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A magnet link is a unique link to a specific file, typically on a P2P file sharing network.

Magnet Links allow users to directly download files into a P2P file sharing application. Through the support of magnet links, users can follow links to find specific files quickly and accurately. In short, getting the file is as easy as following a link - the magnet points to a specific file and launches the P2P program, adding the file to the user’s download list.

Magnet Links are an extension of a greater group of URIs/URNs (not to be confused with ‘URL’) - whereas a URL will point to a specific website; a URI will point to the specific contents, or, location of a file. Read the technical jargon for Magnet Links on Wikipedia.

Magnet Links - What are they for?

The main reason for the conception of magnet links is for increased authenticity (and less redundancy) of files being shared via P2P programs. For example, if you conduct a search for something specific in a filesharing program (such as Limewire), you’ll notice “multiple sources” for some of the results. We don’t have to tell you that ‘multiple source’ files offer the best availability, in terms of transfer speeds and chances for a successful ‘working’ download. All of the sources use the same hash link (that points to the exact same file).

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What the heck is an eD2K ‘Hash Link’ ?

eD2k Hash Links are direct links to files being shared through P2P programs such as eMule and Shareaza. Think of them as a *.torrent file, or even a NZB (Usenet), or Direct Download Link (DDL). Grossly understated, a hash link is a unique keystring, or identifier, that is attached to a file that is being shared. Whether you know it or not, all files incorporate some form of hash link scheme to give them a uniqueness or specific digital fingerprint. All *.torrent files, all *.mp3s, *.ZIP/RAR files, movies, images - they all have some type of hash function used in identifying it. Think of it as an IP address - everyone has one and no two are alike.

Why are Hash Links so important?

As will all methods of P2P file sharing, the doors are wide open to scams, fake files, malicious code, anti-piracy groups bungling up the search results with bogus entries, blank movie files, mp3’s with no sound…the list goes on and on. Anti-P2P / Anti-Piracy groups are constantly evolving and ever-creative in finding new ways to fuck up the P2P networks. But with (eD2k) hash links, you’ll be sure to get exactly what you paid for (ha ha!) each and every time, with no surprises.

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« Part 7 of a 7-part series on Advanced Searching for Copyrighted Content »

Part 7. Advanced Searching & Search Tips

Still can’t find what you want? Can’t seem to find that elusive $99 software application? Here’s a few more tips for specific searching.

Advanced Web (Browser) searching:

Alternative Search Engines

Alternative Search Engines can offer untapped resources to your search repertoire.

— www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_100_alternative_search_engines.php (be sure to check out the user-added entries at the bottom of the page).

— websearch.about.com/library/tableofcontents/blsearchenginetableofcontents.htm

Google

You can also apply operators to a Google search to narrow down the search specifications. Or, use Google’s advanced search webpage to hone in on your target.

— www.google.com/help/operators.html

— www.google.com/advanced_search

An example of how an operator could be applied would be this:

— “rapidshare.com/files” alvin

Google will now search web pages that only have the words rapidshare.com/files and the keyword alvin. This example works well for finding DDL websites that host certain links on rapidshare.com.

And here’s a great search tip for finding private BitTorrent trackers that are accepting new signups. In the Google search window, type in this:

torrents inurl:signup.php

Google will now search torrent sites that are currently displaying a signup page (and thus accepting new members). At last check, it came back with 674 results. (No longer must you fumble around with ‘Tracker Checker 2′.) You can also customize it your own way by replacing signup.php with register.php, account.php and account-signup.php which are also common “sign up” pages used by BitTorrent sites.

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« Part 6 of a 7-part series on Advanced Searching for Copyrighted Content »

Part 6. Usenet, Newsgroups & NZB Sites.

Like IRC, Usenet and the newsgroups have a direct link to the piracy pyramid. Most true “sceners” and release groups alike still utilize it as a means of file swapping. For anyone who’s seriously into downloading, Usenet is a great addition to their filesharing arsenal. In fact, when Usenet is applied through a paid service provider such as Giganews or Usenext, it is inarguably the best way to download. Our aim of this article is to introduce the easiest and fastest methods for finding and downloading from Usenet.

Most of the hard work has been taken out of the newsgroups nowadays. With the emergence of NZB files, users don’t have to even visit a single newsgroup to get what they want. An NZB file is sort of like a *.torrent - just load it in to your software program and it downloads all the necessary files for you. In the end, the most you’ll have to do is unpack it. Elementary, my dear downloader!

A sample of what’s available on Usenet:

Movies. — CAMs, Telesyncs, DVD rips, full DVDs, DVD ISO ‘images’, HD-DVDs, Blu-Ray DVDs, iPOD movies, subtitles, HD movies, trailers.

Music. — Full albums, ‘advance’ & promo albums, discographies, lossless audio (*.APE & *.FLAC), categorized genres of ALL music.

Television. — New episodes, complete seasons & series, older shows, HDTV rips, iPOD TV files, every category imaginable.

PDA files. — Apps, games, TV, movies for PocketPC, Symbian, PalmOS.

Games. — Disk ‘images’, smaller games, full DVDs for all platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux) under every genre available.

Games - other. — Rips and full DVDs of games for XBOX, XBOX 360, N64, Wii, PS2, PS3, GameCube, GB, Nintendo DS, Dreamcast.

Applications. — Huge variety of software for every configuration. Very popular ‘0Day’ sections.

Books. — eBooks, audiobooks, eZines, magazines, books in PDF and other formats, comics, how-to’s, tutorials, manuals, books for students, universities, eLearning.

Miscellaneous. — Image galleries, clip art, templates & textures, fonts, 3D models, recipes, cross-stitch patterns, wallpapers, ringtones, ringtunes, phone software & games, anime, games emulators, porn…(it’s true!), and everything else that can be digitized and shared.

To access the newsgroups, you will require the following:

— Access to Usenet (either via a ‘premium’ service or through your ISP).

— A newsreader (there are many free options).

— A list of NZB websites that index Usenet content.

— A couple of utilities (such as WinRAR or 7-Rar, and QuickPar).

We include the complete, step-by-step process at the bottom of this article.

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« Part 5 of a 7-part series on Advanced Searching for Copyrighted Content »

Part 5. Searching IRC / IRC Tools.

IRC is about as close as you can get to the top of the piracy pyramid without actually being involved in “the scene”. Most (but not all of) pirated releases found at the P2P level descended from IRC in some form or another, usually directly. It is the major cog between release groups and what is found publicly through BitTorrent websites, the newsgroups, DDL sites and any other method of P2P file sharing. So the significance of IRC to the “piracy scene” should not be overlooked or undervalued. The vastness of illegal content is staggering; both in sheer numbers, and in the diversity of available content often found nowhere else.

About This Tip: IRC has a high learning curve, and these tips & tricks are not aimed towards those who are inexperienced in IRC. It is assumed you are already affluent in IRC, with a good grasp of its functions and features that include joining networks, servers, channels, sending/receiving files and using commands in the IRC window. If you are new to Internet Relay Chat, we recommend that you check out www.irchelp.org and learn some of the basics before proceeding. However; some of these programs (scripts) take all the hard work out of IRC and many contain great GUIs for easy navigation and file transferring. Be our guest to jump right in - our setups are simple to follow.

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« Part 4 of a 7-part series on Advanced Searching for Copyrighted Content »

Part 4. Searching ‘Warez’ / DDL websites.

We’ve already covered this topic on Direct Download Link (aka ‘Warez’ websites) - read it in it’s entirety here. So instead of rehashing what we’ve already done, we’ll elaborate on the searching implementations. And we’ve found a few DDL sites that really stick out from the rest (especially this one), plus we found some good tips for downloading multiple files at the same time. But first, a little more info on DDL websites:

One thing that we like about DDL sites is that they are essentially anonymous. The only site that knows what links you’ve clicked is the warez hosting site themselves, and certainly rapidshare.com isn’t about to start logging everyone’s activities and passing it on to the authorities.

DDL sites are getting smarter - to compensate for content that’s being deleted, some will offer multiple ‘mirrors’ to different hosting sites. Assuredly at least one of the links should be working. If you ever come across a file that has been deleted by rapidshare.com, this is the nasty error message that you’ll receive:

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« Part 3 of a 7-part series on Advanced Searching for Copyrighted Content »

Part 3. Validating a ‘Release’ with NFO / dupecheck Websites

This tip is more inclined for deeming whether or not something has been officially released by a known piracy Release Group, or if it’s possibly just a fake, decoy or scam. But it doesn’t end there - anything listed as official will also be fairly easy to track down, as well. These sites that list official pirated releases are also known as NFO websites, or dupecheck sites.

As mentioned in different articles around FileShareFreak, there are a few good NFO/dupecheck websites that report only ‘official’ pirated releases. This can be taken a step further by implementing search capabilities with the provided data from them. We should note that these criteria are useless when applied through a Google search - it will take a slightly more sophisticated approach to generate fruitful results - in order to get to the ‘warez’.

Here’s a sampling of some of the dupecheck websites that list proper ’scene’ releases with ‘real-time’ results:

www.NFOrce.nl - a great site with all the latest listings in all categories.

http://doopes.com - also a good site - we recommend using the DATE feature to view past releases. Great for Pre’s.

www.vcdquality.com - lists only movies & video files, but does it well.

www.rlslog.net - Good site for current scene listings.

http://dupe.sabeln.org - Has listings for games, movies & TV - all in plaintext.

http://www.scenereleases.info - To quote them, has “Hot New Scene Releases”.

http://orlydb.com - So-called “Pre” database for all scene releases - plaintext.

It should be assumed that 99% of the listings at these sites would be classified as ‘working’ releases, without further guesswork. The data is not derived from BitTorrent sites or other file sharing networks that are susceptible to corruption and public inputs; rather, it is an organized list from the top of the piracy pyramid including FXP servers, Topsites and elite IRC channels directly or indirectly associated with the release groups themselves.

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« Part 2 of a 7-part series on Advanced Searching for Copyrighted Content »

Part 2. Search for a ‘Crack/Keygen’ for it.

There are only so many ways in which you can exhaust all avenues in the search for a tiny computer program that charges $50 to register it. You’ve checked BitTorrent - no, not there. IRC? maybe - but the IRC websites aren’t giving any hits. Limewire? - fahgettaboutit. The newsgroups? - very likely, but not everyone has Usenet access.

One solution to this problem is to download the original release from the official software publisher’s website. Haha, almost got you there!! No, but seriously folks - download the original …and then apply a ‘crack, patch or keygen’ to it.

The trick is, though, is to make sure you have the crack, serial or keygen FIRST before deciding which legal software you need to use. There’s not much point in downloading the software beforehand and then search for the crack afterwards (you may not find it). The good thing about software development is that it’s extremely competitive - so you’ll likely find 5 different similar programs all created to do the same job. This tip can be applied from a couple of different angles.

First, do some research on what type of software you need, and see if there are available substitutions to suit your needs. If the software is something totally specific, such as “RSS Submit v2.36″ then this will also work - but it helps if you have a second (or third) similar option in case you can’t find a ‘crack’ for the first one. And an older version of the same software does count as another option - you’ll likely run into this scenario some time down the line if you practice this tip often enough.

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A ‘7-Step Guide’ to finding anything and everything.

In search of the illicit, illegal or copyrighted? Good! So are we! The Internet is a vast place with many teeming possibilities - copyrighted material is distributed freely everywhere. This article doesn’t necessarily pertain to where one should look for pirated content; rather, more of a how to look for it. The following guide candidly demonstrates a non-exhaustive list of strategies for procuring just about anything. However; if you’re looking for a specific ‘cookie recipe’ or ‘cross-stitching’ chart, (copyrighted or not) this guide likely won’t be of any service.

Without a doubt you’ll have employed some of these methods before - and you may even know of a few that aren’t listed. Private FTP sites (& TopSites), FXP Boards, BBSes, F2F networks, etc. were all overlooked. Our attempt is to fine-tune and elaborate on the existing publicly accessible schemata for the attainment of all things copyrighted.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for with these procedures - then it probably just doesn’t exist on a public level.

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