Newzbin2 claims it can beat BT's block

USENET INDEXING WEB SITE Newzbin2 claims it has developed software that will defeat a block about to be imposed by BT.

Legal action by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in July resulted in BT being ordered to block access to Newzbin2.

The MPA said the Newzbin2 web site indexes movies and music put on Usenet discussion boards that infringe copyrights.

However, the BBC reported that programmers who work for Newzbin2 are working on software that they say will defeat the block before it goes into effect in mid October.

The first version of the Windows program Newzbin2 members will use to get to the web site was released on 14 September, while there will also be versions for Apple's Mac OS X and Linux.

According to Torrentfreak, Newzbin2 wouldn't reveal how the code attempts to get around the BT Cleanfeed block.

However, Torrentfreak ran some tests using network sniffing software and found that the program relies on encryption to hide communications between users and Newzbin2.

The original version of Newzbin was shut down after a court case but Newzbin2 survived by setting itself up outside UK jurisdiction. µ