How safe is it to DL Torrents of new release movies? Its tempting but I havent done that because I'm paro and have a nagging concience.... can you get nabbed?

ah...someone else is catching on...alot of hmm how should i say this...a particular group i'm in...release things as torrents now...shouldn't have a problem..it's just like anything else though...you can attach a trojan to anything...so just be sure to scan the items after you download them...BEFORE you open it...

yeah, torrents, its like newsgroups, like IRC, its like downloading a proprietary download format, when combined turns into a file! w00t w00t!

you can be nabbed easily using torrents, the same as any other public file transfers. unless you have a secure private tracker to dl from, I'd advise against downloading copyrighted material.
lots of people have been nailed by the RIAA and MPAA using torrents. good hunting

Wow no one's answered his question yet.

The answer is yes you can be nabbed. Chances are slim though. That's why I'm a bit worried about downloading from publicly accessible torrents. If you look at some of the other BitTorrent clients it lets you see the IPs that are connected to the torrents. I've heard stories a while back of people getting tracked down and warned before. Not sure how true they were though.

I know many people that download them and they haven't been caught.

Wow, way to read all the posts there spork

I think torrents are generally safe. On the news this morning I saw an artical on google news in the SCI\tech section it appears the most danger is running a torrent server.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,66034,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2

I think torrents are generally safe. On the news this morning I saw an artical on google news in the SCI\tech section it appears the most danger is running a torrent server.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,66034,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2

technically torrent servers only host hash and sum check information about files not the files themselves so no, they are not in violation of any law - provided that the laws of the land where the server is located condones the use of computers to store and exchange information.
you're safer not owning a server in that right now since the MPAA and RIAA are idiots and are going after whom they consider the "big fish" of the piracy game - which is why they serve papers to massive file sharers and p2p servers. of course, most of the trackers are located overseas where copyright law doesn't even apply anyway.

this article is about Supernova and eDonkey getting sued. But nothing will come of it, not anytime soon anyway. I'm highly anticipating the upcoming legal stupidity that inevitably follow these lawsuits

The lounge president pardons all internet pirates.

Wow, way to read all the posts there spork
I did read all the posts there. Unfortuantely for me you posted as I typed up that message. Trust me, your post was not there when I posted it. If it was, I wouldn't have posted. :)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6713069/

I think torrents are generally safe. On the news this morning I saw an artical on google news in the SCI\tech section it appears the most danger is running a torrent server.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,66034,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2Some things to consider:

1) Downloading a file isn't as bad as uploading. The people who you've heard about being taken to court by the RIAA were all focused on due to having large available files for download. I've yet to hear about the RIAA going after someone for downloading. I don't think downloading is "safe", but it's just easier for them to make a case against someone who's uploading.

2) Torrents are better then the normal P2P software because everyone shares.

3) Because everyone is sharing, all parties on the torrents are possible targets for the RIAA, and now the MPAA.

4) I heard something like 50% of all online piracy is now being done on torrents. You can bet your ass they are going after people on torrents.

5) The torrent "server" doesn't actually transfer the files, you're far more in danger by participating in a torrent than running the tracking server. On the other hand, the tracking server is helping aid illegal activity, so I don't think anything is safe.