The law requires PenTeleData to "take down" or end the illegal file sharing. If you do not contact us to let us know that the files have been removed, we will be forced to make sure they are taken down. We do this by suspending your service until you contact us.
As the owner of the account, you are responsible for all account activity through your modem. Refer to your manufacturer’s documentation on how to secure your wireless network.
Some reporters do have payment options available whereas you pay for the files that you have. Paying for a file, however, does not give you permission to continue sharing it. You need to make sure you are not continuing to share files. PenTeleData takes no stand as to whether or not you should pay for the files.
Some copyright holders will grant "amnesty/forgiveness" for infringements when customers contact them regarding the copyright infringement. Customers who choose to pay for services or go to the web links provided (by some reporters) will get a notice informing them that the issue is resolved with the copyright holder.
If your service is terminated by PTD, it is terminated due to repeated violations of our AUP. You can write a letter to PenTeleData requesting a review of your account and requesting that we grant forgiveness. Your letter should include information on why the infringement occurred and what you have done / are doing to prevent illegal file sharing from happening in the future. Writing a letter does not guarantee that service will be restored. You will receive a response from PenTeleData within 2 weeks of our receiving your request.
Letters can be sent to:
Unless officially Subpoenaed, PenTeleData has not given any information about you to the copyright holder. They have only the IP Address used to share files.
To safeguard yourself from continuous reports, remove the file sharing programs all together and use sites that allow you to pay for the material. You can also block all shared access to your computer through the software.
LimeWire has a free edition and a paid version. Regardless of which version you use, LimeWire does not give expressed permission to download or share Copyright material.
PenTeleData does not monitor your Internet traffic in any way. If you wish to block traffic to and from this network, uninstall any software related for file sharing. Most of these applications will be found under the "Add/Remove" software link in Windows. You may also install an Internet Security application that denies access to these programs.
File sharing (P2P) programs are legal programs. They were designed for people to share their own private "non-copyrighted" work. In order to use these programs, you must agree to their terms of agreement. In there they state that they do not monitor anything that is put on their site. Mostly everything on the site is copyrighted as a result of this disclaimer. It is the user's responsibility to make sure it is not copyrighted before downloading or sharing.
Installing a P2P client may find available material on your computer and automatically share the content with other users. Uninstalling the client will rid you of falling into similar pitfalls of this nature down the road.
Yes, as long as there are no copyrights on the material that you download. As a reminder, when you download a file through the use of a P2P application, it is immediately available to share with the entire world. Most P2P applications have a feature to disable sharing of files.
For music downloads, consider services such as rhapsody or iTunes. For movie downloads, Netflix offers a wide variety of services via the Internet. Also note, if you purchased music or movies from any of these services, you cannot share the music with others. Sharing the content you paid for still falls within the guideline of copyright infringement.
That depends solely on the copyright holder. You could be subject to very hefty fines, court costs, and termination of Internet services (TV and telephone services will still be available).
In short, we have received a notice from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) or another Universal Anti-Piracy agency informing us that a customer using our service has been sharing copyright material. Within the notice, a list of information will be present on how to make sure that you take care of the issue along with how to protect yourself from additional legal issues.
RIAA
DMCA
Simply put, PenTeleData does not monitor your Internet traffic in any way nor do we have any information that you are sharing files. However, if you are sharing files, the RIAA or another Universal Anti-Piracy agency has the ability to find users making this information available to others. If you fall within the range of the PenTeleData network, a report will be issued regarding the specific IP address. In turn, we locate the information to safely determine which customer is sharing the information.
No. PenTeleData does not support any software related to file sharing, legal or illegal. The information listed here is an added benefit for our customers to educate themselves on the potential pitfalls of the use of file sharing. If you have questions regarding the software, please visit the manufacturer’s web site.
PenTeleData is partnered throughout the northeast with many cable and telephone companies to provide reliable high-speed Internet service through the use of a cable modem or DSL modem.
Through the use of a P2P or Bit Torrent, regardless if it is a music, video, images, e-book, etc., if you didn’t pay for it, chances are good that the content is illegal. Some web sites will offer free MP3’s from recording artist regarding their upcoming album. In an example like this, that download is considered safe but turning around and taking that file without expressed permission from the artist and sharing it for others falls within the guidelines of copyright infringement. Purchasing from ITunes, Netflix etc., is again safe but sharing for others is not.
Regardless of whether it is one file or multiple files, everyday individuals get caught with illegal copyrighted material. Nobody is safe when downloading and sharing illegal content.
Even if you only share a few files or download every now and then, everybody suffers due to the rising cost of products. Think of the other millions of people doing the same, those few small downloads start to add up. Downloading copyright material is very similar to stealing at any level.
Bandwidth issues stemming from Adware/Viruses or users connecting to your computer to obtain your shared files (legal or illegal).
The potential risk of downloading Adware/Viruses:
Adware/Malware - May potentially take over your computer by changing your home page, adding unwanted items to your web browser, pop-up advertisements, alter your search engine results, or change the search all together. It may also install additional tool bars within your browser and other miscellaneous programs that are extremely difficult to remove. It may track your browsing habits.
Virus – If not adequately protected with a current and up-to-date anti-virus program, a virus can affect the performance of your personal computer, delete files, and render the PC completely useless. It may also infect other users (example: the virus could be sent to all users in your address book). Depending on the type of virus, it may also infect other users of the PenTeleData network.
If you are not the property owner, you are subject to copyright infringement and may be contacted by PenTeleData in care of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) or by another Universal Anti-Piracy agency.
Torrent or bit torrent is very similar to other P2P programs (like LimeWire, Kazza etc.). Torrents integrate themselves into your web browser (example: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari etc.) and create a new file type ".tor" (abbreviated for torrent) within the Windows operating system, similar for the Macintosh operating system. When finding a file that you wish to download, the download will initially start as a small file but then builds itself from other users around the globe until your download is complete. While you are downloading, other users begin to connect to you and get file chunks from you.
Peer-to-Peer, commonly known as P2P, is a giant network of computers in which each user installs and runs software to connect to this network. Without the software (example: LimeWire, Kazza, Bearshare, etc.), you will not be able to see this P2P network. Think of P2P as your office network. Example, employee A (within your office network) is working on a file but is running late today. Since you are working on the same project, you want to complete it on time. Through your office network, you search/locate the file that you need, see that it is shared for everybody, so you download it. Later that day, employee A arrives in the office, finds information that you updated the file. Employee notices that you are sharing it, he is able to grab the file right back from you. Now if you take your office network and expand it to all points across the world, you have a giant network of computers all sharing and downloading files. Some are legitimate files, but the majority are copyrighted materials. Essentially, illegal to share, illegal to download.
File sharing is the distribution of data (documents, music, videos, images, e-books or any other digitally stored information) through the use of a peer-to-peer network, email, Compact disc, etc.