KOZHIKODE: Friday turned out to be a sad day for cyber freaks in the state as Torrentz.eu, the popular search engine for torrent links was mysteriously shut down worldwide after 13 years of service.
The homepage is still active with a self-description in past tense; ‘Torrentz was a free, fast and powerful meta-search engine combining results from dozens of search engines.’
However, Torrentz has completely disabled its search functionality and has similarly removed all torrent links. Trying to run a search or clicking any link on the site will return you a farewell note, ‘Torrentz will always love you. Farewell.’
The site’s users are no longer able to login either. The reasons for the shutdown are yet to be revealed. The latest move has concerned a lot of Keralite members belonging to the torrent community, as is evident from many social media posts bidding adieu to Torrentz.
“Torrentz was a cinema paradise for me; films connecting distant cultures, languages, films which I could either culturally or economically access in the theatres or film festivals,” says Marva Kader, a university student and a regular user of Torrentz.
However, cyber experts point out that proxy and mirror websites for To rrentz will soon come out as an alternative to movie buffs and game lovers.
“There is nothing to worry about this, as proxy and mirror websites will soon provide an alternative to Torrentz.
‘‘Similar takedowns has been reported previously as well, with interference from the FBI,” said Manu P Zacharia, cyber security expert and a member of Data Security Council of India.