Illegal movie and software downloaders could have an edge over anti-piracy operatives thanks to a new feature in the BitTorrent file-sharing software.

BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen has eliminated the need for Web site hosting of centralised servers known as ‘trackers’ in the latest beta version of the peer-to-peer software. These servers coordinate the BitTorrent download process and have been a key resource for anti-piracy units in identifying infringers downloading and sharing copyrighted material.

The enhancement may cause problems in shutting down the illegal online distribution of software and content, according to software piracy watchdog, the Business Software Alliance.

While BitTorrent’s Cohen claims the tracker removal feature is part of his ongoing effort to make publishing files online “painless and disruptively cheap”, the move is only one of several designed to remove BitTorrent’s dependence on centralised trackers.

Source: ZDNet

Administrators (or parents) who want to allow users to logon to the computer only on specific hours can do that easily with Windows XP Pro.

You can do that by using the “net user” command. Here is an example of how restrict logon hours for user marysl. To specify logon hours of 4 A.M. until 5 P.M. on Monday, 1 P.M. until 3 P.M. on Tuesday, and 8 A.M. until 5 P.M. Wednesday through Friday for user name marysl

• Go to Start->Run
• Type “cmd” and press ENTER
• In the command prompt window type net user marysl /time:M,4am-5pm;T,1pm-3pm;W-F,8:00-17:00 Press ENTER
• Type Exit to close the command prompt window

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You can find out more about the net user command here