Latest news with #Kodi
The Irish Sun
18 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Two popular ‘dodgy' apps showing football games for free are BLOCKED on millions of Fire Sticks
TWO apps used to watch premium TV and football matches for free on Fire Sticks have been blocked, according to users. The pair of apps provide links to hundreds of channels from across the world, ranging from movies to sports. 1 It's not clear why the two apps have been blocked Credit: Alamy They can't be downloaded from Amazon's own app store, instead people side-load them onto their Fire Stick and use a VPN to avoid detection. Advertisement The two apps in question are Flix Vision and Live NetTV. Users have started complaining on social media that the pair no longer work, suggesting Amazon may have blocked them. It's not clear why at this stage. Read more about streaming Advertisement Amazon has been approached by The Sun for comment. The tech giant has been increasingly accused of not doing enough to prevent illegal streaming. Earlier this year, broadcasting firm Sky hit out at Amazon Most read in Tech Breaking 'If you speak to friends and colleagues, [or] you watch football, people will know that you can get jail-broken Fire Sticks, and you can access pirated services on Fire Sticks,' Nick Herm, chief operating officer at Sky said in March. Advertisement Herm accused Amazon in particular of not doing "enough engagement to address some of those problems, where people are buying these devices in bulk". He also believes that modified Fire Sticks "probably" make up "about half of the piracy" in the UK. Amazon has previously said that it is "committed to providing customers with a high-quality streaming experience while actively promoting a streaming landscape that respects intellectual property rights and encourages the responsible consumption of content ". Warning over 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks Illegal streaming can be delivered by a number of devices by one of the most common are 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks, which means a third-party media server software has been installed on to it. The software most commonly used is called Kodi. It can grant users unrestricted access to new features and apps the normal version of the device wouldn't allow – but it is not legal to use in the UK. But it becomes illegal when a box is used to stream subscription channels for free. It is also illegal to buy or sell these modified devices which have become known as "fully-loaded" - a term that describes how the software has been altered to allow access to subscription-only channels. 'These devices are legal when used to watch legitimate, free to air, content,' the government said at the time. 'They become illegal once they are adapted to stream illicit content, for example TV programmes, films and subscription sports channels without paying the appropriate subscriptions.'
Arabian Post
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Arabian Post
RetroArch Rises as Premier Emulator Hub on Linux
RetroArch has emerged as the pre‑eminent solution for classic gaming on Linux, offering enthusiasts a polished interface and extensive emulator support. This open‑source frontend consolidates numerous 'cores' — modular emulators encapsulating consoles such as NES, SNES, PlayStation, GameCube and more — under a single, unified environment. Linux users benefit from seamless installation via Snap, Flatpak or official repositories, enabling easy access to stable versions across x86‑64 and ARM architectures. The front‑end integrates advanced capabilities: multi‑pass GPU shaders for authentic retro visuals, netplay functionality, frame‑accurate rewinding, run‑ahead to reduce input latency, and peer‑to‑peer rollback networking akin to GGPO. Accessibility is enhanced through auto‑configured gamepad inputs and Blind accessibility options, widening its appeal. Compared with standalone emulators, RetroArch delivers unified settings and consistent functionality — savestates, cheats, rewinds — across all supported systems. It can even play original media such as CDs, while offering built‑in game metadata retrieval and playlist generation. However, this breadth of features entails a steeper learning curve. Community voices point out that RetroArch's interface is less user‑friendly than single‑system emulators, often fine‑tuned by users comfortable with technical configuration. ADVERTISEMENT Widening adoption of Libretro cores across platforms such as Lakka — a Linux distribution tailored for retro gaming with a full RetroArch interface — and even Kodi's RetroPlayer further underscores RetroArch's dominance in multi‑system emulation. Critically, the precision of emulation continues to improve. Popular cores like Beetle PSX now rival dedicated emulators with smoother visuals and features like enhanced texture filtering — upscaling capabilities that sometimes surpass original hardware. On Android, RetroArch stands out as the leading cross‑platform choice, bolstered by integrated broadcast tools for services like Twitch and YouTube. In parallel, alternatives like Lutris cater to users who wish to manage retro titles alongside modern PC games and Wine applications, but they lack RetroArch's deep integration with hundreds of console cores. Meanwhile, standalone emulators such as PCSX2 or Mupen64Plus remain choices for users prioritising simplicity or system‑specific optimisation. Recent enhancements to RetroArch's Linux offerings underscore its growing polish: version 1.21.0 released via Flathub includes improvements to PipeWire audio integration, camera driver support and optional audio muting during rewinds. These refinements enhance the user experience for desktop and ARM‑based hardware alike. Looking ahead, active contributions from the community, funding via platforms such as Patreon and continuous development through nightly builds suggest sustained innovation. Experimental features like AI‑driven in‑game text translation in 2024 signal ambitious new directions for the software.
The Irish Sun
23-04-2025
- The Irish Sun
Police chief warns illegal Sky Sports streamers ‘if you carry on we will come and arrest you' amid rise in dodgy boxes
POLICE have warned Brits of the huge criminal gang operations behind illegal streaming sites and dodgy Fire Sticks. The number of people streaming Sky Sports and other premium TV via knock-off boxes has gone "through the roof". Advertisement 2 Police have taken down a number of operations in recent years Credit: Cheshire police But those buying them maybe be unaware it's not a victimless crime. Crooks are using money gained from such operations for drugs, forced labour, people trafficking and other types of criminality. "We always follow the money and go for the bigger organised crime groups and the bigger organised crime networks," Emma Warbey, head of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit at the City of London Police, told the Efforts have largely focused on cease and desist letters to some lower-level sellers which have been "very effective". Advertisement Read more on illegal streaming "We are basically saying, 'We know what you're doing, this is the law that you're breaking, and if you carry on, we will come and arrest you,'" she explained. But she admits tackling end users is more challenging. "We can't arrest everybody in the UK that's doing it," the detective chief inspector continues. "So we're trying to look at other tactics." Advertisement Most read in Tech Users also run the risk of falling victim to devastating fraud themselves. One former illegal streamer recently Major Illegal Streaming Network Shut Down Across Europe The 46-year-old from the Northwest of England - who asked to remain anonymous - said mates had used the illegal site before and recommended it, so he assumed it would be safe. However, little after signing up with his bank details a number of unexpected transactions were attempted on his account totalling several thousand pounds. Advertisement "It all seemed quite secure, so I didn't even think at the time," he said. "After that, the payment was taken but there were all sorts of transactions on my bank account for quite a large amount of money which were on various times and various dates for different amounts. "It's scary really, they attempted thousands." 2 Those watching illegal streams warned their bank accounts could be targeted by fraudsters Credit: Getty / The Sun Advertisement Warning over 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks Illegal streaming can be delivered by a number of devices by one of the most common are 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks, which means a third-party media server software has been installed on to it. The software most commonly used is called Kodi. It can grant users unrestricted access to new features and apps the normal version of the device wouldn't allow – but it is not legal to use in the UK. But it becomes illegal when a box is used to stream subscription channels for free. It is also illegal to buy or sell these modified devices which have become known as "fully-loaded" - a term that describes how the software has been altered to allow access to subscription-only channels. 'These devices are legal when used to watch legitimate, free to air, content,' the government said at the time. 'They become illegal once they are adapted to stream illicit content, for example TV programmes, films and subscription sports channels without paying the appropriate subscriptions.'
The Sun
23-04-2025
- The Sun
Police chief warns illegal Sky Sports streamers ‘if you carry on we will come and arrest you' amid rise in dodgy boxes
POLICE have warned Brits of the huge criminal gang operations behind illegal streaming sites and dodgy Fire Sticks. The number of people streaming Sky Sports and other premium TV via knock-off boxes has gone "through the roof". But those buying them maybe be unaware it's not a victimless crime. Crooks are using money gained from such operations for drugs, forced labour, people trafficking and other types of criminality. "We always follow the money and go for the bigger organised crime groups and the bigger organised crime networks," Emma Warbey, head of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit at the City of London Police, told the Financial Times. Efforts have largely focused on cease and desist letters to some lower-level sellers which have been "very effective". "We are basically saying, 'We know what you're doing, this is the law that you're breaking, and if you carry on, we will come and arrest you,'" she explained. But she admits tackling end users is more challenging. "We can't arrest everybody in the UK that's doing it," the detective chief inspector continues. "So we're trying to look at other tactics." Users also run the risk of falling victim to devastating fraud themselves. One former illegal streamer recently told The Sun how crooks instantly accessed his bank account shortly after signing up to one such service. Major Illegal Streaming Network Shut Down Across Europe The 46-year-old from the Northwest of England - who asked to remain anonymous - said mates had used the illegal site before and recommended it, so he assumed it would be safe. However, little after signing up with his bank details a number of unexpected transactions were attempted on his account totalling several thousand pounds. "It all seemed quite secure, so I didn't even think at the time," he said. "After that, the payment was taken but there were all sorts of transactions on my bank account for quite a large amount of money which were on various times and various dates for different amounts. "It's scary really, they attempted thousands." 2 Warning over 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks Illegal streaming can be delivered by a number of devices by one of the most common are 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks, which means a third-party media server software has been installed on to it. The software most commonly used is called Kodi. It can grant users unrestricted access to new features and apps the normal version of the device wouldn't allow – but it is not legal to use in the UK. But it becomes illegal when a box is used to stream subscription channels for free. It is also illegal to buy or sell these modified devices which have become known as "fully-loaded" - a term that describes how the software has been altered to allow access to subscription-only channels. 'These devices are legal when used to watch legitimate, free to air, content,' the government said at the time. 'They become illegal once they are adapted to stream illicit content, for example TV programmes, films and subscription sports channels without paying the appropriate subscriptions.'
