Pandora Using Local Flash Storage

By now you've surely heard of Pandora, the nifty little radio station that attempts to tailor the music it plays to selected artists or songs.  But what you probably didn't know was that Pandora uses local Flash storage to cache the .mp3 files it has played.  In other words, I'm telling you that Pandora delivers copyrighted material, and lots of it, directly onto your hard drive.  If you're into piracy, this is either heaven or hell.  I'll provide the information first, but I recommend sticking around for the warning.

If you're running XP, you can easily find the cached files in your \plugtemp directory by  clicking Start --> Run and enterting "%temp%".  This takes you to c:\ Documents and Settings \ <Your User Name> \ Local Settings \ Temp.  Now manually drop down into \PlugTmp.  What you're looking for are the "access-#" files, where "#" stands in for some number, in the \PlugTmp directory.  These are .mp3 files with a renamed extension  numbered in the order Pandora has played them.  If you're running a different OS, a search for the occurence of "access" in the file name - over hidden files and folders -  should pick them up.  (On a Mac, you need to find the files "WebKitPluginStream-#".  Or just play a Pandora song or two and search - remembering to include hidden files - for "access-1.*")

Now it would be very easy to copy and paste these files into another directory and change the filename to whateversong.mp3.  (They're streamed at 128 kbps.)  If you're just curious, Windows Media Player can handle the files in the format Pandora stores them in.  You can also increase your Flash cache by right-clicking the Pandora player and going to "settings".  I presume this renders Pandora the world's largest provider of copyrighted material.  They also provide the easiest, if not the most selective, method of downloading as many songs as your disk drive can hold.  Just set that cache to "unlimited" and keep Pandora playing.  Indeed, they aren't just providing these tracks like Napster, say, but they're rather forcing anyone who doesn't know about flash local storage to possess copyrighted material.

It is illegal to copy these songs, of course, but there are more nuanced methods of retaining access to everything you've heard.  There are two legally relevant sections in Pandora's terms of service:

You agree that you will not:

3.1 use the Pandora Services to reproduce copyrighted materials;

3.2 copy, store, edit, change, prepare any derivative work of or alter in any way any of the tracks streamed through the Pandora Services;

3.3 make the Pandora Services available over a network (other than Pandora's network) where it could be used by others;

3.4 provide your password to any other person;

3.5 translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, modify or create derivative works based on the Pandora Services or any portion of them;

3.6 circumvent any technology used by Pandora or its licensors to protect content accessible via the Pandora Services;

3.7 rent, lease or sublicense any of the Pandora Services; or

3.8 use the Pandora Services in any way that violates the terms of this Agreement.

And:

The Pandora Services utilize technology to protect transmitted digital information. Your use of the Pandora Services may be limited by such technology. You acknowledge that, from time to time, Pandora may modify or discontinue using such technology. Security modifications made by Pandora may from time to time include required or automated updates, modifications, patches, and/or reinstallations of software. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO VIOLATE OR CIRCUMVENT ANY SYSTEM OR NETWORK SECURITY COMPONENTS OR TECHNOLOGY, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL OR CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

Now to play songs you've already heard again, you don't have to "translate, copy, reverse engineer, etc..." anything.  You can just open up the files in WMP.  I wonder if having a rewind button on your radio is illegal?  Because the potential for music piracy is so insanely high here, I suspicious of whether or not Pandora has some kind of secret back door deal with the RIAA.  In fact, it looks as if they might be engaging in illegal actions themselves.  If I give you a few digital and copyrighted tracks, am I off the hook if I make you first accept an agreement that you won't copy or store them, etc...?  Minimally, they must be digitally watermarking these tracks.  Using watermarked tracks, the RIAA could easily track down most people uploading Pandora files.  Still, removing a digital watermark isn't all that hard.

A more insidious plot might involve tracking whether or not files are moved or deleted from this directory.  I wonder if toying with the directory enough would be grounds for issuing a warrant to seize and search your computer?  If you're just copying the songs out of the folder, this couldn't be tracked unless the Pandora player is searching through all the files on your computer.  Surely not?  But don't you think there just have to be some drastic security measures in place if they're simply handing out complete 128 kbps .mp3 files of 6,000+ songs?  i'll be listening to Pandora, but you can sure as hell bet I won't be stealing music.

Comments

[tidhar]

Well...nice one but i couldn't find this folder nor the files.
it seem thay fix this or change the location...
Do you know where is the file now.
if they are just donwloading one file a time and then deleting the prev one then where is it ?

[dan]

that's prolly because the local settings folder is a hidden folder. change the view properties to include hidden folders...and poof! there it is...

ps...since Canada isn't under the RIAA umbrella...I think it's legal for us(or not as illegal) to copy these files over without any backlash.

[A]

Also, when you exit the browser window playing Pandora songs, all files in the plugtmp are deleted.

[KiDo]

hi, i am on macOSX and i cant find the Temp folder, do i have to enable anything? how do i enable to see hidden files?