Dec 21, 2023 09:00:00

What is the 'whack-a-mole strategy' by which pirated sites avoid blocking?

by

Sheep'R'Us

A major effort to eliminate pirated sites is to prevent access by blocking the domains of popular pirated sites from search results. Some pirated sites frequently change their domains in response to this blocking, and the blocking side responds to a variety of domains in response to the current situation, which is a ``whack-a-mole'' situation. TorrentFreak, a news media that deals with issues, explains this.

Torrent Site Switched Domains 39 Times This Year to Evade ISP Blocks * TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/torrent-site-switched-domains-39-times-this-year-to-evade-isp-blocks-231217/

Blocking the domains of pirated sites has become an immediate and effective way to combat piracy. Google does not display sites with direct 'removal requests' or blocked domains in search results, making it difficult for users to access pirated sites whose domains have been blocked. In fact, Google has reported that in 2022 alone, it has removed approximately 680 million pieces of ``content suspected of copyright infringement'' from search results.

More than 680 million URLs will be blocked by Google due to copyright infringement in 2022, and nearly half of them will be blocked without ever being displayed - GIGAZINE

However, blocking a domain does not necessarily shut down the site itself, so there are cases where avid users bypass the block and access it. In addition, pirated sites sometimes fight against blocking; for example, the world's largest pirated library ``Z-Library'' responds to domain seizure by assigning unique domains to users to evade regulations, or when a domain is seized. The company took various countermeasures, including releasing a 'browser extension' that allows users to immediately access new domains even after they have accessed them.

The world's largest pirated library ``Z-Library'' releases ``browser extension for accessing sites'' in preparation for domain seizure - GIGAZINE

DonTorrent, a Spanish torrent site visited by millions of users every month, has been repeatedly blocked by providers following complaints from rights holders. However, according to TorrentFreak, DonTorrent is 'doing everything in its power to fight back against the block,' so the block has hardly caused a decrease in the number of users.

DonTorrent has changed its domain name 39 times since the beginning of 2023, avoiding domain blocks. Normally, when a domain changes, it becomes difficult for existing users to continue accessing it, but the official DonTorrent account on Telegram , an encrypted messaging service, has about 80,000 registrants, and there are We maintain traffic by sharing domain name updates. In addition, DonTorrent is actively working on countermeasures against blocks, such as sharing tips for unblocking users with encryption and making it accessible on the Tor network, which is often used for browsing the dark web. .

Providers block each new DonTorrent domain that is discovered, and providers must respond to each new domain that appears one after another. Even if a provider blocks a site, a new domain is immediately prepared and the site continues to operate on a 'stop-gap' basis, so TorrentFreak has become a 'domain avoidance strategy like a game of whack-a-mole.' Expressing.

A spokesperson for DonTorrent said, ``Although there are seasonal fluctuations in traffic, these are not related to blocking, and basically DonTorrent's traffic is stable.Therefore, we believe that our efforts have been successful.'' 'If we have a domain as a backup, it may also be heavily monitored, so if a domain is blocked, we register a new one the same day.' Masu.