KickassTorrents (commonly abbreviated KAT) was a website that provided a directory for torrent files and magnet links to facilitate peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol. (Photo : YouTube/BNO News)
Google Chrome and Firefox browsers have blocked The Pirate Bay (TPB) with a warning. TPB users can only access the site by bypassing the warning page, or opt to use its mirror sites, including one with a KickassTorrents (KAT) skin.
The torrent community that uses Google Chrome and Firefox can also rely on other file sharing sites like Extra Torrent, RARBG, YTS.ag, and 1337x. The past few months have been rocky for the torrenting world as several websites have either shut down voluntarily or because of the United States government's order.
Problems began in July when the government shutdown KAT, which by then was the most popular site of its kind globally. Torrent meta search engine, Torrentz.eu, shortly threw in the towel voluntarily. TorrentHound became the third site among the top 10-torrenting websites to end operations.
Although many clones and mirrors of the closed websites soon emerged, many users opted to move directly to other sites that were still operational, with TPB being the most beneficiary. TPB soon reclaimed its top position as the most visited file sharing website following the shutdown of KAT, according to Torrent Freak.
The Pirate Bay has remained stable during this difficult period, but a new problem has surfaced for users of the site. Those who try to access TPB through both Google Chrome and Firefox are being greeted with a warning message.
"Deceptive site ahead: Attackers on Thepiratebay.org may trick you into doing something dangerous like installing software or revealing your personal information," reads the warning via a different report by the same publication. "Google Safe Browsing recently detected phishing on thepiratebay.org. Phishing sites pretend to be other websites to trick you."
Other browsers operating under the Google Safe browsing protocol are blocking users and displaying the same warning as well. It is believed that the problem is because of malicious third-party advertising, although some users have blamed Google for deliberately discouraging the use of TPB to please record and film industry advocates. Watch the sneak peek below for more information on TPB.
