Virgin Media has sent hundreds of
letters to
broadband customers warning they have been
identified as having shared music illegally.
The letters tell customers their computer has been detected
using file-sharing networks to
share music illegally using their
Virgin Media internet account.
"We've received a report that copyrighted music has been shared
using a computer linked to your
Virgin Media Internet account," say the letters.
Virgin Media told customers they needed to ensure copyrighted
files are not downloaded or shared from Virgin Media internet
connection in future and that they must secure any wireless router
they have.
The letter recommended that subscribers install Virgin's own
security software to make sure "no further steps" were taken
against them.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the record industry's
trade association, is working with ISP Virgin Media to identify
computers they believe are sharing music illegally. The BPI is
identifying computers by monitoring peer-to-peer networks.
"The BPI simply connects to a host computer offering files and
downloads them in the same way that any other peer-to-peer user
would, capturing evidence including the user's IP address, as it
undertakes the download," said the British Phonographic
Industry.
The evidence collected by the BPI is made available by any
uploader in the normal course of using a p2p network, said the
BPI.
"Without going into precise technical details on how the
information is collected and documented, the BPI logs on to the
network as a peer and initiates a download from the IP address,
using a semi-automated process," it said.
The BPI sends the evidence to their ISP, who can identify that
customer from the IP address and send them an advisory letter.