Over the years we have been following various reports on Internet traffic changes, mostly focusing on file-sharing traffic.

A new report published by Sandvine this morning sheds light on the most recent developments. As in previous years, the trend is one of BitTorrent losing its share of peak Internet traffic in the U.S. while continuing to grow in Europe.

However, there is a far more interesting trend hidden in the report, something which the traffic management company itself appears to have missed entirely. Comparing this year’s data to that of last year reveals that encrypted Internet traffic is booming.

The change is most pronounced in Europe where the percentage of encrypted Internet traffic during peak hours quadrupled from a measly 1.47% to 6.10% in a year. Since overall Internet traffic increased as well, the increase is even greater for the absolute bandwidth that’s consumed.

Top 10 Peak Period Applications (Europe, Fixed Access)

In North America the percentage of encrypted Internet traffic during peak hours increased as well, from 2.29% early last year to 3.80% this year.

Keeping in mind that absolute Internet traffic increases between 20% and 40% each year the bandwidth consumed by encrypted traffic doubled in this period.

Top 10 Peak Period Applications (North America, Fixed Access)

The increase in encrypted traffic is a global phenomenon. In Latin America the share of bandwidth consumed by SSL shot up from 1.80% to 10.37% in a year. Also, a similar pattern emerges on mobile networks, where encrypted traffic is also booming.

The changes in encrypted traffic can be directly linked to the surveillance revelations of Edward Snowden. As a result, the number of users of VPN services and other anonymizers increased sharply. In addition, Google and other web services turned on SSL by default.

In previous years we revealed a similar trend among BitTorrent users, who increasingly searched for options to hide their download footprints in response to anti-piracy measures. A survey among Pirate Bay users, for example, revealed that 70% utilize a VPN or proxy, or are interested in doing so in the future.

It will be interesting to see how these trends develop in the years to come. In any case, it’s clear that Internet services and their users are becoming more aware of their privacy online, which is generally a good development.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Emulating old or defunct hardware to allow the playing of ‘retro’ games is a growing activity fueled by nostalgia and ever-increasing processing power. Emulating old arcade games via software such as MAME has a fanatical following on PC but the rise of the smartphone and tablet has brought a whole new fanbase on board.

It’s now possible to emulate classic games on both iOS and Android devices, some via official apps and others via less authorized routes. Traditionally iOS has been the less flexible route due to the need for users to jailbreak their devices but in recent months the latest version of a Game Boy emulator has been tearing things up by allowing direct installation, no hacks needed.

GBA4iOS works very well indeed. The no-jailbreak installation on iPhone or iPad is achieved by exploiting a loophole in Apple’s Developer Enterprise Program and once in situ the user has access to countless games, accessible via an inbuilt browser and third party ROM sites. The latest version even has Dropbox integration.

The emulator is the brainchild of high-school student Riley Testut who back in February reported that the latest version of the software alone had achieved more than one million downloads. Now, however, the 18-year-old has the might of Nintendo of America to deal with.

Up until a few hours ago GBA4iOS was hosted on Github, but now the gaming giant’s legal team has hit the code sharing website with a takedown for the popular emulator.

“We represent Nintendo of America Inc. (“Nintendo”) in copyright matters. Certain material posted on the web site located at www.gba4iosapp.com infringes copyrights owned by Nintendo. GitHub, Inc. is identified as the internet service provider for this web site and IP Address 192.30.252.153. This notice is provided pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 USC § 512,” the notice begins.

“Nintendo requests that GitHub, Inc. disable public access to the web site at www.gba4iosapp.com. This web site hosts a downloadable mobile application for iOS that provides users with access to unauthorized and illegal copies of Nintendo’s copyright-protected video games in violation of Nintendo’s exclusive rights.”

Nintendo signs off with a note that it would appreciate Github’s “expeditious removal” of all infringing content. Somewhat immediately, Github complied.

Riley Testus reports that while the emulator will continue to work, at least for now there will be no new downloads.

The teenager, who is very open with his identity online and is currently on an internship with Bottle Rocket Apps, has a new version with multi-player support in the pipeline but this action from Nintendo is bound to cast a huge shadow over that release.

Fighting it out with one of the world’s largest games companies at such a tender age is unlikely to end well, so if people have a copy of the software, archiving it now might be a wise decision. It could be the last one ever.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

In 2010 Richard Humphrey was sentenced to 29 months in prison for operating several pirate sites, including the popular USAWarez.com and USATorrents.com.

Earlier this year Humphrey, who is a well-known and controversial figure in the warez community in various roles, went back to jail after he violated his probation of an unrelated offense. This time he was sent to Lorain Correctional Institution in Ohio, where he was surprised to see that pirated copies of “Ride Along” and “Wolf of Wall Street” were being played for inmates.

According to Humphrey the movies were shown while they were still playing in theaters and had clear earmarks of being pirated copies. Baffled by this apparent display of deviant behavior by prison staff, Humphrey notified the Deputy Warden and the Warden about his complaint.

Below is a copy of the kite (written request) that was sent to Warden Clipper, who confirms the reported issue. “Your concerns have been addressed in the past but it appears that this activity is still taking place,” Clipper writes.

The kite Humphrey sent

TorrentFreak got in touch with Mr. Humphrey who is baffled that prison staff are committing the same kinds of crimes some of their inmates have been convicted for. This isn’t exactly the correctional influence one would expect from these institutions, Humphrey says.

“If people are going to prison for copyright infringement, prison mind you, where they are supposed to be paying their debt to society and rehabilitate for their crimes? How is it that the prison itself is showing pirated movies?” Humphrey says.

“Why are people even being punished and sent to prison for rehabilitation when it’s clear that the system isn’t able to restrain itself from the same type of activity,” he adds.

After his release last week he contacted Warden Clipper again in a phone call to follow-up on the issue. She reiterated that the complaint is being taken seriously and that the matter is being looked into. Clipper couldn’t say, however, whether the officer responsible has been questioned about the issue.

TF contacted Lorain Correctional Institution for a comment on the allegations and a spokesperson informed us that the issue is still being investigated. Thus far, however, no pirated materials have been uncovered.

“Please note that this matter is still under investigation. Warden Clipper received two kites from this inmate both of which she took seriously. No contraband has been found pertaining to this matter and nothing can substantiate this inmate’s claim,” we were told.

“Due to Warden Clippers concern regarding copyrighted movies this investigation will remain ongoing. There have not been any other complaints from any other inmates or staff concerning this matter,” the spokesperson added.

Of course, other inmates are unlikely to complain about pirated movies, as they probably enjoy the free entertainment. For them it’s the only option to watch the latest blockbuster movies shortly after they premiere.

According to Humphrey, the Lorain Correctional Institution is not the only prison where pirated movies are shown to inmates. During his youth he was detained at Lorain County Juvenile Detention Center, where the same issues took place.

Looking back at his time there, Humphrey says this may have played a role in his fascination for piracy, which eventually led to him starting several pirate sites, and a subsequent 29 month stay in a federal prison.

According to Humphrey these probably aren’t isolated incidents that only occurred in these two institutions either. He believes that this is a broader issue apparent in all layers of society, prisons included.

Humphrey finally notes that the solution of the issue lies with the movie companies, not the infringers. He believes that the content producers should come up with affordable and good platforms so movie fans can watch their favorite movies in all formats as soon as they are released.

Until then, however, prisons should probably stay away from DVDrips, CAMs and Telesyncs.

A message from Humphrey

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

When compared to most countries around the world, the United States has some of the toughest copyright laws around. While many countries view infringement as a relatively petty issue, in the U.S. custodial sentences are in place for many offenses.

Viewing local laws and attitudes as some of the best around, each year the USTR produces its Special 301 Report in which it criticizes trading partners for letting standards drop. This year there were just two Middle Eastern countries on the list – Lebanon and Kuwait – but according to a report in a Saudi Arabian newspaper, the U.S. isn’t afraid to flex its muscles against citizens of other allies in the region.

In an article published in the Makkah Daily Newspaper (Arabic), it’s being claimed that after illegal software was found on their laptops, 34 Saudi students studying in the United States were disallowed from completing their studies.

Citing Rafiq bin Ibrahim Aqeeli, Director General of the General Administration of Copyright at the Ministry of Culture and Information, the newspaper says those same students were subsequently expelled from the United States, forcing them to complete their studies in another country.

And the claims don’t stop there. Citing the same government source, Makkah Daily reports that the U.S. also intercepted 40 Saudi tourists at the border with illegal software on their laptops, denied them entry, and sent them home. Australia had also deported three Saudi university students for the same reasons, Aqeeli said.

But despite the clear claims from the Saudi government, ejecting students from the country on copyright grounds seems like a hugely draconian response, even by U.S. standards. However, looking into Saudi Arabia’s recent responses to copyright infringement one can see a country sometimes taking harsher measures than those usually seen in the United States.

Three weeks ago the Saudi government reported on its anti-piracy activities for 2013. Rafiq bin Ibrahim Aqeeli said his inspectors had carried out 2,500 inspections at stores, service providers, plus businesses and corporate headquarters

More than 7,590 “violations” were identified, 667 of which were related to copyright. As a result several businesses were penalized with enforced temporary shutdowns ranging from 14 to 60 days, to a total of 3,562 days overall.

“Last year the offences varied between copies of books and intellectual works, audio-visual materials and computer programs, while other infringements included the use by corporate facilities of computer software without permits, receiving satellite feed via individual subscriptions, and violations by newspapers using images without the consent of the copyright owners,” Aqeeli said.

The Ministry of Culture and Information says it will collaborate with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) to crack down on software piracy in line with its stance on reducing the effect software piracy has on the local economy. Violators can look forward to imprisonment, heavy fines and being “defamed” by having their names published in local newspapers.

In April, the Saudi government confirmed it had blocked 22 domains, including The Pirate Bay, on copyright grounds.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

For an extended period anti-piracy agency HADOPI stayed in the news due to its responsibility for maintaining France’s controversial three-strikes anti-piracy scheme. While many of the big headlines have subsided, the authority is still tasked with dealing with an issue that simply refuses to go away.

Last July, Aurélie Filippetti, Minister of Culture and Communication, tasked Mireille Imbert-Quaretta, president of the Commission for Protection of Rights, to find solutions against large scale commerical piracy online, i.e against the sites and services offering music and movies for free.

The report, obtained by Les Echoes and scheduled to be handed over to the government today, envisions a multi-pronged approach to the issue.

“There is no single solution to fight against counterfeiting on the Internet,” warns Mireille Imbert-Quaretta (MIQ).

MIQ’s recommendations begin with what is now forming into somewhat of an industry standard tactic for dealing with ‘pirate’ sites, that of hitting their finances. MIQ foresees a tightening of the noose around unauthorized sites by building cooperation among advertising players to restrict support for such domains. In addition it’s recommended that the same kind of agreements should be forged in order to cut off sites’ access to payment processing facilities.

“These kinds of charters are intended to create a framework for the involvement of stakeholders in the advertising and online payment industries in the fight against infringement of copyright and neighboring rights on the Internet, and to put in place certain rules for their actions,” the report reads.

Another proposal foresees the creation of a master list of sites deemed to be engaged in “massive” breaches of copyright. While various lists of this nature already exist in several places around the world, such as at City of London Police, they have until now remained secret. MIQ recommends that the French list is made publicly available, for several key reasons.

- To update the public about the legality of sites online
- To allow advertising and payment industry players to make informed decisions
- For the reference of other potential intermediaries involved in the piracy eco-system

MIQ’s final recommendation will be of broad interest, especially if the French can do the seemingly impossible and actually pull it off.

“The copyright holders are faced with the constant recurrence of content and links they have already demand the withdrawal of,” the report reads.

To deal with this issue the final recommendation foresees the “creation of an order for extended withdrawal”, in other words a DMCA-style takedown notice that not only says “takedown”, but also “stay down”.

These notices would oblige a host to “stop and prevent, for a specified period, the reappearance of content that has been identified as constituting an infringement of copyright or related rights on the site.”

It’s suggested that these kinds of orders could be valid for up to six months but at least initially would only be directed at sites hosting actual files, not links to files such as in the case of BitTorrent indexes.

“These are all distinct responses gradually leading to the establishment of an effective action against websites taking advantage of a massive operation of counterfeiting,” the report concludes.

Time will tell how the government will respond but it seems likely that all proposals will be taken very seriously.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.