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YTS Bypasses Security Warnings with Simple URL UpdateErnesto, 28 May 08:20 PM The Internet is full of threats. To help people steer clear from troub

YTS Bypasses Security Warnings with Simple URL Update Ernesto, 28 May 08:20 PM The Internet is full of threats. To help people steer clear from trouble, Google launched its Safe Browsing tool in 2012. This service marks problematic websites when there are potential malware and phishing problems. This information can then be used by third-parties to take action. In the past, several popular pirate sites have been flagged. These issues are usually caused by malicious advertisers. The operators of the sites get a heads up form Google, and after the problem is addressed, the flag is removed. YTS Pages Were Blocked by Chome and Firefox Last weekend, YTS had first-hand experience of this process. The torrent site, which serves millions of people per day, was branded a 'phishing' threat by Google. As a result, Chrome and Firefox blocked users from directly accessing some pages on the site. While the homepage showed no issues, the movie detail pages returned a full-screen red warning, cautioning people to stay away. Needless to say, these types of warnings will have a negative impact on the site's traffic, whether they are warranted or not. In other words, fixing the issue should be a high priority for the site's operator. And indeed, when we visited YTS today everything had returned to normal. Or so it seemed. The movie detail pages no longer threw up any warnings and downloading .torrent files worked just fine. Simple Trick Makes Security Warnings Disappear While this might appear to be a matter of 'case solved', taking a closer look at the site reveals a tiny but important change. The movie detail pages are no longer linked from a /movie/ subdirectory, but from /movies/, as shown below. Adding an 's' to the URL appears to be insignificant but, in this case, it's not. Apparently, this extra letter is the reason why users no longer see any warnings. The old URLs, without the 's' remain blocked. It seems odd that a site can bypass Google's elaborate Safe Browsing tool by simply updating a URL, but it works. A quick check in the Safe Browsing tool confirms that the new link to YTS.mx/movies is clean, while the old YTS.mx/movie link is still 'unsafe.' Whether YTS also tackled the underlying problem is unknown. However, we assume that the new links will eventually be flagged too if the issue persists. Enhanced Safe Browsing? The bypass trick comes just a few days after Google announced that it had started rolling out an 'enhanced Safe Browsing' for Chrome users. This has nothing to do with the YTS issues, but Google's intro is worth noting. "Over the past few years we've seen threats on the web becoming increasingly sophisticated. Phishing sites rotate domains very quickly to avoid being blocked," Google wrote. We wouldn't classify the addition of extra letter in the URL as 'sophisticated,' but it certainly helped to get rid of the security warning. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Russia Adopts Law to Block Pirate Apps and if Necessary, App Stores Too Andy, 28 May 10:13 AM As torrent indexes and streaming portals continue to provide access to copyrighted content, there has also been a considerable increase in the availability of software applications that facilitate access to movies, TV shows and similar content. These tools, which can be installed with minimal effort, often act as aggregators of content and presenting it in easy-to-use interfaces on mobile phones, tablets and similar devices. While the sources for this content can be handled with traditional takedown and blocking mechanisms, authorities in Russia have been seeking to take direct action against the apps themselves. Following its third reading, Russia's State Duma adopted new legislative amendments yesterday that will allow them to do just that. How the New Law to Tackle Piracy Within Apps Will Work After receiving a complaint from a copyright holder, local telecoms watchdog Roscomnadazor will have 72 hours to determine where the allegedly-infringing application is being hosted. This might typically be an official repository such as Google Play or Apple's App Store but could also be a third-party distributor or website offering a similar service or functionality. Roscomnadzor will then send an infringement notice to the platform informing it of the alleged violation while highlighting a requirement to limit the availability of the content identified in the notice. The app distribution platform will then have 24 hours following the receipt of the complaint to notify the application's owner that an infringement complaint has been filed. Within 24 hours of the developer being made aware of the details of the complaint, they will be required to prevent the specified content from being made available in their application. If they do not comply, the responsibility to prevent ongoing infringement will then fall back on the app distribution platforms themselves, requiring them to stop distributing the entire application. In the event that the application distributor fails to take the mandated removal or blocking steps, Roscomnadzor will then be able to issue an instruction to have the distributor itself blocked by all Internet service providers in Russia, thereby preventing consumers from having access to the platform in its entirety. "If the owner of the information resource [Google Play, Apple's App Store] has not limited access to the software application, the information necessary for taking measures to restrict access to the software application is sent to telecom operators," an announcement from the State Duma reads. Last-Ditch Efforts to Soften the Law Were Ignored In the original draft of the legislation, responsibility for blocking access to pirated content was limited to the developers/operators of the allegedly-infringing applications themselves. However, subsequent amendments expanded liability to application distribution platforms too. Several trade groups made last-minute appeals to the State Duma requesting that measures to block distribution platforms be removed from the legislation but their calls went unheeded. As a result, there are now fears that key app distribution players could be negatively affected by the measures due to additional requirements to monitor for the alleged infringements of third-parties. After two years in the making, the new law will be signed by President Vladimir Putin and into force on October 1, 2020. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. ©2020 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company