drugs | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Tue, 23 Aug 2016 10:55:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png drugs | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Anti-prison drone task force, Operation Airborne, set up by police https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/anti-prison-drone-task-force-operation-airborne-set-up-by-police/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/anti-prison-drone-task-force-operation-airborne-set-up-by-police/#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2016 10:55:50 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=303860 Forget Amazon deliveries, drug deliveries to jail are one of the hottest uses for drone technology right now and the British police are trying their utmost to stop it. To do so, they've launched “Operation Airborne,” a special task force to tackle drone deliveries into jails around the UK. This comes following a discovery of …

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Forget Amazon deliveries, drug deliveries to jail are one of the hottest uses for drone technology right now and the British police are trying their utmost to stop it. To do so, they've launched “Operation Airborne,” a special task force to tackle drone deliveries into jails around the UK.

This comes following a discovery of two separate drone deliveries that were bringing mobile phones and assorted drugs into London's Pentonville prison earlier this week. Although neither made it into the prison, the intention was certainly there and this sort of thing is happening at all sorts of prisons around the country and indeed the world.

dronedrugs

Source: Metropolitan Police

In 2015, there were 30 recorded incidents of drones being seen bringing packages into prisons. Most were stopped, but not all and there are likely many that go undiscovered.

Operation Airborne is quite a basic scheme as it stands and seems to involve mostly observation of prisons and their surrounding areas, however the police are also appealing for any witnesses who may have seen the people involved in flying the drones. Although the material and the delivery system have been recovered, nobody involved in the delivery, from the exterior or interior of the prison, has been found.

It seems likely that this a growing problem for prisons. It will be interesting to see what measures are brought in in the future to try and curtail their usage.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I always thought prisons were a great example of why the War on Drugs is ridiculous. If you can't keep drugs out of prisons, how can you expect to keep them out of society at large?

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Germany busts major darknet drug seller https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/germany-busts-major-darknet-drug-seller/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/germany-busts-major-darknet-drug-seller/#comments Tue, 17 May 2016 10:37:44 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=293083 German police have scooped up five men said to be responsible for the darknet drug seller, Chemical Love. Caught with upwards of 60kg of various illegal substances, the group are said to have completed sales of more than 1.3 million euros from 1,500 transactions, making this the biggest online drug seller busted in the country. Chemical …

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German police have scooped up five men said to be responsible for the darknet drug seller, Chemical Love. Caught with upwards of 60kg of various illegal substances, the group are said to have completed sales of more than 1.3 million euros from 1,500 transactions, making this the biggest online drug seller busted in the country.

Chemical Love operated sales through the darknet, hidden sites that are accessible only using the Tor browser, as well as the clear-net – the ‘normal,' searchable internet. The user and team had various URLs that potential buyers could visit to view the latest merchandise, though now all appear to be defunct.

chemicallove

The men were arrested in Rhineland Palatinate, a region located in the south-west of Germany, bordering France. Although SWR (via DeepDotWeb) doesn't report how they were caught, the sheer size of the drug hauls the men were making would have made it much harder to stay under the radar.

In the basement of one of the group members, 54kg of amphetamines were found, along with 1.3kg of cocaine, 4kg of heroin and a total of 25,000 ecstasy pills. However the drugs are said to be linked to all members of the Chemical Love group.

Authorities also reported that internationally four others were arrested in the Negherlands and Belgium, with ties to the online seller.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: As big as a coup as this is for the authorities, they never seem to do much. We've seen a number of darknet markets taken down over the years and at the time of writing there are more than 10 operating without a care. 

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Steroids are being quite brazenly sold through Facebook https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/steroids-are-being-quite-brazenly-sold-through-facebook/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/steroids-are-being-quite-brazenly-sold-through-facebook/#respond Mon, 08 Feb 2016 11:36:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=283241 As much effort as the police and other authorities put into stamping out the Silk Road darknet market, even going so far as to hand its convicted owner life in prison, not much seems to be being done about drug sales on Facebook. As part of a report by investigating journalists, many steroid dealers were …

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As much effort as the police and other authorities put into stamping out the Silk Road darknet market, even going so far as to hand its convicted owner life in prison, not much seems to be being done about drug sales on Facebook. As part of a report by investigating journalists, many steroid dealers were found through Facebook posts and hidden groups that made it very easy to get hold of the banned substances.

Although not illegal to use or own, selling class C substances like synthetic testosterone is illegal. Despite that fact it's apparently rather easy to get a hold of online, with BBC investigators discovering not only the sellers, but several brand names associated with the products.

prostasia

Source: Prostasia/Facebook via BBC

One of those names, Prostasia, which is said to be produced at a British lab, has marketing, labels, merchandise and even one ‘sponsored athlete,' who is said to have had the company logo tattooed on their neck.

Although reviews for the drugs sold by Prostasia appear to be quite positive, with buyers reporting on the strength of the various substances, there are of course side effects of any unregulated industry. Knowing exactly what's in them is near impossible to confirm and there isn't much recourse if someone goes wrong.

That said, some would argue that with a review and ratings system in place, sellers of anything are forced to make a better product in order to compete.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Illicit substances have been sold online for years, whether it's Chinese ‘blue' pills or more recreational drugs. Would you ever buy something like this online?

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ESL to change competitive rules following doping allegations https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/esl-to-change-competitive-rules-following-doping-allegations/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/esl-to-change-competitive-rules-following-doping-allegations/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2015 07:58:59 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=259879 Last week a claim made by CS:GO pro player and Nihilum team member, Kory “Semphis” Friesen, that a large number of players on the professional scene take the prescription medication Adderall prior to competing, has made real waves in the game's Esports community. However its impact is going to be felt far more at real …

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Last week a claim made by CS:GO pro player and Nihilum team member, Kory “Semphis” Friesen, that a large number of players on the professional scene take the prescription medication Adderall prior to competing, has made real waves in the game's Esports community. However its impact is going to be felt far more at real competition, as the Electronic Sports League has now announced changes to its policies in light of the revelations.

“The integrity of our sport is and always will be our biggest concern,” said Anna Rozwandowicz, head of communications at ESL in a chat with Wired. “We have worked on changes in our rules, reached out to authorities for support, and will be ready to announce our next steps in a couple of days.”

While she didn't elaborate on what specific changes would be made, the mention of a third party ‘authority' suggests that drug testing could become part of the pro-gaming process, at least within the ESL's sanctioned tournament scene.

adderall

With regards to punishing those that are said to have been involved in drug taking already, the ESL was less reactionary. It claims that it takes into consideration that Friesen is an ex-Cloud9 member, so may not have the most objective of opinions on it. Rozwandowicz also pointed out that he was let go “due to his and [his] team's poor performance.”

Ultimately the lack of proof about drug taking at the event and the potential shenanigans Friesen could be taking part in with his claims, is leading to the ESL not taking any action against him or Cloud9. However its policy changes may make actions like (allegedly) theirs impossible in the future.

It will also look to create a fully fledged system for dealing with performance enhancing drugs in Esports. “There needs to be a policy, a process, a governing body, an appeal system,” said Rozwandowicz. Just like in more traditional sports.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: No time frame has been put on any of this, so it may be some time before blood tests take place at major Esport events, but it looks like we're moving in that direction.

Image source: Wikimedia

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Ex BitInstant CEO pleads guilty to unlicensed money transfer https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ex-bitinstant-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-unlicensed-money-transfer/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ex-bitinstant-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-unlicensed-money-transfer/#respond Mon, 01 Sep 2014 08:38:31 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=209731 The one time CEO of Bitcoin exchange company BitInstant and (now ex) member of the Bitcoin Foundation, Charlie Shrem, has pleaded guilty to US charges of unlicensed money transfers, after it was alleged that he had attempted to sell over a million dollars worth of bitcoin to the original Silkroad drug marketplace while it was …

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The one time CEO of Bitcoin exchange company BitInstant and (now ex) member of the Bitcoin Foundation, Charlie Shrem, has pleaded guilty to US charges of unlicensed money transfers, after it was alleged that he had attempted to sell over a million dollars worth of bitcoin to the original Silkroad drug marketplace while it was still in operation.

Today the original Silkroad is long gone, replaced by its many imitators, but Shrem's legal proceedings have continued on for some time, only now coming too an end after his guilty plea, which as Reuters explains, saw him avoid charges of operating an unlicensed money transmission business, money laundering, conspiracy and failing to provide suspicions activity reports to government banking watchdogs.

The question as this point is whether Shrem's partner in ‘crime,' R0bert Faiella, will also plead guilty and accept a lesser charge, or if he will fight the case in the court room. He's set to head to the same plea trial as Shrem, but no announcement has been made about his intentions.

schrem

If he pleads not guilty, then his full trial will begin on 22nd September, just over a month and a bit before the alleged owner and founder of Silkroad, Ross Ulbricht, begins his trial on 3rd November. Ulbricht has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges, including the ones for money laundering and computer hacking conspiracy. Last week he saw four new charges added, including: drug trafficking, distribution of drugs over the Internet, and conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identity documents.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Hopefully instances like this won't do too much damage to the reputable bitcoin enterprises out there. 

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Dutch police down drug marketplace Utopia https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/dutch-police-down-drug-marketplace-utopia/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/dutch-police-down-drug-marketplace-utopia/#respond Wed, 12 Feb 2014 12:22:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=177158 When the US authorities used good old fashioned police work to take down the original Silk Road last year and arrest its alleged owner, Ross Ulbricht, it seemed like they'd dealt a serious blow to the online trading community, but it didn't last long. Within days alternatives had appeared and while most of them have …

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When the US authorities used good old fashioned police work to take down the original Silk Road last year and arrest its alleged owner, Ross Ulbricht, it seemed like they'd dealt a serious blow to the online trading community, but it didn't last long. Within days alternatives had appeared and while most of them have fallen down since, new ones always appear to take their place and for many now, there's actually a choice of what darknet market to use. One of those was Utopia, though the Dutch police are now claiming it's been downed at their hand.

Designed as an alternative to the hugely popular Silkroad 2, Utopia was only a week old when the Dutch police cracked down on it, posting a message on the hidden service that said it had been seized.

seizuree
Image source: Deepdotweb

Not many details are known about the shutdown as of yet, with no word on how the site was seized or whether anyone has been arrested. However, it looks like Silk Road is ready to welcome the extra business, as forum moderator Stealth posted an acknowledgement of the shutdown and a greeting to all former Utopia customers (via DeepDotWeb):
“It is with great sadness that I announce it would seem that our budding competitor, Utopia Marketplace, has been seized by the Dutch National Police,” he said. “This is a serious blow to the darkweb marketplace community as honest competition is our lifeblood.

“I welcome any and all Utopia members to find refuge in our forums until you can figure out what has happened. Unfortunately I do not have the capability to create a subforum for you as backopy did for us when our former home was seized by the US version of your national police, but please make yourselves at home here, regroup, and do it again. Show them that you, we, are a hydra – cut off one head and ten more spring up.”

KitGuru Says: As Stealth says, it seems like these marketplaces are always going to spring up in the wake of closure, there's just too much money to be made. 

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Black Market Reloaded downtime was just a hiccup afterall https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/black-market-reloaded-downtime-was-just-a-hiccup-afterall/ Fri, 18 Oct 2013 14:09:54 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=158282 Yesterday it looked like online drug dealing had been dealt another blow, as one of Silk Road's replacements, Black Market Reloaded, was taken down after a third party server vendor outed the site's source code, potentially giving the site's owner, Backopy, a real security problem. However, less than 24 hours later, he's got the site …

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Yesterday it looked like online drug dealing had been dealt another blow, as one of Silk Road's replacements, Black Market Reloaded, was taken down after a third party server vendor outed the site's source code, potentially giving the site's owner, Backopy, a real security problem. However, less than 24 hours later, he's got the site back online under a new URL and is happy that his personal location and that of his servers, remains safe.

Posting on the BMR forums, Backopy said: “After reviewing my code over and over, I came to realise that I can still put it back up. I know I'll be facing more direct hits to secondary files, but they're all well protected and even if the attacker gets the source they won't be able to do much other than look at it. Unfortunatly as I don't know if the old certificate was compromised, I've had to change BMR's URL. Wait for more news in a short while.”

bmr

Backopy is quickly garnering himself a legendary status within the communities that surround these sites too, perhaps even eclipsing that of the previously revered Dread Pirate Roberts, who was outed and arrested earlier this month. It's not just for running a site like BMR though, but the way he's handled this potential security problem. Taking the site down at the first sign of trouble protected not only Backopy, but its many members – some of whom may still not be using PGP encryption. On top of that, he quickly created functionality for people to withdraw Bitcoins from their BMR accounts and has now brought the site back online within 24 hours of it going down. This is the sort of responsiveness and professionalism that users of these sorts of sites appreciate and it could give BMR the edge ove its main rivals, Sheep Marketplace and Deepbay.

KitGuru Says: There may be no honour among thieves, but with nerdy drug kingpins, it seems there is. 

[Thanks AtlantisBlog]

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SR rival online drug marketplace Atlantis closes, steals funds https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/sr-rival-online-drug-marketplace-atlantis-closes-steals-funds/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/sr-rival-online-drug-marketplace-atlantis-closes-steals-funds/#comments Fri, 27 Sep 2013 11:47:40 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=154787 While Silk Road is no longer the only well known tor accessible, Bitcoin funded, online drugs marketplace in the world, it's still the most recognised and the base line for which others are judged. Atlantis was an up and coming contended, taking swats at the champ and offering new features, lower fees and it certainly …

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While Silk Road is no longer the only well known tor accessible, Bitcoin funded, online drugs marketplace in the world, it's still the most recognised and the base line for which others are judged. Atlantis was an up and coming contended, taking swats at the champ and offering new features, lower fees and it certainly got some attention and with that, some users. However, those same early adopters are feeling the pinch now, as the admins have pulled the site and every Bitcoin in its users' accounts, scarpering off into the sunset.

At least this is the story being touted by Atlantis forum moderator Cicero, who said that “Many users have claimed the administrators have run off with their money. I cannot deny it.”

Last week the admins of Atlantis announced a closure of the site due to security reasons, suggesting that users would have a week to withdraw their funds or have them donated to a “drug related charity.” During that time Cicero defended the admins, even when most users had trouble withdrawing any Bitcoins from the site. Now though, it's hard to stand in the admins corner, when they seem to have disappeared altogether.

Despite what Cicero describes as a “honorarium” payment of arounnd $200k, he insists he never had much swing with the site, instead handling only general moderation on Atlantis' forums. There was a plan along the way for him to have more of an important role, but that never came about.

atlantis
While a less well known logo, Atlantis' was a little less sly than the Silk Road camel. 

While he was eventually as surprised as the community at the site's sudden end, there was a hint something was in the works before then. “Something [was]going wrong these past 8 weeks,” he said. “Support times went from prompt to atrocious.”

While Admins suggested it was security issues that caused the site's closure, Cicero now believes this isn't the whole story. It may have been a factor, but he believes it was more likely, “a business decision was made to shut the site down because it did not bring in profits commensurate to the costs of running the site.”

All the while Silk Road continues to run relatively smoothly. While it was hit with DDOS attacks earlier this year, authorities around the world seem unable to do anything to shut it down. The admin of the site, Dread Pirate Roberts (a moniker likely controlled by several individuals, one of whom may be the current site owner) even conducted an interview with Forbes recently which saw Bitcoin prices spike in response. In the talk he set out his feelings on drug dealing and the current system of prohibition, where he described the war on drugs as already lost, since anyone on his site could get drugs anywhere in the world, without law enforcement being able to do anything about it.

Which makes you wonder about whether a “war” on drugs is a smart plan at all. Especially when it's costing tens of thousands of lives a year, especially in Mexico, a country that is now considering legalisation of certain drugs as an alternative approach – much the same way that alcohol and tobacco is controlled.

KitGuru Says: Kitguru doesn't encourage anyone to visit these sites, or perform any illegal activities through them. 

[Thannks AllThingsVice]

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Opinion: Copyright law change will be slow, like drug law reform https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/opinion-copyright-law-change-will-be-slow-like-drug-law-reform/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/opinion-copyright-law-change-will-be-slow-like-drug-law-reform/#respond Mon, 16 Sep 2013 11:48:20 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=152606 It's quite clear from looking at the current state of copyright law, that it's being massively abused. Whether you consider stories of little girls having their laptops confiscated by the police, or Apple and Samsung going at one another in court rooms over minor patent disputes that could block the sale of entire product lines, …

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It's quite clear from looking at the current state of copyright law, that it's being massively abused. Whether you consider stories of little girls having their laptops confiscated by the police, or Apple and Samsung going at one another in court rooms over minor patent disputes that could block the sale of entire product lines, it's all pretty ridiculous and looking at your comments and those of many in the younger technological generation, you, and they see the fallacy and idiocy in current copyright legislation. So surely, it won't be that long before people of the generation that understand these problems at a fundamental level, because they've grown up with them, will begin entering positions of power and take the fight back to copyright law makers, ending the tide of ever increasing restrictions and pushing for a much more open society. That's certainly what some people are hoping for and it's an understandable dream, but is it likely to happen?

As Mr Falkvinge over at TorrentFreak points out, laws have to be supported morally by the people, in order to continue to be followed; and he's right. The current state of piracy and its decade long love affair with media consumers is a great indicator of how regardless of the legal threats and real world legal action of copyright lobbyists and media companies, the vast majority of people don't care and will continue to download in the most affordable, simplest and convenient ways. The new OfCom study of 2012 backs that up. But does that mean that we're moving any closer to changing the laws for good?

While we could look at the surge of protest against bills like SOPA, PIPA and ACTA as an indication that the world is waking up to privacy invasions, copyright infringement abuse and sneaky government tactics, I don't think that means we're any closer to changing the actual laws. While in a few years time we might have pro-copyright legislation reform people moving into the political meat grinder, it's going to be a long time until they're in any sort of position of power to do anything about it. On top of that, just look at the age of media moguls like Rupert Murdoch (82). These old guards of information dissemination and manipulation can last a long, long time. It takes a combination of media, government and the public to get things done, but nobody is knocking on Mr Murdoch's door with a more open minded agenda.

law1
Both have a much closer legal relationship than you might think

Drug laws are a great example of why any change in the law won't be swift. I know various generations of people who thought drug laws were set to be completely overhauled “within five years” of a certain date and in most instances, that thought of theirs occurred decades ago. Perhaps it was during the 60s with the summer of love and the popularisation of LSD. Perhaps it was in the 70s, when despite President Nixon's call for a “War on Drugs,” people were still able to get ahold of their favourite illegal substances.

But of course, without the political leaders taking a stance against draconian drug laws, there was never going to be legitimate change, no matter how many smoke outs or protests occurred. Likewise, without the media support. So you'd expect that when the drug users from the 60s and 70s eventually made their way to positions of power, we'd have big sweeping changes, right? Wrong. Bill Clinton famously didn't inhale, but admitted to sampling cannabis at a point in his life, but did that mean he was going to suddenly turn around and buck the political trend? Nope. What about Obama? Famous member of the Choom Gang? He's used federal agencies to target medical cannabis dispensaries more than any other previous president.

hippies
Honest, we never inhaled. Maaaaan

However, Mr Clinton, the man who didn't do much for cannabis law change while in office, has come around big time in recent months; you know, now he's not even close to being in office. Former presidente of Mexico, Vincente Fox has also been gunning hard for cannabis law reform in his home country – now he's not in office. Combined with the support of media moguls like Richard Branson – interestingly the power hitters within media are more able to use their power while they have it to influence law reform than those in political positions – it looks like in America and even in the UK, drug laws are beginning to change.

branson
Media support is a big part of law reform. Source: Jarle Naustvik

My point is, the same will no doubt be the same for copyright law. It's not going to change any time soon, because the old guard who see it as important to maintain their status quo are still in power. But even when they're gone and the new generation comes through, there will still be enough of the old dogs to make sure nothing big happens. It's when those digital hippies become the out-of-power influencers, that we'll see change, because there will be no mangy hound leaning on them from the shadows. When it's safe to do so, out of work politicians will stand up for public opinion on copyright law, just as they are they beginning to do with drugs.

And then after a few more years, current politicians will probably come on board too. But not until it's safe for their careers to do so.

Big law changes take a long time to ferment and come to the public fore. I don't doubt that one day we'll see them in how copyright is handled, but unfortunately that probable means we're going to be waiting on a lot of political funerals before it happens for real.

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Drug market posts Silk Road Charter, extols freedom of expression https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/drug-market-posts-silk-road-charter-extols-freedom-of-expression/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/drug-market-posts-silk-road-charter-extols-freedom-of-expression/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:04:43 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=133106 Drug Marketplace the Silk Road has had a tough time as of late. The past few days have seen it hit with a massive DDOS attack that crippled its infrastructure, sending many members into a frenzy. However, the admins have now got it under control and to celebrate, have posted up a Silk Road Charter, …

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Drug Marketplace the Silk Road has had a tough time as of late. The past few days have seen it hit with a massive DDOS attack that crippled its infrastructure, sending many members into a frenzy. However, the admins have now got it under control and to celebrate, have posted up a Silk Road Charter, that lets everyone know just why they operate such a lucrative site.

As part of the announcement that the storm had passed, Silk Road's owner, Dread Pirate Roberts, said that he was thankful for the efforts of staff and outsourced helpers and that ultimately, while the attack was temporarily devastating, it had made the site far stronger. Silk Road's security was now far heftier and would be able to weather much more aggressive attacks in the future.

sr
The Silk Road charter reads less like a dealer's manifesto and more like a declaration of independence

Alongside this, he published the Silk Road Charter, which DPR claims has been in the works for some time and has helped guide him through some “difficult decisions [he's] had to make along the way.” It's a short document, but an interesting one. It suggests that the Silk Road's mission is to:

“Have voluntary interaction between individuals be the foundation of human civilization.” It claims that everyone has self-ownership of their, “own bodies, thoughts and will,” and that everyone is responsible for their own actions. If you infringe on someone else's rights, you should be held accountable however.

It also proposes that everyone should be treated equally, “without exception,” and that everyone should strive to improve themselves throughout their lives and in “all actions.”

Some of it reads like Twitter inspiration, but a lot of it makes great sense and sounds like despite how much money DPR must be making from Silk Road, that there's a higher purpose to its existence. As if to emphasise that, he also announced a sale to apologise for the site's down time, giving everyone 48 hours without commissions. He also asked sellers to pass on at least some of that saving to customers.

KitGuru Says: Doesn't freedom of individuality come from strange quarters? While governments might talk about it, people like Kim Dotcom and DPR really push those ideals forward with the products they offer – even if their legality is often called into question. 

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How the Bitcoin crash has affected drug marketplace Silk Road https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/how-the-bitcoin-crash-has-affected-drug-marketplace-silk-road/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/how-the-bitcoin-crash-has-affected-drug-marketplace-silk-road/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:34:53 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=132463 Since Bitcoin has become more of an accepted form of monetary transaction across the internet connected world, the bubble burst that hit its value last week, was going to be felt far and wide. It's not surprising then that one of the places that helped pioneer the currency has been hit too – that place …

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Since Bitcoin has become more of an accepted form of monetary transaction across the internet connected world, the bubble burst that hit its value last week, was going to be felt far and wide. It's not surprising then that one of the places that helped pioneer the currency has been hit too – that place is Silk Road.

For those that don't know, Silk Road is an online marketplace, only accessible via the Tor network, that sells a variety of products, ranging from collectibles, to fake IDs – but its biggest catalogue of products is drugs. And we're talking everything too: from cannabis, through to heroin and prescription medication. If someone wants to take it, Silk Road has it – and all of it is purchasable using Bitcoin.

Let's be clear from the start, KitGuru neither condones or supports this kind of activity and, where possible, we steer around specifics with this kind of story – because the details could be mis-used. In this case, the various components are important, so we have taken a conscious decision to include them.

The purchasing process works in a fashion familiar to anyone who's bought anything online. Once you've added the Bitcoins to your account (which sends them through a tumbler which further anonymises them) you click “add to cart” on the product you want, send off your postage information to the seller (PGP encryption is recommended by the site's owners and most sellers) and your money enters a temporary escrow account. This holds the money until your product arrives and you “finalise” the payment, which sends it off to the retailer.

It's this holding period that could potentially cause problems for the Silk Road, but it does have safe guards in place. Sellers are able to “hedge” payments, which means that whatever the dollar value of the Bitcoins when they are finally sent to the seller, Silk Road will provide the same dollar value as when there were added by the buyer. This protects everyone, theoretically.

silkroad
Silk Road offers a plethora of different narcotics.

However, even doing so cannot guarantee safety. One source contacted us to explain: “I received a message a few days ago from one of the people I usually order from. It explained that those of us with outstanding payments should not finalise until an issue with Silk Road has been corrected.” Apparently, the seller in this case – one of the most well reviewed on the site – has taken down all of its listings. Despite having its payments hedged, it describes Silk Road pricing as “broken,” because it's based on that of Mt Gox. exchange, which a few days ago froze Bitcoin values. This meant people were buying up coins on other exchanges for far less and exploiting the system.

Ultimately the seller was said to be down several thousand dollars. However, our source informs us that most of that seller's listings are now back online, which would suggest the pricing problem has now been fixed, but it highlights a potential problem with Silk Road's reliance on the Mt. Gox exchange values.

Speaking with Forbes a couple of days ago, the anonymous owner of the site, Dread Pirate Roberts, described the safety measures in place by Silk Road, how ultimately the site itself pays for the ups and downs in Bitcoin value, while the sellers and particularly buyers, should be relatively unaffected by the crash. Ultimately though it's the time your Bitcoins are travelling between wallets, that value changes can really affect you. Once an order is made, you're relatively safe – though it seems not all sellers have been.

KitGuru Says: I'm sure a few of you are tempted to search out Silk Road after reading this. We wouldn't recommend it, but if you do, make sure you find an official address – there are a lot of fake ones floating around that could easily scam money from you. Be safe. 

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Kids drug parents to access internet https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/harrison/kids-drug-parents-to-access-internet/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/harrison/kids-drug-parents-to-access-internet/#respond Fri, 04 Jan 2013 10:52:38 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=121063 Child therapists say that rebellion is a healthy and natural part of growing up, but just how far is healthy and when would rebellion become a problem? KitGuru ponders the nature of ‘too far' while researching the actions of a 16-year old girl in the USA, who tried to bypass an internet access curfew by knocking her …

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Child therapists say that rebellion is a healthy and natural part of growing up, but just how far is healthy and when would rebellion become a problem? KitGuru ponders the nature of ‘too far' while researching the actions of a 16-year old girl in the USA, who tried to bypass an internet access curfew by knocking her parents out.

Following KitGuru's earlier story about some judgement-error-prone teens who posted on Facebook about drunk driving – intoxication rears its ugly head twice in one day.

The town of Rocklin, California has less people living in it than the audience at an Arsenal football match on a Saturday afternoon. But, for such a small town, the local chemist seems remarkably well stocked. The teenage girl and her friend manage to access a knock-out drug from a friend one town over and administered it by including it in late-night milkshakes that they offered to buy for the family.

Her parents didn't quite finish their shakes, but they drank enough to knock themselves out – at which point the young ladies hit the web and got up to all sorts of mischief.

Waking groggy and feeling hungover, the parents bought basic drug testing kits from the local chemist and the results came back positive.

The girl's parents were distinctly unimpressed, marched the culprit down to the local police station themselves and she has been charged with conspiracy and illegally administering pharmaceuticals in food.

The pair spent New Year's Eve in the slammer.

Fortunately for the girls, the latest research into Californian attitudes toward crime and punishment, show a drop in support for the death penalty, so they should be safe.

Drugging your parents? Is there a way to stop it happening ever again?

KitGuru says: It's a hard one for parents. On the one hand you need to provide protection, guidance and a set of rules to live by. On the other, to paraphrase Princess Leia, “The tighter you make your grip, the more teenagers will slip through your fingers”.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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McAfee on drugs? Customers shafted for Xmas https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jules/mcafee-on-drugs-customers-shafted-for-xmas/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jules/mcafee-on-drugs-customers-shafted-for-xmas/#comments Tue, 25 Dec 2012 15:27:50 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=120175 When we see the headline ‘McAfee on drugs', it's natural to assume that it relates to the security company's founder – who seems to have picked up a talent for production in the meth lab now that his creation is well and truly in the clutches of Intel. But we're talking about the company. Following …

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When we see the headline ‘McAfee on drugs', it's natural to assume that it relates to the security company's founder – who seems to have picked up a talent for production in the meth lab now that his creation is well and truly in the clutches of Intel. But we're talking about the company. Following a screen grab from a KitGuru reader at Xmas, we investigated and were duly shocked (by the story – there was no electrical fault).

Buy one of something and you pay a price. It's normally on the shelf or on a label attached to the goods. The product costs £x and you pay £x. Nice and simple. Everyone with us so far?

Good, because it's about to get dark.

Offer to buy (a) more than one of a product or (b) show your loyalty and faith in its creator by repeating your purchase – and you're into the land of ‘special deals and offers'. For the purpose of this expose, we're gonna focus on ‘b'.

One of our readers sent in a screen grab of a special offer that they have just received from McAfee (the security products company – now owned by Intel).

As an existing customer, they would be able to enjoy another whole year of McAfee's ‘full suite of protection software' for just £59.99 – a saving of £5.

But go to McAfee's site ‘fresh' and you will save £27.50 by purchasing the full suite for just £32.49.

The KitGuru team has evaluated McAfee's offer and you can see what we think by clicking on the image below.

As a loyal customer, you get a whopping £5 off the full suite. But new users can tug McAfee's shorts down for just £32.49 - that's a HUGE penalty of 85% for being a loyal customer. Worst offer in customer loyalty history?

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KitGuru says: This is very nasty. The idea that a company can shaft existing customers by playing on their loyalty and trust is very bad. We hope that Intel and McAfee's marketing teams take note and vow never to repeat this unsavoury incident. Without the ‘£5 OFF' incentive for existing customers, it's bad – but WITH the special deal, it's tantamount to outright cheating, because it's designed to make a loyal customer think they're being treated in a special way.

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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