Telus warns me about BitTorrent use

[Nuje]

Has anyone else received a notice like this?

I just noticed it in my telus.net inbox today (which I rarely even look at anymore):

We are writing to inform you that TELUS has received a complaint that alleges that your TELUS Internet Service account has been involved in copyright infringement. This complaint was traced back to your account based on the IP address used at the time of this activity.

Please note that TELUS has not provided any of your personal account information to the complainant. It is TELUS' policy to disclose such information to a complainant only if ordered to do so by a court of law, which has not happened to date.

We do, however, want you to be aware that this complaint was received by us and offer you the following information that may be of help to you:

If you are unaware of this type of activity originating from your account, you may wish to inquire with others who have access to your account.

If you are using a dial-up account, change the account password to ensure that only authorized users have access to it.

You may also want to check your system for viruses, which may explain why this sort of activity is originating from your account.

If the ADSL modem is connected to a wireless router, please make sure that only your authorized computers can connect to it and access the internet. For help in securing the wireless router, please contact the router vendor.

If you are not aware of our Acceptable Use Policy, which strictly prohibits use of our Service to infringe the copyrights of others, you may review at http://www.mytelus.com/internet/nv/aup.do. Please be aware that violation of this policy could result in disconnection of your Service.

Below is an excerpt from the complaint that we received regarding your account. We include it in this notice in an effort to help you identify the activity that is in question.

Sincerely,

Ken

Internet Abuse Team Member
Consumer Customer Operations
TELUS

Excerpt from complaint:
---

IP Address, Date and Time, Title, Filename, Protocol
xx.xx.xx.xx,20090927165355,27 Sep 2009 16:53:55,Apple MAC OS ,Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg,BitTorrent,

IP address: xx.xx.xx.xx
Distribution found at: 27 Sep 2009 16:53:55
Title of file: Apple MAC OS
Filename: Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg
File sharing network: BitTorrent

The copyright holder alleges that at 27 Sep 2009 16:53:55, they were able to connect to the IP address xx.xx.xx.xx. This IP address was assigned to your connection at that time. They allege that they were able to use BitTorrent to download a portion of the file Apple MAC OS that was being hosted on that by that IP address.They allege that as they were able to extract a portion of Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg from the IP address, that their exclusive distribution rights are being violated. They are asking that the file sharing stops immediately. The IP address was tracked by us to your account. The file could be shared from computer behind your router, including ones connecting through the wireless portion of your router.

This is almost hilarious because in this thread, I wondered aloud, if, even though I purchased and owned FIVE licenses of Snow Leopard, because Purolator didn't deliver on time, would it be legal to have downloaded said file?

Ahh - upon further review, that last couple of sentences is the kicker. They allege that there was a torrent that was "sharing" the OSX.dmg file. I'm guessing, then, that Apple is looking at torrents and seeing who's behind them....?
For a company that doesn't even make you enter a license / serial number when installing the OS, that seems rather.....I'm not sure what - odd?

[Moe948]

I received similar email from cogeco.

[stampeder]

Nuje, as a seeder of certain Linux distributions I legally use Bittorrent on an almost 24hr basis.

In your case you have to bow to the possibility that what you were doing was not allowable. Unfortunately now that they've had one complaint against you don't be surprised if either Telus or some other(s) want all your Bittorrent activities scrutinized after this. Even encrypted Bittorrent connections are snoopable by ISP's toolkits now.

If this sort of guilt-by-association crap happens to me I'll start using Tor and Privoxy. There are several tutorials on how and why to use those.

[Alternate]

The problem with File Sharing is the 'shared folder'.

Many a noob has downloaded a perfectly legal file sharing application and not noticed about the default setting of 'upload files from the shared folder'.
There is a movement to have certain user acknowledgments of what the file sharing program does on install of the program.
People have had their tax information sent out on the web and if you happen to have put a copyrighted program in the shared folder, like all your music, well problems will happen.

But the CopyRight Mafia has the business model of accusation without 'proof' of the actual operator of the computer or Internet connection. So someone could hack into your wireless and download the nastiest things off of the web and you, as the owner of the connection, would be accused of a crime that you did not commit.
Federal Courts are something avoided by the Copyright Mafia. Pay the extortion amount and don't get caught again. Even though a couple of court cases have been so unjust with the penalties. A million and a half dollar judgment for some 99 cent songs is so wrong. Where was the proof of how many people actually downloading that music?


Think that you have digital Constitutional Rights in Canada? Seems that our Government does not care about our rights extending into the Internet world. The police, for years, keep pushing for unjust digital laws/rules and the population is not pushing back enough to stop crimes against us. But with our media being silenced on certain subjects....
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Technol...191/story.html
June 17, 2009
OTTAWA — Police will be given new powers to eavesdrop on Internet-based communications as part of a contentious government bill, to be announced Thursday, which Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan has said is needed to modernize surveillance laws crafted during "the era of the rotary phone."

The proposed legislation would force Internet service providers to allow law enforcement to tap into their systems to obtain information about users and their digital conversations..............
Imagine a time when all your Internet data is stored by Your ISP, just in case the police might need it one day. Our Constitution allows the Right To Privacy. And The Right Of Innocence. But to allow the Government or Police to 'routinely' collect data on innocent people without evidence of wrong doing, is a crime in itself.
And lets not forget about the Right Of Freedom Of Communication. Imagine making a perfectly legal comment about a crime that the Government or Police did. Well you will then be on the short list for deeper monitoring.

[Hey Yo]

It was for a show that I forgot to set my PVR for, so instead I downloaded it to watch. The initial email was from CBS and forwarded to me by Rogers. Legally, there should be no issue b/c of jurisdiction and I thought that Canada had no such laws in place? Is there any precedent in Canada? Can I simply fix the issue by not sharing and just download? I'm allowed to record onto PVR and VCR tape - isn't that the same? Plus these shows are streamed on the internet, so what's the impact?

[Rookie_One]

no worry

i got the same type of thing at my ISP (which is ironically where i work) and they wont forward any information to who made the complaint, as by the law on the privacy protection

[ScaryBob]

It appears that the issue is not downloading Mac OS X, it was uploading. If taken to court for downloading, you could argue that it had already been legally purchased. (Though that could be ignored by the court due to Apple's sole distributor claim.) The issue is that the OS, or a portion of it, was also uploaded. For that, you have no legal defense. Right now, there is little legal repercussion for downloading files (though that may soon change.) The main repercussion is from uploading files to people who have no legal right to the copyrighted material. As such, you are breaking the law.

[Rookie_One]

even then, the RCMP and all others police corp are not gonna care until you made a profit out of it

[ScaryBob]

I agree. There are civil remedies that could now be taken but it's not worth it either. New laws could make civil and legal prosecution easier. It would amount to receiving a $500 bill or ticket in the mail for each downloaded file and then going to court if you want to fight it. When stuff like this gets treated like traffic tickets, it will be a different story. All copyright holders need is the right law to make it happen. Then there could be a "traffic cop" sitting on the internet, funded by Sony and friends and/or fine revenue.

[57]

OT posts removed. Thread will be closed if this happens again.