Recently Defunct ‘Time2Watch’ Shares a Piece of Advice for Pirates
Last updated September 27, 2021
- Operators of the ‘Time2Watch’ platform are leaving the scene but have some advice for pirates.
- They say don’t brag, don’t use social media, don’t trust Cloudflare, and don’t use bank accounts or PayPal.
- They also clarify that the platform will not return, and if you see it back, it’s probably the work of scammers.
‘Time2Watch’ has recently given up fighting against copyright holders and ISP blocking actions ordered by courts, but its operators have decided to publish a piece of advice for fellow pirates before they slip in the dark. Undeniably, there’s a certain level of solidarity among pirates, who consider themselves members of a wider community of like-minded individuals. Many of them see freedom where the law authorities see violations, and they see abuse and corruption where copyright owners see the rightful defense of their intellectual property and investment.
First, they give insight into how much damage ISP blocks do to pirate websites like ‘Time2Watch’. In March, they faced a block in France following a Paris court ruling which had them delisted by Google. The result was a traffic drop of 20%, not to mention the detrimental effect of bouncing on new domains and playing the “cat and mouse” game with dynamically changing blocklists.
Secondly, they remind pirates to cherish their anonymity and never try to brag online or be popular. Using the same nicknames or account avatars as something linked to real names, addresses, Facebook, or Twitter accounts is a classic mistake. An error of this type could bring the police at your door even in the distant future.
Then they mention Cloudflare, claiming that the service will not protect pirate sites, not for a second. They will hand over the hostname, the server IP, and your payment details to any authority that asks for it. Buying an OVH server service using a bank account or PayPal is a typical blunder made by novices in the field.
The ‘Time2Watch’ operators instead suggest that pirate site operators take a look at what service providers are listed in the USTR “notorious markets list” and pick something from there. There’s a good reason why these service providers are listed there, and it’s that they’re not willing to share client data. Even better, they don’t keep any client data in the first place, so there’s nothing to share even if they’re obliged by legal action.
Finally, the operators of the pirate website have stated that the platform is now closed and will never reopen in any other form or under a new name. They also state that the database was destroyed, the site source code was deleted, and that no copies are circulating out there. If you see anything resembling ‘Time2Watch’ in the future, it will probably be a scam.
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