Piracy and More Than Two: Caveat Emptor

[tacit]

This Blog post has been updated; updates are at the end.

Recently, a concerned blog reader sent me an email alerting me to a Web site that claimed to have a free ebook download for More Than Two He found the link on a YouTube "video" that was basically just a still spam image claiming that the book could be downloaded free, with a Web link in the

Comments

Downloader beware

[edm]

Out of interest is this the "pirated copy" that led to the concerned backer email? Or are there more pirated copies floating around? While it's sad to have your brand hijacked like you describe, if it's only the cover art stolen there's still more chance people will buy the original. So it'd be sadder still if the pre-release copy were available in full.

I've seen things looking remarkably like the sort of scam you describe above (YouTube "video" that advertises link) turning up in searches I've done (for videos), and just assumed they were scams without investigating. I guess there's enough variation/indirection in this particular form of scam malware seeding, that it isn't being taken down quite as quickly/automatically. Thanks for explaining the chain in how it works.

Ewen

PS: Great book, BTW. Just finished reading it last week. As a backer I'm extremely pleased to have helped bring it into existence in book form, and hope it does well and benefits lots of people -- including the two of you that put so much time and money into getting it out.