I got a DMCA notice from H*file

[justpeace]

Hello
Well, I really no longer use H*file, but I have some files stored in my premium account which runs out in mid 2013.
I definitely know I haven't shared the links, and the MD5 sums are likely unique.

But some days ago, I got two DMCA notices from H*file concerning files which were supposed to be private.

Can anyone shed light on this situation?

If the links haven't been shared, and no one else has downloaded them, I can't understand how the copyright holder knows the location of the files, and why I should get a strike for storing files for my own use.

Do the copyright holders have backdoor access to cyberlockers? If so, it goes beyond what the DMCA requires.
How can backdoor access, if true, take into account fair use, private copying and other copyright exceptions which are applicable in some countries?

If I have ripped a cd, I have a legal right to back up the files to a cyberlocker, as long as I don't share the links.

justpeace Reviewed by justpeace on 23rd Aug 2012. I got a DMCA notice from H*file Hello Well, I really no longer use H*file, but I have some files stored in my premium account which runs out in mid 2013. I definitely know I haven't shared the links, and the MD5 sums are likely unique. But some days ago, I got two DMCA notices from H*file concerning files which were supposed to be private. Can anyone shed light on this situation? If the links haven't been shared, and no one else has downloaded them, I can't understand how the copyright holder knows the location Rating: 5

[bluefrogx]

Md5 hashes aren't the only way of identifying copyrighted content. Take youtube for an example, the have algos that detect the unique signature of music which is why changing the pitch works nowadays.

[THEAST]

MD5 is a 128-bit hash function which means that in each (2^128)+1 files, at least two of them will have the same MD5 hash. That is a very big number but considering the number of different files being passed around through the internet, it's not impossible for one of your legitimate files to have had the same MD5 hash as a copyrighted file. On the other hand, Hotfile does give copyright holders direct access to their system; they were sued a while back and lost in court, you know. Also Paypal now expects file lockers to also give them such access if they wanna keep their account.
If you did hold the rights to the deleted file, just contact Hotfile support and fill a counter-DMCA.

P.S. It isn't wise to keep backups on file lockers anymore, none honor user privacy anymore; I recommend getting a cheap shared or dedicated server if you only want to keep backups.

[examan345]

hotfile now have digital fingerprint like filesonic did
better download your files fast they will be gone soon

[JoomlaZ]

u cant really trust anything online. Who knows even a firefox addon u installed stealing ur internet history and sending it to a third party? Well this tonnes of file searching sites like filestube, filestram and similar has some unique ways of getting the links even if itsnt shared i believe. Past with wupload my buddy told me that he is getting dlds for files which he didnt share; weirdo..

[justpeace]

Md5 hashes aren't the only way of identifying copyrighted content. Take youtube for an example, the have algos that detect the unique signature of music which is why changing the pitch works nowadays.

I understand how Content ID works, at least vaguely, but the files are compressed with WINRAR.
Of course, the host could decompress every archive to ascertain its contents, but is it really what's going on here?
The filename was descriptive of the work in question, but what if the contents was encrypted with AES?

Would I still get a DMCA notice solely by reason of the filename?
Couldn't we get around the problem by naming all files something like business plan, school project and encrypt them with AES?

---------- Post added at 07:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:57 AM ----------

MD5 is a 128-bit hash function which means that in each (2^128)+1 files, at least two of them will have the same MD5 hash. That is a very big number but considering the number of different files being passed around through the internet, it's not impossible for one of your legitimate files to have had the same MD5 hash as a copyrighted file.

Even assuming that the file was identical to a copyrighted work, how would such a match prove that the presence of the file in my account was illegal?

The notice did not identify the copyright holder, the supposedly infringed work or the reason for the notice other than the file being present in my account.
I could understand the claim, if I had shared the link, and HF had gotten complaints concerning the public availability of the file.

The notice only identified the name of the archive. I suspect rather than looking into the archive, the copyright holder made an inference from the filename.
I could file a counter notice, but the only legal proof I have is the physical cd I bought second hand.
Does it mean that I can't store anything, if I haven't documentation proving purchase?

[charles]

holy shit, you have the same case as mine!

my experience:
i got a dmca deletion about 2 small files that are stored in my premium account,but i never share them.
the funny thing is one of the 2 files is image.txt
the other file is 4616.mp4, but i can't remember this file clearly, however, my memory still can tell me that this 4616.mp4 is not copyrighted, and it's only 2 seconds in length, so it's kind of 500 KB in size or so.

of course, i file a counter claim letting hotfile know this is impossible, this must be a mistake, more funny thing is , these 2 files are reported by a e-mail from Japanese Cartoon DVD site? wtf, i never like cartoon ,seriously. i never touch this shit.

and then a few weeks later, i receive the exact same mail telling me that these 2 files are deleted....and the reporting mail seemed from a anti-piracy agent site, sounds reasonable,but hey, i never shared these 2 files, i don't even remember what these 2 files are myself,but they are definitely not copyrighted stuffs!

why people are trying to take these 2 files down and how they do this?????

if people can search my account even if i don't share, but i have quite some real copyrighted stuffs backup in my hotfile account (never shared), why they can't search them, instead, they delete these 2 ridiculous files claming they are copyrighted?????

i even sent mails to hotfile, and hotfile replied: we never claim they are copyrighted, as it is clearly stated in the mail, you can file a counter claim.

that means hotfile did NOT even check the files once they receive dmca report????

and i keep asking hotfilfe to download these 2 files themselves, to see what they are, but they never do.

sad thing is you can search your own hotfile account for files you want, otherwise, i would find out what these 2 files are.

i have already switched to rapidshare for my backup host, hotfile is a bomb.

[hyp]

There are tools for inspecting the contents of RAR files without going through the process of extracting them. Password protecting them helps, but I've heard that the RAR format itself has vulnerabilities that allow for a certain level of inspection of the contents.

Some uploaders have gone to the trouble of double-encrypting their files. First they run them through ZIP or make them a split RAR set, then they run this through WinRAR a second time. Supposedly, this makes inspection of the actual filenames and other information impossible.

Companies are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to audit and identify suspected copyrighted materials and are forcing the major file lockers to use these tools to delete files. So even if you've never shared the file, it has likely been inspected by one of these programs.

[googlebuster]

best file is free portable file encryption system, I uploaded the most popular harry potter blueray movies with whole series
and netload could not detect wtf files they are and accepted it. Netload only unpack the files they can detect its packed
with Rar or ZIP, but encrypted files by 3rd party softwares. They do not have any chance to read inside.

[FrenchFried]

Did you know that hotfile provides a search engine ? www.hotfilesearch.com

You can find files that are even not published anywhere.

That's what hotfile calls privacy.