Copyright E-Mail

[DarkSerge]

Hello.My mom recently forwarded me an email she and the rest of my family received from Time Warner Cable. I've never known anyone to get an email like this, so I question if it is legit or a scam. So here's a copy of the forwarded email, with some info deleted, marked with *

-------- Original Message --------Subject: Time Warner Cable Notice re:Alleged Copyright InfringementDate: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:14:10 -0500From: <DonotReply@twcable.com>To: *Dear Subscriber:This notice is being sent to you by Road Runner Customer Care because we have received a complaint that your computer has been used to distribute copyrighted material without authorization through a peer-to-peer program. We received this complaint from the movie studio, record company, television studio or other company that owns the copyrighted material. A copy of the complaint is included with this message and contains details about the copyrighted file(s). The purpose of this message is to remind you that the distribution of copyrighted material in this fashion may violate both the copyright laws and Road Runner's terms of service, and to tell you a bit about peer-to-peer programs, the dangers they can pose to your computer and our network, and the steps you can take to protect yourself.A computer can become accessible to a peer-to-peer network for an unlimited period of time after a peer-to-peer program is downloaded. You may not even be aware that such a program is on your computer; a child or a visitor to the home could have downloaded it. That is why we want to alert you to this issue.Peer-to-peer programs may contain many problems. For example:. Downloading and offering for upload copyrighted material without authorization is unlawful. If you or others using your computer have been doing this, you could be subject to civil penalties and criminal fines. Such activity also violates the Road Runner terms of service.. The programs allow any anonymous person on the Internet to look at your computer files and copy them for themselves. Such a hacker could view all of your files, which can lead to identity theft.. The programs, which use large amounts of memory, can interfere with the functioning of your computer by destabilizing your operating system, leading to a general sluggishness at bootup and during operation.. The programs can contain spyware, adware, malware, viruses and pornography.If you use the Windows OS, the best way to remove peer-to-peer programs is through the Add/Remove Programs tool. Other removal options are discussed athttp://security.uchicago.edu/peer-to-peer/no_fileshare.shtml.Thank you for subscribing to Road Runner.Very truly yours,Road Runner Customer Care_____________________________________________________________________________FOLLOWING IS THE COMPLAINT FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER (OR ITS AGENT):You are being contacted on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA)* and one or more of its member companies. You are receiving this notice because your Internet account was identified as having been used recently to copy illegally and/or distribute the copyrighted movies and/or television shows listed at the bottom of this letter. This notice provides you with the information you need in order to take immediate action that can prevent serious legal and other consequences. These actions include:1. Stop downloading or uploading any film or TV shows owned or distributed by any MPAA member studio or its affiliates without authorization; and2. Permanently delete from your computer(s) all unauthorized copies you may have already made of these movies and TV shows.The illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted works are serious offenses that carry with them the risk of substantial monetary damages and, in some cases, criminal prosecution.Copyright infringement also violates your Internet Service Provider's terms of service and could lead to limitation or suspension of your Internet service.An MPAA website, www.respectcopyrights.org, offers step-by-step instructions to ensure that your Internet account is not being used to violate the copyright laws. The site also can point you to an array of legal choices for enjoying movies and TV shows online. You can also learn there how movie theft damages our economy and costs thousands of Americans their jobs.If, after visiting www.respectcopyrights.org you still have questions, or if you believe you have received this notice in error, you may contact the MPAA by email at Graduated.Response@mpaa.org or by calling 818-935-5860. Please cite the Reference ID 22218982973 in the subject line of your email or voicemail. You should take immediate action to prevent your Internet account from being used for illegal activities and to enjoy movies and TV programs legally.Sincerely,Motion Picture Association of America* This letter is not a complete statement of the copyright owners' rights in connection with this matter, and nothing contained herein constitutes an express or implied waiver of any rights, remedies or defense of the copyright owners, all of which are expressly reserved. MPAA members include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLP; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.________________________________________________________________FOLLOWING IS SUBSCRIBER AND INFRINGEMENT INFORMATION:Subscriber's Information:Name: *Address: *Source: TimeStamp: 2011-01-19T00:45:21.94Z IP_Address: * Port: * Type: BitTorrent Number_Files: 1Content:Item: Title: FAMILY GUY Artist: FileName: Family.Guy.S08E18.PDTV.XviD-LOL.avi FileSize: 183006232 Type: Video Hash: 29947626CFDE128BE665756EE511669A96180A0EComplainant: Entity: MPAA Search and Notify Contact: Administrator Address: Phone: (+1) 818-935-5860 Email: Graduated.Response@mpaa.orgThis E-mail and any of its attachments may contain Time Warner Cable proprietary information, which is privileged, confidential, or subject to copyright belonging to Time Warner Cable. This E-mail is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient of this E-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying, or action taken in relation to the contents of and attachments to this E-mail is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this E-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete the original and any copy of this E-mail and any printout.

My mom says she hasn't clicked on any links. And of course, neither have I.So, anybody suspect a scam? If so, how did they get info like subscriber name, street address, and all the email address on the Time Warner Account (I deleted my family's emails, but it was sent to everyone on my parent's account.) My brother also got a warning in his browser about it, and was denied internet access until he click some kind of acknowledgement about it. It's unknown to me right now if it was just his computer of if this warning came up for anyone else.Thoughts? Edited January 20, 2011 by DarkSerge

[Frank Golden]

Hello.My mom recently forwarded me an email she and the rest of my family received from Time Warner Cable. I've never known anyone to get an email like this, so I question if it is legit or a scam. So here's a copy of the forwarded email, with some info deleted, marked with *My mom says she hasn't clicked on any links. And of course, neither have I.So, anybody suspect a scam? If so, how did they get info like subscriber name, street address, and all the email address on the Time Warner Account (I deleted my family's emails, but it was sent to everyone on my parent's account.) My brother also got a warning in his browser about it, and was denied internet access until he click some kind of acknowledgement about it. It's unknown to me right now if it was just his computer of if this warning came up for anyone else.Thoughts?

Boy that look real.It is well written with no obvious spelling or grammatical error common to most scams.Again it could be a very well executed scam.It doesn't ask for personal or sensitive info like most scams do.It is informing you that your computer or more specifically your IP address has been implicated in illegal activities.One way this could happen without your knowledge is if you have a Wi-Fi router with an unsecured active wi-fi signal (either to connect to a laptop) or the wi-fi is turned on but not being used.Many folks will setup a wireless network using the very insecure settings provided by the router maker.These default settings include broadcasting the wi-fi signal "in the clear" with no encryption.The very minimum security setup is to enable WPA2 encryption.WPA2 prevents neighbors etc. from accessing your internet connection.If no attempt was made to secure a wireless network an unscrupulous individual could in effect "steal" your internet connectionfor his\her own use.If said individual were to visit child porn sites (against federal law) or use P2P sites to D\L copyrighted material in violation of an ISP's terms of agreement then the person getting in trouble would be the true "owner" of the internet connection.The thief would be in the clear.The other possibility is that someone placed knowingly or unknowingly a piece of malware to be installed that could be busily hosting P2P behind you back.Sometimes just visiting a site while surfing the web can result in a drive-by install of some nasty.A tool every one should have in their browser is an add-on (available for Firefox, IE8 and IE9 (beta), Opera and Chrome is Web of Trust (WOT).When installed WOT will alert you if a site is potentially bad before anything like a drive-by can happen.Again this indeed looks genuine.A Google search of the first couple of sentences of the letter produced lots of info on this.http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=Dea...93&ie=UTF-8See the third response below.http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...29235243AA8aHeRThe second warning letter will lock you out until you click a link and the third will ban you from the service. Edited January 20, 2011 by Frank Golden

[ChipDoc]

TimeStamp: 2011-01-19T00:45:21.94ZIP_Address: *Port: *Type: BitTorrentNumber_Files: 1Content:Item:Title: FAMILY GUYArtist:FileName: Family.Guy.S08E18.PDTV.XviD-LOL.aviFileSize: 183006232Type: VideoHash: 29947626CFDE128BE665756EE511669A96180A0E

Boy, they sure jumped on THAT pretty quick, didn't they? Midnight on Wednesday?It looks to me like a boilerplate cease-and-desist. It might, as Frank suggested, be a drive-by. Or it might be that someone wanted to watch Family Guy. If the former, then changing the WiFi password should stop it. If the latter, it'd probably just go away if the issue isn't repeated. Or if someone learns how to use an anonomyzer...

[ross549]

Time Warner Cable got a complaint from the copyright holder of that content (Fox) and passed it on to you. Frank is right- I would be looking at your router... someone is probably on your network downloading stuff using your connection. Considering that the file is sourced from BitTorrent, these take a bit to download. The more recent content will be more popular, and therefore would actually transfer faster.However, it would mean one of two things. either someone was masquerading your IP address somehow (unlikely), or someone was on your network and downloaded that content.If you are in an apartment building, I might ask around and see if any of your neighbors are using your network. You might politely ask them to stop. If they are a certain distance away from your router, you may have a power level option in the router configuration that will reduce the power of your wifi signal. That might make it really hard for this other person to use your network. Otherwise, ensuring that you are using WPA instead of WEP will ensure that penetrating your network security will be very difficult.If you are not in an apartment, then either someone was on the street doing a drive by or in the next house.In any case, I would contact Time Warner and let them know you don't run bittorrent, and that this was not you.The absolute worst case scenario is that FOX would decide to sue. It would fall to them to prove that you downloaded this content. Previous cases have been dropped using the argument that the copyright holder could not prove that the defendant did download the content. If you were sued, I would look to the EFF http://www.eff.org for counsel. They take on these types of cases, and would be able to give you advice or a lawyer, if needed.

[DarkSerge]

I set up a password on their router during one of my visits home. I believe my brother actually downloaded the Family Guy episode in question. My concern is that is this real, or is there a chance he downloaded from a shady source that got info by malware or other shady means. Not really sure why he'd download it, since the episode is available on hulu.com for free.I got no such letter, as I have my own account and do not live at home. The email was forwarded to me from home.

[ross549]

The file was probably legit. The major studios are using various methods to tap into the ad hoc bit torrent network to figure out what is happening with their content. Mainly, they are trying to figure out who the big distributors of their content are. The problem with bit torrent (for them) is that it is hard to figure out who does the major distribution, since it is spread out pretty well.The issue with FOX is that they do not wish for the episodes to be distributed via this form instead of the methods they choose (hulu, for example). Fox derives no advertising money from the episode being distributed in this manner.This is a legitimate letter from the ISP. When they get a notice like this they usually forward it to the user as a form of notification.