On the 15th of this month Universal Pictures France filed a takedown request with Google (archived) demanding they remove from results sites hosting or linking pirated copies of Jurassic World. Among the addresses Universal demanded Google sanction was 127.0.0.1 which is the IP address a computer reserves for communicating with itself. This means that not only was Universal seeding its own film to pirates, it was likely doing so from the same machine used detect and prepare a report on infringement for Universal. Continue reading
Category Archives: Commentary
Continued DDoS Attack Against Qntra
If you have attempted to read Qntra these past few days, chances are you've had some difficulty reaching the website. Since the inception of this site, it has come under regular ddos attack by an unknown individual or group who wish to limit our ability to publish content and your ability to read it. We publish all comments whether they are critical or not so I encourage those responsible for the down time to engage the site in that manner of discourse. Regardless, Qntra will continue to persevere despite the attack – we're not going anywhere.
Transaction Fee Market Develops Amid Surge in Transaction Volume
This week a flood of transactions which has alternately been called a spam attack or a stress test has forced Bitcoin users to adapt to a competitive transaction fee market for the first time since early 2013 when blocksize was consistently near default soft limit of 250 kilobytes. Numerous Bitcoin users and businesses are adapting to the flood of transactions by increasing their own transaction fees. At the present there are more than seventy megabytes of unconfirmed transactions leading to more naive users on Reddit and other social media to revert to speculating about blocksize hardforks which would merely amplify the problems this sort of flooding attack poses. Continue reading
Qntra (S.QNTR) June 2015 Statement
XOtika.tv Bitcoin Live Adult Entertainment Reaches Beta
Bitcoin entrepreneur Naphex recently unveiled a beta version of his adult webcam site XOtika.tv for public testing and enjoyment. At present the service is only tested to work on Google's Chrome web browser, but the technological aspects of the service are continually iterating at this time for continued improvement. Even at this early stage though Naphex has recruited a number of high quality talents to provide numerous entertainment options for viewers. Unlike some older services like LiveJasmin which have happened to eventually sign on with third party Bitcoin payment providers, XOtika is built around Bitcoin and works to leverage advantages inherent to Bitcoin for the benefit of users and performers. Between the solid and improving technological base and the early stable of high quality entertainers XOtika has the potential to be the first serious contender born in Bitcoin to enjoy success in the live online adult entertainment industry.
Attack on Dallas PD Headquarters: Another Drop in Bucket of Frustrated Americans
Riding in a customized "Zombie Apocalypse Assault Vehicle and Troop Transport" with several pipe bombs in tow, Texas resident James Lance Boulware peppered the Dallas Police Department headquarters with bullets last Saturday, damaging the building itself as well as a squad car. While nobody at the scene was injured other than Boulware himself, who was killed by a police sniper through the windshield of his vehicle, Dallas Police Chief David Brown stated "We think he was specifically targeting officers." Continue reading
Qntra (S.QNTR) May 2015 Statement
Gavin Backs Off Blocksize: Scapegoats Memory, UTXO Set
Having retreated from the Vessenes Bitcoin Foundation to his new residence at MIT, USGavin, also known as Satoshi dress-up impersonator Gavin Andresen, has given up promoting larger block sizes. Continue reading
Ripple Labs Fined for Violating Bank Secrecy Act
The United States Financial Crimes Enforement Network (FinCEN) released a statement today charging Ripple Labs Inc. with a $700,000 fine for willfully violating the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act. XRP II, LLC a subsidiary of Ripple Labs Inc. operates Ripple Trade a website where users can trade various assets and currencies for XRP. FinCEN claims Ripple's subsidiary XRP II, LLC "failed to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program" compliant with the BSA. This marks the first time a virtual currency exchanger has received a civil penalty from the United States government.