P2P Under attack

Viruses? Spammers? Phishing? Nah….what the Justice Department *really* cares about it catching those nasty Peer to Peer file sharing people:

Agents executed search warrants at residences and one Internet service provider in Texas, New York and Wisconsin. The warrants targeted the operators of five of the network’s “hubs,” rather than the individual users, and criminal charges are likely in the near future, according to the FBI. The hubs act as a central point for people granted membership to exchange copyrighted files, with some hubs containing data each day equivalent to 60,000 feature films. “The message is simply this: P2P or peer-to-peer does not stand for ‘permission to pilfer,’” Ashcroft told reporters. (From ABC News)

And that, my friends, is why I use Peer Guardian. Interestingly enough, the Peer Guardian website has closed, but the software is still out there for download.

Huh, what’s Peer Guardian?…..

PeerGuardian is a powerful yet petite firewall application especially designed for P2P users and anyone else who wants to protect his or her computer from unauthorized searches instigated by private agencies and corporations.

PeerGuardian works by blocking and logging all TCP/IP connections to and from known IP ranges used by known P2P foes, such as the RIAA, MPAA, MediaForce, MediaDefender, BaySTP, Ranger, OverPeer, NetPD, and more.

To make sure that the block-list used to block malicious connections is up to date; PeerGuardian uses an on-line block-list Database that is continuously updated on a daily basis — so your privacy will remain safe while swapping files.

PeerGuardian is compatible with all TCP/IP based file sharing applications, such as Kazaa, iMesh, LimeWire, eMule, Grokster, DC++, Shareaza, and more. In short, PeerGuardian is the must have tool for any file swapper.

PeerGuardian is not advertising supported, nor does it require registration, and no information is collected from or about product users.

from Softpedia:
http://www.softpedia.com/public/cat/14/3/14-3-55.shtml