Clogger of P2P networks to shut down
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TrackBackA leading service that attempted to dissuade people from using file-trading networks like Kazaa, by planting millions of fake files online, is being shut down.
Seattle-based Loudeye said Friday that it is shuttering its Overpeer division, effective immediately, in an attempt to bolster the parent company's bottom line.
Executives did not immediately return a request for comment. However, in a filing with federal regulators in November, Loudeye said the Overpeer division had seen declining revenue through much of 2005 and that a major client had dropped its services at the end of the second quarter.
Overpeer rose to prominence in 2002, at the height of the Net's love affair with peer-to-peer networks, offering record companies and movie studios a way to discourage would-be file-swappers looking for hit music or films.
The company used banks of servers around the world to plant false files, so that when a file-trader downloaded the latest Matrix movie, for example, it would often turn out to be garbage data, or an advertisement.
Over time, peer-to-peer networks added features that let users rate files or otherwise make better guesses about the authenticity of downloads. In its financial filing, Loudeye--which purchased Overpeer in 2004--said these tools had diminished the effectiveness of its offering.
The company is seeking to sell the Overpeer assets, it said in a statement.
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TalkBack
In a perfect world:
Brandon Rusnak Dec 11, 2005, 1:00 PM PST
Sports Too
Saintdestruction ■ Dec 11, 2005, 11:03 AM PST
Are not such companies breakingthe law themselves?
Terry Bates Dec 10, 2005, 11:58 AM PST
What About Legal P2P Use?
Paul R Dec 10, 2005, 10:10 AM PST
Online theft
John Hudson Dec 10, 2005, 7:18 AM PST
A few observations
Joe Bolt Dec 10, 2005, 7:03 AM PST
Good Riddance
Jonathan Cohen Dec 9, 2005, 7:36 PM PST
Dogs like these will always have a fatal flaw
Ian Deal Dec 9, 2005, 6:15 PM PST
They should be?????
Harry Box Dec 9, 2005, 5:43 PM PST
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