The first "Six Strikes" notifications were sent out this week by Verizon and Comcast, and Ars Technica's Cyrus Farivar got a copy.

  • http://www.facebook.com/postelwait Cameron Postelwait

    Verizon and Comcast’s business is to facilitate communication and data transmission, but I predict they fail in notifying the public of this new policy.

  • Gerald Mander

    Time to invest in VPN stock!

    • Cowicide

      Nah, too slow.  Blocklists are better.

      • http://twitter.com/gratefulvideo gratefulvideo

        Where can I find the most up to date ipfilter.dat file?

        • Cowicide

          I personally use blocklists free from private “connections” I have and I don’t use that specific format.  I also have some custom hacks on my system to use them (and filter them) the way I want as well, but with some duckduckgo’ing research you can find more info on other public blocklists.  You may need to help support blocklists with donations as well if you find a public one you like and want to keep it going.  Yes, I’m aware of the irony of paying for them, but it is what it is unless you have, er, connections…

          https://duckduckgo.com/?q=blocklists

          Disclaimer: Blocklists aren’t foolproof especially if you use subpar blocklists that aren’t updated daily. If you’re paranoid, use more protection, etc.

    • Shinkuhadoken

      How does using a VPN protect you from an unsubstantiated copyright violation accusation from your ISP?

      • Gerald Mander

        The IP addresses you use under a VPN are not associated with your ISP.

        • Shinkuhadoken

          I still don’t see how the methods you use your internet connection offers any protection at all when there is no need for evidence of wrongdoing in the first place.

  • Gerald Mander

    The monthly fee for a Virtual Private Network account from a reputable provider that does not maintain logs is absolutely worth the price to raise a middle finger at the ISPs and MAFIAA. I urge people to do some googling and take some steps to help ensure their online privacy. You are not paying your provider to be a narc.

    • wrybread

      Why “urge people to do some googling”, and not post the results of the googling you’ve presumably done for yourself?

      • Gerald Mander

        Because when I’ve done that in the past on other site threads, it seems to lead to arguments about efficacy and playing favorites. FWIW I am using Private Internet Access and am very happy with their service — fast, private, and no logging. Cory Doctorow recommends iPredator; they seem even more concerned with privacy, but setup is more technical.

        I do not recommend the most popular VPN, HideMyAss. They keep logs for 30 days, they send out DMCA notices when they receive them from ISPs (HMA logs your access times and proxy IPs you use, which ain’t at all private, to me), and they’ve turned users over to the feds (in the Sony hacking case a while back).

        • Cowicide

          Agreed, it’s better to be not seen in the first place by using Blocklists anyway.

          • Gerald Mander

            Could you explain why blocklists are better?

          • Cowicide

            Usage of them doesn’t slow down your bandwidth (download/upload speeds) like most VPNs do. Also, your blocklists don’t get requests from entities for your data, etc. – You just don’t connect to the entities in the first place (if your blocklists are good enough and updated, that is).

            Sure, many VPNs “promise” to never divulge your data, but when the authorities are breathing down their necks, many seem to forget that little promise. Many VPN service claim to keep no records, but that’s also found to not be true on more than a few occasions despite their claims of purity.

            YMMV, of course.

        • http://twitter.com/WikiTruths Wiki-Truths

          I use Private Internet Access  as well – recommended! Now I will google Blocklists

  • choss

    I don’t really get how VPN will help in the long run. Yes, the ISPs wont know what you are up to..but everyone is going to be gathered at a limited number of quality vendors.
    I would expect the VPN providers to roll over and give up their customers before risking their business.
    I don’t expect international borders to really slow down an organization with sufficient funds and political clout.

    • Gerald Mander

       VPN providers can’t give info if they don’t keep logs. All they can say is, Yes, this guy is a customer. And while I agree that the watering hole is going to be a bit crowded because of 6 Strikes, I also feel pretty sure that there are about to be a lot more watering holes for the same reason.

      • choss

        sorry, I am really tuned out. The world is saying VPN and in my mind I am thinking a dedicated seedbox….which will get you caught. I will look into your recommendations :)

        • Gerald Mander

          A seedbox works, but it’s a narrow solution for specific purposes. Personally I prefer the broader security of encrypted browsing, not just a guarded pipeline for FTP uploads & downloads.

    • oasisob1

      The VPN providers would risk their business if they DID give up their customers, don’t you think?

      • http://www.facebook.com/jorgen.fleisterman Jorgen Fleisterman

        You’d think the same logic would apply to ISPs.

        • oasisob1

          That only works when they leave you with alternatives. With all the major ISPs in on the deal, your choices are very limited.

          • http://www.facebook.com/jorgen.fleisterman Jorgen Fleisterman

            And with often only one major ISP in a market, your choices are more limited than even just the ISPs who signed onto the deal.

  • http://twitter.com/JephPhD Jeffrey

    NZ’s three strike system has had *three* account holders reaching the third stage and being fined. All for music. This is because NZFACT (the equivalent of MPAA, but also covering TV here), have balked at the $NZ25 per notice fee that the ISPs are requiring they pay. So no one has gotten into trouble for movies or TV shows. The Copyright Tribunal have also not played ball with the copyright holders, so instead of the >$1000 deterrent fines the copyright holders wanted, the total fines have been in the $600-$700 range, which includes paying for the songs, paying for the costs of the tribunal ($100ish) and then a deterrence fine of a couple of hundred.

  • http://www.facebook.com/fred.talmadge.1 Fred Talmadge

    They are not going to show you what file you downloaded to cause this notice?  And we have no way to challenge the individual notices?  Where’s my lawyer?

    • That_Anonymous_Coward

      No no no you can challenge them.
      First you pay them $35, then pick from the approved list of responses to challenge it, then wait for the magic arbitrator to rule against the corporations.

      Welcome to corporate law…
      Judge, Jury, Executioner all on the claims of a company that created filesharing in Australia so they could prove how horrible it was and sent a DMCA notice to Google demanding that pirated HBO content be delisted from the index, including pages on hbo.com.

      They can’t even notice they are sending notices about their employers websites, and we expect they can run this system?

      • http://www.facebook.com/fred.talmadge.1 Fred Talmadge

         Is not that after the 6th strike?  I want to know on the first strike what file caused the problem. 

        • That_Anonymous_Coward

          You don’t need to know, they sent you a secret strike and you just have to accept it or pay them $35 to feel like you did something.

  • UncaScrooge

    Golly, I wonder how long it will be before duplicates of this message are randomly spammed into innocent in-boxes? How long before we see identical scammy pop-up ads that freak you out and then propose ”reasonably priced protection”? This scheme is a bonanza for internet vandals, but I’m sure that Comcast has already thought long, hard and dismissively about these inevitables.

  • Petzl

    I went to check my Verizon email box.  Lucky I did:  there was no 6-strikes notification, but there was a notification that Verizon has chosen to bump up what they charge for  my crappy 3MB/sec DSL Internet connection, from the previously outrageous 41.99/mo to a phenomenally outrageous 46.99/mo.

    Welcome to a monopoly. 

    I’m sure this is the work of some sales and marketing a-hole.  His thesis: we have millions of steady customers whom we’ve had for years, who regularly and diligently pay us much money every month.  Let’s get more.  Let’s increase their charges with no corresponding increase in services.  Where are they going to go?  If they complain, vociferously, perhaps we’ll give customer service the latitude to reverse the increase (but only if they lock in their present rate for a year, with early cancellation penalty– which also benefits us). And there was much rejoicing at the Sales and Marketing Department. Revenue. As if from thin air!

    God, I loathe Verizon.

    • That_Anonymous_Coward

      You missed another inherent cash grab, CCI’s talking head was saying you shouldn’t share your WIFi, unless you had a business class account.  Because 6 strikes is about educating consumers…  so if you pay the ISPs even more money you can opt out of the system.