The European Commission has just updated its counterfeiting and piracy watch list. A public document that clearly gives the names and addresses of sites and services allowing you to recover all kinds of pirated content!
Sites providing access to pirated content, whether it is their primary function or not, are still as popular as ever. And it is not the proliferation of streaming platforms and their constant price increases that will fix things… This popularity – and its consequences – obviously does not escape the authorities, whether it is Arcom or the representatives of rightful claimants who are deprived of their income. But, whether they offer downloadable files, streaming content or hacking tools, these specialized online sites and services are also in the sights of the European Commission, which has just published the third edition of its counterfeit and piracy watchlist. While it has no legal value, this list seeks to encourage operators, owners, governments and authorities to take appropriate action. It is therefore a form of diplomatic “pressure” which also makes it possible to strengthen cooperation with EU partners.
List of pirate sites: clear names and addresses
The document disseminated by the venerable institution targets well-known platforms, especially those located outside the European Union, which facilitate, profit from or openly engage in piracy and counterfeiting, thus infringing intellectual property rights. Astonishing detail, even amusing, it clearly gives the names and addresses – the URLs – of the sites and services targeted. A godsend for those who do not know them: all you have to do is enter their URL in the address bar of a browser to access them, changing the default DNS if necessary (see our article)…
In this third edition, we can note the pure and simple disappearance of the famous Bookfi.net, cyberlocker Wi.to, Youtubeconverter.io and the illegal IP television service Electrotv-sat.com. Other sites have also been removed from the list, without the reasons being given. This is the case for the 4shared file sharing service and Telegram instant messaging. And newcomers are entering, highlighting the incessant activity of the environment where the specialists play cat and mouse with the authorities to pass under the radar and circumvent the blocking measures…
Pirate sites: the hit parade of the European Commission
The European Commission’s list points to different types of sites. First of all, there are file hosting sites (also called cyber lockers) for direct download (DDL for direct download), streaming video hosting services and stream extraction services (a technique known as stream ripping, which allow you to recover audio-video content from streaming platforms by converting them into downloadable files). Also listed are catalog sites that host links to pirated content, torrent indexing sites (P2P and BitTorrent), lists containing pirate applications, hosting providers, illegal IPTV services, social networks and so-called piracy support services.
This year, we find The Pirate Bay, Rarbg.to, Rutracker.org and 1337x.to, mentioned for two years, as well as Uptobox.com, Rapidgator.net, Y2mate.com, Savefrom.net, Sci-Hub, Libgen and Seasonvar.ru. Newcomers have also been invited, such as Fmovies.to (a popular streaming portal with millions of regular users), Snappea.com (which allows you to download content from YouTube), DDoS-Guard (a host accused of support hacking sites,) and Mega, a large cloud storage platform – which took over from the famous Megaupload after its closure. Here is the latest version of famous list.
File Hosting Sites
- Mega.nz / Mega.io
- Uptobox.com
- uptostream.com
- Rapidgator.net
- Uploaded.net, ul.to, uploaded.to
- Dbree.org
Stream ripping services
- Y2mate.com – y2mate.com – en.y2mate.is
- Savefrom – Savefrom.net – ssyoutube.com – sfrom.ne
- Flvto.biz – 2conv.com
- Snappea.com
Link sites
- fmovies.to – fmoviesto.site – fmovies.ink – fmoviesto.cc – fmoviesto.hn
- Seasonvar.ru
- Rlsbb.ru
- Rezka.ag
Torrent indexing sites
- ThePirateBay.org – pirateproxy.space – thepiratebays.com
- Rarbg.to
- rutracker.org
- 1337x.to
Unlicensed Download Sites
- Music-Bazaar.com – Music-Bazaar.mobi
- Sci-hub.io – Sci-hub.tw – sci-hub.cc – sci-hub.ac – sci-hub.bz
- Libgen.onl
Hacking apps
- IPTV Smarters
- EVPAD
- Shabakaty
Hosting providers
- DDoS-Guard.net
- Private Layer
- Amarutu Technology Ltd (Amarutu or Koddos)
- AS-Istqservers
- Istqservers (Istq)
- HostPalace Web Solution PVT LTD (Host Palace)
Unlicensed IPTV Services
- BIPTV.best
- BestBuyIPTV.store
- King365tv.com – Theking365tv.pro
- VolkaIPTV.com
Social networks
Hacking Support Services
Mega: a still suspect platform
The case of Mega – ex-Megaupload – is a bit special because the site claims to be a law-abiding company. However, the European Commission points out in its report the absence of download filters and a recent Russian court decision. She explains that “stakeholders report to Mega the lack of preventive measures to prevent downloads of illegal content. According to their information, in January 2022, Internet service providers in Russia were ordered to permanently block the site following actions by music rights holders“, including Universal Music.
A decision that does not please Mega at all, especially since the site has not had the chance to explain itself. “Unfortunately, the Commission never contacted Mega for clarification or comment, so they misunderstood Mega and misrepresented our operations. Mega did not have the opportunity to correct the misunderstandings “, regrets Stephen Hall to Torrentfreak. The company stresses that it takes its copyright takedown responsibilities very seriously, removing more than 1.7 million pirated files in the first three quarters of 2022. It also stresses that the decision of the Russian court cited in the report was canceled after an appeal since “Universal Music’s claims were based on two public links that were immediately disabled, in accordance with Mega’s published procedure for handling reported copyright claims.” It is not impossible that Mega asks to be heard by the European Commission in order to defend itself. It would not be the first time since Cloudfare, cited in a previous version of the list, had managed to change her mind.