Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#101

Post by kokx » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:15 PM UTC

nolemurs wrote: post #90

ItsMe000001 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run all such queries in a dedicated Linux VM so that I visit any "strange" websites only in that VM. I use a browser not connected to my (sync) account and don't login to any of my usual websites. uBlock Origin with all kinds of lists enabled is on, uMatrix is installed but it was too much of a hassle so it remains disabled. I hope my feeling of relative safety is justified, but I'm not a security expert(?). PS: Be…

> I hope my feeling of relative safety is justified, but I'm not a security expert(?). If you want to be properly paranoid, you should consider getting a VPN. If you're not hiding your IP address, hiding all the rest is of limited utility. A VM doesn't really provide much meaningful anonymity - if someone wants to prosecute you for piracy they'll start by finding the IP address that was downloading/sharing the stuff…

If you are properly paranoid, a VPN won't offer much anonymity. VPNs may still keep logs (even if they say they don't, or when they receive NSLs they may be forced to do so).

For real anonymity, Tor is a much better option. Especially if used from a distribution like Tails.

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#102

Post by kokx » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:20 PM UTC

novaRom wrote: post #60

On any new device I normally do the same thing each time: 1) Install Firefox Nightly 2) Install uBlock Origin add-on 3) Enable Duck Duck Go as default search engine 4) Enjoy I am still looking for a good replacement for Gmail.

So far, I really like ProtonMail as a gmail replacement. Their web interface is great. It costs quite a bit more money though (compared to free gmail).

I've been using it for half a year now, and the only gmail features I miss (their spam filtering and automatically prioritizing mails) are those that require them to read your mail. Which I like that they cannot.

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#103

Post by ItsMe000001 » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:24 PM UTC

nolemurs wrote: post #90

ItsMe000001 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run all such queries in a dedicated Linux VM so that I visit any "strange" websites only in that VM. I use a browser not connected to my (sync) account and don't login to any of my usual websites. uBlock Origin with all kinds of lists enabled is on, uMatrix is installed but it was too much of a hassle so it remains disabled. I hope my feeling of relative safety is justified, but I'm not a security expert(?). PS: Be…

> I hope my feeling of relative safety is justified, but I'm not a security expert(?). If you want to be properly paranoid, you should consider getting a VPN. If you're not hiding your IP address, hiding all the rest is of limited utility. A VM doesn't really provide much meaningful anonymity - if someone wants to prosecute you for piracy they'll start by finding the IP address that was downloading/sharing the stuff…

I don't want to hide my IP address. I'm not paranoid about being found - nothing I do is illegal (I don't download, I watch streams, and that isn't illegal here, only if I downloaded the videos). For me it's only about system security, not legality. The latter would not be helped at all by using a VM.

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#104

Post by swaggyBoatswain » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:28 PM UTC

abhiminator wrote: post #4

As much as I despise multi-billion dollar 'copyright holding' corporations, I feel this is a strategic move by Google to thrust more legitimate channels of media consumption (Netflix, Prime Video, Et al) to the top of the search results page. Having said that, people who actually use torrents regularly know their way around Google and other web-based search engines, and this move, therefore, should have little or no…

I find myself using Bing all the time precisely for this reason.

I would love to subscribe to netflix, hulu, hbo, etc but all my favorite TV shows are always on different networks. I wouldn't mind paying for the service (but not for 3 of them), but the online streaming mirrors are really good at what they do.

Bing just works. Its has significantly less bias than google which is why I always use 2 search engines.

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#105

Post by jstalin » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:33 PM UTC

If only they would downrank sites that exist purely to defame: ripoffreport, stdreport, blacklistreport, etc.

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#106

Post by swaggyBoatswain » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:34 PM UTC

AngryData wrote: post #7

Google has been trash for pirate content for awhile now. 9/10 sites it does show are fake and straight up malicious with like 50 different things trying to hijack your browser and make you install shit. Not that real pirate sites are exactly safe, but at least they actually provide what people are looking for.

When I search for TV shows I watch it inside a VPN sandboxie on a isolated incognito browser I don't use everyday. Any data that writes to a local DB is done through an isolated folder instead. I've learned the hard way having to reinstall my computer too many times. I don't run things like umatrix though.

Torrents and pirate sites are actually fairly safe. You can always double check the SHA hash signature of the file you download as well with the official source.

I don't endorse pirating at all and usually pay for all my software though. Its just all my favorite TV shows are across multiple networks. I would pay money for a netflix that encompasses every TV show based on my usage. Such a service doesn't exist though.

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#107

Post by codedokode » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:40 PM UTC

I would prefer that Google would add labels like "pirate site" or "legitimate copy". How can a normal user understand what kind of site they are visiting and whether the site has a legal copy of a movie? The copyright agreements are not public.

For example, there is a website that allows to watch Japanese TV from abroad (quite expensive by the way). How one can be sure that they are not paying to scammers?

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#108

Post by ddtaylor » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:46 PM UTC

swaggyBoatswain wrote: post #104

abhiminator wrote: post #4

As much as I despise multi-billion dollar 'copyright holding' corporations, I feel this is a strategic move by Google to thrust more legitimate channels of media consumption (Netflix, Prime Video, Et al) to the top of the search results page. Having said that, people who actually use torrents regularly know their way around Google and other web-based search engines, and this move, therefore, should have little or no…

I find myself using Bing all the time precisely for this reason. I would love to subscribe to netflix, hulu, hbo, etc but all my favorite TV shows are always on different networks. I wouldn't mind paying for the service (but not for 3 of them), but the online streaming mirrors are really good at what they do. Bing just works. Its has significantly less bias than google which is why I always use 2 search engines.

As a subscriber of Netflix it's trash for my tastes now. Many of the shows I did enjoy are no longer on the service and once my subscription runs out I won't be renewing it.

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#109

Post by ddtaylor » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:48 PM UTC

AngryData wrote: post #7

Google has been trash for pirate content for awhile now. 9/10 sites it does show are fake and straight up malicious with like 50 different things trying to hijack your browser and make you install shit. Not that real pirate sites are exactly safe, but at least they actually provide what people are looking for.

I find it entertaining Google will fight "piracy" which could include downloading content you legally have the ability to watch while promoting malware instead.

Re: Google Downranks 65,000 Pirate Sites in Search Results

#110

Post by mintplant » Sat, Jun 30, 2018, 2:49 PM UTC

icebraining wrote: post #36

terminalcommand wrote: post #22

I seriously think we need torrent trackers solely residing on ipfs. The popular trackers (such as ptb) remove content very easily. It is getting really hard to find tv shows on the net. What we need is a completely anonymous distributed solution. We won't need google then.

https://www.tribler.org/ , which is developed by a not-for-profit research group supported by EU and Dutch research funding, does distributed torrent search without any central server. It's been around for almost a decade now.

Careful, all Tribler users are effectively exit nodes in Tor terminology. Other users' downloads will appear to come from your IP as your machine participates in the proxy network. This is spelled out exactly nowhere on their site, which I think is brazenly irresponsible.