Walking Dead S08 torrent WARNING - ‘Secret watermarks’ used in fresh piracy crackdown

[Len]

WALKING Dead fans gearing up for the start of season 8 have been warned about secret, identifying watermarks that come with illegal downloads or streams.

The Walking Dead season 8 has kicked off, with illegal downloads and streams for S08 starting to circulate on sites such as The Pirate Bay and Putlocker.

The landmark 100th episode of the zombie epic was broadcast in the US yesterday, with The Walking Dead returning to UK screens later tonight.

The Walking Dead season 8 continues the story of Rick Grimes’s battle with Negan, with promos teasing “all out war” between the two sides.

Walking Dead season 8 is being shown legally in the US on AMC and in the UK on Fox, available through Sky, Virgin Media and Now TV.

Like big rival Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead is a victim of online piracy - with fans often turning to torrents and illegal streams to watch it.

However, for anyone thinking of downloading a Walking Dead S08 torrent or using an illegal stream to watch online, they have been given a warning.

AMC, the makers of The Walking Dead, have been putting secret, invisible watermarks on episodes of their shows.

These invisible, identifying digital features are added to every AMC episode before they get distributed by forensic watermarking firm NexGuard.

The marks are added to help AMC identify and track down where leaks happen and who is responsible for them.

Speaking about the anti-piracy measure, AMC’s CTO Steve Pontillo said: "It is paramount for us to protect our assets when they are at their most valuable.”

Sharing copyrighted material for free without permission from the rights holders carries with it heavy penalties in the UK.

Earlier this year, the Digital Economy Act received royal assent and became law.

It increased the maximum jail sentence for copyright infringement in the UK from two to 10 years.

Separately, the European Court of Justice ruled that streaming copyright-protected material without the right-holders permission was illegal.

It meant that those who were not rights holders but made copyrighted content available to stream online for free are no longer exempt from punishment.

The digital watermarks, which Variety reported AMC had first started using last year, are meant to stop any leaks before an episode gets broadcast.

The NexGuard watermarks can also be added dynamically to set-top boxes or different sessions.

This would let copyright owners trace piracy back to the individual consumers that are behind the illegal downloads or streams.

Media giant 20th Century Fox have already used these tailored watermarks for a number of on-demand releases.

And it’s an option that AMC could turn to if they look to clamp down harder on Walking Dead pirates.

Last year The Walking Dead was ranked as one of the most pirated shows on TV again by TorrentFreak.

In the 2016 rankings, The Walking Dead was the second most widely torrented show online.

Top of the rankings was Game of Thrones for the fifth year in a row.

The AMC watermarking system is intended to make torrents of their shows harder to come by and stop any damaging leaks.

Earlier this year Game of Thrones was hit by a number of high profiles leaks.

Besides a number of draft scripts being leaked, full episodes of Game of Thrones penultimate season was leaked online before the air date.

Game of Thrones season seven episode four The Spoils of War and episode six Beyond the Wall were both leaked days before their intended air date.

While the resolution of the episode four leak was low, the episode six copy that leaked online was a high-definition version of broadcast quality.



The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones season 7 was leaked online after the episode become available on a HBO on-demand service by mistake.

The Game of Thrones leaks came after hackers targeted HBO and claimed to have stolen 1.5 terabytes of sensitive data.

As attention in Game of Thrones shifts to the upcoming season eight, it’s emerged HBO are taking a leaf out of The Walking Dead’s books.

HBO have said to fight spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones multiple endings of the hit show will be shot.



The Walking Dead took the same tactic for the explosive season six finale and first episode of season seven last year.

HBO’s president of original programming Casey Bloys said: “I know in Game of Thrones, the ending, they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that nobody really know what happens.

“You have to do that on a long show. Because when you’re shooting something, people know.

“So they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that there’s no real definitive answer until the end.”

The Walking Dead season 8 will continue the battle between Rick Grimes’s coalition of heroes who are teaming up to fight Negan’s Saviours.

Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead, recently spoke out about what’s at stake in season 8 of the hit zombie epic.

He said: "I think he's ready for battle. I've always said that Rick is very much like a shark. He needs to keep moving, otherwise he dies.

"Giving him something to do with his grief and pain is essential. Kicking Negan's ass is as good a reason as any.”

He added: "I think he's very focused. You saw him in the beginning of the scene last season on his knees, but he's a completely inverted Rick.

"He's a man who's willing to die. He's free for all intents and purposes.”