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Using digital fingerprints, or "hashes", investigators say they can tell if an MP3 file was downloaded from an unauthorised service. The industry also tracks "metadata" tags, which provide hidden clues about how files were created. The details were given by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in a legal case against a suspected pirate. The association is trying to force a woman from Brooklyn, New York, who is accused of distributing almost 1,000 songs over the internet, to reveal her real identity. She is currently only known by her screen name, "Nycfashiongirl", and wants to remain anonymous. In court papers, the RIAA said it could use the hashes to tell whether a file was recorded from a legitimately-bought CD or whether it was downloaded from the internet. They can be used to track songs that were downloaded using the Napster service as far back as May 2000, the papers said. Hashes are also used by the FBI in hacking investigations. The RIAA has accused Nycfashiongirl of offering more than 900 songs by artists like the Rolling Stones, U2 and Michael Jackson for illegal download.
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