BitTorrent is a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) software program frequently used to copy pirated files such as movies because it speeds the transfer of large files over the Internet.  Pirate Bay, created in 2004, boasts over one million visitors a day and provides access to hundreds of thousands of media files, including movies as recent as The Da Vinci Code and Mission Impossible III. 

The weekend saw uproar as protestors vociferated their dissatisfaction with the closure of Pirate Bay in the streets of Stockholm.  Hundreds of protestors marched carrying skull and crossbones and signs bearing the Pirate Bay logo, a pirate ship firing cannon balls at the "Hollywood" sign. 

The day after the raid, the Swedish National Police Web site was shut down after a hacker attack from an unknown source.  Although no evidence is certain, police have no ruled out that the effort could have been an act of retaliation for the Pirate Bay raids.

On Friday Pirate Bay maintained that it would be up and running in a few days, and although the site is currently up, it is not running to its full potential.  No recent downloads have been made, and the search engine is down as well.  But registration has increased drastically in the past few days nonetheless, probably due to the amount of press coverage the issue has received. 

If Pirate Bay is shut down permanently, it is likely that another P2P site will emerge to replace it anyway based out of another copyright-lenient country like, for instance, Russia.