Trash Chronicles

The Best Ripper in the p2p world

aXXo
aXXo is the Internet alias of an individual[1][2] allegedly harassed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for copyright infringement. aXXo became popular for releasing commercial DVD movies on the Internet for free download, often before their official release dates.[3] The resulting files can in turn be easily distributed through the internet and be viewed instantly on a computer.[4]

aXXo files are popular among the file sharing community using peer-to-peer file sharing protocols such as BitTorrent. Eric Garland, the CEO of download-tracking firm BigChampagne, found that 33.5% of movies downloaded, during a random sampling, were aXXo torrents.[5] The aXXo files gained popularity due to the fact that aXXo produces files of comparatively small size and consistent quality. File sizes are approximately 700 MB – the same size as a Compact Disc.[5] Because of aXXo's reputation for re-encoded quality, the aXXo name is sometimes faked as an identifying source by a variety of imitators.[5]

Identity

aXXo's identity is not publicly known so as to make it difficult for authorities to track it down. A number of individuals have claimed to be, or had their name attached to, aXXo.

In a purported interview of a person claiming to be aXXo, he describes himself as a single individual who has been ripping DVDs since he was a teenager.[6] It has been suggested that the MPAA is waiting for aXXo to reach the age of 18 to more effectively prosecute him than if he were a minor.[2][1]

[edit] Imitators

Due to its popularity in the file sharing subculture, the pseudonym aXXo is faked by a variety of individuals and groups to mimic the source identity as a disguise for their own uploads on file sharing websites. A portion of such decoys is made available by a range of companies in the field of copyright enforcement, such as BayTSP, MediaDefender, or MediaSentry, with the aim of constricting illegal Internet traffic. Downloading a faked file, or group of files, results in data containing typically useless and potentially malicious data. The type of maliciously fake files include RAR format files that require the user to download a trojan virus disguised as a codec needed to view associated AVI format files. Other fake files encourage the user to register on dubious websites or require the user install the DomPlayer software. Fake files may also contain malware with the capability to send the IP address of the user's computer to a private server.[7]

[edit] Copyright infringement

aXXo converts commercial DVD movies into approximately 700MB AVI files which are then used to create a .torrent file that is uploaded to Bittorrent Trackers allowing the movie to be downloaded.[8] On file sharing websites, aXXo files attract a large following, with over a million users downloading aXXo files each month.[6] Files released by aXXo follow the naming convention "name of movie[year]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo.avi"[9] where "DvDrip[Eng]" implies it was ripped from an English-language disc and "avi" refers to the resulting file format. The video is encoded according to the MPEG-4 ASP standard, compatible with the Xvid codec. The aXXo postings also carry an attached text file that states, in part: "Be aware of bogus sites and lamers, download your aXXo files from aXXo accounts. Enjoy!"

In November 2007, aXXo deleted all of their files released after September 7, 2006 from The Pirate Bay, protesting that the site would allow harassing comments to be added to his torrents by "possible members of MPAA".[3] While past aXXo torrents remained available on other torrent sites, uploads of new aXXo files stopped on November 11, 2007.[3][1] After an absence of three months aXXo returned to uploading, starting with the movie I Am Legend on March 9, 2008.[1][10][11]

On December 15, 2008, aXXo's thousandth movie upload, a copy of the Kiefer Sutherland horror film MIRЯORS, appeared on an internet forum for the Darkside Release Group.[12]

Since March 11 2009, after uploading Punisher: War Zone, aXXo hasn't uploaded any torrents.[13]