I got this in an email from a friend. If you have any of these songs downloaded you may want to get rid of them. As far as I'm concerned RIAA can go suck off dead goats. Bastards.
Here's a quick look at how the RIAA has done its investigations and
what
kind of information it has used to find people and file Monday's
lawsuits.
Step one: Finding file-traders isn't hard. Anybody who opens a shared
folder
on Kazaa, Morpheus or any other file-swapping network is susceptible to
potentially prying eyes.
In the most recent wave of investigations, the RIAA has used automated
tools
that look for a relatively short list of files. When it finds a person
sharing one or more of those files, it downloads all or many of them
for
verification purposes. A complete list of these target files is not
available, but a sampling of files cited in the early lawsuits includes
the
following artists and songs:
⢠Bobby McFerrin, "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
⢠Thompson Twins, "Hold Me Now"
⢠Eagles, "Hotel California"
⢠George Michael, "Kissing A Fool"
⢠Paula Abdul, "Knocked Out"
⢠Green Day, "Minority"
⢠UB40, "Red Red Wine"
⢠Ludacris "Area Codes"
⢠Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
⢠Avril Lavigne, "Complicated"
This is far from a complete list, but if you've downloaded and shared
any of
those songs recently, you may be at greater risk of finding your way
onto
the RIAA's list.
Step two: The RIAA uses features within Kazaa, Grokster and some other
software programs to list all the files available within a person's
shared
folder and takes screenshots of that information. As filed in court,
that
provides a record of what in some cases has been thousands of songs
shared
at once.
Step three: The RIAA's software records the Internet address associated
with
a computer that is sharing one of the copyrighted songs the
organization is
investigating. Some file-swapping programs try to hide this by using
mechanisms such as proxy servers, but most downloads still expose this
information.
Step four: According to information filed as part of a related lawsuit,
the
RIAA also has the ability to do a more sophisticated analysis of the
files
that have been downloaded. The group checks the artist's name, title,
and
any "metadata" information attached to the files, looking for
information
that may indicate what piece of software has been used to create the
file or
any other. Some files swapped widely on the Net include messages from
the
original person who created the MP3 file, such as "Created by Grip" or
"Finally the Real Full CD delivered fresh for everyone on Grokster and
Kazaa
to Enjoy!"
The RIAA has also analyzed in detail some files' contents. The trade
group
has databases of digital fingerprints, or "hashes," that identify songs
that
were swapped online in Napster's heyday. Investigators check these
fingerprints against those found in a new suspected file swapper's
folder,
looking for matches. A match means the file has almost certainly been
downloaded from the Net, likely from a stream of copies dating back to
the
original Napster file.
Step five: The RIAA files a subpoena request with a federal court. The
subpoena allows the group to go to an Internet service provider and
request
the name and address of the subscriber who's associated with the Net
address
that was used to swap files. A few Internet service providers (ISPs)
have
fought back against these requests, but most have been forced to comply
with
the RIAA's request.
Many ISPs notify their subscribers when a subpoena comes in that
targets
their information. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has set up a
database
that allows people to see whether their online screen name has been the
target of one of these subpoenas.
The RIAA said it has filed more than 1,500 of these subpoenas to date.
Step six: Once the identity of the ISP subscriber has been exposed, the
RIAA
puts together all the information gleaned through the earlier technical
investigation and files a lawsuit. In earlier cases, it has accepted
settlement agreements that range between $12,000 and $17,000. In this
case,
it has accepted some settlement agreements for as little as $3,000.
More RIAA stuff 
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