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 / Underground @News)
The Motion Picture Association of America or MPAA is in the business of hunting and taking down piracy sites and in a latest report, the Hollywood group named what it termed as the new torrenting destinations that emerged or the download alternatives following the recent takedowns of Kickass Torrents and meta-search Torrentz.eu.
In its submission before the U.S. government, the MPAA listed the pirate sites in three categories - torrent or torrenting sites, cyberlockers and linking websites. While differing on how they conduct their business, all operations freely share copyrighted contents, an act that the group said will hurt the U.S. economy in the long run.
The list provided by the group and picked up by TorrentFreak essentially nominated the torrent players that are now the top replacements or best alternatives to KAT and Torrentz.
Top torrenting sites
In the first category, the MPAA revealed the so called usual suspects led by The Pirate Bay. The group said that TPB saw its traffic surged to record level in the immediate aftermath of the twin shutting down of Kickass Torrents and Torrentz. Citing the data provided by Alexa, the MPAA said that TPB now clocks around 47 million unique visitors every month.
Another huge beneficiary of the abrupt exit by KAT and Torrentz is ExtraTorrent.cc, which according to the MPAA report is now the second biggest torrenting operation in the planet with nearly 100 million of active users at a given time.
Rounding up the list are the following: 1337x, RARBG and Russia-based Rutracker.org.
Cyberlockers
Another batch of KAT replacements are the so-called cyberlockers or sites that offer free streaming and direct download services. These sites are known to generate millions of dollars in revenues, which translate as huge loss to copyright holders.
The MPAA identified the following and their base of operation:
- Allmyvideos.net (Netherlands)
- Nowvideo.sx and the Movshare Group (several locations)
- Openload.co (Netherlands)
- Rapidgator.net (Russia)
- Uploaded.net (Netherlands/Switzerland)
- VK.com (Russia)
Linking websites
Outside of the regular torrenting scene, the MPAA called attention on an alternative piracy operation that gained considerable popularity outside of the United States. These linking websites are the go-to sites when torrenting seems inaccessible. They are as follow:
- 123movies.to (Unknown)
- Filmesonlinegratis.net (Brazil/Portugal)
- Kinogo.club (Netherlands)
- Movie4k.to (Russia)
- Newmovie-hd.com (Thailand)
- Pelis24.com (Spain/Mexico/Argentina/Venezuela/Peru/Chile)
- Primewire.ag (Switzerland)
- Projectfreetv.at (Romania)
- Putlocker.is (Switzerland/Vietnam)
- Repelis.tv (Mexico/Argentina/Spain/Peru/Venezuela)
- Watchseries.ac (France)
In naming these new torrenting destinations and alternatives to Kickass Torrents and Torrentz, the MPAA made clear that taking them down is imperative in protecting U.S. jobs.
