New name and address change for Tirexo! After PapaFlix, the famous illegal download and streaming site becomes Palixi. Zone Telechargement, the other popular platform, still hasn't resurfaced.
New twist in the "Tirexo Affair"! A few weeks after its sudden closure, the famous French-language illegal download and streaming site changes its name and address again. This will make him Palixi instead of PapaFlix, the name he chose for his big comeback at the end of May. But not a big change this time, unlike its last reincarnation, which required a major overhaul with a complete redesign of the catalogue: apart from the name and address, Palixi uses the same interface, organization, tools and means of PapaFlix. And the PapaFlix URL will be automatically redirected to Palixi, saving regulars from searching again. Very easy search but in that even Google - which doesn't hesitate to ban pirated sites from its results pages - references the two names perfectly... Fans of movies, series, software and other "free" content can rejoice nonetheless!
A new address for PapaFlix, ex-Tirexo
This new name and address change is the latest development in Tirexo's history. In fact, Tirexo reappeared under a new name at the end of May 2022, three weeks after its surprise closure at the end of April. Renamed PapaFlix - no doubt in reference to Netflix... - this famous French-language website for illegal downloading and streaming got a new look, in a version under construction - the interface has evolved in a few days - but fully functional: there weren't just a lot of them Content sorted by categories with a powerful search engine, but also new films and series. It was the platform administrators who announced this big comeback of the Telegram group linked to Tirexo, warning of the presence of some bugs - small bugs that have since disappeared. It is not known why the site changed its name to Palixi on June 4th as nothing changes in appearance. However, we can assume that it is a measure to avoid the radar of authorities like Arcom.
Download area: the historical page is still closed
Nothing new for Zone Telechargement, the other major online “catalogue” of pirated content that served as a reference in the field and was suddenly shut down two days after Tirexo for the same reasons. But given user enthusiasm for this type of service, we expect the platform to reappear soon, likely under a new name. And the vacuum created by the sudden disappearance of these two popular platforms has led users to similar sites and more or less successful clones. And with inflation currently hitting all sectors of the economy, expect some paid services like Netflix to unsubscribe and turn to illicit solutions...
Closure of Tirexo and the Download Zone: the explanation
We know more about the surprise closure of Tirexo and Zone-Téléchargement. At the end of April 2022, these two popular French-language illegal download and streaming sites were suddenly shut down two days apart and without warning, much to the chagrin of “free” content lovers. Instead of the traditional catalog on the Zone Telechargement (Zone-Téléchargement or ZT for short) home page, one could read a message from the administrators announcing the news. Without giving a precise justification for this sudden decision and without giving the regulars even the slightest hope of returning. "On these few lines we announce the closure of the ZT site. Yes, this is the end, no kidding, everything is not eternal. […] The database will be completely destroyed and the CMS will not be distributed, there will be no recovery or tracking.”, we could read in this surprise announcement from Monday April 25th. Two days earlier, on Saturday, April 23, Tirexo representatives issued a similar message:“The Tirexo adventure ends here. Thank you for everything. take nothing away from what we have done for us and you so far. Bye."Unlike Zone Telechargement, the Tirexo catalog is still accessible, but no download or streaming link is available in the files.
A week after the announcement, we learned a little more about the reason for this sudden closure. In fact it isAlliance for Creativity and Entertainment(ACE or Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment), which was behind this decision. Founded in 2019, this organization brings together more than 30 major global entertainment, film and copyright content production companies (including Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros., Universal, Sky, BBC, Amazon and Hulu) to protect their interests, particularly by fighting all forms of illegal downloading. It was she who would have contacted the admins of the two sites - who still get more than 30 million visits a month... - and asked them to stop their activities immediately. It must be assumed that ACE's arguments must have been particularly persuasive, given that the owners of these websites in Tunisia (Zome-Téléchargement) and Morocco (Tirexo) respectively, immediately lowered the curtain, no doubt fearing legal proceedings and (very) high prices fines …
Because, without even mentioning the pressure of the ACE, Tirexo, Zone Telechargement and all other websites that offer links to pirated software are facing the wrath of theMy face(the new agency that succeeds both the CSA and Hadopi), which since the beginning of the year has been waging a fierce and apparently very effective hunt for all platforms engaged in the "sharing" of protected works, especially streaming (see our Article ).
Illegal download and streaming sites: the clone wars
As you can imagine, these sudden and almost simultaneous closures at the end of April seemed like real bombs in the small world of fans of "free" downloads and illegal streaming, the two "services" that these famous platforms offer without hosting any files , gave all the links to get all kinds of content (movies, series, tv shows, music, software, games, magazines, books, etc.). In a very simple way and without any real risk, unlike torrents that are heavily monitored, thanks in particular to the "Direct Download" technique.
The sudden closure of two "reference" sites at the end of April feared the end of "pirated" sites for a moment? The sequence of events proved that things are not that simple. Because in the midst of illegal downloads and streaming, specialized sites have a habit of changing their URL (the address on the internet) regularly to stay under the radar. And the most popular ones are often imitated, if not cloned, by “pirates of pirates” who want to attract visitors by usurping notoriety. Not to mention that the “good addresses” are very easily shared on blogs and social networks (see our article). In addition, other platforms remained operational when Tirexo and Zone Telechargement "fell", such as Extreme Download, Wawacity, Annuaire-Telechargement, LibertyVF, Cpasmal or Zone Annuaire, to name just the most popular ones. Not to mention the numerous clones of these two reference sites that continue their activities, taking advantage of the confusion of former users. Certainly it is not said that all will survive as Arcom and the rights holders keep up their pressure by taking legal action and demanding bans and closures. However, experience shows that hunting down piracy is not easy as the players in the industry are numerous and agile. And even if it becomes difficult to find the "good addresses", it seems that amateurs can still recover copyrighted content without paying anything...