Jari Ketola
31 Jul 2001 13:39
MediaDefender, a division of Laguna Beach-based OnSystems Inc., hs developed a software that blocks the access to copyrighted songs and other media shared on peer-to-peer networks.
The software works by scanning various peer-to-peer networks for copyrighted songs and then hammering the people offering the files with numerous requests. Since the peer-to-peer clients are designed for a few simultaneous connections, more than 100 requests will choke up the stream and prevent anyone else from getting the file. MediaDefender doesn't actually transfer the files it requests, so it doesn't consume any extra bandwidth from the client it blocks.
Another method used by MediaDefender is known as 'spoofing'. It offers files that look like the material the user is looking for, but contain no real data.
So far MediaDefender has only a few clients, but they have a firm belief in their service. They see it as a solution to the problem law isn't capable of containing.
There's little doubt that should MediaDefender become the method of choice among the record and movie industry, there will be some sort of counter action by the "hacker community".