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If you have legal files on MegaUpload's site (or for that matter, illegal files), the clock is running toward them being deleted. As we reported, MegaUpload's assets are frozen, and thus they can't pay their hosting companies. Recognizing this, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is working to help end users save what could be irreplaceable documents or memories.

The EFF has partnered with Carpathia Hosting, Megaupload’s hosting provider, to launch MegaRetrieval, a website dedicated to helping lawful users retrieve the legitimate files that have been seized by the U.S. government --- and may yet be deleted.

EFF Attorney Julie Samuels, speaking in a statement on the "rescue attempt," said, “EFF is troubled that so many lawful users of Megaupload.com had their property taken from them without warning and that the government has taken no steps to help them. We think it’s important that these users have their voices heard as this process moves forward.”

Carpathia Hosting created the website, and is hosting it for the EFF. To be clear, however, Carpathia said it does not, and never has has access to MegaUpload's content. Still, here's how the EFF says you can request help:

"When the United States Government shut down access to Megaupload, a multitude of innocent users who stored legitimate, non-infringing files on the cloud-storage service were left with no means to access their data.

"If you believe you are one of these users, are based in the United States, and are looking for legal help to retrieve your data, please email the best contact information for you to the EFF at:
Megauploadmissing@eff.org."

At the same time, the Thursday, Feb. 2 deadline that the DoJ suggested would be the date that files would begin being erased no longer appears to be an issue. Megaupload attorney Ira Rothken has Tweeted that both Carpathia and Cogent Communications Group, another storage company, have agreed to preserve consumer data for at least two weeks, so that MegaUpload and the DoJ can resolve the matter of legitimate user data.

For now, the EFF says it plans to just gather and document information on end users who may lose legitimate, personal and legal data if MegaUpload's files are deleted. The organization said it has not yet determined if it will assemble a class action lawsuit against the government on behalf of end users.

File hosting and transfer site MegaUpload was taken down about two weeks ago because, the DoJ said, it was guilty of facilitating piracy. However, as was evidenced by laments on Twitter and other social media sites shortly afterwards, there were many end users who stored personal --- and not infringing --- files on the site, which they can no longer access.

Those files, which include, for some people, family photos and personal documents, could be gone by as early as Thursday, Feb. 2

Megaupload uses outside companies to store the data, for a fee. However, as Megaupload attorney Ira Rothken noted on Sunday, the government has frozen the company's money, which means those companies are not being paid.

A letter filed in the case on Friday, Jan. 27 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said that the storage companies Carpathia Hosting Inc. and Cogent Communications Group Inc. may begin deleting data on Feb. 2.

Rothken said that at least 50 million MegaUpload users have data on those servers. He added that, in addition to customer data, the files stored on those servers are important for MegaUpload's defense.

You might think that the Justice Department would want the files kept as evidence in its case, as well, the DoJ noted in its earlier letter that it had copied some data from the servers, so it is possible the government has all the data it feels it needs. While the DoJ copied some files, it did not physically take the servers into its possession as evidence.

Rothken said that:

"We're cautiously optimistic at this point that because the United States, as well as Megaupload, should have a common desire to protect consumers, that this type of agreement will get done."

MegaUpload is based in Hong Kong. The DoJ said it had jurisdiction in the case because some MegaUpload's leased servers are in Virginia.

It is really, really hard to play "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" when you are in jail. Thus, we have the tale of Kim Schmitz, also known as Kim Dotcom, the recently arrested chief of MegaUpload.com.

Schmitz was, up until a few days ago, the top ranked player in "Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 3;" that's right, globally, at least among Xbox 360 players. As Megaracer, he has accumulated more than 185,000 in-game kills.

In a video posted on the Internet (embedded below) he plays for over seven hours straight, at the end of which he held the top spot on the Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) leaderboard.

Ah, but sadly, he was not allowed to take his Xbox 360 with him to jail. Thus, he has been surpassed by one Arazos, who currently has 9.09 million points on the MW3 leader boards, compared to Megaracer's 9.05 million.

Even without that, it seems that Arazos has been "more efficient" than Megaracer. Arazos has 181,000 kills and 63,418 deaths, for a kill/death ratio of 2.87, which is much better than Megaracer's 180,980 kills and 86,241 deaths, which is a kill/death ratio of 2.10.

We don't expect Megaracer to be playing anytime soon, so Arazos should be able to put more distance between himself and Dotcom.

Anonymous has retaliated against the United States Department of Justice and a number of other sites, including Universal Music, MPAA, FBI, RIAA, and still more. It was a particularly effective attack. This time, however, it seems that Anonymous was getting people to help them, without their knowledge.

Typically, "volunteers" can help Anonymous without any hacking knowledge at all. To do this, they simply download and install the so-called "Low Orbit Ion Cannon" (commonly abbreviated LOIC, for Windows, Mac and Linux), enter a target destination (IP address or URL) and off they go: a DDoS attack.

This time, however, as noted by Gawker, this time Anonymous "enlisted people" without their knowledge. While the attack still utilized the so-called "Low Orbit Ion Cannon," it used a Web-based version, that was triggered when a user simply clicked on a link that was being widely shared on Twitter and in Anonymous chat rooms.

End users, who may only have known that the link related to Operation MegaUpload, Anonymous' reprisal against the takedown of MegaUpload.com, were unwittingly turned into DDoS volunteers in Anonymous attack.

It's one thing when people actively volunteer to use the LOIC; it's another when they are enlisted without their knowledge.

The link, found in this Twitter search, no longer seems to be working.

Now, while using something like the LOIC to execute a DDoS attack intentionally could end up with an end user in jail, something like this ... someone clicking on a link would have an excuse. In fact, in the past, users of the LOIC could say their computer had been infected, etc. etc., but this sort of link methodology makes the risk to those not directly in the Anonymous collective pretty invulnerable, even if they actually wanted to help, and were not unwitting aides.

What's interesting is that Anonymous Tweeted the following:

"The Largest Attack Ever by Anonymous - 5,635 People Confirmed Using #LOIC to Bring Down Sites! #Anonymous"

How many of those were willing, and how many unwitting, isn't clear.

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