After seven years of existence, BTjunjkie, the advance Bit torrent search engine, voluntarily pulled the plug.  Yes, you read that right, BTjunkie joined Megaupload in the history books and is now extinct.  Word is, the takedown of Megaupload greatly influenced their decision to bid adieu. Now, all we have of the file sharing site to remember them by are these few words:

btjunkie
2005-2012
“This is the end of the line my friends. The decision does not come easy, but we’ve decided to voluntarily shut down. We’ve been fighting for years for your right to communicate, but it’s time to move on. It’s been an experience of a lifetime, we wish you all the best!”

Though there might be some glimmer of hope as “time to move on” could simply mean that they’ll be returning with a different domain or something.

Crackdowns Won’t Stop Piracy

If the authorities think that piracy could be stopped, they are so wrong.  Though some file-sharing sites were quick to hide from the sharp claws of the authorities and were quick to shutdown after the FBI took down Megaupload, some were steadfast in their stance that they do not tolerate piracy, even if they really do.  It’s just a matter of hiding things and outsmarting the authorities.

Take, for instance, The Pirate Bay.  Last week, the site’s founders’ appeal for another trial was denied by the Swedish Supreme Court.  So last year the court sentenced Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde, and Carl Lundström to serve 10 months, eight months, and four months of jail time, respectively as well as collectively pay a 46 million kronor (US$6.7 million) fine.  As for Gottfrid Swartholm Warg, who because of health issues and was not able to attend hearings, was recently sentenced to one year in prison.

The Pirate Bay is still up and running, though they changed their top level domain from .org to .se so the US cannot go after them.  According to some reports, the US authorities were next in line to take a shot at TPB after the Swedish Court had their way with them.  Since .ORG is operated by the Public Internet Registry based in the U.S. rendering them vulnerable for attacks made by the US authorities, switching to .se makes a lot of sense.