Top 10 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2008

2008 is nearing its end, time to make a list of the top 10 BitTorrent sites that got the most traffic this year. The Pirate Bay is out in the lead followed by Mininova and isoHunt. TorrentSpy shut down earlier this year and is the most notable absentee.

The list is based on traffic rank reports from Compete and Alexa, backed up by visitor reports from some of the site admins.

1. The Pirate Bay

It has been a good year for The Pirate Bay. The number of visitors spiked, despite efforts in Denmark and Italy to block access the site. Last month, The site celebrated its 5th anniversary, just after it broke the 25 million peers mark. At any given point in time, more than 25 million peers actively trade files thought the Pirate Bay tracker.

Compete rank 885 / Alexa rank 117 / 2007 #3

2. Mininova

Mininova has seen a steady rise in visitors in 2008, and more than 3 billion torrents were downloaded from the site in the past 12 months. In addition to user uploaded content, the Mininova team has started to focus more on premium publishers with their content distribution platform.

Compete rank 1,225 / Alexa rank 79 / 2007 #1

3. IsoHunt

Despite being ensnared in legal proceedings with the MPAA and CRIA, isoHunt is continuing to grow. This year they partnered with the Creative Commons music distribution site Jamendo, and just like The Pirate Bay, isoHunt added SSL encryption to the site, making it impossible for your ISP or the authorities to monitor users’ activities.

Compete rank 1,106 / Alexa rank 200 / 2007 #2

4. Torrentz

Torrentz.com, one of the oldest torrent sites around, celebrated its 5th anniversary in July. The site added a “verified torrents” feature this year, and inspired many other meta-search engines to do the same. Last month a “hacker” caused some problems after it took over the torrentz domain, but luckily this issue was resolved in a few hours.

Compete rank 2,039 / Alexa rank 220 / 2007 #4

5. TorrentReactor

TorrentReactor redesigned and optimized the site throughout 2008, which resulted in a significant increase in visitors. In addition, the TorrentReactor launched TorrentPrivacy, a service that allows BitTorrent users to download torrents anonymously.

Compete rank 2,150 / Alexa rank 532 / 2007 #9

6. Demonoid

After being forced to go offline following threats from the CRIA, Demonoid returned this April after 6 months of downtime. Since then it is business as usual, and most of the members returned quickly.

Compete rank 3,869 / Alexa rank 526 / 2007 #na

7. BTjunkie

In December 2007 BTjunkie was forced to leave their ISP following a takedown notice from the Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN. This year there were no troubles, and the site continues to go strong.

Compete rank 3,762 / Alexa rank 625 / 2007 #5

9. SumoTorrent

In 2007, SumoTorrent quickly settled itself among the top torrent sites, and traffic continued to increase this year. The pop-ups and redirects are new though, and don’t make it one of the most convenient sites to browse.

Compete rank 4,110 / Alexa rank 1,019 / 2007 #na

9. BTmon

BitTorrentMonster, BTmon for short, debuted in 10th place last year, and managed to climb a spot. Other than that, there is not much news surrounding the site.

Compete rank 4,737 / Alexa rank 989 / 2007 #10

10. TorrentPortal

Not much news about TorrentPortal this year either, but for BitTorrent sites that is usually a good thing. Traffic seems to be stable, although the site is not growing as fast as the other BitTorrent sites in this list.

Compete rank 4,300 / Alexa rank 1,126 / 2007 #7

Honorable mention: TorrentSpy

In 2006 TorrentSpy was more popular than any other BitTorrent site, but this changed quickly in August 2007, when a federal judge ordered TorrentSpy to log all user data. The judge ruled that TorrentSpy had to monitor its users in order to create detailed logs of their activities, and hand these over to the MPAA.

In a response to this decision - and to ensure the privacy of their users - TorrentSpy decided that it was best to block access to all users from the US. This led to a huge decrease in traffic, but still, it managed to make out top 10 list last year. March 2008 TorrentSpy owner Justin decided to shut down completely, and in May his company was ordered to pay a $110 million fine, which it will appeal.

One of the coolest 3D Animation clips :)

World War - 3D Animation @ University Of Hertfordshire 2008 from Digital Animation Herts Uni UK on Vimeo.

Use Your USB Stick As a Key to Start Your PC

Most of us are concerned about the security and privacy of our data. We put login passwords, encrypt data and do various other tricks to ensure that someone cannot access our system without our authorization. Hardware manufacturers have also started exploiting our desire for data security by offering fingerprint readers, face recognition and other fancy stuff. If you are paranoid about who accesses your system, you can use a simple trick to prevent the system from booting unless you want it to boot.

This can be achieved by using a regular USB/pen/thumb drive (whatever you call it). The hack would be more than enough to keep even your curious geeky computer friends from booting into the system. That said, it is by no means foolproof (which security measure is? ) so you might not want to bet your life on it.

*** DISCLAIMER : the following method requires you to make some changes to your operating system. MakeUseOf cannot accept any legal liability if anything goes wrong with your PC and you should proceed at your own risk. Please read the instructions thoroughly before beginning and if you are still not sure what you are doing, you should seek help from a knowledgeable friend ***

A key requirement for the hack to work is that your system should support booting from a USB device. This can be verified from within the BIOS menu. So if you have an older system that doesn’t support booting from USB devices, this one is not for you. We will cook up something else! Although, now that I think about it, theoretically (because I have not tried) the hack should work with a floppy disk as well. So you guys with older systems can also follow along and let us know if it worked.

What we are going to do is transfer some of the important files (you will see which ones) that Windows needs in order to boot, to the USB drive. Now if someone was to boot up the PC without your USB drive the system won’t find these important files and will thus fail to boot.

So now that you know the concept, let’s get working:

• Format the USB drive.
• Within Windows Explorer go to Tools > Folder Options. Within the View tab, choose “Show hidden files” and uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”.



• Open up the Windows Partition (usually C:), copy boot.ini, NTLDR and ntdetect.com onto your USB drive.
• Boot up the system and change the boot order preference to check for a USB device first. You can access the BIOS menu generally by hitting F8 when the computer just starts.

Just in case you are curious, the boot.ini file is required to tell where the operating system resides. NTLDR is the NT loader which actually loads the operating system. ntdetect.com detects basic hardware that is required to boot up the system.

The changes are fully recoverable, although it would require some work for the uninitiated. If something goes wrong or you want to restore back things as they were then use the Recovery Console from your Windows CD.

Then at the command prompt issue “bootcfg /rebuild”. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen.

The solution is not foolproof. Even if someone is not able to boot your system he/she can easily get your data by using a live CD. So you might still want to keep your data encrypted.

Do you know of some other clever ways of preventing unauthorized access? Share them with us in the comments section.

Windows 7 Beta 1 to be released on January 13, 2009

When Steve Sinofsky told everybody at PDC 2008 that Beta 1 would ship sometime early next year, apparently he meant really early.

A recent blog post from Microsoft Architect Evangelist, Bob Familiar, reveals that those attending the MSDN Developers Conference will receive their very own copy of Windows 7 Beta 1. MSDNDC takes place from December 9th 2008 to February 19th 2009 in a number of states.

Keith Combs from Technet saw this post, and further clarified by revealing that the target date for the Windows 7 Beta 1 release is January 13, 2009:

My understanding is that the DVD will not be ready for the first few show dates but will be mailed to each attendee. We are targeting to have the DVD’s in the materials from 1/13/2009 on. So I would imagine the folks attending the Houston, Orlando and Atlanta shows this month will receive their DVD’s around mid January as well. That’s an assumption on my part. Could be earlier or later, but they will get them. Make sure your Microsoft profile has the correct address.

Microsoft has been very careful not to make any PR mistakes, so seeing some kind of light being shed by one of Microsoft’s own should mean an actual Beta 1 release on January 13th.

Seeing that next year’s CES takes place from January 8th to 11th, just a few days before the Beta 1 release, we have good reason to believe Windows 7 Beta 1 will be unveiled at the show. Popular technology journalist Ed Bott has no doubt that this will happen as well.

Beta 1 will no doubt cause a stir in the blogosphere on the day of its release. Some bloggers have been quick to criticize the pre-beta, but what we’re seeing so far is only a piece of what Windows 7 really is.

You can register for the MSDN Developer’s Conference here for just $99. The tour dates are listed below:

12/9/08 Houston, TX
12/11/08 Orlando, FL
12/16/08 Atlanta, GA
1/13/09 Chicago, IL
1/13/09 Minneapolis, MN
1/16/09 Washington, DC
1/20/09 New York, NY
1/22/09 Boston, MA
1/22/09 Detroit, MI
1/26/09Dallas, TX
2/19/09 San Francisco, CA

Top 10 Searches for 2008

Top 10 Searches ^for 2008

1Britney Spears

The singer's steep trajectory to redemption restored her to the top of searches. Her year began with a police visit, hospital stay, and psych evaluation. She returned under her father's shelter and, by summer, settled custody with her ex. Professionally, she guested on a sitcom, won thrice at the MTV Video Music Awards, broke records with "Womanizer," relaunched her site, and released a documentary detailing her fall and comeback...by age 27.

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2WWE

A June explosion destroyed a World Wrestling Entertainment stage and "injured" chairman Vince McMahon, unleashing a sweaty soap opera of chaos that included his kids appealing for cooperation in difficult times. The stunt could've symbolized the sporting empire's battles against the economy's fall and mixed martial arts' rise. WWE produced more events, video games, and movies to make up for fewer paying fans, and faithfuls kept track online to maintain its Top 2 status.

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3Barack Obama

The Illinois junior senator faced two hard-fought contests and nearly won a third—although toppling Britney Spears wasn't on his list. He entered 2008 as a relative newcomer on the national scene and ended the year as president-elect. His campaign defied political wisdom and made history at every turn. His Web strategy set the groundwork to make him the first wired president and, in an unprecedented Search surge, landed him at No. 3.

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4Miley Cyrus

Before 2008, the singer/actress had been better known—and searched—by her Disney persona, Hannah Montana. She appeared on shows like "Idol Gives Back" as Cyrus, but true name recognition came with scandal: a Vanity Fair spread featuring the 15-year-old seemingly wrapped only in a bedsheet. Savvy Cyrus apologized, survived, and closed down Disneyland for a 16^th birthday charity bash, and ended up at No. 4.

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5RuneScape

The multi-player role-playing game's international popularity rests on its cheap access, ability to run on older computers, and compelling play. Its underground success has even led to a real black market, trading actual cash for RuneScape gold—and controversial restrictions to stop it. A new boss, graphics, and touted player-versus-player combat release signal the company's power play to step up in the RPG battle...and take hold at No. 5.

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6Jessica Alba

Her movies fared none too well, following 2007 missteps that got her three Razzie Worst Actress nominations. Still, she earned Best Movie Actress at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and No. 6 in searches, buoyed by her wedding and baby Honor Marie (who earned a reported $1.5 million in her OK! mag debut). The pregnant pause may have given her impetus to switch to more serious roles—something to watch for in 2009.

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7Naruto

The manga. The game. The anime. Whatever form Naruto Uzumaki takes, the awkward but accomplished young graduate of the Ninja Academy remains the Web's most popular fictional character in seventh place. His peers and enemies also command their own followings, but the complex tale of Naruto (whose name translates to "maelstrom"), the orphaned misfit who craves recognition, resonates with its generation of fans.

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8Lindsay Lohan

At No. 8, the actress made stumbling progress back from rehab, revolving-door relationships, and rejected roles. On the upside, she settled down (with a monogamous twist), blogged about politics, and recreated Marilyn Monroe's photo shoot. On the downside, she got booted from "Ugly Betty" and as World Music Awards host. Lohan has had celebs testifying to her talent, but a true comeback may have to wait for 2009.

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9Angelina Jolie

Leading power lists in Forbes and even Guinness World Records, the actress took her place among Hollywood's elite. "Delicate" condition aside, she underscored her image as a tough-dame throwback with a 21^st-century vibe. She earned box-office bucks as an assassin and cartoon tigress, Oscar cred in "Changeling," and karma by donating her and Brad Pitt's twins' $14 mil pictorial payout to charity—moves that muscled her in at No. 9.

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10American Idol

Judges kept declaring its 2008 singers their best ever, but while the Fox reality show ruled ratings, an audience decline since 2007 sent producers into a fit of self-examination. In a season beset with complaints, "Idol" had the last laugh with a smashing finale and iTunes recordbreaker. The show also got "cougar" into household vernacular, unlikely credit for exposing youth to the democratic process, and a top Search 10 nod once again.