Satellite Piracy in Canada and U.S. in 2010

The purpose of this thread is to discuss the Status of satellite television piracy in Canada and the U.S. in 2010.

The last time we ran this thread was in Mid 2008 and after what I found tonight (see post #2), I thought maybe it was time to get an update from folks who follow this.

Note to all posters

If you wish to post on this thread and wish to remain a member then remember the following:
  • Digital Home does NOT condone satellite piracy.
  • Don't try to justify or condone satellite piracy;
  • Don't post links to piracy sites;
  • Don't post any how-to's;
  • Hitler / Communism comments and accusations will get you an infraction without warning!
Satellite piracy is stealing therefore it is illegal and there is no justification for it so don't even try!

Why this thread is allowed on Digital Home?

The sociology of "white collar crime" is a valid topic of discussion and members are free to discuss the nature of the crime, the number of people committing the crime and similar statistics.

A grim analogy would be the discussion homicides. Murder is illegal however discussing murder rates in different cities and countries, number of murders committed using guns vs. knives etc is acceptable.

Questions to consider:
  • How prevalent is satellite piracy in Spring 2010?
  • What systems are secure and not secure?
  • Is Bell TV's system secure after the last card swap?
Topics to avoid:

To avoid flames and a lot of topic discussions please avoid the following.
  • What piracy was like three years ago.
  • The CRTC
  • The FCC
  • The Government
 
I found this on a site tonight that ironically contained Bell TV ads and Rogers TV ads and got me to wondering about satellite piracy these days.

What surprised me is this site that I took this from is based in Quebec and gives a name and location of a person to send money to.

Is this not illegal????
 
I have to admit, the engineering behind the IKS device is pretty slick. And if Nagra plays their cards right, they could use the same technology for their own benefit by having new Nagra cards "phone home" so they can authenticate the subscription against the actual receiver through multiple ID schemes, completely invalidating the IKS device. Even on a dial-up connection, it should work reasonably well since the process wouldn't require a huge amount of data.

This might be the first time the pirates served a practical solution to the industry on a silver platter.
 
The fact they want money orders is a huge red flag that it isn't even real, but a scam.
The fact there was a huge bust last year in Quebec, and the fact this is such an open site for advertising, makes me think it really is a scam.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061011/stellite_piracy_061011/20061011?hub=Canada
 
All providers already tell you to plug your receiver into in your phone line problem is it's not always possible (4 receivers in my home not phone lines in the bedrooms). I seem to remember a time when these guy's could even get around the phone dialing issues using software nothing is 100% secure these days.
 
Yeah - the fact that Western Union is listed as the only payment option shows me that this is scam central.
 
To be clear in the Canadian context.
Do you mean piracy of US signals by means of a legal decryption device ( aka settop box/sat receiever) that was purchased and the monthly fees paid but that being illegal to do in Canada or do you mean the stricter definition of piracy that being that the decryption device is stolen in that no programming fees are being paid?

Either way, admitting that I don't follow this at all closely, I certainly have seen no mention of it in my newspapers or on the TV news lately. I wonder if the rise of streaming or downloadable TV over the internet is replacing satellite piracy. Logically one might assume that people in the deep countryside who can't get high speed internet might continue to use their illegal satellite dishes and townies would turn to the internet.

I'll be interested to watch this thread.
 
It is sadly nothing new Hugh, it has been around for quite some time.

Receivers need to be connected to the Internet via a "dongle", through this device, the new "keys" are obtained and transmitted to the receiver and thus you get to watch TV.

In the very early days of IKS (Internet Key Sharing) I believe it was a setup with a Subscribed Receiver at the Server end of the system and your FTA box at the other. The valid "keys" are obtained fro the Sub box and arrive at the FTA via the dongle.

Only programming available on Subscription was watchable on this setup, no PPV or suchlike.

This has since become more and more sophisticated and the software available to achieve this has made its' way from the big guys to smaller individuals and groups.

I am now led to believe, I could be wrong here but, it is now possible for the average PC owner to hook up a subscribed receiver to a device and create a server in their own home, and make that IP address etc available to a select group of people who can then 'share' the programming.

If that individual chooses to purchase a PPV Movie (don't forget, this is a legit subscribed receiver on a legit account), this is then also 'shared' via IKS to anyone with access to the server.

Small groups inviting only very select people to join and pay a monthly fee can function well below the radar of the Sat Co's.

Most of the above is just what I learn on a daily basis, dealing with various customers and situations around the GTA.
 
That link refers to a bust prior to the Nagra 3 system being implemented and the article is actually dated;

CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Wed. Oct. 11 2006 11:01 PM ET

That leads me to believe this was using "open" Nagra 2 Cards, in fact in the article they talk about "cards". Cards are not used in any way for this newer wave of piracy, well not by the end user anyway.
 
Most of the IKS thieves using FTA boxes are being shut down (ie NFusion). IP logs are checked and those dumb enough to use it will get a demand letter from the provider. As Pinza points out, the most sophisticated method now uses a private server. Regular provider receivers can be used that have been modified. One sub is shared and any programming the sub has is available to all on the network. Including purchased PPVs. The providers will have a hard time dealing with the private IKS which is actually called Card Sharing.
 
IKS systems have been running for several years. nFusion was the first that I am aware of out there but when the switch to N3 came the other FTA box mfgs added it to their line up.

I was in a local computer store last fall and these devices were on the counter openly being sold. I see full page ads in the newspapers for stores listing these devices when I travel across Canada, this is not a big secret.

Long & short it is piracy and has been going on openly before the N3 switch, this is not news. I pay my sub monthly, complaining about the price, but I pay.
 
yes they tells you by contract to plug ALL your receivers but as you say it's not possible to many customers so what to do ????
not subscriptions to rooms with no phone lines ?
if so they will loose many subscribers to the other providers
and they could risk a new piracy wave as ppl would try to look for alternatives to get their programming in places with no phone lines

it's an impossible situation as the subs pays their bill
 
Card sharing and IKS cost as much or more than account sharing yet could result in criminal charges or a civil law suit. Those still pirating TV are not the sharpest knives in the drawer but then again it is mainly the "FTA" folks still doing it which explains the lack of intelligence.
 
I am surprised that Bell lets it go though. I mean the guy is advertising his name and location. This is not some off-shore operation!
 
Care to explain the last bit Peano?

I use an true FTA system as well as many others on DHC. I actually bought an NFusion box last week after reading that it did 8PSK. I tried it an sure enough, that box is best used for the patched eye crowds. It doesn't do true FTA and 8PSK. It is other members of DHC that have warned me....after I told them I had bought the box.

It is now on it's way back where I got it from and awaiting my money. I'm sure the reason the person was selling it to start with was because the box wouldn't do what it was designed for: steal BEV or DISH. I will never know cause I do FTA, the true kind.

Again, please explain the last bit.
 
Bell does have a long history of being a "common carrier" and perhaps that deep down attitude applies to the 'net as well... so far.
 
Some things:

First, a pirate site getting Bell and Rogers ads is not strange. It is the 3rd party ad service providing the ads, and the site usually has no control of the ads. I saw this on a few legitimate satellite TV forums in the heyday of FTA piracy, where they would regularily get ads from what one could call pirate FTA vendors or message boards.

IKS isn't really an N3 "fix", it is a half fix. It might be as good as it gets.

Not to put words in Hugh's mouth, but I believe he means piracy where a modified or unauthorized (as in the provider has not given it permission to decrypt programming) receiver system is used to access an encrypted pay service, regardless of the otherwise legality or not of the provider being pirated.
Being Bell is a provider legal to subscribe to, using such means to access their service would be piracy.

Yes in the bigger scheme of things, under the law of the land and rules of this board, a "grey market" actual subscription to a foreign service not licensed in Canada is considered as illegal as the above , but should probably not be discussed in this thread.

IKS requires a certain degree of broadband to work, so those with only dial-up might not get anything.

Bell needs a crew of people looking for these things in local papers and such.
 
I meant people who use FTA boxes to steal. That is why I put FTA in quotations since the term is a misnomer for the subject here. Unfortunately, the acronym has been used for several years mainly in reference to boxes used by signal thieves.

No offence intended at all to true FTA users. Sorry to those I offended.

My point was, people who use FTA boxes with IKS to get "free tv" are not smart.
 
This could very well be a sting operation by the feds...for those stupid enough to use it.
 
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