Guide on Accessing Banned File-Sharing Sites in UK

Within the past few years the United Kingdom has been doing everything it could to tackle piracy. Finally, the country’s High Court forced ISPs to block access to the most popular torrent index in the world, The Pirate Bay, and a few other file-sharing services, including Kat.Ph, H33t, and Fenopy. Although ExtraTorrent remains accessible, the situation may change, and this guide will help you in case of need. The UK residents willing to keep accessing their favourite file-sharing sites can use a number of alternatives to do so.

1. The Onion Router (TOR)

TOR is a complex system allowing you to hide your true IP address via various online layers of anonymity, and this is why it is called Onion. As far as security is concerned, you don’t need to worry, because your data will be encrypted and re-encrypted many times, plus it will be sent via a succession of TOR relays. If you want to install and try TOR, visit https://www.torproject.org/ and download the app, which works on almost any OS – Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX. Extract the archive and open the extracted folder to start browsing by double-clicking the “Start Tor Browser” executable. After you do so, you’ll see another window (the Vidalia Control Panel), together with an Internet browser demonstrating which IP address you’re currently using. In addition, the Vidalia Control Panel offers you a lot of features, like establishing your connection through TOR and appearance. You can also install the Torbutton for easier access.

2. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

In short words, VPN service is a private network which enables virtual encrypted connections that are hidden from prying eyes. It works by routing all of your Internet traffic via remote servers from all over the world. Basically, it’s a proxy service, but with more hip.

3. MAFIAAFire

MAFIAAFire is a plugin for Firefox and Google Chrome, which allows users to access portals that are either blocked or seized. Basically, it is an Internet browser redirector – in case a domain name of the website is seized, the plugin will search for similar domains and redirect you to a working one.

4. TorrentProxies
This is the easiest way of circumventing the blockage – just visit http://torrentproxies.com/ and choose any of the proxies listed there.

5. Direct IP

There are two ways to access a website: you either type in your browser’s address bar the usual address, like extratorrent.com, or the domain’s IP address. But first you have to find out which is it by either looking on the Internet for such a service, or finding it yourself by going to the Command Prompt in Windows and pinging the desired address (example: ping extratorrent.com, and you will see the number between the brackets as the website’s IP address).

Emergency Services Suffer Telephone DoS Attacks

Cyber criminals seem to be tying up emergency phone lines with phone-based DoS efforts, security experts report. Actually, TDoS has become a common weapon of annoyance and to extort cash from the targeted outfits, which are normally businesses and public service agencies.

According to the security experts, telephone DoS attacks use high volumes of automated calls in order to tie up target phone systems and halt both incoming and outgoing calls. Thus far, there have been plenty of such attacks, with their targets being mostly the administrative public safety answering point lines, but fortunately not the 911 emergency line. The point is that such offices were targeted because the attackers needed functional phone lines to carry out their attacks.

In the meanwhile, statistics reveal that many telephone-based attacks have targeted different businesses and public entities – for example, the financial sector, – as well as other public emergency operations interests, like air ambulance, ambulance and hospital communications.

So, what is the purpose of the attack? It seems that the attackers want to be paid protection money by the target entities. The scam scheme is quite simple: it normally starts with the companies getting a call from some “representative” of a purported payday loan company. During the conversation, a caller, in most cases speaking in a strong accent, demands payment of around $5,000 for an outstanding debt. After the caller is refused by the company, the perpetrator starts phone-based attacks, which can last for a few hours. Such attacks may stop for a while and then resume. Normally, once an entity is attacked, it might suffer random attacks over several weeks or even months.

In our days, the phone-based DoS attacks became so widespread because free IP-PBX software like Asterisk has become available. In addition, you can find online some computer-based call-generation instruments and easy-to-access SIP services. All this stuff makes it cheaper for the criminals to get their paws on such software and launch their extortion rackets even without much in the way of technical knowhow. Hopefully, the vital emergency services will remain unaffected by such scam efforts

Julian Assange Created Political Party

WikiLeaks founder, still hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy, seems to believe that the best way to attract attention is to create a political party. Julian Assange was forgotten by the news when it became clear that nothing was really going to happen. Apparently, Assange is miffed that he isn’t in the news any longer.

Short of leaving the Ecuadorian embassy and facing up to the sex charges, WikiLeaks founder has decided he might have a future in politics. However, Assange cannot leave the UK’s Ecuadorian embassy, as the British police will arrest him and deport to Sweden. This is why Assange chose another way and has appointed a high-profile opponent of the UK’s monarchy to run his campaign for a seat in Australia’s upper house of Parliament.

Greg Barns, a lawyer and former Australian Republican Movement head, admitted that he would become a campaign director for the WikiLeaks Party and spearhead Julian’s absentee bid for a Senate seat in Australia’s election this fall. However, even if Assange will be voted for, the bid wouldn’t allow him a get out of jail free card. To win, 15% of votes are needed in the Victoria state, but even if he wins he would need to go back to Australia to be sworn in, though he won’t do that while he could be arrested. Apparently, the days of the United Kingdom exporting its criminals to Australia have passed.

Greg Barns believes that it will be a serious campaign as WikiLeaks founder really attracts support from across the political spectrum. Barns claimed that a new party will offer a refreshing change from the Australian government’s culture of secrecy. The political platform is expected to be to champion free speech and break court suppression orders.

In the meanwhile, it would be a good position for a free speech advocate to be in – in case Assange wins a Senate seat, he would automatically be covered by Australia’s parliamentary privilege rules and therefore be protected against legal action over comments made in Parliament.

By the way, Assange’s new political party had already secured backing from Philip Wollen, a former Citibank executive. He also managed to find 500 members needed to fulfill party registration requirements. The experts are eager to see the fate of the party in the near future.

অ্যান্ড্রয়েড অ্যাপ স্টোরে বাগ

অ্যান্ড্রয়েড অ্যাপ স্টোর, গুগল প্লেতে ছড়িয়ে পড়েছে ‘ব্যাডনিউজ’ নামের নতুন এক বাগ। বার্তা সংস্থা বিবিসি এক প্রতিবেদনে জানিয়েছে, সাইবার নিরাপত্তাবিষয়ক প্রতিষ্ঠান লুকআউট আবিষ্কার করেছে এই বাগটি। জনপ্রিয় ৩২টি অ্যাপে বাগটির উপস্থিতি আবিষ্কার করেছে লুকআউট।

মূলত রাশিয়া, ইউক্রেন এবং বেলারুশের মতো পূর্ব ইউরোপীয় দেশগুলোর ব্যবহারকারীরা শিকার হয়েছেন ‘ব্যাডনিউজ’-এর।  বাগটির সংক্রমণের শিকার ব্যবহারকারীদের সঠিক সংখ্যাটি নিশ্চিত করতে না পারলেও, ২০ থেকে ৯০ লাখ ব্যবহারকারী বাগটির সংক্রমণের শিকার হতে পারেন বলে আশংকা করছে লুকআউট।

চারটি ডেভেলপার অ্যাকাউন্টের ৩২টি জনপ্রিয় অ্যাপে ‘ব্যাডনিউজ-এর উপস্থিতি খুঁজে পেয়েছে লুকআউট। এর মধ্যেই ডেভেলপার অ্যাকাউন্টগুলো বন্ধ করে দিয়েছে গুগল, অ্যাপ স্টোর থেকে সরিয়ে নিয়েছে ওই ৩২টি অ্যাপ।