HBO Busted me d/ling Entourage today [Archive]

tetrakis

06-21-2006, 08:17 PM

I just wanted to give a heads up to all who torrent. HBO just contacted my university saying that I was downloading HBO's Entourage S03E02 (which I was...they're right). Thankfully, I get along great with our IT guy so he thinks he can prevent me from getting in trouble...hopefully. But I just wanted to remind people to be carefull with HBO stuff...they're particularly aggressive with their material. I was using Azureus with SafePeer as well as PeerGuardian running in the background...I figured that would cover me, but apparently HBO has ways of seeing through these features.:(

Gish

06-21-2006, 11:06 PM

:ermm: Let me ask you! did you download the torrent off of a private tracker or public.
And if you did do you have your DHT setting disabled. Because they can connect to your IP if DHT is on. :ermm:

Nickthestick91

06-22-2006, 03:02 AM

How do you disable DHT? I can't find the option. :\

zaphodiv

06-22-2006, 03:12 AM

I think it's tools->options->click + to expand the plugins section->distributed Db-> untick "enable the distributed database"->close azureus (actually close it not minimise to the notification area)

Turn off tools->options->connection->peer sources->decentralised tracking
You might also need to untick the load at startup box for azbpdht and azbpdht in the list of plugins.

Nickthestick91

06-22-2006, 03:41 AM

^ I didn't have azbpdht in my plugins, but when I restarted Azureus it said DHT disabled, so I guess I'm good. Thanks for the help!

Broken

06-22-2006, 05:06 AM

PG and the like can not protect you in a BT swarm.
It might be (assuming that they are even on the list of blocked IP's) keeping who-ever from contacting you directly. But your IP is still relayed to them through the peers in the swarm they can contact.

BT is the most unsafe method of filesharing out there.
In just a few seconds every member of a swarm can be ID.

Once you realize how unsafe it is you either have balls of steel, or just don't care if you still use BT.
Believe it or not there is much better ways to get stuff out there.

*edit, grammer*

zapjb

06-22-2006, 05:34 AM

"BT is the most unsafe method of filesharing out there.
In just a few seconds every member of a swarm can be ID."

Yes. Hardly anyone acknowledges this truth.

jetje

06-22-2006, 05:58 AM

Who sais it was HBO???

Probably your IT department detected traffic using other ports, monitored that traffic and uses this trick to stop you .....

That's common behaviour in some companies. My guess that the IT department needs the bandwith for their own p2p :)

tetrakis

06-22-2006, 10:43 AM

it was definitely HBO that contacted my university....i saw the e-mail they sent to my IT guy's boss. In fact, I got a similar threat from HBO about a year ago but then I was more naive and didn't know about peerguardian/safepeer so I blammed it on that.

To answer your questions: The torrent WAS from a public site...torrentspy I think (either that or mininova). I did have "enable the distributed database" checked...didn't know anything about this DHT stuff. I also just clicked off decentralized tracking from peer sources and the azbpdht plugin was already clicked off for loading at startup.

The craziest thing about the whole deal is that they claimed they caught me at around 2:00 pm yesterday (wednesday). Well, I did download the file they busted me for, but I downloaded sucessfully on monday and finished uploading to 1:1 on tuesday. So, ironically, wednesday I was in the clear!....but i guess my ip was still in the swarm or whatever.

matt526

06-22-2006, 03:15 PM

I have been busted twice in 4 years:shifty: both times the torrents came from torrentspy
this is why I only use private trackers now. torrentspy is very dangerous even with P.G. and the like

Peerzy

06-22-2006, 04:22 PM

Tell them if you moniter what you download again you will press charges against invasion of privacy.

Gish

06-23-2006, 04:53 AM

Broken

06-23-2006, 05:22 AM

"Once you realize how unsafe it is you either have balls of steel, or just don't care if you still use BT.
Believe it or not there is much better ways to get stuff out there."

you say Torrents are unsafe, maybe but not as much as P2P like limewire. also,let me guess your other method to get files is to pay for them. if not what else is there??

There is no safe source of p2p.

You can use any IP blocker (ie PG) and if you number's up your still going down. With BitTorrent in a matter of seconds I can join a swarm and have every peer's IP. I don't even have to connect to that person, so IP blockers are useless.

The only reason the MPAA/RIAA haven't exploited this vulnerability is their own good graces. They really don't want to sue everyone they find (I'm sure this is a shocker!). It's not good business, it's not profitable, it's not popular - but it does keep the masses scared and downloads from happening.

I'm not here to 'pimp' anything.
There's safer and faster ways. Find them for yourself.

zapjb

06-23-2006, 06:31 AM

Just gotta love these BT fanboys. And yes FrostWire OSS (~LimeWire Pro) is much safer than BT.

Broken

06-23-2006, 07:16 AM

Just gotta love these BT fanboys. And yes FrostWire OSS (~LimeWire Pro) is much safer than BT.
I have to agree.
The lower number of unknown peers you connect to the safer you are. There tends to be less peers per file on the kazaa like programs such as limewire... so mathmaticly it is safer.

Currently, the RIAA/MPAA are not prosecuting those that only download. I believe there is still the option of not sharing anything with limewire and that equals total safety.

Notice, the key word is safer. Not better content.

tetrakis

06-23-2006, 10:38 AM

[QUOTE=zapjb]

Currently, the RIAA/MPAA are not prosecuting those that only download. I believe there is still the option of not sharing anything with limewire and that equals total safety.

Notice, the key word is safer. Not better content.

A little selfish though, don't you think?

Why the hell can't anyone make a p2p program that simply doesn't report your ip??? I hear about ANts and MUTE but those programs are still years away from any kind of stable versions. The solution to me is simple...no broadcasting of IP, nobody knows where you are. Now, if i only I had any idea whatsoever how to make a computer program!

Broken

06-23-2006, 04:06 PM

Without an IP you can't connect to someone.
It's like trying to make a phone call without a phone number.

I don't think anyone has figured out how to do that yet.

deuce6000

06-23-2006, 05:33 PM

If its so unsafe then why are millions of people doing it without any repercussion what are they gonna wait and arrest all of us?

Broken

06-23-2006, 05:50 PM

Not every place in the world is subject to US copyright laws. So, not everyone is violating any laws.

As I said above. Even though they (RIAA/MPAA ect.) could go law suit crazy and sue 3 thousand pirates next month they won't. It's not good business... there's vurtially no potential to recover any meaningful amount of money. Infact, the average settlement is only about $3,000 which isn't even enough to cover legal cost. Besides the money, sueing isn't popular. To go one step too far could result in public outrage and legal reform.

The idea right now is just to crusify a few lucky souls to scare the masses, preventing those that do not from doing. They don't have to sue everyone to make a point. AND, there is no reason the next example couldn't be you.

Just because you haven't been sued doesn't mean they haven't seen you.
It just means that you're lucky they didn't pick you out of the list.

Skiz

06-23-2006, 06:14 PM

you say Torrents are unsafe, maybe but not as much as P2P like limewire. also,let me guess your other method to get files is to pay for them. if not what else is there??

Newsgroups.

zapjb

06-25-2006, 01:46 AM

@tetrakis you attributed a quote to me. You are mistaken. Those are not my words.

erRor67

06-25-2006, 03:28 AM

you say Torrents are unsafe, maybe but not as much as P2P like limewire. also,let me guess your other method to get files is to pay for them. if not what else is there??

Newsgroups.
Yeah, that and IRC... unless of course the servers you are using are owned by them. :rolleyes:

but yeah, even with peerguardian, anyone can find your IP address on bit torrent. Because you get the entire swarm's IPs without even connecting to all of them. And enabling/disabling DHT doesnt protect you in any way. :(

ReyDelMundo

06-25-2006, 10:05 AM

I personally use fulDC for anything that is not new new. Only thing I download from bitorrernt are new episodes of lost/ncis and every once in a while a new dvd.

Taekwond

06-25-2006, 03:24 PM

What is fulDC and how can I learn more about it?

redindian

06-25-2006, 07:19 PM

http://fuldc.berlios.de/

fkdup74

06-26-2006, 04:18 AM

....and that equals total safety.

A fool's dream.
There's no such thing as "total safety", other than just not doing it. Period.

The solution to me is simple...no broadcasting of IP, nobody knows where you are.

Nor would the data that you're trying to retrieve.
Therefore, you would never get it.

Probably your IT department detected traffic using other ports, monitored that traffic and uses this trick to stop you .....

That's common behaviour in some companies. My guess that the IT department needs the bandwith for their own p2p

Nah. Us IT guys just walk up to em personally and tell em to knock their shit off or else we'll repo their PC and make em go back to pen & paper. :P
Then we go back to chewing up network bandwidth with online tourneys of Doom and Duke Nukem. :cool2:

somedude4

06-26-2006, 05:18 AM

Broken

06-26-2006, 06:18 AM

When you use newsgroups to d/l, can the MPAA/RIAA log you?
and if they can is it practical for them at all... ? :ph34r:

Also, if they were to take a list of all the peers in the swarm, would they be able to prove
that you were actually downloading the file and not just reporting to the tracker or something,
without connecting to you?

With Usenet, most people upload nothing. It is current policy of the RIAA/MPAA only to take legal action against uploaders and not downloaders.

When using newsgroups the MPAA/RIAA can't log you. You're making a direct connection to your company's server, no peers. The only way they could find out would be to sue that usenet carrier for your information, which most usenet carriers do not maintain. None the less, it would have to go to court and everyone and their grandma would know about it before it ever happened.

Usenet has been around since 1979. In it's 27 year history this has never happened. As such, I would think it is unlikely that it will happen any time soon.

With BT, from the swarm they could get all the information they need to take you to court if they want to. They can get your IP and how much of the file you currently have. If you have any percent of the file and you are connected to the swarm there is intent to distribute copyrighted material which is illegal. So they really have no need to connect to you directly.

Broken

06-26-2006, 06:27 AM

ReyDelMundo

06-26-2006, 06:55 AM

@fkdup74

Sounds about right, I work as an Onsite Supporter and that is exactly what we do :D

haowee

06-26-2006, 11:33 AM

By not sharing or uploading anything will affect dl speed?

fkdup74

06-27-2006, 04:18 AM

@fkdup74
I believe that you taking what I wrote out of context totally bastardized the point I was trying to make. You also added a word into my mouth that never was written.

I wrote...

"I believe there is still the option of not sharing anything with limewire and that equals total safety."

Currently, not sharing is safe. The MPAA/RIAA is not sueing those that only download. Their strategy is simple, cut off the head and the rest will die. By not sharing in these lower p2p apps you are doing the "powers that be", a favor by taking and not giving. It would destroy the network if everyone did it.

Out of context? Putting words in your mouth? That was a direct quote, just truncated a bit.
And bastardizing? It was a simple reply stating my belief that you are wrong.
Which happens to be the truth. 0% p2p = 0% risk. Fact.
If you choose to participate in p2p, well then, the risk is proportionate to the activity. Also fact.
Some n00b seeing your post about not sharing being totally safe and thinking they are not liable for their actions,
now that would be taking your words out of context and in effect putting themselves at greater risk.

It gets so old shooting holes in poeples' thoeries. :music:

hslayer

06-27-2006, 05:34 AM

thats not good...

Broken

06-27-2006, 05:43 AM

If you read the DMCA downloading only is a gray area. It's not spelled out that it is ilegal to download without uploading. To date, no one has tested this gray area.

Until 'the powers that be' do sue someone for downloading only I would venture to say that it is legal.

The distribution of copyrighted materials over the internet for which the distributor (any server - including your personal computer) does not have permission may be a violation of a federal copyright law.
Violation of the DMCA (the online infringement of copyrighted material - upload/sharing), can be punished by up to 3 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned up to 6 years. Individuals also may be held civilly liable (regardless of whether the activity is for profit) for actual damages or lost profits, or for statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringed copyright .

Nothing about downloading. Tons about distribution. So if you're not distributing your not breaking the law. That is of course as long as you have a copy of whatever it is your downloading... which we all do, of course.
source
http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

Broken

06-27-2006, 07:48 AM

It gets so old shooting holes in poeples' thoeries. :music:

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/9273/hidawg5dp.jpg

Bnad

07-06-2006, 04:34 PM

So will a proxy like Findnot or Metropipe protect you? These services specifically say that when you BT over them, BT sees the proxy's IP (and a session key) instead of your IP. The proxy forwards the traffic to your IP using this session key. The BT observer has no way of using the session key to look up your IP:cool2: .
If so, that is one safe way to use BT, provided one makes certain setting changes to Azureus or whatever BT client one uses. Feel free to poke holes.

PG and the like can not protect you in a BT swarm.
It might be (assuming that they are even on the list of blocked IP's) keeping who-ever from contacting you directly. But your IP is still relayed to them through the peers in the swarm they can contact.

BT is the most unsafe method of filesharing out there.
In just a few seconds every member of a swarm can be ID.

Once you realize how unsafe it is you either have balls of steel, or just don't care if you still use BT.
Believe it or not there is much better ways to get stuff out there.

*edit, grammer*

Broken

07-06-2006, 04:41 PM

I'm not familiar with either of those proxies. I was under the impression that there is no BT client that will work with a proxy ( I may well be wrong ). BT was ot originally designed for anything that might have required you to use a proxy.

None the less, if there is a proxy that works, you'll be loosing your already limited speeds.

Bnad

07-06-2006, 05:21 PM

oops, see next message

I'm not familiar with either of those proxies. I was under the impression that there is no BT client that will work with a proxy ( I may well be wrong ). BT was ot originally designed for anything that might have required you to use a proxy.

None the less, if there is a proxy that works, you'll be loosing your already limited speeds.

Bnad

07-06-2006, 05:22 PM

http://img328.imageshack.us/img328/339/az6bu.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
By the way, yes, paid proxy services do slow things down but not much--I can easily get 100kBps = 800kbps through my proxy service--not a bad price to pay to avoid HBO's lawyers

I'm not familiar with either of those proxies. I was under the impression that there is no BT client that will work with a proxy ( I may well be wrong ). BT was ot originally designed for anything that might have required you to use a proxy.

None the less, if there is a proxy that works, you'll be loosing your already limited speeds.

p2pcouncil

07-07-2006, 04:39 AM

We have created The p2p Council to Unite all p2p leaders and users to fight and engineer better clients.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/p2porg

Broken

07-07-2006, 05:14 AM

We have created The p2p Council to Unite all p2p leaders and users to fight and engineer better clients.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/p2porg

Read your site.
That new technology you are looking for is old tech, newsgroups.

BT is what it is. It was never intended for piracy, and fits the bill only so-so. When Bram was writing the script he never ment to hide you from the 'bad guys'.

thewizeard

07-08-2006, 06:47 AM

Just gotta love these BT fanboys. And yes FrostWire OSS (~LimeWire Pro) is much safer than BT.
I have to agree.
The lower number of unknown peers you connect to the safer you are.

That's why you all better can connect to OpenNap or SlavaNap networks, where we ensure that undesireables are blocked before they even get a chance to get connected. We know them...of course some will always slip through the net, but these ghouls are not really interested in opennap..yet...

To answer your questions: The torrent WAS from a public site...torrentspy I think (either that or mininova).

Either torrentspy or mininova? Then if you are not even sure about that, then I don't think you need to worry at all.

The bottom line is,.. to download or upload a file, file-sharing clients need to use your IP address to make the connection. Thats the moment of vulnerability..so if you are weak of heart...go and buy your copy.