files with all the computers in your house. There is also a web app where you can access your media in your browser, however, it is in alpha and can only be used on your local computer and if it is not behind a firewall.

To accomplish all this, Libox uses a combination of P2P networking, cloud and grid computing. It does not store your media or metadata on their servers and when you share media with your friends, Libox creates a "private secure network" on those specific files with those specific friends. The files are received in their original format, no compression, resizing or degradation.

Many questions abound, like how will this service make money? Once out of beta, will it be a paid service? What about the private secure networks? How private and how secure? The web access in alpha - how will that work? What are the compatible file formats? Any plans to add other file types like EPS or Docs? Does Libox work with Linux? Tell us more about the company and mission. Is their plan complete world domination? Is Libox too good to be true?

Stay tuned. Hopefully, we'll get these answers and more if you leave your questions in the comments.

Share unlimited media files for free with Libox originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>free media sharingliboxonline media sharingOnlineMediaSharingsocial media sharingSocialMediaSharingunlimitedunlimited free online file sharingunlimited online file sharingUnlimitedFreeOnlineFileSharingUnlimitedOnlineFileSharingThu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[PortableApps.com releases portable (µ) uTorrent]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/portableapps-com-releases-portable-utorrent/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/portableapps-com-releases-portable-utorrent/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/portableapps-com-releases-portable-utorrent/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Just yesterday, PortableApps.com made its first foray into the world of freeware. Round one of the new releases included Skype and Google Chrome, two Download Squad favorites.

Today, John T. Haller and crew have added another winner to the mix. The world's most popular torrent client, µTorrent, is the most recent addition to the PortableApps freeware family.

You've been able to make µTorrent mostly portable for quite some time, but it's nice to finally have a pre-packaged version - especially one designed to drop in alongside the rest of the PortableApps suite. Portable µTorrent is especially useful on super-sized external hard drives for on-the-go torrenting of massive files.

ed note: pardon the 'u' in the title - but that's what most people search for when they're looking for this app on our site --Lee.

PortableApps.com releases portable (µ) uTorrent originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>p2pportableportableapps.comtorrentusb flash driveUsbFlashDriveutorrentFri, 23 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MediaFire pees on Skipscreen's boots, seeks to ban Firefox add-on]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/07/mediafire-pees-on-skipscreens-boots-seeks-to-ban-firefox-add-o/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/07/mediafire-pees-on-skipscreens-boots-seeks-to-ban-firefox-add-o/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/07/mediafire-pees-on-skipscreens-boots-seeks-to-ban-firefox-add-o/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

When I wrote about Skipscreen back in April, I figured it was probably the kind of add-on that someone, somewhere wouldn't like. Possibly the free hosting providers whose roadblocks Skipscreen is designed to circumvent.

Fast forward to today, and that's exactly the case. MediaFire has decided that Mozilla needs to remove the add-on from its directory immediately, citing violations of the MediaFire TOS. Skipscreen hijacks bandwidth, they say. It acts like a robot/spider/retrieval app -- which we forbid, they say. It reformats our web pages without our consent, they say.

The last claim I find particularly weak. Why? By their logic, if you've designed a MediaFire CSS remix and posted it to Userstyles.org, that makes you a nasty little thug.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has already penned a response on Skipscreen's behalf, spelling out in great detail how the add-on functions within MediaFire's rules. Technically, anyway. Whether or not the letter wins Mozilla's favor remains to be seen.

Both the takedown request and EFF response have been posted on Skipscreen's blog - have a look, and share your thoughts in the comments!

On a deliciously ironic note, Skipscreen supporters have decided to strike back by uploading copies of the Firefox addon to MediaFire servers. I see what you did there.

MediaFire pees on Skipscreen's boots, seeks to ban Firefox add-on originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>downloaderextensionsfirefox-addonmediafirerapidshareskipscreenWed, 07 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[RIAA hopes unpaid child labour will help fight piracy]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/19/riaa-hopes-unpaid-child-labour-will-help-fight-piracy/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/19/riaa-hopes-unpaid-child-labour-will-help-fight-piracy/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/19/riaa-hopes-unpaid-child-labour-will-help-fight-piracy/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It's no secret that I reserve special levels of scorn for the Record Industry Association of America - the music industry body whose moments of fame include suing the dead for copyright theft and in the process destroying any consumer goodwill towards the music labels. It's not that I loathe paying for my music - nothing could be farther from the truth - it's just that as a legitimate customer, I can't help but feel that I get the rough end of the stick for being honest.

Whilst most adults know that it's illegal to share music online, there's clearly a question of how to teach school-kids the law - and their fair-use rights. Enter the RIAA's recently updated "Music-Rules!" curriculum, which encourages youngsters to create class projects to educate their peers in how to legitimately obtain music:
Imagine that you are in the music industry... With your team of fellow music industry employees, plan an information campaign that lets others know why it's important to get their music the right way... You'll want to convince your classmates that your teams' plan is the one that will become the class project!

Challenge: Take your campaign a step further by contacting the editor of your community newspaper or the director of your community cable television station to see if you can submit an article or video about your campaign.
Whilst it's understandable that the RIAA would seek to 'educate' children in the legality of sharing music online, the convenient ommision of fair-use (complex though it may be to explain to younger children) means that the RIAA's campaign fails to convince us it's anything more than a glorified PR campaign. After years of intimidating adults, and now attempting to use children as unpaid PR hacks, it's hard to do anything but criticise the RIAA's ongoing tactics.

[Via Boing Boing]

RIAA hopes unpaid child labour will help fight piracy originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Music LabelsMusicLabelsRIAASat, 19 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[UK Music Industry unsurprisingly backs File-Sharer disconnections]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/16/uk-filesharing-disconnections-music-labels/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/16/uk-filesharing-disconnections-music-labels/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/16/uk-filesharing-disconnections-music-labels/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Just one day after the French Government passed a law that lets judges disconnect users whose computer networks have shown sufficient evidence of illegal file sharing, the UK government's plans to disconnect filesharers have also received an unsurprising boost: from the UK music industry.

The Guardian newspaper today quotes UK Music (a consortium of music industry interests here across the pond) saying "The purpose of [the disconnection] powers is to encourage users of unlicensed P2P networks towards existing and future digital music services." - but we can't help but question the effectiveness of pulling the plug on Internet connections.

Despite misleading super-extrapolated numbers in industry reports, us Brits are far-from reluctant to buy our music online - in the first half of 2008 the UK saw the biggest increase in digital sales in all the major worldwide markets [PDF]. Yet just last week, the Financial Times reported that EMI (the label owning The Beatles' back-catalogue) was reluctant to place the recently-remastered Beatles albums online due to fears of online piracy - despite being readily available in almost every other format, legal or otherwise.

Despite clear demand for digital copies, the music labels continue to blame piracy for their bone-headed decisions on online music. However, as long as the labels withhold music in the formats or outlets that consumers love (hello iTunes and 7Digital) it's clear that there's plenty the labels could do to help their image and balance sheets before turning to the government and bleating for draconian laws to help shore up their own digital naivity.

UK Music Industry unsurprisingly backs File-Sharer disconnections originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>MusicRIAAWed, 16 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Facebook still hates P2P, pulls the pin on Limewire sharing integration]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/11/facebook-still-hates-p2p-pulls-the-pin-on-limewire-sharing-inte/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/11/facebook-still-hates-p2p-pulls-the-pin-on-limewire-sharing-inte/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/11/facebook-still-hates-p2p-pulls-the-pin-on-limewire-sharing-inte/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Earlier this year, The Pirate Bay debuted a nifty little feature that allowed users to post interesting torrents to their Facebook profiles. Zuckerberg's army scrambled quickly and put the kibosh on that interaction.

Limewire recently introduced a similar feature -- which Facebook has now given a swift whack with the banhammer. Limewire's Jason Herskowit told TorrentFreak that Facebook originally demanded a number of changes to the feature, and their developers complied.

A week later, and the Ministry of Facebook has decided that Limewire's integration is doubleplusungood and must be killed. According to the official Facebook statement, "Facebook respects the rights of copyright holders blah blah blah ad nauseum."

So let me get this clear: it's ok to form and join all kinds of hate groups, but you don't want us letting our friends know when we find an interesting download? That makes plenty of sense to me.

Yes, the general perception of Limewire and P2P users is that they're all after free music and stealing it willy-nilly through Bittorrent and Gnutella. However, there are plenty of legitimate uses. For example, Limewire's newer versions include private sharing for things like family photos that you want to keep semi-private.

Of course, Facebook probably doesn't want you notifying friends of your legitimate Limewire files either. They'd rather you upload those pics to their servers and tag the ever-loving crap out of them.

Pro tip: you can still just post links to taboo stuff like torrents manually - for now. Who knows, Facebook could be working on a massive blacklist so we can't even do that eventually.

[via TorrentFreak]

Continue reading Facebook still hates P2P, pulls the pin on Limewire sharing integration

Facebook still hates P2P, pulls the pin on Limewire sharing integration originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>facebookfilesharinglimewireFri, 11 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST<![CDATA[New app monitors µTorrent from your jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/01/new-app-monitors-torrent-from-your-jailbroken-iphone-or-ipod-to/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/01/new-app-monitors-torrent-from-your-jailbroken-iphone-or-ipod-to/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/01/new-app-monitors-torrent-from-your-jailbroken-iphone-or-ipod-to/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Sure, you can just use Safari and µTorrent's built-in WebUI to monitor your torrents - and you'll have to if you're not the swashbuckling, jailbreaking type. Those of you who don't mind getting a little colored snow on your iPhone or iPod Touch, however, can use µMonitor.

Rejected from the App Store, the developer has decided to do an end run around Apple and release µMonitor via Cydia.
The app actually taps into the µTorrent WebUI API to work its magic. The end result is a solid mobile interface which makes controlling your torrent downloads from your iPhone a breeze.

You'll need to add repo.theiphonebay.org to your Cydia sources if it's not there already -- they're taking care of µMonitor's distribution. You may also want to sign up for a dynamic DNS service like DynDNS.org to give your machine a fixed address to access even if your ISP frequently cycles your IP address (like mine does).

New app monitors µTorrent from your jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>iphoneipod touchIpodTouchjailbreakjailbrokentorrentutorrentTue, 01 Sep 2009 09:15:00 EST<![CDATA[s4ve.as offers simple 24-hour file hosting]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/28/s4ve-as-offers-simple-24-hour-file-hosting/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/28/s4ve-as-offers-simple-24-hour-file-hosting/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/28/s4ve-as-offers-simple-24-hour-file-hosting/#commentsFiled under: ,

There are plenty of places that will host your files for free. Many of them, however, have bandwidth limits or size restrictions, or are just too darn complicated to bother with. s4ve.as offers the basics I want from a free host and is dead simple to use.

As Jay mentioned to me, it's kind of like a beefed-up Senduit. While Senduit offers customizable time-before-self-destruct, it's got a 100Mb limit. That's just not enough in a lot of cases. s4ve.as does away with size limitations, so you're free to upload whatever the heck you want.

Simplicity is key here - browser for any file, and click upload. When the transfer is complete, integrated bit.ly support gives you an automatic short url to paste into sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Just make sure you tell your pals to grab it within 24 hours. After that, it's gone, daddy, gone.

Thanks for the tip, Scott!

s4ve.as offers simple 24-hour file hosting originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disposablefalsefile sharingFileSharinghostingp2psend-large-filessenduitFri, 28 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[It's not a good week to be a BitTorrent tracker]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/26/its-not-a-good-week-to-be-a-bittorrent-tracker/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/26/its-not-a-good-week-to-be-a-bittorrent-tracker/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/26/its-not-a-good-week-to-be-a-bittorrent-tracker/#commentsFiled under:

mininova
A few days ago Swedish authorities shut down popular BitTorent tracker The Pirate Bay. It wasn't long before the site was up and running again in true Pirate fashion. But it's not just The Pirate Bay that's in trouble these days.

A site called BTArena popped up recently, offering a complete copy of TPB's index. But it looks like Romanian authorities are threatening that site's operator.

And now a Dutch judge has ordered rival Bittorrent site Mininova to remove every last torrent that links to copyrighted materials. The site has 3 months to comply. If it doesn't meet the deadline, Mininova's operators will face a penalty of up to 5 million Euros, or about $7.1 million.

Mininova has reportedly begun removing some torrents. But it's ridiculously difficult to keep people from uploading copyrighted content to peer to peer networks. And if the site does succeed in ridding itself of illegally uploaded content, the question remains: will anyone use it anymore?

It's not a good week to be a BitTorrent tracker originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bittorrentbtarenamininovapirate-baythe-pirate-bayWed, 26 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Arrrr! Pirate Bay taken down by Swedish authorities]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/24/arrrr-pirate-bay-taken-down-by-swedish-authorities/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/24/arrrr-pirate-bay-taken-down-by-swedish-authorities/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/24/arrrr-pirate-bay-taken-down-by-swedish-authorities/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

If you woke up this morning hoping to download last night's episode of Mad Men (of course, I totally wouldn't know anything about that) you'll have to look somewhere other than The Pirate Bay. The popular, controversial torrent site was taken down by the Swedish government earlier today, and is still unreachable as of this posting. Authorities got to the Bay by threatening the site's hosting service with hefty fines, according to TorrentFreak.

TorrentFreak also reported that The Pirate Bay is back online after changing hosting companies, but I've been unable to connect to the site all day. The Pirate Bay is currently in the middle of a civil case brought against it by several large media companies, and is also the target of a faltering acquisition attempt by games company Global Gaming Factory. This sort of thing hasn't killed The Pirate Bay before, so I expect we'll see it back up again shortly.

In the meantime, remember how one user posted a complete backup of the site's index last week? Yeah, someone has already posted a TPB clone at BTarena.net. The servers appear to be getting hammered right now and the site is pretty slow. But it's better than nothing.

Arrrr! Pirate Bay taken down by Swedish authorities originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bittorrentp2ppirate bayPirateBayswedentorrentMon, 24 Aug 2009 14:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Streamfile does painless point-to-point transfers with 256-bit encryption]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/17/streamfile-does-painless-point-to-point-transfers-with-256-bit-e/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/17/streamfile-does-painless-point-to-point-transfers-with-256-bit-e/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/17/streamfile-does-painless-point-to-point-transfers-with-256-bit-e/#commentsFiled under: ,


Need a nice, simple way to share files securely with someone? Check out web-based Streamfile.

Free transfers work for anything up to 150Mb, and it's all Javascript - no Flash. The interface is uncluttered and straightforward: enter the recipient's email address, pick your file, agree to the terms, You're free to pass along the link to a friend as soon as it appears beneath your progress bar. Downloads are speedy and secure, thanks to 256-bit AES SSL encryption.

For those of you who need to send even larger files, there are two options. The free registered account gives you a 300Mb maximum, 48 hour expiration, and 5 concurrent download links.

Still not enough? $4.95 per month (or $39.95/year) gets you a 2Gb max, no limit on links, and expiration extends to a full two weeks. On top of that, you'll get delivery tracking and "more bandwidth," though no information is given as to what that actually means.

One thing worth noting in the TOS: "We may, however, also use your email address or other personally identifiable information to send commercial or marketing messages without your consent. Your e-mail address may also be made accessible to third parties with which Streamfile has entered agreements."

Mail delivery preferences can be changed in your account preferences, so head there and untick the necessary box to opt out.

Streamfile does painless point-to-point transfers with 256-bit encryption originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>encryptedfile transferfiles sharingFilesSharingFileTransferftp-alternativepeer-to-peersecureMon, 17 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Save the Pirate Bay... to your hard drive, with 21.3GB torrent index file]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/17/save-the-pirate-bay-to-your-hard-drive-with-21-3gb-torrent-i/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/17/save-the-pirate-bay-to-your-hard-drive-with-21-3gb-torrent-i/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/17/save-the-pirate-bay-to-your-hard-drive-with-21-3gb-torrent-i/#commentsFiled under: ,

The Pirate Bay Index
The Pirate Bay is probably one of the best known BitTorrent trackers on the internet. And in a few days, ownership of the site is set to change hands. If you're the paranoid type, you might be worried that things will change, and you won't be able to access some of the 873,671 torrents listed on the site anymore. Fortunately, one user has posted a backup of all the data stored on the site as a single torrent which is available for download... from the Pirate Bay.

Of course, it might take you a few days to download the whole thing. The backup weighs in at 21.3GB. And that's just for the tracking information. The actual files you download from your BitTorrent client of choice aren't actually hosted on The Pirate Bay, of course.

[via TorrentFreak]

Save the Pirate Bay... to your hard drive, with 21.3GB torrent index file originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>backupbittorrentthe-pirate-bayMon, 17 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lack of investors takes wind out of Pirate Bay sale - or does it?]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/07/30/lack-of-investors-takes-wind-out-of-pirate-bay-sale/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/07/30/lack-of-investors-takes-wind-out-of-pirate-bay-sale/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/07/30/lack-of-investors-takes-wind-out-of-pirate-bay-sale/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The Pirate Bay's recent surprise decision to sell to gaming company Global Gaming Factory and become a legal operation shocked fans of the popular torrent site. Now, it looks like the arrangement may fall through, after all.

Torrentfreak is reporting that Wayne Rosso, the former CEO of Grokster who spent two weeks working with GGF to close the deal, has walked away from GGF and is not optimistic that they can raise the money to buy the Pirate Bay. The Pirate Bay crew are reportedly giving GGF a week to show them the money.

Rosso reported that GGF's plan isn't in good enough shape to attract the necessarily investors. Apparently, GGF didn't even pay Rosso what he was owed for his services. With only a week left for GGF to confirm the necessary investors, the Pirate Bay's future is in flux again. According to Peter Sunde of the Pirate Bay, though, there are no definite plans for the Pirate Bay if this acquisition doesn't work out.

Nevertheless, GGF boss Hans Pandeya remains steadfastly optimistic. Metro.se (translated) reports him as saying "a group of investors are prepared to inject 30 million SEK" to make the purchase happen. He's also pegged August 27th as the date the deal will go down.

Pandeya also mentioned ongoing negotiations with four major content providers - Universal Music, Sony Music, EMI, and Warner Music - and claimed discussions with one have reached the "final phase." Of course, that final phase could be one label telling him to shove off once and for all.

Based on Rosso's feedback, we'll just have to wait and see if Pandeya is telling the truth or talking out his...aft?

Lack of investors takes wind out of Pirate Bay sale - or does it? originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>acquisitiondealGGFglobal-gaming-factorypirate-baypiratebaysaleThu, 30 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Torrent sites RTM Windows 7 before Microsoft does]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/07/22/torrent-sites-rtm-windows-7-before-microsoft-does/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/07/22/torrent-sites-rtm-windows-7-before-microsoft-does/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/07/22/torrent-sites-rtm-windows-7-before-microsoft-does/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Microsoft is head-over-heels excited about this announcement: Build 7600.16385 has been officially declared the RTM version of Windows 7.

Strike up the marching bands! Bring in the dancing girls!

But hang on just a tic. Isn't build 7600.16385 already floating around all over the P2P filesharing ether? The previous incremental build 7600.16384 looked pretty real, based on what Softpedia shared.

It sure looks like the new leak is the real deal. IsoHunt has several results for 7600.16385 and they've been happily active for several days. I've even seen it installed firsthand - on someone's Toshiba laptop, though I can't recall where *cough*.

Of course, Microsoft's official line all along has been to stay away from leaked ISOs, because you never know what kind of pure digital evil might be hiding inside. And there could very well be some subtle differences between what's been leaked and what winds up preinstalled on systems and boxed on retail shelves.

I'm pretty convinced that what's out there is legitimate and that someone, somewhere (possibly in Eastern Europe - Wzor, we're looking at you) leaked the build that was later signed off on as the RTM.

What about you?

Breaking addition! Check after the break for ACTION-PACKED footage of Steven Sinofsky signing off! It's better than an episode of Briscoe County Jr....

Continue reading Torrent sites RTM Windows 7 before Microsoft does

Torrent sites RTM Windows 7 before Microsoft does originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>leakp2ptorrentwindows 7windows-7-rtmWindows7wzorWed, 22 Jul 2009 17:08:00 EST