Fake MPAA-Sponsored Video Site Goes Offline

A video download site that had been exposed as a front for the MPAA to catch those who download copyrighted content, as well as those who may have already downloaded it, has been taken offline.

The site, called "MiiVi," contained whole downloads of movies as well as links to a program that would apparently speed downloads from the site. However, there's a catch: the site is owned by a anti-piracy company and the software is actually a Trojan horse of sorts.

A Whois search indicates that the site is owned by MediaDefender, a company that specializes in anti-piracy solutions. The application is actually spyware and scans the hard drive for copyrighted content and then reports back to MediaDefender.

It is not immediately clear how many may have been lured in by the promise of free downloads as neither the MPAA nor MediaDefender is talking. But it appears as if publicity played a large part in its removal.

As of Friday morning, the main page had been taken down and replaced by a page from GoDaddy.com that is used as a placeholder for "parked" domains.

"It's always nice to know that sometimes good things do happen, and more importantly, that MiiVi won't be trapping any more unsuspecting users," 'soulxtc' wrote from Zeropaid.com, the blog that initially reported about the site.