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Over the past several years more than 100 websites have been blocked in the UK for facilitating copyright infringement, and this list is getting longer and longer.

The blocks are somewhat effective, at least in preventing subscribers from accessing the domains directly. However, there are plenty of alternative routes people can use instead.

So called reverse proxies are among the most used workarounds. These websites give people access to the blocked domains and effectively bypass the restrictions put in place by the court.

The media companies who demanded the blockades are not happy with these proxies and they instruct ISPs to add these to the blocklist as well.

Over the past few days several proxies were added, including torrentz-proxy.com, torrentsmirror.com, etproxy.com, extratorrentlive.com and extratorrentonline.com.

As with previous additions the newly blocked domains are covered by the High Court order, which provides copyright holders with the option to continually update the list of infringing domains.

The main domains of both Torrentz and Extratorrent were already blocked in 2013, after the BPI obtained a High Court order. The music group confirmed to TF that the latest blocks were added as an update.

“The High Court has declared that ExtraTorrent and Torrentz are operating unlawfully and infringing copyright. The Court Order which requires ISPs to block the sites also requires BPI to notify the ISPs of changes to the sites,” a BPI spokesperson says.

The BPI could not provide us with more details on which domains were included in this latest update, but it appears that all major proxy and mirror sites are covered.

As expected, the new blocks are only partially effective. ExtraTorrent informs us that they’ve become quite experienced at coming up with new ‘proxies’ and mirrors.

This is not limited to the UK, but also happens in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, China and elsewhere. After the UK blocked the proxies a few days ago traffic dropped, but not for long. A new alternative, etmirror.com, quickly took up the slack.

“The connectivity issues were totally solved after we launched a new mirror. It appears that all UK visitors are able to visit the website now as the traffic is back and still growing,” the ExtraTorrent teams tells TF.

And so the whack-a-mole continues, with copyright holders adding new domains to the blocklists, and site owners hopping from domain to domain.

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The full list of sites to be blocked in the UK is now as follows (not including proxies and mirrors):

Rojadirecta, LiveTV, Drakulastream, Ebookee, LibGen, Freshwap, AvaxHome, Bookfi, Bookre, Freebookspot, popcorntime.io, flixtor.me, popcorn-time.se, isoplex.isohunt.to, watchonlineseries.eu, axxomovies.org, afdah.com, g2g.fm, Bursalagu, Fullsongs, Mega-Search, Mp3 Monkey, Mp3.li, Mp3Bear, MP3Boo, Mp3Clan, Mp3Olimp, MP3s.pl, Mp3soup, Mp3Truck, Musicaddict, My Free MP3, Plixid, RnBXclusive, STAFA Band, watchseries.lt, Stream TV, Watchseries-online, Cucirca, Movie25, watchseries.to, Iwannawatch, Warez BB, Ice Films, Tehparadox, Heroturko, Scene Source,, Rapid Moviez, Iwatchonline, Los Movies, Isohunt, Torrentz.pro, Torrentbutler, IP Torrents, Sumotorrent, Torrent Day, Torrenting, BitSoup, TorrentBytes, Seventorrents, Torrents.fm, Yourbittorrent, Tor Movies , Demonoid, torrent.cd, Vertor, Rar BG, bittorrent.am, btdigg.org, btloft.com, bts.to, limetorrents.com, nowtorrents.com, picktorrent.com, seedpeer.me, torlock.com, torrentbit.net, torrentdb.li, torrentdownload.ws, torrentexpress.net, torrentfunk.com, torrentproject.com, torrentroom.com, torrents.net, torrentus.eu, torrentz.cd, torrentzap.com, vitorrent.org.Megashare, Viooz, Watch32, Zmovie, Solarmovie, Tubeplus, Primewire, Vodly, Watchfreemovies, Project-Free TV, Yify-Torrents, 1337x, Bitsnoop, Extratorrent, Monova, Torrentcrazy, Torrentdownloads, Torrentreactor, Torrentz, Ambp3, Beemp3, Bomb-mp3, Eemp3world, Filecrop, Filestube, Mp3juices, Mp3lemon, Mp3raid, Mp3skull, Newalbumreleases, Rapidlibrary, EZTV, FirstRowSports, Download4all, Movie2K, KickAssTorrents, Fenopy, H33T and The Pirate Bay.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and the best VPN services.

Apple Pay officially launches in the UK today, July 14th, nine months after it originally rolled out in the United States. The contactless payment service has support from more than 250,000 stores and companies in the country, including supermarkets Waitrose and Lidl, restaurant chains Wagamama and Nando's, and Transport for London's rail and bus networks. Most purchases through Apple Pay in the UK currently have a £20 (around $31) cap, but that figure will reportedly rise to £30 (around $45.50) later this year.

Plans for Apple Pay's UK launch were first announced at WWDC in May, but Apple said only that the service would reach the country in July. Earlier this month, 9to5 Mac narrowed that date down to July 14th, citing sources at...

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Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

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Passport Photo ID Studio

This week's roundup is brought to you by Passport Photo ID Studio from Handy Apps.

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28 New And Notable Android Apps And Live Wallpapers From The Last 2 Weeks (6/30/15 - 7/13/15) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Here’s an object lesson for journalism students in the art of the interview.

Poor Sundar Pichai, the No. 2 at Google, sat down for an interview with a New York Times technology reporter, only to find himself bombarded with the same question a half-dozen ways, to wit: Aren’t mobile phones bad for us?

First question: “Do you see mobile phones heading down a path of social unacceptability? Do we have a problem of overuse?”

After acknowledging that phones can do good things — goddamned miracles, I’d say — the reporter came back to his plaint: “But then people start doing things like checking their email at dinner. Are there things Google is doing to return people to where they are and reduce the temptation to look at their phone?” Like everything else, isn’t this your fault, Google?

Sundar tried to politely deflect: “You’re asking questions that have nothing to do with technology. Should kids check phones at dinner? I don’t know. To me that’s a parenting choice.”

The reporter tried again. And then again: “As you have risen in the ranks at Google, have you noticed that people use their phones less in meetings with you?”

And again: “Have you done anything to ease back? I have a policy that I’m not allowed to walk around the house with my phone. It has to stay in one room.”

Oh, jeesh. I imagine the reporter getting Grandma’s telephone table from the front hall and tying an iPhone to it. Some of us would say that eliminating the need for wires was progress.

It’s not hard to see what was happening here: The same reporter had an “analysis” published the same day on devices and programs to get users to crack that addiction the reporter thinks we have to our phones. He interviewed Pichai and decided to make a blog post out of the transcript, giving us a window to the sausage factory. The writer wanted a quote for his story. So he did what reporters often do: He asks the same question over and over … until he gets the quote he wants for his story. That’s how interviews are too often held: to fill in a blank the writer has already made rather than really listening and being open to new information and new angles.

When a reporter does this to me, I finally say: You can ask the same thing as many times as you want but I’m not giving you the answer you want. Corporate executives trying to make nice can’t do that.

We've been hearing rumblings about an Android Wear update coming out in the next few weeks, and now Phandroid has some info on what might be included. The next update will have two main feature additions—a watch-to-watch communication system and interactive watch faces.

Regarding the interactive watch faces, you might be confused as some watch faces are already interactive (i.e. you tap and they do stuff). For example, you can tap some faces to pull up additional information like calendar events.

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The Next Version Of Android Wear Will Reportedly Include Watch-To-Watch Communication And Interactive Faces was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

The sun has set on San Diego, and we've put together the most interesting news that fans of comics -- you know, the books -- shouldn't miss. Read the rest

Nintendo has announced that its president and CEO, Satoru Iwata, died on Saturday. He was 55, and the cause of death was stated as a bile duct growth. Iwata took some time off for health reasons last year and had surgery to remove a tumor, returning later in the year.

Iwata took over as president from longtime boss Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002, and led the company to huge success with the Nintendo DS and Wii consoles. He formerly worked as a programmer at Nintendo subsidiary HAL, contributing to games like EarthBound, Balloon Fight, and the Kirby series.

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It was going to be pretty hard to top a free concert, but at Comic-Con today Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. did everything they could to get audiences excited about the upcoming superhero movies from the DC universe. With Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad both getting time in the spotlight, they pulled out all the stops — and fans seemed more than pleased. Here are some of the most memorable moments.

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That smile!

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I have taken whale-watching boat rides off Newport Beach many times, and seen many beautiful things. But there’s always new beauty nature has ready to surprise us. Read the rest

Not sure why this is so cute or entertaining, but it’s very much both.

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Did you miss out on tickets to Comic-Con? Did you decide not to spend a day in line to get into the Star Wars panel? No worries, you can now watch the entire thing online. Yes, that means you can hear from director J.J. Abrams and stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac. You'll also get to hear a bit more about the dark side from actors Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, and Domhnall Gleeson. And you'll get to see Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher reunite.

The video isn't official — it comes from Flicks and the City — but it's of very high quality. The YouTube channel even has video from other big Comic-Con panels, if you're interested. If Lucasfilm releases an official feed we'll swap out the video. Oh, and if you...

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Dronestagram and National Geographic posted the winners of their “2015 Drone Aerial Photography Contest.” Read the rest

Photo and print dealer Limited Runs is touring a fantastic collection of jazz photos from the archives of Metronome, an influential music magazine that published from 1881 to 1961. Read the rest

 It’s the little things in life. Like, you know, being able to tell if your keyboard is currently set to use capital letters or not. With iOS 9, Apple is finally fixing one of the platform’s strangest quirks: the keyboard will no longer appear to be all caps, all the time. If you’re an Android user, or someone who just doesn’t think about stuff like this all that much,… Read More

This quacked me up.

“Wheeee.”

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There’s a slight panic breaking out among Google Chrome users. Over the past few hours the browser has started to block access to several of the most popular torrent sites including KickassTorrents, Torrentz, ExtraTorrent and RARBG.

Instead of a page filled with the latest torrents, visitors are presented with an ominous red warning banner.

“The site ahead contains harmful programs,” Google Chrome informs its users.

“Attackers on kat.cr might attempt to trick you into installing programs that harm your browsing experience (for example, by changing your homepage or showing extra ads on sites you visit),” the warning adds.

Google doesn’t specify what the issue is with the sites in question. The “Safe Browsing” diagnostics pages only list the sites as “suspicious” and note that “third parties can add malicious code to legitimate sites.” in some cases.

The owners of the sites in question are clueless about the source of the problem. RARBG’s operator informs TF that there is no additional information available in Google’s Webmaster tools either.

“I hope Google comes to its senses and actually allows webmasters to see what the issue is in their webmasters tools,” RARBG’s operator informs us (update: after publication some more information did appear in webmaster tools).

ExtraTorrent is not aware of any issues either and notes that the malware Google reportedly found are false positives.

“There is no malicious software and you are still able to load ExtraTorrent in Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Chromium and other browsers,” the ExtraTorrent team says.

“We’ll contact Google to resolve the issue shortly,” they add.

Interestingly, several proxy sites, such as torrentz-proxy.com, still work fine and don’t show the warning screen in Google Chrome.

Since Google doesn’t mention “malicious software” as the reason for the warning, it was most likely triggered by the “unsafe” ads many torrent sites run. These are typically linked to toolbar software or other unwanted programs.

We reached out to Google to find out more about the sudden torrent site blocks, but we have yet to receive a response.

Chrome users who want to bypass the warning can do so by clicking the details link, or disable Chrome’s malware warnings altogether.

Update: Some people report that Firefox also started blocking access to several torrent sites.

Update: ExtraTorrent says it successfully resolved the issue with Google through webmaster tools. RARBG is also unblocked.

Update: Google didn’t comment on this specific situation and referred us to a recent blog post.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and the best VPN services.

Schuylkill County Prison in Pennsylvania feeds inmates portions that are “not even enough to fill a 5-year-old child,” according to a group of prisoners who have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit.

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For seven year Disney World segregated postal carrier Gurdit Singh from visitors and other staff members because his facial hair and turban violated the resort’s “Disney look” policy.

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Sock ‘im! A right! A left! A … gahhhh! You let ‘im too close!

Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones! The photo (and more) were posted to gaming forums NeoGAF. Looking forward to this.

The makers of Holus, a “holographic display,” broke all the rules in the book. They posted fake CGI renderings of what’s described elsewhere as a “Pepper’s Ghost”-style optical trick, yet claim to “convert any digital content from a computer, tablet or smartphone into a 3D hologram.” The viewing angles and qualities depicted are technologically unlikely. They only wanted $40k, but research and manufacturing costs could surely not be so tiny, suggesting crowdfunding as a VC-marketing vehicle. Most oddly, they even used a Kickstarter “Staff Pick” badge; when challenged, Kickstarter disclaimed interest in the unofficial use of the badge. The big question, from Joanie Lemercier, an artist and engineer who specializes in projections and holograms: is Kickstarter covering a scam? Read the rest

Respected actor dies aged 83

A man almost as famous for his skill at bridge as for his superlative acting abilities, as well as a patrician presence on screen for years, Omar Sharif has died at the age of 83. 

Born Michel Demetri Chalhoub in Egypt, he studied at Victoria College in Alexandria and showed a talent for learning languages. There, he began to develop an interest in theatre and performing, but focused instead on obtaining a degree in mathematics and physics at the University Of Cairo, before joining his father in the family business of precious woods. 

Yet he still felt the lure of acting, and headed to the Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art in London before returning to start his film career in Egypt in 1953. He appeared in more than 20 productions, and it was during this period he met Faten Hamama who would become his wife, and inspired Sharif to convert to Islam. The couple had a son, Tarek Sharif, but divorced in 1974 due to Sharif’s decision to remain in Europe between film shoots following a change of regime. 

Sharif’s big English-language break came in 1962, with David Lean’s Lawrence Of Arabia, earning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for his performance as Sherif Ali Ben El Kharish, going home with an additional Globe for Best New Star Of The Year. That launched a new stage in his career, and saw him win roles in the likes of The Yellow Rolls-Royce, Behold A Pale Horse, Doctor Zhivago (a reunion with Lean), Funny Girl and many more. A talented, versatile actor, he also appeared in Top Secret!, The 13th Warrior, Hidalgo and Monsieur Ibrahim.

Running parallel to his work on screen was his driving passion for bridge, becoming ranked as one of the world’s best known contract bridge players, going on to co-write a column in the Chicago Tribune on the subject and co-author several books. More recently, his health had begun to deteriorate, with the actor suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He died of a heart attack in a Cairo hospital. He is survived by his son and two grandsons.

This adorable little two-seater isn't about to replace Airbus' airliners, but the E-Fan — a light aircraft powered by lithium-ion batteries and two electric motors — just set a notable aviation milestone by crossing the English Channel. The 36-minute event took place earlier today, departing from Lydd, England and arriving in Calais, France.

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 Laundrapp, one of a plethora of on-demand laundry startups targeting London and other cities in the U.K., has acquired rival Washbox. Read More

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/09/comic-con-2015-firefly-stars-nathan-fillion-and-alan-tudyk-spoof-themselves-con

Lots of Whedon people in the trailer, including the man himself.

Scientists Find Sharks In An Underwater Volcano 

Jesse Vincent has productized the scratch-built split keyboard he built and is kickstarting a production run.
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