MPAA releases piracy check software

Geek.com Geek News - MPAA releases piracy check software: "The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is currently taking a number of actions to try to curb piracy, including suing individuals and taking legal action against certain file trading sites, like BitTorrent, eDonkey, and the DirectConnect network. The MPAA's latest effort is the release of a piece of software aimed at parents that allows them to check their home PC for illegal music and movie files as well as P2P software.

The application is called Parent File Scan (PFS), and was developed by the Denmark-based firm DtecNet. Not only does PFS scan a machinem, it also gives users the option to delete anything it deems possibly illegal. However, the software download page clearly states that PFS cannot tell what is and isn't legal--it just identifies anything that might be and leaves it up to the user to differentiate. The page also states that no information gathered is seen by anyone other than the user, so the MPAA has no access to it.

Tests carried out on PFS have found applications such as the chat program mIRC and the streaming Web radio service Mecora both classed as file-swapping software."