How paranoid are you?

[Rart]

I don't really want a lot of "I use a seedbox/VPN to get all my downloads its really secure (its not)" as that tends to get rather stagnant and repetitive quickly...

So to all us home downloaders out there: how paranoid are you?

What measures do you take to insure that you don't get "caught" or get an infringement notice?

Do you avoid downloading from larger sites like Demonoid or TL? Do you avoid CAM releases like the plague? Would you have downloaded something like the X-Men leak?

Perhaps more importantly, do you even think its worth it to take precautions? Do you believe that downloading from a more "secure" and "rarer" site would really make a difference? Would you give a fuck if your ISP sent you a infringement notice?

So the question is, to what extent would you go to to mask your activities?

[ddt]

- I use some TrueCrypt volumes
- I'm into TL, but I don't download very much.
- I hate cam

[Glitterstep]

I don't really want a lot of "I use a seedbox/VPN to get all my downloads its really secure (its not)" as that tends to get rather stagnant and repetitive quickly...

So to all us home downloaders out there: how paranoid are you?

What measures do you take to insure that you don't get "caught" or get an infringement notice?

Do you avoid downloading from larger sites like Demonoid or TL? Do you avoid CAM releases like the plague? Would you have downloaded something like the X-Men leak?

Perhaps more importantly, do you even think its worth it to take precautions? Do you believe that downloading from a more "secure" and "rarer" site would really make a difference? Would you give a fuck if your ISP sent you a infringement notice?

So the question is, to what extent would you go to to mask your activities?

Whats all this...Here back in India,No one gets any notice.:happy:
I have been using torrents for years now..never received any kinda notice.
And talking about piracy..Pirated Dvd's are sold out in the streets and even the cops are pretty chilled about this..

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:2offzDQg_O3MhM:http://bp2.blogger.com/_45srCmtLaZs/RsgREFMIAAI/AAAAAAAAASk/aR9QPdMvun4/s400/DSC01745.JPG
:D

[ca_aok]

I really don't care, since in Canada they currently don't give a fuck. If our PM manages to pass that copyright bill through parliament then perhaps I'll start taking security measures.

[hagckz0r]

For the moment I really don't care. Romania is still a stable country concerning torrents although politicians try to take some drastic measures in order to attract votes for their candidates.

@sez wtf is stream :D? what do you mean by that?

[sez]

Its homosexual to download if you have the option to stream :unsure:

[Enzo]

i really don't care ether.. Im not afraid im my country don't give a shit for now....

[nethawk]

-I don't download from public trackers or big private trackers like TL and I don't use p2p programs like Limewire.

[cinephilia]

i'll only take measures if i get a letter from my ISP.

[Albo Da Kid]

Not paranoid at all. I've recived a letter from my Isp about 4 years ago or so for downloading "Tupac resurection" and my brother warned me to not download anytihng again.

What did I do? I downloaded another movie the next day.
I did so because I know they can't do shit about it. There's probably millions of Optimum online users in NYC and 90% of them download illegally

I'm not gonna lie though. Once when I smoked weed(i dont smoke weed much so it's effects are strong on me) I started thinking about BT and I remember being paranoid and thinkingthat I was being watched and the feds were waiting for the perfect moment to bust me.

It was terible..that's why i hate smoking weed

[Cabalo]

I'm quite paranoid, I must admit.
I think I've explained some of my countermeasures in some threads in the past, but they range from encrypted HDDs, Server 2003 with a LOT of tweaking (trying to get courage to move on to 2008 Server, but the fact I have RAID0 HDDs is holding me back), especially firewalling with IP filtering+logging and packet sniffing (wireshark rules). Some basic shit on the router, as MAC filtering + WPA2-PSK in my wireless (i know, i should use certificates, but I can't bother doing that).
As for trackers, I use most of them, excluding public ones, where I get my shit from RS etc. I do use a IPfilter.dat in paranoia level, though I know it blocks many valid IPs, I feel somewhat safer.
There are quite some other ones that I'm missing now, but would need too much detail to go into.

Small rule of thumb: I don't touch Workprints, neither CAMs. They suck anyway.

If you guys wanna have fun, use Vuze, install it an IPfilter, and go fetch some very popular albums and movies from public trackers. Then go watch the cheer amount of IPs being blocked and banned. You'll have a laugh.

[brento]

not really too paranoid, even after receiving a seize and desist letter a few years back. however, if I want something from a public tracker I usually try and download it with a seedbox and download it from ftp.

[Purple_Ice]

....So the question is, to what extent would you go to to mask your activities?

Why should I tell you all my secrets?
I know you work for F.A.C.T. I know YOU shut down uk-t so that you could lure me here, to this site, so that you can watch me, I know you're watching me! :shifty:

In all serious though, I used to get all my gear from a private site and felt secure enough in that. Now I'm using more public trackers. Never got a letter from an isp, although my mate has had two.

PI

[Totti]

I feel extremely secure here in Israel everyone d/l illegally and the government doesn't do a thing about it. I would even say that Israel is one of the safest places in the world to d/l illegally

[kooltilldend]

couldn't care less really...ok i was somewhat paranoid when I was in the States but back here I really don't give a damn

[wheeloftime]

Not really paranoid about getting caught downloading as I figure with so many millions torrenting I've probably got more chance of winning the lottery than getting caught.

I do tend to avoid signing up to all the new sites that constantly appear in threads on this site though. Setting up a fake site would seem to me to be a really easy way for the authorities to get peoples details - although I don't know whether that would be classified as entrapment.

[Funkin']

It was terible..that's why i hate smoking weed

Paranoia hits me too if I stopped smoking for a prolonged period of time. But it only lasts your first couple two or three times. Then it goes away and you just enjoy the mellowness.

Like Cabalo, I gotta admit I'm pretty paranoid myself. So what I did to make myself feel more secure is that I shifted more towards using forums(RS, MU, etc) and newsgroups. I still use bt. But when I do, I try to use the sites with small userbases. This gives me a sense of security. Even if it is a false sense.

[sez]

nvm

[TrollinThunder]

When I first started downloading, I felt uploading was the bigger problem, so I wouldn't seed at all after my download completed in order to avoid getting in trouble. After a few weeks I felt a bit more comfortable with downloading and uploading.

My dad got a few notices while downloading through dht or something in the Vuze client. I helped him out as soon as I heard. I think being in NY with a fast home connection means we're more likely to connect with bad peers. That fact plus the fact that my career path would be put in jeopardy if I were caught make me relatively careful.

At first I used smaller sites. Then I stopped liking smallish sites for reasons other than their security benefits. Now I tend to use newsgroups more. But I like bigger swarms and have used some insecure torrent sources. I'm a bit concerned about using Pretome because I know there are tons of US users and I could be an easy target.

With dvr and the fact that I'm downloading a lot fewer movies, so I feel I'm not putting myself at risk as often. Very soon I won't be downloading at all. Once I graduate I'll just reopen netflix.

[susiserken]

not at all for now.

[kubakuba]

I grew up downloading warez via IRC and (LOL) AOL chatrooms back when AOL reigned supreme, it was on my packard bell win95 box-- ~$2000 for 133mhz cpu.. Filesharing is just part of "the internet" that I grew up with and am familiar with, it was the idea of filesharing that really sparked my interest in information technologies. If I ever got a message from my ISP about illegal activities I would feel so violated and switch ISPs immediately.. torrents or not filesharing will always be here in some shape or form, just use the technology wisely and contribute back!

[Tv Controls you]

I was under the impression that private trackers were relatively safe.

I try to stay under the 250 gb a month flag from comcast so i don't get a letter..... I Think if i got a letter I'd stop using torrents (actually i don't know if i could stop lol), i may even just switch internet provider.

Also aren't warez from download sites like rapidshare less likely to get you caught? I Never really thought about this because nothing has really happened to me.

[Skiz]

I rarely use Bittorrent for anything, but when I do I only use sites that offer SSL.

[Rart]

I rarely use Bittorrent for anything, but when I do I only use sites that offer SSL.

I'm assuming you mean tracker based SSL? Or just for the website? Are there any notable trackers that are completely based on SSL for the tracker portion of the site?

[ca_aok]

A few of the smaller communities that focus on security are 100% SSL, or at the very least SSL by default.

[shilohhh]

I use peer block.

[sake]

I don`t use any of these tricks mentioned above. I just download and seed :)

[scrappen]

The fact that my isp only keeps ip-logs for like 48 hours or something like that makes me feel as secure as I can be. Except for using seedboxes or VPN i don't see how you can take any precautions that gives you more than just false security. SSL means nothing, atleast in Sweden, since evidence is collected by logging the direct transfer of files between peers and APB (the anti-piracy bureau).

[Speedo]

Thing is. All connections eighter html, vnp, vpc and can be listened to.

My point is that if everyone is into the dirtiest smut possible, and we are winning, noone will vote for any of that democratically. We will then go by the issues!

We will all go down if secrets happen! ;)

[Swift]

Untill now my level of paranoia is 0 and I hope it's stay's this way .

[respawn40]

I try to stay under the 250 gb a month flag from comcast so i don't get a letter.....

According to a bandwidth meter that I use, I used up 429GB in one month. My household has received no letter.

Out of curiosity, I went to check my bandwidth meter again just now, and I've used 573GB since the beginning of this month, which I know can't be right. I went to the weekly reports, and during one week, it says that I received 269GB and sent 268GB. And the day-by-day report shows that I received 261GB and sent 260GB in one day. I know this can't be right though, since I only have a few gigs left on my HD (hence I haven't been downloading anything), and there isn't enough that I would want to download to accumulate that much in a week. I'm guessing the first time that the meter said I used 429GB was also a mistake, which could be why I received no letter. I think I'll be switching meters though... :ermm:

[pakito]

No restrictions at Spain..By the moment... Lobbys are pressing on European Union. European Union really sucks.