A piece of software from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, (US patent 6732180) aims to make illegal music and movie download sites all but useless. Most file-sharing schemes rely on a central website containing an index of the files available. The patented idea is to use a software robot that poses as a member of such a network to spoil the fun.
After analysing the site’s index format, the bot uploads files which masquerade as blockbuster movies or chart-topping tracks. In fact, they are decoys, full of garbage, that take an age to download and which do not play.
