New Network Tool Tries To Block Illegal File Sharing

from the how-long-will-it-work? dept

Palisade Systems appears to be the first network monitoring company to license Audible Magic's technology for identifying song files, and claims that their new tool can stop illegal song file transfers in their tracks. There are a few other companies out there like Palisade, and I imagine they're all working on something similar. Announcements like this make the RIAA happy, but are unlikely to do very much. As the article points out, the technology doesn't work on encrypted systems - which is where file sharing programs are rapidly headed. Also, the company still hasn't demonstrated how well the technology works. It's likely that active file sharers will figure out ways around it within a day, making the technology somewhat worthless in the long run. Meanwhile, people who will get stopped are those who aren't necessarily trying to do anything illegal, but are just doing things like emailing themselves a song, so they can shift it from one computer to another. Once again, the industry will end up pushing file sharers further underground, but it's unlikely this will do much to slow down file sharing.