<s>
Earth	B-Protocol
Station	I-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
(	O
ES5	B-Protocol
)	O
was	O
a	O
peer-to-peer	O
network	O
active	O
between	O
2003	O
and	O
2005	O
,	O
operated	O
by	O
a	O
company	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earth	B-Protocol
Station	I-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
was	O
notable	O
for	O
its	O
strong	O
,	O
if	O
overstated	O
,	O
emphasis	O
on	O
user	O
anonymity	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
its	O
bold	O
advocacy	O
of	O
piracy	O
and	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
highly	O
antagonistic	O
position	O
toward	O
copyright	O
advocacy	O
and	O
enforcement	O
organizations	O
garnered	O
the	O
group	O
significant	O
attention	O
and	O
peaked	O
with	O
an	O
ES5	B-Protocol
press	O
release	O
announcing	O
a	O
"	O
declaration	O
of	O
war	O
"	O
against	O
the	O
Motion	O
Picture	O
Association	O
of	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
claimed	O
to	O
operate	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
Jenin	O
in	O
the	O
Palestinian	O
Authority-controlled	O
West	B-Application
Bank	I-Application
,	O
a	O
region	O
where	O
they	O
argued	O
that	O
copyright	O
laws	O
were	O
unenforceable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earth	B-Protocol
Station	I-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
was	O
based	O
around	O
a	O
peer-to-peer	O
(	O
P2P	O
)	O
file	O
sharing	O
service	O
and	O
a	O
standalone	O
Earth	B-Protocol
Station	I-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
file-sharing	O
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
could	O
only	O
share	O
or	O
download	O
files	O
by	O
using	O
the	O
ES5	B-Protocol
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
P2P	O
network	O
and	O
client	O
were	O
announced	O
on	O
June	O
9	O
,	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
People	O
associated	O
with	O
ES5	B-Protocol
claimed	O
in	O
media	O
reports	O
that	O
the	O
network	O
had	O
more	O
than	O
16,000,000	O
participants	O
at	O
its	O
peak	O
,	O
but	O
these	O
numbers	O
were	O
unsupported	O
and	O
viewed	O
very	O
skeptically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Largely	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
low	O
availability	O
of	O
files	O
on	O
the	O
small	O
ES5	B-Protocol
network	O
,	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
ES5	B-Protocol
client	O
included	O
the	O
free	O
software/open	O
source	O
giFT	O
daemon	O
which	O
provided	O
ES5	B-Protocol
users	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
larger	O
Gnutella	B-Protocol
and	O
FastTrack	B-Protocol
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Gnutella	B-Protocol
and	O
FastTrack	B-Protocol
offered	O
access	O
to	O
many	O
more	O
files	O
,	O
the	O
functionality	O
that	O
let	O
users	O
access	O
these	O
networks	O
did	O
not	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
any	O
of	O
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
anonymity	O
features	O
,	O
which	O
decreased	O
the	O
advantages	O
of	O
ES5	B-Protocol
over	O
other	O
P2P	O
clients	O
—	O
in	O
particular	O
other	O
FastTrack	B-Protocol
or	O
Gnutella	B-Protocol
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
ES5	B-Protocol
client	O
used	O
a	O
space	O
and	O
spaceship	O
motif	O
and	O
provided	O
many	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
claimed	O
it	O
planned	O
to	O
capitalize	O
on	O
these	O
features	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
become	O
profitable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
became	O
well	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
strong	O
claims	O
that	O
file-sharing	O
on	O
its	O
network	O
was	O
entirely	O
anonymous	O
—	O
a	O
feature	O
it	O
billed	O
as	O
its	O
most	O
important	O
and	O
revolutionary	O
—	O
and	O
that	O
its	O
users	O
could	O
share	O
files	O
while	O
remaining	O
undetectable	O
and	O
thus	O
invulnerable	O
to	O
lawsuits	O
by	O
the	O
RIAA	O
's	O
member	O
companies	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
recently	O
begun	O
suing	O
P2P	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
president	O
Ras	O
Kabir	O
claimed	O
that	O
on	O
ES5	B-Protocol
,	O
"	O
users	O
no	O
longer	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
concerned	O
about	O
what	O
they	O
are	O
sharing	O
,	O
or	O
with	O
whom	O
they	O
are	O
sharing	O
because	O
there	O
is	O
complete	O
anonymity.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
groups	O
countered	O
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
claims	O
about	O
its	O
users	O
 '	O
anonymity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
many	O
participating	O
in	O
or	O
sympathetic	O
to	O
the	O
file-sharing	O
community	O
were	O
skeptical	O
,	O
believing	O
that	O
anonymous	O
communication	O
on	O
P2P	O
networks	O
was	O
technically	O
impossible	O
without	O
critically	O
compromising	O
quality	O
of	O
service	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
they	O
considered	O
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
claims	O
to	O
be	O
snake	O
oil	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
claims	O
to	O
anonymity	O
were	O
based	O
on	O
its	O
use	O
of	O
several	O
security	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
used	O
Secure	B-Protocol
Sockets	I-Protocol
Layer	I-Protocol
(	O
SSL	O
)	O
encryption	O
,	O
encrypted	O
searches	O
over	O
UDP	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
integration	O
with	O
PGPDisk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
none	O
of	O
these	O
layers	O
of	O
security	O
prevented	O
RIAA	O
member	O
companies	O
from	O
detecting	O
and	O
gathering	O
information	O
about	O
ES5	B-Protocol
users	O
 '	O
file	O
trading	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
its	O
client	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
added	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
network	O
of	O
proxies	B-Application
to	O
obscure	O
the	O
source	O
of	O
requests	O
or	O
shared	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
staffers	O
maintained	O
a	O
frequently-updated	O
list	O
of	O
proxy	B-Application
servers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
List	O
updates	O
were	O
posted	O
regularly	O
to	O
the	O
ES5	B-Protocol
forums	O
and	O
then	O
updated	O
into	O
the	O
clients	O
by	O
hand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
also	O
added	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
"	O
spoof	O
"	O
IP	O
addresses	O
in	O
a	O
way	O
that	O
ES5	B-Protocol
claimed	O
made	O
it	O
more	O
difficult	O
to	O
track	O
down	O
file	O
sharers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
claim	O
to	O
anonymity	O
continued	O
to	O
be	O
viewed	O
skeptically	O
by	O
both	O
P2P	O
advocates	O
and	O
RIAA	O
representatives	O
,	O
no	O
ES5	B-Protocol
users	O
were	O
ever	O
sued	O
by	O
the	O
RIAA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
ruling	O
in	O
A&M	O
Records	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
v	O
.	O
Napster	B-Application
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
which	O
held	O
Napster	B-Application
liable	O
for	O
contributory	O
infringement	O
by	O
its	O
users	O
,	O
most	O
P2P	O
networks	O
were	O
careful	O
to	O
adopt	O
a	O
strategy	O
of	O
"	O
turning	O
a	O
blind	O
eye	O
"	O
to	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
on	O
their	O
network	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
escape	O
or	O
minimize	O
liability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
distinguished	O
itself	O
by	O
openly	O
supporting	O
its	O
users	O
 '	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
over	O
its	O
network	O
and	O
by	O
actively	O
participating	O
in	O
sharing	O
movies	O
with	O
its	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
within	O
the	O
file-sharing	O
community	O
speculated	O
that	O
ES5	B-Protocol
shared	O
media	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
"	O
seed	O
"	O
the	O
network	O
with	O
media	O
—	O
a	O
step	O
necessary	O
because	O
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
user	O
base	O
was	O
very	O
small	O
compared	O
to	O
other	O
networks	O
and	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
require	O
quotas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
shared	O
media	O
by	O
downloading	O
content	O
from	O
other	O
networks	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
Kazaa	B-Protocol
and	O
Gnutella	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
vetting	O
these	O
for	O
quality	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
connecting	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
their	O
client	O
to	O
their	O
network	O
from	O
one	O
of	O
their	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
step	O
was	O
important	O
in	O
assuring	O
that	O
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
network	O
could	O
offer	O
a	O
sufficient	O
amount	O
of	O
content	O
to	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
stages	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
tried	O
to	O
attract	O
users	O
by	O
streaming	O
movies	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
in-network	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
do	O
this	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
created	O
a	O
website	O
at	O
es5.org	O
which	O
provided	O
links	O
to	O
dozens	O
of	O
Hollywood	O
films	O
immediately	O
available	O
for	O
streaming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
few	O
P2P	O
networks	O
enjoy	O
friendly	O
relationships	O
with	O
the	O
media	O
and	O
content	O
industries	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
displayed	O
a	O
famously	O
antagonistic	O
relationship	O
to	O
themmost	O
notably	O
the	O
US-based	O
Motion	O
Picture	O
Association	O
of	O
America	O
and	O
Recording	O
Industry	O
Association	O
of	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
position	O
culminated	O
in	O
a	O
famous	O
press	O
release	O
where	O
ES5	B-Protocol
formally	O
declared	O
war	O
on	O
the	O
MPAA	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
email	O
received	O
today	O
from	O
the	O
Motion	O
Picture	O
Association	O
of	O
America	O
(	O
MPAA	O
)	O
to	O
Earthstation	B-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
for	O
copyright	O
violations	O
for	O
streaming	O
FIRST	O
RUN	O
movies	O
over	O
the	O
internet	O
for	O
FREE	O
,	O
this	O
is	O
our	O
official	O
response	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Earthstation	B-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
is	O
at	O
war	O
with	O
the	O
Motion	O
Picture	O
Association	O
of	O
America	O
(	O
MPAA	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
Record	O
Association	O
of	O
America	O
(	O
RIAA	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
make	O
our	O
point	O
very	O
clear	O
that	O
their	O
governing	O
laws	O
and	O
policys	O
 [ sic ] 	O
have	O
absolutely	O
no	O
meaning	O
to	O
us	O
here	O
in	O
Palestine	O
,	O
we	O
will	O
continue	O
to	O
add	O
even	O
more	O
movies	O
for	O
FREE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
same	O
release	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
claimed	O
that	O
,	O
"	O
unlike	O
Kazaa	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
P2P	O
programs	O
who	O
subsequently	O
deny	O
building	O
their	O
P2P	O
program	O
for	O
illegal	O
file-sharing	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
is	O
the	O
only	O
P2P	O
application	O
and	O
portal	O
to	O
actually	O
join	O
its	O
users	O
in	O
doing	O
P2P.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
its	O
antagonistic	O
relationship	O
to	O
media	O
companies	O
,	O
its	O
highly	O
outspoken	O
stance	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
claims	O
to	O
be	O
based	O
in	O
a	O
refugee	O
camp	O
in	O
the	O
West	B-Application
Bank	I-Application
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
became	O
the	O
center	O
of	O
a	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
media	O
attention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
intentionally	O
obscured	O
the	O
details	O
of	O
its	O
company	O
leadership	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
ES5	B-Protocol
claimed	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
over	O
one	O
thousand	O
employees	O
(	O
most	O
based	O
in	O
the	O
West	B-Application
Bank	I-Application
)	O
,	O
the	O
facts	O
seem	O
to	O
indicate	O
that	O
there	O
were	O
never	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
handful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Publicly	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
was	O
run	O
by	O
President	O
Ras	O
Kabir	O
,	O
Lead	O
Programmer	O
"	O
File	O
Hoover	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
Forums	O
Administrator	O
and	O
Programmer	O
"	O
SharePro	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
ES5	B-Protocol
press	O
releases	O
quoted	O
company	O
president	O
Ras	O
Kabir	O
who	O
,	O
like	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
was	O
nominally	O
based	O
in	O
Jenin	O
in	O
the	O
West	B-Application
Bank	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
his	O
involvement	O
in	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
publicly	O
hidden	O
early	O
on	O
,	O
Stephen	O
Michael	O
Cohen	O
was	O
closely	O
involved	O
in	O
all	O
stages	O
of	O
ES5	B-Protocol
and	O
,	O
in	O
most	O
opinions	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
founder	O
,	O
primary	O
architect	O
,	O
and	O
primary	O
participant	O
in	O
most	O
of	O
its	O
actions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
business	O
registrations	O
papers	O
,	O
filed	O
with	O
the	O
Palestinian	O
Authority	O
,	O
listed	O
Cohen	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
sole	O
director	O
"	O
of	O
ES5	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
in	O
the	O
forum	O
and	O
through	O
their	O
spokesperson	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
officials	O
claimed	O
that	O
Cohen	O
played	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
consultant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fueling	O
speculation	O
about	O
Cohen	O
's	O
close	O
involvement	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
unanticipated	O
closing	O
coincided	O
closely	O
with	O
Cohen	O
's	O
arrest	O
for	O
activity	O
related	O
to	O
sex.com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
suffered	O
a	O
precipitous	O
downfall	O
that	O
ultimately	O
ended	O
with	O
the	O
closing	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
in	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2003	O
,	O
Shaun	O
"	O
Random	O
Nut	O
"	O
Garriok	O
posted	O
an	O
email	O
message	O
to	O
the	O
Full	B-General_Concept
Disclosure	I-General_Concept
email	O
list	O
claiming	O
to	O
have	O
uncovered	O
"	O
malicious	O
code	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
ES5	B-Protocol
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
sending	O
a	O
specially-formed	O
request	O
,	O
a	O
remote	O
user	O
could	O
use	O
a	O
facility	O
of	O
the	O
ES5	B-Protocol
client	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
delete	O
arbitrary	O
files	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
of	O
anybody	O
running	O
the	O
ES5	B-Protocol
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Garriok	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
people	O
behind	O
ES5	B-Protocol
have	O
intentionally	O
added	O
malicious	O
code	O
to	O
ES5	B-Protocol
"	O
and	O
speculated	O
that	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
they	O
have	O
enough	O
users	O
on	O
their	O
ES5	B-Protocol
network	O
,	O
they	O
would	O
start	O
deleting	O
all	O
copyrighted	O
files	O
they	O
own	O
which	O
their	O
users	O
are	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
representatives	O
replied	O
and	O
suggested	O
that	O
this	O
ability	O
was	O
an	O
unintended	O
side	O
effect	O
of	O
the	O
program	O
's	O
automatic	O
upgrade	O
functionality	O
and	O
patched	O
it	O
through	O
a	O
software	O
update	O
soon	O
after	O
Garriok	O
's	O
revelation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
there	O
no	O
public	O
evidence	O
of	O
collusion	O
between	O
ES5	B-Protocol
and	O
the	O
MPAA	O
or	O
RIAA	O
,	O
speculation	O
about	O
it	O
dogged	O
ES5	B-Protocol
,	O
sowing	O
seeds	O
of	O
distrust	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
claims	O
behind	O
ES5	B-Protocol
were	O
unsubstantiated	O
and	O
untrue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
increased	O
media	O
analysis	O
,	O
especially	O
from	O
The	O
Washington	O
Post	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
clear	O
that	O
ES5	B-Protocol
was	O
not	O
what	O
it	O
claimed	O
to	O
be	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
was	O
not	O
based	O
in	O
Jenin	O
or	O
even	O
elsewhere	O
in	O
Palestine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
people	O
claimed	O
to	O
be	O
behind	O
ES5	B-Protocol
were	O
found	O
to	O
be	O
fabricated	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
of	O
ES5	B-Protocol
's	O
technical	O
claims	O
were	O
debunked	O
;	O
also	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
was	O
not	O
nearly	O
as	O
large	O
as	O
it	O
claimed	O
at	O
several	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES5	B-Protocol
had	O
claimed	O
that	O
the	O
encryption	O
around	O
its	O
system	O
made	O
identifying	O
and	O
blocking	O
traffic	O
from	O
the	O
site	O
impossible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
P2P	O
Watch	O
Dog	O
post	O
demonstrated	O
a	O
method	O
by	O
which	O
packets	O
from	O
ES5	B-Protocol
could	O
be	O
identified	O
and	O
blocked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
several	O
other	O
reasons	O
that	O
many	O
in	O
the	O
P2P	O
and	O
file-sharing	O
community	O
distrusted	O
ES5	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
speculated	O
that	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
engaging	O
in	O
practices	O
such	O
as	O
seeding	O
and	O
streaming	O
of	O
films	O
from	O
ES5	B-Protocol
servers	O
and	O
proxying	O
that	O
would	O
not	O
scale	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
as	O
the	O
apparently	O
secretive	O
and	O
untruthful	O
acts	O
of	O
ES5	B-Protocol
came	O
to	O
light	O
,	O
the	O
core	O
fan	O
base	O
began	O
to	O
rebel	O
in	O
the	O
main	O
ES5	B-Protocol
forum	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
many	O
users	O
being	O
banned	O
and	O
topics	O
being	O
deleted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2005	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
quietly	O
closed	O
its	O
doors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
24	O
,	O
2005	O
,	O
Stephen	O
Cohen	O
posted	O
a	O
strange	O
message	O
on	O
the	O
ES5	B-Protocol
forums	O
asking	O
users	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
him	O
to	O
reinvent	O
the	O
platform	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
a	O
month	O
,	O
ES5	B-Protocol
was	O
completely	O
shut	O
down	O
and	O
dismantled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ES5	B-Protocol
website	O
and	O
forums	O
were	O
taken	O
offline	O
permanently	O
and	O
are	O
today	O
only	O
accessible	O
through	O
the	O
Internet	O
Archive	O
's	O
Wayback	O
Machine	O
.	O
</s>
