www.giangvu.com is the domain in question.

Some anonymous yahoo.com emailed complaining the forum is linking to warez, etc. However there's not so much as a key generator in the file space the domain uses. The forum does seem to have a fair amount of information passing hands but I didn't even see any posted links, just "reply to me for ip and path".

I don't even try to police content, how can you? My criteria is "if it's illegal it'll get pulled" but is this? I have no desire to pull a web site down that's not doing anything truly illegal. I'm not asking "morally" or "right and wrong" but pure black and white "this is illegal to host".

Thanks :)

INAL, but you should be fine unless the copyrighted material is actually hosted on your server.

Besides, nothing to worry about unless a copyright holder contacts you to remove offending material.

If in doubt, get a legal opinion.

Good luck

Brandon

If this site is about warez than most likely he's running a pirated version of vbulletin. It's not your obligation to check their license but be shure the makers of vbulletin will find out very fast. You imagine what your next move would be?

Why I'd have to tell him to either make it legit or get rid of the offending software :)

It's not what I'd call a warez site, no popups and porn banners, just more of a community type deal really.

I'd be really really edgy about these types of sites. Think of it like renting a room out to a drug dealer who stores the drugs elsewhere. The dealer attracts people and not the ones you want near your apartment. What happens when the dealer gets someone ticked off? House go BOOM, as will the server or network or whever the people they ticked off wish to target. Would you like that to be your box?

Moderators of the forum are posting ip where to download warez games, There was some times ago legal troubles for a well know forum isonews where visitors posting links to warez movies, games and applications.

This is a link with a post relating an ip where to dowload copyrighted material

http://www.giangvu.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=372

If you knowingly allow a site on your server to be used to facilitate the illegal distribution of warez, you are subject to possible action against you.

Furthermore, is this really how you want to make your money? I would personally choose to remove the site if it were on my server. Your own TOS would allow you to do so. You clearly state that customer can not engage in any sort of illegal activity. Facilitating warez distribution is clearly that.

The Communications Decency act imdenifies all ISP and OPS providers from legals ervice for content violations, hostile content, or similar matter arising from their users. This protection is absolute once the ISP/OSP status is determined. Napster tried to obtain that status but failed, AOL on the other hand used it when one one of heir "contractors" (matt drudge i believe) did some things that got them sued for slander.

All in all, the act protects you... however, since you seem to know there is a possible illegal action going on (ie your post on this forum) i wouldnt count on full protection. never assume you're fully protect even if the law says you are, it takes money to proove it and thats enough to cause pleanty of harm...

As an ISP, you cannot be held responsible for such material; however, in order to protect yourself from getting sued in the first place, I'd send an email to the SPA pointing this out to them.

It's just that the whole site isn't really "dedicated to warez" as far as I can tell, it seems to be mainly a viet community type deal with the forums also being a trading channel. But openly posting ips/logins for warez ftp I think does cross a certain line that could result in future problems. Plus I mean where are the XXX popups and zoo sex pop unders and penis enlargement banners so I could really feel GOOD about having to threaten the client with removal if they don't clean it up in a hurry :D

Your best course of action would then probably be to contact the owners and tell them they MUST remove those links and moderate their users properly so none of them show up. If they leave because of that then you'll see just how much the site really is based off that.

Demon Internet came off worse in a big legal case over a posting on one of their newsgroups which they didn't remove. You can't assume complete indemnity from your clients' actions.

i looked through the forums and couldnt stop tripping over the red flags
iso requests
satelite mods

if you ask me you are asking for it hosting this site

There is stuff about burning PS2 disks, getting free DirectTV (a whole forum for that infact).

I wouldn't like the idea of hosting them.

Send a polite e-mail to your customer saying that the content of the site is unacceptable and explain why. Tell them that they can either clean up the content of the site or start looking for a new host. Refer them to your terms of service. Do not let your resources be used in a manner with which you are not 100% happy. If you even have to ask, then the site should be off your servers by now.

Originally posted by JustinK
I'd be really really edgy about these types of sites. Think of it like renting a room out to a drug dealer who stores the drugs elsewhere. The dealer attracts people and not the ones you want near your apartment. What happens when the dealer gets someone ticked off? House go BOOM, as will the server or network or whever the people they ticked off wish to target. Would you like that to be your box?

Evict the dealer, but do it politely and tactfully, otherwise he will leave, locking you in the room and setting it to go BOOM with you inside it.

Totally off topic, but speaking of evictions, I'm about to have to evict the 3rd set of renters from my house (I rent my house out so I can rent a house where I can get broadband, priorities eh?). It makes me :angry: to have to go through THIS again. But they owe me 3 months rent now :bawling:

Seeing as this is a questionable incident, ie your client hasn't actually got any warez on your server etc, then it would perhaps be a bit unfair to simply tell him to find another host. You should give him a chance to rectify the situation by cleaning up dodgy posts, say, within 3 or 7 days etc, then failing this, you can terminate his account. He might not have realised necessarily that he's overstepped the mark, on the other hand, he may not care two hoots about it, and will simply move on to the next host.

Obviously, had he uploaded warez or porn etc etc, it would be a different kettle of fish, and you should give him a good firm boot up the backside and wave bye bye.

Yeah it really bites the big one when you have to turn away high end clients. I had a guy sign up for my most high end account ($50.00 per month for 100 Gigs o' Transfer)...I checked out his site initially and it was some sort of bulgarian culture website...At this point I'm thinking..this is odd.

In any evernt, after tracking stats I see that he is mirroring a game copy website. There is a disclaimer saying that you must own a copy of a game before you can download a copy, but the bottom line is that I'm not going to risk my whole business for any one account. I sent him the following in an email:

Your hosting service has been terminated do to the transfer of copyrighted material from your website. Per our terms of service:

The Prime Host prohibits sites engaged in:

Illegal activities including but not limited to storing and/or distributing illegal copies of copyrighted software, warez sites, violations of copyrights and trademarks, violations of U.S. laws, selling and/or distributing illegal contraband.

I refunded his setup fee and never heard a word out of him.

This has been around for a long long time now...

Its not only warez its also Mp3s and other illegal stuff through file transfer!

The bulletin board/Forum is just like a big warez get together... A basic Convo goes like this...:

User1: I need proggiex. v4
dodboy : user/pass 66.445.32.2 /fetch/proftp/~/home/proggiex.v4
User1 : Thanks

Simple as this.... Its the same with all the Mp3s sites now they are running very large bulletin boards and they are trading via posting FTP info or leaving username and passwords for offers from others!

They host it on there own adsl / cable most of the time but sometimes they use pay hosts ( You and Me) and free Hosts ( Some others around here) This is what actually can get us in deep trouble.. the files themselves can get your server stolen (Taken) by feds in order to use it in court against pirates! This means all your users lose there info and also you lose a server!

Oh and the feds dont pay for it either, you must be insured against this! I think its public liability insurence!

Maybe you should ask the customer directly what he actually does with his website and why his forum is so big... And if he asks why advise him that we are going to be checked by fed police in the coming weeks! See how he reacts to that!

Just my suggestion...

Kind regards to all!

Hey guys, may I ask:
is it illegal to have a link to an illegal warez site? Is that allowed? Can they prosecute you if you do this?

Thanks :)

Depending on who claims you are in their jurisdiction, "They" can prosecute you for any number of things.

Besides ethical considerations, you need to think about the likelyhood of prosecution, and the possible costs. Your tolerance for risk is also a big factor.

For an established host, the possible costs are much greater than they might be for an individual. Tolerance for risk also tends to decrease when you have more at stake. (Explaining why most medium sized, established hosts shy away from more risky issues.)

Sorry I didn't directly answer your question, but there is more to it than whether or not "They" can prosecute you. "They" can probably prosecute much of the population for various reasons if "They" choose to do so.

In CT, it is illegal to use a white cane unless you are blind. I highly doubt they prosecute many people for using a white cane without being blind. Could "They" prosecute someone for it? Yes. Would "They" get a conviction? Who knows... The fine is less than $100. Given that, I wouldn't be very scared of having a white cane there.

Originally posted by Dixiesys
www.giangvu.com is the domain in question.

Some anonymous yahoo.com emailed complaining the forum is linking to warez, etc. However there's not so much as a key generator in the file space the domain uses. The forum does seem to have a fair amount of information passing hands but I didn't even see any posted links, just "reply to me for ip and path".

I don't even try to police content, how can you? My criteria is "if it's illegal it'll get pulled" but is this? I have no desire to pull a web site down that's not doing anything truly illegal. I'm not asking "morally" or "right and wrong" but pure black and white "this is illegal to host".

Thanks :)

The design of http://www.giangvu.com/ is an illegal rip. Was designed by Corey Wojen (runs yaxay.com and yoursighost.com, might have saw some of his work at f5hosting.com) exclusively for MacFora. MacFora.com owns that design.