© ZYG_ZAG

Kaspersky Lab's 2010 cyberthreat forecast anticipates that malware writers will increasingly target P2P networks in the coming year.

"Kaspersky Lab said that it expects an increase in mass malware epidemics over P2P networks," writes Ars Technica's Jacqui Cheng. "2009 saw a series of mass malware epidemics that were not caused by, but supported by files that were spread over P2P networks."

"As usual the safest method of protection is to only open and install content from trusted sources, i.e. private BitTorrent tracker sites," writes ZeroPaid's Jared Moya.

More here from Maximum PC ... and more here from PC World.

Digital music, the next generation: MP3Tunes+Beamer An Apple Beater? at P2P File Sharing

+ > ? Michael Robertson has unveiled his master plan. If Apple is going to be beat, it is not through YAOMS (Yet Another Online Music Store), a relic of the old days when records were vinyl, retail meant stores, and the labels played god. The game would have to be changed, much as it was when Apple designed their YAOMS (iTunes) as a promotional engine for their [...] Read More


Digital music doldrums - Long-term change at P2P File Sharing

This article is one in a series examining the Pali Capital report that showed paid music download growth is slowing. Long-term change The long-term message is that the industry's problems can no longer be obscured by digital. Does this spell doom for music? It depends on your definition of music. Independent artists are thriving through the Internet and P2P. Big music though is another story. While the industry falsely blames others [...] Read More


Introducing UK Music at P2P File Sharing

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Geoffrey Holman The new organization UK Music was formed this week to represent the entire music industry in the UK in designing a united plan for the future. "The organisation represents a wide range of music bodies, including BPI, the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, and the Music Managers Forum," writes GIGWISE's Jason Gregory. "Its chief executive Feargal Sharkey, the former Undertones lead singer who has since forged [...] Read More


Digital music doldrums - Long-term change at Digital Music - The Future

This article is one in a series examining the Pali Capital report that showed paid music download growth is slowing. Long-term change The long-term message is that the industry's problems can no longer be obscured by digital. Does this spell doom for music? It depends on your definition of music. Independent artists are thriving through the Internet and P2P. Big music though is another story. While the industry falsely blames others [...] Read More


2005: record year for digital music at Digital Music - The Future

2005 was a record year for digital music. At the same time P2P use continues to grow. Christmas was a fabulous week. 20 million Tracks were sold in the last week of the year, three times the previous year. This is compared to P2P where 250 songs are downloaded in a week. Accordingly to the article: "If the market can retain volume gain as it did last year, the numbers [...] Read More

© bloomsberries

Comcast has agreed to a $16 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit regarding the company's throttling of peer-to-peer traffic.

"But those customers hoping to take home a nice chunk of change on behalf of Comcast will be disappointed — the maximum amount any one class member can collect is $16," notes PC Mag's Chloe Albanesius. "To be eligible, you must be a current or former Comcast high-speed Internet customer who either used or attempted to use Ares, BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack, or Gnutella between April 1, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2008 or Lotus Notes between March 26, 2007 and Oct. 3, 2007."

"Comcast raked in $34.3 billion in revenue in 2008, meaning that this settlement amounts to four hours of revenue," notes CrunchGear's Nicholas Deleon. "That's right: four hours. Take that, corporate America!"

"I don't think customers will care very much about having $16 more dollars in their pockets, nor will Comcast miss $16 million dollars very much when it makes billions annually, but either way it's nice to learn Comcast is getting punished for interfering with BitTorrent traffic," writes ZeroPaid's Jared Moya.

More here from CNET News ... more here from Icrontic ... and more here from TorrentFreak.

© D.Reichardt

Harris Interactive has conducted a study commissioned by the British Phonographic Institute (BPI), which finds that P2P use is not declining in the UK, despite government efforts to block it.

"You could shut down all the P2P BitTorrent trackers in the world but web pirates would still find other ways to share files directly with each other," writes paidContent:UK's Patrick Smith.

"British web users are... turning to other methods to swap and download copyrighted material, including sending each other emails, visiting unlicensed foreign online music retailers and using so-called 'cyberlockers' to store and swamp music," notes The Guardian's Richard Wray. "The BPI argues that these new forms of piracy justify the government's recent controversial plans to amend copyright law at will."

More here from p2pnet news ... more here from TorrentFreak ... and more here from BBC News.

© Thomas Roche

U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner has affirmed a $675,000 fine against Joel Tenenbaum for file sharing.

"Federal judge Nancy Gertner today officially brought down the tent on the Joel Tenenbaum P2P Big Top World 'O Fun, all but admitting that she would have given Tenenbaum's arguments about 'fair use' a truly sympathetic hearing were it not for the shoddy behavior of his legal team... Gertner signed off the jury's damage amounts, which means that Sony BMG is entitled to $112,500, Warner Bros. gets $225,000, Arista Records gets $45,000, and Universal picks up $292,500," writes Ars Technica's Nate Anderson.

"Tenenbaum has said he will declare bankruptcy leaving the record labels with nothing if the fine is ruled constitutional on January 5th," writes Afterdawn.com's Andre Yoskowitz.

More here from The Register ... more here from Wired ... and more here from Techdirt.