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AXXo

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aXXo is the Internet celebrity alias of an individual or a group of people known for infringing Copyrights by converting commercial DVD movies into files of ~700MB in size that are then uploaded for P2P torrent users to download for free.[1] On popular torrent sites such as isoHunt [2], Mininova [3] or the now defunct TorrentSpy aXXo files are attracting a large following because of their relatively small size and ease of download and use, with over a million people downloading those DVDrips every month.[4] Assuming US $3.00 as cost for a movie rental, this equates to about US $36 million pa in lost revenue for the entertainment industry.

A snapshot of Top Searches-report on the isoHunt torrent hosting site [2] identifies aXXo as the No. 1 search criteria of the isoHunt user community. A snapshot of aXXo's account on the Mininova torrent hosting site [3] reveals 340 torrents, the vast majority of which have hundreds and thousands of Seeds and Leeches attached to them. Assuming a conservative average of 300 Leeches per aXXo torrent would result in a total of ~100,000 Leeches at the time of the snapshot, and would extrapolate to ~16 million Leeches pa, based on a 48-hour turnaround.

Identity

aXXo's identity is not publicly known, due to pending legal action by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

The aXXo identity attracts a Cult-following and controversial discussions on Internet forums such as Digg [5] or The Pirate Bay [6] by The Scene.


Alleged Interviews

In one purported interview aXXo describes himself as male acting alone.[4]

In another purported interview on August 4th, 2008 in Dublin, Ireland, a certain Veronica, apparently a reporter for a major, but otherwise unspecified computing magazine, learns that aXXo stands for 2 male individuals, one from Wales, the other from Poland. [2]


A number of names attached to aXXo have emerged in Internet forums including:

An Duc Do

A news article supposedly from the New York Times suggested that aXXo was arrested as part of Operation D-Elite.[7]

In the Nov 12, 2007 article aXXo is named as An Duc Do,aka aXXo aged 25, of Orlando, Florida.[7] The article claims that Do, "pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on a two-count felony. He is charged with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and criminal copyright infringement (which brings a penalty of) up to 10 years in prison coupled with a fine of $500,000. He will be sentenced on February 27th, 2008."

While Judge Legrome D. Davis is an actual judge on the Eastern District and Operation D-Elite did take place the actual scanned clipping shown on the site is a fake template commonly used in hoax stories.

Another version of the article mentions An Duc Do but does not link him in any way to aXXo.[8]

John Burningham

In another supposed New York Times article that used the same hoax clipping image it was claimed that aXXo, aka John Burningham, was killed in a traffic accident on the Interstate 95. [9]


The sources of those hoaxes are unknown.


Other Fakes

Because of its popularity in the Torrent-subculture the pseudonym aXXo is faked by a variety of individuals and groups to mimic the source identity as a disguide for their own uploads on torrent hosting sites. This creates the One in The Hundred and One Dalmatians-effect for the user when trying to pick a torrent-file for download. Some decoys are made available by a range of companies in the field of copyright enforcement, such as BayTSP, MediaDefender, or MediaSentry, with the aim of constricting illegal Internet traffic.

Downloading a faked file results in ~700MB of typically useless and potentially malicious data. [10]

The range of malicious fake files includes RAR format files that require the user to download a Trojan Virus disguised as codec needed to open AVI format files. Other fakes encourage to register to dubious sites or require Domplayer software. Fakes might contain Malware being capable of retrieving the IP address of the hardware running the BitTorrent client.

References

  1. ^ Katie Cincotta (July 12, 2007). "Going for a song" (HTML). The Age. Retrieved 2008-01-13. He downloads a file by aXXo, BitTorrent's most popular DVD ripper. "aXXo has all the best movie copies so you tend to trust him. His file sizes are around 700 MB, which fit perfectly onto a standard CD," he says.
  2. ^ a b c . isoHunt.com. 2008-08-13 aXXo search on %5b%5bisoHunt%5d%5d http://isohunt.com/torrents/?ihq=aXXo= aXXo search on [[isoHunt]]. Retrieved 2008-08-19. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help) Cite error: The named reference "isoHunt" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "aXXo's account on [[Mininova]]" (HTML). Mininova.org. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2008-08-13. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  4. ^ a b Ernesto (March 11, 2007). "Interview: aXXo, The Most Popular DVD Ripper on BitTorrent" (HTML). Retrieved 2008-01-13.
  5. ^ . digg.com. 2008-08-19 The BitTorrent Legend Returns - I Am aXXo http://digg.com/tech_news/The_BitTorrent_Legend_Returns_I_Am_aXXo The BitTorrent Legend Returns - I Am aXXo. Retrieved 2008-08-19. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ . thepiratebay.com. 2008-08-19 Collection of 447 movies, with discussion following at the end of the listing http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3881738/All_aXXo_torrents__Collection_of_447_movie_torrents__%5BXafke%5D Collection of 447 movies, with discussion following at the end of the listing. Retrieved 2008-08-19. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ a b "Another EliteTorrents Uploader Facing 10 Years in Prison" (HTML). 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-19. An Duc Do, aged 25, of Orlando, Florida, has pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on a two-count felony. He's charged with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and criminal copyright infringement.
  8. ^ Cohen (2007-11). "Orlando man pleads guilty for violating Family Entertainment Copyright Act through Elite Torrents network" (HTML). coveringflorida. Retrieved 2008-01-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "aXXo is Dead" (HTML). zipile.com. Oct 11, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-13. John Burningham, some might know him as AxxO through some popular torrent sites which are often used to upload illegal software and multimedia; was pronounced dead after a tragic interstate accident off of I-95 October 10th. Authorities found out the identity of this popular "DVD Ripper" after going through his appartment and not being able to find any relatives or close contacts. The case was turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigations due to recent copyright prohibitions, codes and other regulations.
  10. ^ enigmax (April 28, 2007). "aXXo Torrents Exploited by Malware Peddlers" (HTML). torrentfreak.com. Retrieved 2008-01-13. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
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