Legend Returns: I Am aXXo ???

   aXXo Temporarily Stops Releasing DVDrips

Written by Ernesto on November 28, 2007

The popular DVD ripper aXXo is a BitTorrent cult figure, despised by some, worshiped by others. An estimated one million people download aXXo’s rips every month and his name is among the most searched keywords on all BitTorrent sites. Not surprisingly, rumors start to spread when there is no official aXXo release for a while.

The last official aXXo torrent was uploaded November 11, after that is has been awfully quiet. So what happened, did he get caught, is he tired of releasing DVDrips, did he have an accident? It turns out that aXXo is not gone for good, he just decided to take a break.

ADL 242, an administrator on Darkside RG, the official home of aXXo explains: “aXXo told us that he has decided to take a break, so you will not see new aXXo torrents anywhere for a while. Please show your support by keeping his torrents alive until he comes back, as always, he will post here first when he does.”

This is not the first time that aXXo has taken some time off. Last year aXXo temporarily stopped uploading movies because a website named axxotorrents.com was trying to profit from his name. A few weeks after that the site went down and aXXo continued releasing DVDrips.

Earlier this month aXXo caused a stir when he deleted all his torrents from The Pirate Bay website. Apparently aXXo wasn’t very happy with the way The Pirate Bay handled his complaints, and decided to not release his torrents there anymore.

Unfortunately, aXXo’s popularity has downsides too. We’ve seen that anti-piracy organizations use his name to trap people into downloading fake files, and malware peddlers use the aXXo brand to spread their infested software.

At this point is is not clear how long aXXo will be inactive, his fans can only pray, and hope the he will return soon.

Interview: aXXo,

The Most Popular DVD Ripper on BitTorrent

Written by Ernesto on March 11, 2007

In real life, aXXo is probably just an average person, but on the Internet he’s a celebrity, with over a million people downloading his DVDrips every month. The search term “aXXo” is among the top searches on every torrent site, and even anti-piracy organizations use his name to trap people into downloading fake torrents. We had the chance to ask him a few questions, and find out a little more about him.

For those of you who never heard of aXXo, he is responsible for hundreds of DVDrips that find their way to millions of PCs around the world. Most of the rips are 700MB, made to fit on a single CD. Some have criticized his preference for single CD rips because of the inferior video quality, but most pirates agree that he does a great job.

Earlier this year aXXo temporarily stopped uploading movies because axxotorrents.com was trying to profit from his name. After a few weeks that site went down, and aXXo continued releasing DVDrips.

Most of the time it is impossible to track down the source of DVDrips, especially with people from “the scene“. But aXXo is not a member of the scene, and although was not very talkative either, he was at least willing to answer a few questions.

TorrentFreak: When did you start ripping / uploading DVDrips?

aXXo: When I was about 15 or 16 I got into backing up my old DVD’s. History from there.

TorrentFreak: What motivates you to share these movies?

aXXo: Why not? If I see a great film I believe everyone has the right to be entertained by it.

TorrentFreak: Don’t you think that ripping and uploading these (copyrighted) movies is wrong?

aXXo: No not really. It was just for me and some mates at first.

TorrentFreak: Are you alone in this, Or do you get help from others?

aXXo: No help, It’s all me.

TorrentFreak: You seem to prefer 700MB rips, and not higher quality ones, why is this?

aXXo: Very little (if any) Loss of quality, and will fit on a Single Music CD.

TorrentFreak: On which torrent sites do you release this movies, and why not just on one?

aXXo: There are quite a few I release to. Many people prefer one site over the rest, and I want to spread these as much as possible.

TorrentFreak: What do you think of sites that (mis)use your name, like axxotorrents.com?

aXXo: This is a touchy subject. I have nothing against any of them, it was a complete misunderstanding and the issue has been cleared up. They are reliable, And I have checked every torrent on there thus far to be real.

TorrentFreak: How can people tell if the torrent is not a scam, or a fake torrent?

aXXo: If it’s a RAR archive, It’s not mine. My rips will contain 2 or 3 files. One info and one .avi files. On occasion a .txt file but that will stop.

TorrentFreak: Where do you get the movies, and do you use scene releases as well?

aXXo: …

TorrentFreak: Do you think that distributing these (copyrighted) movies is morally wrong? That is, do you consider sharing shows to be the same as stealing?

aXXo: Thank god in this country we don’t believe in copyright infringement. It’s just sharing entertainment, nothing more.

TorrentFreak: Okay, perhaps this one is easier to answer. What is your favorite BitTorrent site?

aXXo: I don’t have one. Darksiderg.com is where my original releases are, But I release to many. Superfundo, Demonoid, MiniNova, The Pirate Bay.

TorrentFreak: Anything you want to add to this?

aXXo: Upload what you’ve downloaded, and then some.

TorrentFreak: Thanks!

aXXo: You’re welcome.

aXXo’s Prayer

Written by Ernesto on March 31, 2007

Most people are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer. Less known is the aXXo prayer, dedicated to the popular DVD ripper that goes by this name. Courtesy of “the_dwarfer”, who just started a new religion.

Our Ripper, who art on mininova,

aXXo be thy name.

Thy torrents come.

Seeding will be done,

Here as it was on suprnova.

Give us this day our latest rips.

And forgive us our leeching,

As we forgive those that leech from us.

And lead us not on to private trackers;

But deliver us from the MPAA:

For thine is the ripping, the seeding, and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen…

For all the other believers out there, put your own aXXo prayer in the comments.

The BitTorrent Legend Returns:

I Am aXXo

Written by Ernesto on March 09, 2008

Since November 11 2007, when the last official aXXo torrent was uploaded, it has been awfully quiet. Some people assumed that aXXo had got himself caught while others claimed he had an accident. After a while it became clear that he simply decided to take some time off.

An administrator on Darkside RG, the official home of aXXo explained at the time: “aXXo told us that he has decided to take a break, so you will not see new aXXo torrents anywhere for a while. Please show your support by keeping his torrents alive until he comes back, as always, he will post here first when he does.”

Now, after nearly four months of absence aXXo has returned, and uploaded his first .torrent on Darkside RG and other torrent sites. It’s the news that many BitTorrent users have been waiting for.

Marking his comeback with the movie “I Am Legend” could be seen as symbolic. Before aXXo decided to take a break, an estimated one million people downloaded his DVDrips every month. The search term aXXo was undoubtedly the most popular at many torrent sites. Although there are conflicting opinions in respect of the quality of his work, there can be no dispute that he was, and still is, very popular indeed.

While some see him in an almost religious light, others have been quick to take advantage of his popularity for nefarious purposes, or have used the aXXo brand to draw attention to their own releases, like KLAXXON did.

Even though some see him as a legend, aXXo certainly isn’t without his critics but whatever the position, his popularity is indisputable…..along with his modesty 