Raids close file-sharing server
Joint raids by police in Belgium and Switzerland have shut down a popular file-sharing server.
The Razorback2 server was part of the Edonkey file-sharing network and was used by a third of the system's users.
In the raids, the server's Swiss owner was
arrested and the Razorback2 machines were seized from a Brussels-based hosting
firm.
Stop serving
The statement from the MPAA said Razorback2 was one the largest of the 200 or so
index servers on the Edonkey file-sharing network. Users consult these to track
down files.
This is a major victory in our fight to cut off
the supply of illegal materials being circulated on the internet via
peer-to-peer networks
Dan Glickman, MPAA
It hosted one of Edonkey's most widely used indexes of pirated copies of movies,
games, TV programmes, music tracks and software.
The joint raids are the latest move against the Edonkey network. Previously
raids have shut down many of the file-sharing network's most popular servers in
the US.
Unlike many other file-sharing servers, Razorback2 was run as a business and
generated cash for its owners via donations and advertising.
In the statement Dan Glickman, MPAA chairman,
said: "This is a major victory in our fight to cut off the supply of illegal
materials being circulated on the internet via peer-to-peer networks."
It is unclear what effect the shutting down of the Razorback2 server will have
on overall file-sharing figures.
Studies of the different file-sharing networks show that the numbers of people
using Edonkey is on the increase. It has become the dominant network in South
Korea, Italy, Germany and Spain.
However, following raids and shutdowns, many
file-sharers simply move to other networks such as BitTorrent or have turned to
older systems such as Usenet.
Notes posted on discussion groups by Edonkey users following the raid show that
the numbers of people on the Edonkey network was back to normal a few hours
after the server was shut down.
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