New device brings porn to computers
By Xu Chi |
January 17, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
PORNOGRAPHY from around the world for free is the promise of vendors peddling a new illegal device at the city's electronic products shopping streets.
Customers who buy this latest development in China's shanzhai culture are told that the television USB flash drive can receive pornographic channels.
Once plugged into a computer, a television USB flash drive automatically scans the Internet for more than 5,000 channels across the world - including news, sport and movies - all in high definition.
On Qiujiang Road, one of Shanghai's most popular locations for electrical products, these drives are being sold by dozens of vendors with their prices ranging from 30 (US$4.50) to 180 yuan, depending on the quality and number of channels received.
But some vendors also offer "special" TV USB drives that specifically scan adult channels with pornographic or extreme violence content. Such products may retail for 200 yuan.
And some enterprising vendors have even started bundling these with illegally modified WLAN cards that crack other Wi-Fi users' accounts to provide free Internet access.
On the country's biggest online trading platform, Taobao.com, one Shenzhen-based vendor started to sell the pornographic TV USB drives several days ago.
Using pictures of scantily clad women to attract customers, the retailer hinted that men would especially like the channels that were on offer.
Shanghai Daily tested a 100-yuan product said to be able to scan all the news channels across the world.
While the software worked, as it started to scan and buffer seconds after plugged in to a computer, the videos could only be played in a very small video player bundled with the device and picture quality was poor.
And while some vendors claim that the USB drives has internal antennae to boost a signal, despite dismantling the device, Shanghai Daily could find no trace of this.
Instead the USB drives are standard flash disks with special software that may also be downloaded and used on computers with Internet access.
Shanghai lawyer Chen Jianbo warned that selling these products violated the county's law in spreading pornography.
Another lawyer, Li Li, said there were still no laws in regulating the online broadcasting of foreign television programs, which allowed such products to surface.
Customers who buy this latest development in China's shanzhai culture are told that the television USB flash drive can receive pornographic channels.
Once plugged into a computer, a television USB flash drive automatically scans the Internet for more than 5,000 channels across the world - including news, sport and movies - all in high definition.
On Qiujiang Road, one of Shanghai's most popular locations for electrical products, these drives are being sold by dozens of vendors with their prices ranging from 30 (US$4.50) to 180 yuan, depending on the quality and number of channels received.
But some vendors also offer "special" TV USB drives that specifically scan adult channels with pornographic or extreme violence content. Such products may retail for 200 yuan.
And some enterprising vendors have even started bundling these with illegally modified WLAN cards that crack other Wi-Fi users' accounts to provide free Internet access.
On the country's biggest online trading platform, Taobao.com, one Shenzhen-based vendor started to sell the pornographic TV USB drives several days ago.
Using pictures of scantily clad women to attract customers, the retailer hinted that men would especially like the channels that were on offer.
Shanghai Daily tested a 100-yuan product said to be able to scan all the news channels across the world.
While the software worked, as it started to scan and buffer seconds after plugged in to a computer, the videos could only be played in a very small video player bundled with the device and picture quality was poor.
And while some vendors claim that the USB drives has internal antennae to boost a signal, despite dismantling the device, Shanghai Daily could find no trace of this.
Instead the USB drives are standard flash disks with special software that may also be downloaded and used on computers with Internet access.
Shanghai lawyer Chen Jianbo warned that selling these products violated the county's law in spreading pornography.
Another lawyer, Li Li, said there were still no laws in regulating the online broadcasting of foreign television programs, which allowed such products to surface.
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