PirateBox offline file-sharing solution puts pirates out of authorities’ reach
83 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;35108770]Yeah, the only real issue is malware.
But I wouldn't think it would be too difficult to install a simple antivirus onto the thing, scanning uploads as they come in and dealing with them. Don't quote me on that - that's outside my comfort zone. I don't know much at all about network security.[/QUOTE]
It shouldn't be too hard. It's just a case of that requiring a bit more processing, so you'd probably end up having to spend a small bit more money (or Raspberry Pi that shit, that could work as a host easily).
[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;35108770]Yeah, the only real issue is malware.
But I wouldn't think it would be too difficult to install a simple antivirus onto the thing, scanning uploads as they come in and dealing with them. Don't quote me on that - that's outside my comfort zone. I don't know much at all about network security.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clam_AntiVirus[/url]
Though I doubt a simple router running a modified version of OpenWRT is powerful enough for running ClamAV.
Probably possible to design a setup with beefier hardware, but up goes the pricetag.
[QUOTE=Nikota;35108782]This seems like a useful way to share stuff with friends to me. Way easier then having to upload something to filesmelt or drop box and then link it on facebook.[/QUOTE]
Or simply another form of backing up.
I'd love to make this sort of thing a DiY project someday, just for sharing files with friends instead of piracy.
I can't see this being too useful at all for actual "pirating"
Not only do you have to be literally within 30m of a piratebox to get a signal, but you can ONLY get stuff off the box that was uplaoded to it. I'm not going to walk over to my local library with a hidden piratebox stash just so I can see if anyone happened to upload the entire series of Lost on that one PirateBox if I wanted to pirate it.
Not to mention, it's not nearly as "anonymous" as people think. How do you find a pirate box? well... if it lists PIRATEBOX in the avalable WiFi its' pretty damn easy to know you have one near you, and if the authorities wanted to it'd be pretty damn easy to confiscate it. Sure you'd probably not get caught, but you lost $50 basically, AND you can easily not get caught by just using PeerGuardian/TOR online.
Now it would be something else if one piratebox connected to the entire piratebox network. But I doubt that considering the thing is completely disconnected from the internet - what you see on a pirate box most likely is local files only.
However this shit would be hella cool for some kind of Urban "Geocaching" or something.
[QUOTE=KorJax;35108970]I can't see this being too useful at all for actual "pirating"
Not only do you have to be literally within 30m of a piratebox to get a signal, but you can ONLY get stuff off the box that was uplaoded to it. I'm not going to walk over to my local library with a hidden piratebox stash just so I can see if anyone happened to upload the entire series of Lost on that one PirateBox if I wanted to pirate it.
Not to mention, it's not nearly as "anonymous" as people think. How do you find a pirate box? well... if it lists PIRATEBOX in the avalable WiFi its' pretty damn easy to know you have one near you, and if the authorities wanted to it'd be pretty damn easy to confiscate it. Sure you'd probably not get caught, but you lost $50 basically, AND you can easily not get caught by just using PeerGuardian/TOR online.
Now it would be something else if one piratebox connected to the entire piratebox network. But I doubt that considering the thing is completely disconnected from the internet - what you see on a pirate box most likely is local files only.
However this shit would be hella cool for some kind of Urban "Geocaching" or something.[/QUOTE]
Who knows, it could be useful for the dystopian future that the republicans are preaching about if Obama was reelected.
[QUOTE=The Baconator;35108066][IMG]http://www-bgr-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/piratebox.jpg[/IMG]
[/QUOTE]
Why is it that every news story about pirating always has an awesome image accompanying it. I guess slapping a pirate skull on anything makes it that much cooler.
I imagine it as a link of networks, so one pirate box joins onto another which joins on to another. Like someone else said earilier, an Internet 2.0
[QUOTE=KorJax;35108970]Not to mention, it's not nearly as "anonymous" as people think. How do you find a pirate box? well... if it lists PIRATEBOX in the avalable WiFi its' pretty damn easy to know you have one near you, and if the authorities wanted to it'd be pretty damn easy to confiscate it. Sure you'd probably not get caught, but you lost $50 basically, AND you can easily not get caught by just using PeerGuardian/TOR online.
[/QUOTE]
The guy checking it out could probably locate it to the room - which would likely be in someones bag at a coffee shop or library - so they'd need to then search everyone in the room, and their property to find it, and I hardly think that probable cause can cover holding up a whole room and searching everyone - the premise would be even weaker than "I smell weed" in terms of probable cause, as all they'd have is "I saw a network called piratebox" (bear in mind that tonnes of people call their wireless "FBI surveillence van 5" e.t.c)Then, if they do find it, your average person will just see a box containing a few PC parts, and even if they do know what it is, and that it's a piratebox (bear in mind that every one will look different) then they'd need to get a damn good reason to check or confiscate it - it'd be the same as a cop coming over, saying "hey, let me check that laptop for pirated stuff" due to the fact that it's just a computer - they can't just use "I think it's got pirated stuff" to confiscate or check it.
Sure it's usefulness is kind of limited by the design - it's a standalone box, but it's pretty damn hard to detect and link to you. (though you can find the general area)
[QUOTE=Nikota;35108782]This seems like a useful way to share stuff with friends to me. Way easier then having to upload something to filesmelt or drop box and then link it on facebook.[/QUOTE]
How, you have to be near them? If you're near them you can use a CD or USB stick the chance of being caught with those is pretty much the same, maybe less as they have legitimate uses and would be used in the privacy of your home.
I can't see this being much use, piracy is versatile because you can do it from your desk, and so many people do it so there's a large reserve of anything you could want. Where as with this, there isn't many people who will have it and you've got to be in close proximity with them, then they also have to have the file you want.
The way I could see it being useful is if it would automatically connect to the internet in public wifi locations and download from it's P2P network/the normal networks whatever you specified beforehand. But then it's pretty much just a hidden laptop with no other use.
[QUOTE='[CWG]RustySpannerz;35109209']I imagine it as a link of networks, so one pirate box joins onto another which joins on to another. Like someone else said earilier, an Internet 2.0[/QUOTE]
That'd be pretty badass, but hard to implement and maintain.
[I]A massive array of nodes, wirelessly linking to each other to form a web... a web free of constraints, a true web. Knock out one node, and it simply finds another path...[/I]
If I sound stupid, I'm sorry.
According to the wiki, you can put the software on a laptop.
Could you do this with the Raspberry Pi?
[editline]12th March 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=wutanggrenad;35109450]If I sound stupid, I'm sorry.
According to the wiki, you can put the software on a laptop.
Could you do this with the Raspberry Pi?[/QUOTE]
Also, I seen pictures with the PirateBox "lunchbox" with an antenna hanging out. I had to laugh, I'm sure no one will ever call the police on that one
This could be really cool for scavenger hunts or something. Disable ssid broadcast and give it a password
I might make one and use it as a wireless file server
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;35108416]Also it looks like a landmine.[/QUOTE]
[I]Front towards corporations[/I]
[QUOTE=Callius;35109320]How, you have to be near them? If you're near them you can use a CD or USB stick the chance of being caught with those is pretty much the same, maybe less as they have legitimate uses and would be used in the privacy of your home.
I can't see this being much use, piracy is versatile because you can do it from your desk, and so many people do it so there's a large reserve of anything you could want. Where as with this, there isn't many people who will have it and you've got to be in close proximity with them, then they also have to have the file you want.
The way I could see it being useful is if it would automatically connect to the internet in public wifi locations and download from it's P2P network/the normal networks whatever you specified beforehand. But then it's pretty much just a hidden laptop with no other use.[/QUOTE]
Yes, When I'm with friends, I'm usually near them.
Oh wonderful, now more idiots can get free stuff while the rest of us suffer for it...
Thanks, science!
Edit:
Come on pirates! Give me more boxes! Justify yourselves!
I find it funny that the more they push us, the harder it is for them to break us. Every time they try to stop piracy, someone comes up with something that makes it harder for anyone to touch them. Pirate Bay moved out of jurisdiction. Now this Pirate Box to stop anyone being detected.
These governments and corporations need to realize why people do what they do instead of trying to fight they need to understand it. Game developers screw over legit buyers with invasive DRM. Music industries don't offer any way to "demo" an album before you buy it so you never really know what you're paying for. And with Blockbuster out of the picture no one can rent video games before they buy them. So what do we do? We download them. After that, why buy a game you spent 5GB of your bandwidth downloading?
Stop fighting us and start listening to us!
[QUOTE=Ganerumo;35108717]There is just so much money spent by those guys on providing "safe" ways to pirate stuff that it almost reached a point where it would be less expensive to actually buy stuff rather than pirate them.[/QUOTE]
one guy drops $50 on assembling one of these, puts autodesk 2012 on it, and walks into a starbucks
every person that gets within range of him can download that $3,500 program for $0
It really depends on how fast the computer/usb drive/storage media is and the router. Hell, I would like to do this but then again for this to be truely useful, you could need a massive USB drive, or external hard drive, or laptop computer for the storage of the actual content and to have actual content on it. The collection will grow but I don't see how this is as good as what the actual Internet has. Of course, change your WiFi MAC Address every time to save yourself.
I just don't really see how this is really that practical in the real world. Maybe in like an apartment or something.
More people need to know about this, I posted a thread about it awhile ago in H&S.
[url]http://facepunch.com/threads/1089806[/url]
A little computer with a hard drive and wifi router. How innovative.
The only real problem is... you know..
how would the people who want to pirate stuff know that there's a pirate box to pirate from? Are you going to go around and be like COME DOWNLOAD MY SHIT, I JUST SET UP A PIRATE BOX!
Couldn't a cop just be like
HEY THAT'S A PIRATE BOX!
and throw it on the ground?
[QUOTE=Usernameztaken;35114269]The only real problem is... you know..
how would the people who want to pirate stuff know that there's a pirate box to pirate from? Are you going to go around and be like COME DOWNLOAD MY SHIT, I JUST SET UP A PIRATE BOX!
Couldn't a cop just be like
HEY THAT'S A PIRATE BOX!
and throw it on the ground?[/QUOTE]
Got in built canons
[QUOTE=Usernameztaken;35114269]The only real problem is... you know..
how would the people who want to pirate stuff know that there's a pirate box to pirate from? Are you going to go around and be like COME DOWNLOAD MY SHIT, I JUST SET UP A PIRATE BOX!
Couldn't a cop just be like
HEY THAT'S A PIRATE BOX!
and throw it on the ground?[/QUOTE]
[thumb]http://www.asia.ru/images/target/photo/51653722/Paint_Brush.jpg[/thumb]
and done, logo solved
even then, they can't really just take it from you if there is no law against it, ESPECIALLY if it's painted over.
[QUOTE=J!NX;35114398][thumb]http://www.asia.ru/images/target/photo/51653722/Paint_Brush.jpg[/thumb]
and done, logo solved
even then, they can't really just take it from you if there is no law against it, ESPECIALLY if it's painted over.[/QUOTE]
Considering you manufacture these yourself from various, easy to obtain components. You'd have to be quite a cock to slap a huge ass pirate logo on it and display it for the world to see.
Can you increase the effective range/speed of this thing with better hardware?
[QUOTE=hexpunK;35114440]Considering you manufacture these yourself from various, easy to obtain components. You'd have to be quite a cock to slap a huge ass pirate logo on it and display it for the world to see.[/QUOTE]
[thumb]http://www.sailpuravida.com/small/2006/mexico/October/Img_5898.jpg[/thumb]
Nah, just one smug as hell pirate
[QUOTE=Jack Bryce;35114454]Can you increase the effective range/speed of this thing with better hardware?[/QUOTE]
Better wireless routing hardware will give you better range and speed. Better processing hardware will allow more clients to do shit at once. A faster storage media will allow for faster access times.
It's all parts chosen by you, there is nothing commercial about these. They cost as much as you are willing to spend, it just requires a small bit of knowledge to get the file sharing working smoothly.
[editline]13th March 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=J!NX;35114481][IMG]http://www.sailpuravida.com/small/2006/mexico/October/Img_5898.jpg[/IMG]
Nah, just one smug as hell pirate[/QUOTE]
Looking pretty chill. Pirating around all day.
[QUOTE=J!NX;35114398][thumb]http://www.asia.ru/images/target/photo/51653722/Paint_Brush.jpg[/thumb]
and done, logo solved
even then, they can't really just take it from you if there is no law against it, ESPECIALLY if it's painted over.[/QUOTE]
I'm pretty sure this is still illegal.
Only concern I have is that it might cause the "war" on piracy to be driven down to street level. In any case, if law enforcement personnel would be assigned anti-piracy duties (and they probably won't, they have burglars, rapists and murderers to catch) it would be a pretty simple task to locate and take down the PirateBoxes. You'd just need to have one cop driving around with a Wifi unit for detecting the PirateBox networks and fine the households caught operating one. Even with the minuscule risk the fear of getting caught red-handed would discourage usage of these.
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