"piracy Police Get New Weapon" Against Kazaa Users

[bozo8787]

Ok if someone posted on this topic already please post a link so I can read more on it. My main question is does the "Privacy on" regedit hack help any against the RIAA snooping around one's shared files? Should we be concerned?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted on Tue, Feb. 25, 2003

Piracy police get new weapon
BY JON HEALEY
Los Angeles Times Service

This story is for all the people secretly copying digital songs, movies and games through online file-sharing systems like Kazaa and Gnutella.

You know who you are.

And soon the copyright cops might.

So-called peer-to-peer networks are very good at distributing digital material but very bad at hiding the sender or the receiver. Taking advantage of this transparency, record companies, Hollywood studios and other copyright holders are tracing users of peer-to-peer networks back to their Internet addresses and cataloging not only the items they've downloaded but also the goods they're storing for others to duplicate.

Once it has an alleged infringer's Internet address, the Recording Industry Association of America maintains that a copyright holder can use a federal court subpoena to force the target's Internet service provider to disclose his or her identity promptly.

The association tried to do that last summer, but the ISP involved, Verizon Communications, the nation's largest local phone company, would not comply. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled in the RIAA's favor last month, but Verizon is appealing.

The surprising thing is how easy such sleuthing is, a fact that suggests the Verizon customer is merely the first of many who will be sought by the piracy police. All it takes is a copy of the free peer-to-peer software and an inexpensive program that monitors a computer's traffic.

Matching the Internet address to a home, dorm room or office cubicle takes a little more work, mainly because crucial information has to be extracted from the user's Internet service provider. But, by simply obtaining a subpoena from the local federal courthouse, copyright holders may be able to accomplish that.

Many Internet users assume that what they do online is anonymous, hidden behind such screen names as ''maximus'' and ''LadyBug.'' But they frequently, and unwittingly, disclose their Internet addresses as they work and play online. Just visiting a website can reveal the visitor's address.

Tools are available to hide addresses, but security experts say even those come up short on a peer-to-peer network when files are transferred.

Here's why: In a file-sharing system like Kazaa, users copy files directly from each others' computer hard drives. In order to make these connections, they can't conceal themselves behind a bogus Internet address. They have to disclose where they can be found.

''If I allow someone to come onto my hard drive, [the Internet protocol address] has to be real,'' one security expert said. ``If you have the real IP address, it's child's play to find out where the computer is.''

The struggle between Verizon and the RIAA stems from the work of one of the association's piracy investigators on July 15, court documents indicate. The investigator used a copy of the Kazaa software to search for an unnamed song, discovering that it was available from someone with the screen name ``hmbutler.''

The investigator then started downloading the song, using a second piece of software to monitor the data flowing in and out. That program detected hmbutler's Internet address, which the investigator traced to Verizon.

While the court filing doesn't disclose how the connection to Verizon was made, there is no shortage of websites capable of matching an Internet address to the corresponding ISP.

Unlike street addresses, which are tied to a unique location, many Internet addresses shift from computer to computer, customer to customer.

But, said Stewart Baker, general counsel for the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association, ISPs records show whose account addresses are assigned to at any given moment, although, he added, those records typically get discarded after a few days.

The RIAA also pulled together a list of over 600 music files that hmbutler was making available to be copied. That, too, is no great feat; the Kazaa software lets one click on a user's screen name to view an inventory of the files being offered for sharing.

The RIAA declined to discuss its piracy tactics, as did the Motion Picture Association of America.

[galadriel]

does the new private tool avoid at least those creeps from knowing what's on our shared folder without using "special" tools.
in france if they got to use these special tools to seek what's on my computer I will simply invoke privacy violation.
besides everything I own on my computer can also be found on my own legal cd's and dvd's and I don't see how they could prove that I'm actually allow people to download from me. :P

[-=M3th0d=-]

I wouldnt get to worked up about it, use it if it makes you feel better but the actual chance of getting caught are pretty slim. Also if ur in a different country from america. then they would have to first prove through your courts that they have a right to make a claim against you anyway, which is itself a long drawn out legal process! AND even then you can dispute the claim saying they have themselves violated privacy regulations and have no legal grounding to make the claim in the first place!

So dont worry yourself too much. Personally i dont use it because sometimes when i get a good connection speed i like to search the rest of the users files and it would be a bit hypocritical if i didnt let others do the same.

[Petri]

Originally posted by bozo8787@26 February 2003 - 12:37
The investigator then started downloading the song, using a second piece of software to monitor the data flowing in and out. That program detected hmbutler's Internet address (...)
Is this the terrible "new weapon"? netstat.exe? :lol:

The RIAA also pulled together a list of over 600 music files that hmbutler was making available to be copied. That, too, is no great feat; the Kazaa software lets one click on a user's screen name to view an inventory of the files being offered for sharing.
This is exactly what K++'s No.files setting (which can be turned on with the privacy_on.reg file) prevents. So yes, it helps. But, as kevin said, there's really no reason to get worried...

[SideSwiped]

I'm not worried about it, the riaa and the film industry would be commiting financial suicide if they attacked us wholesale. Think of the hundreds of thousands of ppl that use p2p's, an awful lot of money would be spent trying to track down every person that ever shared a file. Besides, having their heads up their collective @$$ they might improve record sales if they'd lower the price of the products. They blame p2p for lowering sales, but high prices and fear of a major recession spurred by the terrorist attack is the most logical answer.

Just remember one thing, if they do aggressively persue the p2p's we are many strong and a world wide boycot on all entertainment products is a very serious weapon.

[Leech_Killer]

Originally posted by SideSwiped@26 February 2003 - 14:02
Besides, having their heads up their collective @$$ they might improve record sales if they'd lower the price of the products.
I'd agree with that as the average cost of a CD in the UK is about £15.99 thats $22.71. Thats just daylight robbery. The cost of manufacturing these CD's has being coming down and down while the price has being going up and up, they're just taking the pi$$. :angry:

[Crackedup]

Originally posted by Leech_Killer+26 February 2003 - 14:28--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Leech_Killer @ 26 February 2003 - 14:28)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--SideSwiped@26 February 2003 - 14:02
Besides, having their heads up their collective @&#036;&#036; they might improve record sales if they&#39;d lower the price of the products.
I&#39;d agree with that as the average cost of a CD in the UK is about £15.99 thats &#036;22.71. Thats just daylight robbery. The cost of manufacturing these CD&#39;s has being coming down and down while the price has being going up and up, they&#39;re just taking the pi&#036;&#036;. :angry: [/b][/quote]
Quite right L_K. The record companies deserve NO sympathy, especially in the UK, where they&#39;ve been overcharging, hand in hand with the retailers uch as HMV, Virgin etc, for ever. It&#39;s funny how the supermarkets can sell the same product for £9.99 and still make a profit.

The diference in prices is very marked when you compare the UK to the US. A cd costing £15.99 in the UK can be &#036;15.99 or less in the US which is a third less. They always give a load of cock and bull about &#39;distribution costs&#39; and taxes etc...what a load of crap. The same goes for videos, DVD&#39;s et al

Even the internet stores like Amazon maintain these differences. Amazon are boasting about free delivery on orders over £39 - how come they do it for orders over &#036;25( &#036;16/17) in the US.

Welcome to rip-off Britain - no wonder we embrace P2P sharing.

[insanebassman]

As a member of an unsigned band, file sharing and the internet is about the only way we can afford to distribute... fuck the companies, I will make money the old fashion way, getting on stage and earning it.

[OcramC]

get a firewall then

[J'Pol]

Originally posted by insanebassman@26 February 2003 - 20:18
As a member of an unsigned band, file sharing and the internet is about the only way we can afford to distribute... fuck the companies, I will make money the old fashion way, getting on stage and earning it.
IBM

What instrument do you play and are you really mental

[dave]

Well, I&#39;d like to add my 2 cents (I know a lot about privacy, or think I do). To hide your IP address from other users go to the options menu. Under the Firewall tab, configure your copy of Kazaa Lite or K++ to use a privacy SOCKS5 proxy. This will hide your true IP from the downloader. Beware however, it will slow down your transfers.
If you are truly paranoid (after reading the articles, I&#39;m sure more of you are), you could switch over to Filetopia (http://www.filetopia.com). This uses strong encryption to hide your activities from even your own ISP&#33; Make sure you configure Filetopia to use a SOCKS or HTTP proxy, and switch the encryption algorithm from Rijndael to 256-Bit Twofish or 448-Bit Blowfish (I don&#39;t fully trust Rijndael). That way your IP will be hidden from the RIAA/MPAA, and your activities will be hidden from your own ISP&#33;

[J'Pol]

Originally posted by dave@26 February 2003 - 23:10
Well, I&#39;d like to add my 2 cents (I know a lot about privacy, or think I do). To hide your IP address from other users go to the options menu. Under the Firewall tab, configure your copy of Kazaa Lite or K++ to use a privacy SOCKS5 proxy. This will hide your true IP from the downloader. Beware however, it will slow down your transfers.
If you are truly paranoid (after reading the articles, I&#39;m sure more of you are), you could switch over to Filetopia (http://www.filetopia.com). This uses strong encryption to hide your activities from even your own ISP&#33; Make sure you configure Filetopia to use a SOCKS or HTTP proxy, and switch the encryption algorithm from Rijndael to 256-Bit Twofish or 448-Bit Blowfish (I don&#39;t fully trust Rijndael). That way your IP will be hidden from the RIAA/MPAA, and your activities will be hidden from your own ISP&#33;
Sorry is this another of these foreign language things.

What is MPAA. Is it similar to RIAA

[gnice4now]

I was checking out what was being said and I say If we all run and hide under a rock then these type companies will always tell us what we can and can&#39;t not do. i think it is foolish for anyone to tell you how you can or can&#39;t share with others. I believe that how this so call global trading crap got started. I just don&#39;t believe in somebody telling me how I can use my internet service and what I can&#39;t download. They kiss my entire world for all I care.

[dave]

To answer JimF&#39;s question, the MPAA stands for the Motion Picture Assosication of America. What do you all think of the encryption/proxy route to protecting yourself?

[UmmYeahOk]

If I get in trouble for sharing, I will fight back. I put up with way too much from nonsharers as it is. My fight will be about the files I share myself. Files thats I had made. It is legal to tape something off the television. If I choose to convert it to digital media, thats my legal choice. So my files are legal to have, but possibly not to share. But since I taped them back in the early 90s, when I was a young kid, using tapes from the 80&#39;s that had been retaped over again and again. The quality isnt too good. Especially since I decided to edit out commercials via VCR. If I knew that this media would be invented in the future, I would have left them alone.

These shows have been cancled. They were obviously good enough to have multiple seasons. What money can they possibly get by syndication? I say either put these shows back on tv, released them to DVD, or let us have out files.

That&#39;s my promise. I will, stop sharing, delete, and buy these episodes as soon as they bring em back. We&#39;re not crooks, we&#39;re simply preserving tv history.

[ProwL418]

Originally posted by dave@26 February 2003 - 17:10
Well, I&#39;d like to add my 2 cents (I know a lot about privacy, or think I do). To hide your IP address from other users go to the options menu. Under the Firewall tab, configure your copy of Kazaa Lite or K++ to use a privacy SOCKS5 proxy. This will hide your true IP from the downloader. Beware however, it will slow down your transfers.
If you are truly paranoid (after reading the articles, I&#39;m sure more of you are), you could switch over to Filetopia (http://www.filetopia.com). This uses strong encryption to hide your activities from even your own ISP&#33; Make sure you configure Filetopia to use a SOCKS or HTTP proxy, and switch the encryption algorithm from Rijndael to 256-Bit Twofish or 448-Bit Blowfish (I don&#39;t fully trust Rijndael). That way your IP will be hidden from the RIAA/MPAA, and your activities will be hidden from your own ISP&#33;
ty dave for that piece of info.
everythig he said is true guys ;)
standard web proxies dont do diddly but try to protect your anonymity via web browser.
a good socks5 proxy is the way to go...
and blowfish encryption is the shit&#33;&#33;
if the heat gets too heavy, hopefully enough dedicated users will take this mans advice:)
-latah

[geprobert]

Originally posted by ProwL418+27 February 2003 - 07:39--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (ProwL418 @ 27 February 2003 - 07:39)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin--dave@26 February 2003 - 17:10
If you are truly paranoid (after reading the articles, I&#39;m sure more of you are), you could switch over to Filetopia (http://www.filetopia.com). This uses strong encryption to hide your activities from even your own ISP&#33; Make sure you configure Filetopia to use a SOCKS or HTTP proxy, and switch the encryption algorithm from Rijndael to 256-Bit Twofish or 448-Bit Blowfish (I don&#39;t fully trust Rijndael). That way your IP will be hidden from the RIAA/MPAA, and your activities will be hidden from your own ISP&#33;
ty dave for that piece of info.
everythig he said is true guys ;)
standard web proxies dont do diddly but try to protect your anonymity via web browser.
a good socks5 proxy is the way to go...
and blowfish encryption is the shit&#33;&#33;
if the heat gets too heavy, hopefully enough dedicated users will take this mans advice:)
-latah[/b][/quote]
With regards to this, I wondered if someone could explain how to do all this in idiot-speak :P

I would like to hide everything I do, and especially encrypt it, but having looked at filetopia.com I don&#39;t really understand. It goes on about being an engine for file sharing, chat and other such things...

If it isn&#39;t too much of a pain, would it be possible to explain how I would implement all of this hiding behind a proxy? Or is that not spelled out because of security reasons?&#33; ;) (you could tell me but then you&#39;d have to kill me&#33;&#33;)

[SHIFTY]

Originally posted by gnice4now@26 February 2003 - 23:37
I was checking out what was being said and I say If we all run and hide under a rock then these type companies will always tell us what we can and can&#39;t not do. i think it is foolish for anyone to tell you how you can or can&#39;t share with others. I believe that how this so call global trading crap got started. I just don&#39;t believe in somebody telling me how I can use my internet service and what I can&#39;t download. They kiss my entire world for all I care.
i agree completely no one can tell me what i can and cant do on the internet
its a world of freedom and these governmential assholse trying to
take over the place can suck it dry for all i care, therefor i refuse to stop
transferring and i will leave my IP open + its one of those changing ones so every 2 hrs my IP
changes (nice ey&#33;) and that way im safe not that i really give a crap
sharing is what i do and will keep doing till the cows come home
and luckily i have no cows so i will forever be sharing
RIAA & MPAA AND ANY OTHER COPYRIGHT AUTHORITIES CAN STICK IT
no need to worry folks it has been said many a time before and
look what happened when napster died
another 10 or so EVEN better p2p&#39;s were released
this means that we will be fine forever&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;LONG LIVE P2P&#33;

[dave]

Originally posted by geprobert+28 February 2003 - 10:40--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (geprobert @ 28 February 2003 - 10:40)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by -ProwL418@27 February 2003 - 07:39
<!--QuoteBegin--dave@26 February 2003 - 17:10
If you are truly paranoid (after reading the articles, I&#39;m sure more of you are), you could switch over to Filetopia (http://www.filetopia.com). This uses strong encryption to hide your activities from even your own ISP&#33; Make sure you configure Filetopia to use a SOCKS or HTTP proxy, and switch the encryption algorithm from Rijndael to 256-Bit Twofish or 448-Bit Blowfish (I don&#39;t fully trust Rijndael). That way your IP will be hidden from the RIAA/MPAA, and your activities will be hidden from your own ISP&#33;
ty dave for that piece of info.
everythig he said is true guys ;)
standard web proxies dont do diddly but try to protect your anonymity via web browser.
a good socks5 proxy is the way to go...
and blowfish encryption is the shit&#33;&#33;
if the heat gets too heavy, hopefully enough dedicated users will take this mans advice:)
-latah
With regards to this, I wondered if someone could explain how to do all this in idiot-speak :P

I would like to hide everything I do, and especially encrypt it, but having looked at filetopia.com I don&#39;t really understand. It goes on about being an engine for file sharing, chat and other such things...

If it isn&#39;t too much of a pain, would it be possible to explain how I would implement all of this hiding behind a proxy? Or is that not spelled out because of security reasons?&#33; ;) (you could tell me but then you&#39;d have to kill me&#33;&#33;) [/b][/quote]
Sure, I can explain how to do it. First locate a good SOCKS5 anonymizing proxy. (You can try looking on google). Once you install the program, it will ask you to pick a username and password. It will have other options like your main interest, connection speed, connection method, and then proxy. Choose the proxy type from the List (if you&#39;re using a SOCKS4 or SOCKS5 proxy, be sure to choose that). Then all you have to do is type in the IP of the SOCKS (or HTTP) proxy and the port #. It will use this proxy to connect. Also, to change the encryption algorithm (I don&#39;t trust Rijndael), click on the Options menu, and then click Security. The menu will have a list of encryption algorithms supported. I&#39;d recommend that you use either Twofish or Blowfish. Next it says "Number of bits to generate for random seed". This is how long your encryption key will be. If you are using Twofish, you can set this all the way up to 256 bits, if you are using Blowfish, you can go all the way up to 448 bits. Do not check the box labeled "Limit Encryption Key Length to 64 Bits". This weakens the encryption so huge computer networks will be able to try all keys. I&#39;d recomment that you check the option "Hide username in network searchs". Hope this helps, and I hope the Filetopia Network grows (as of right now it&#39;s only about 4,000 members), but as the lawsuits pile up, it&#39;s bound to grow.


Try the list of proxies at the site (http://www.mazafaka.ru/proxy/). It has all the proxies you could possibly want (131 pages&#33;). SOCKS5 is the way to go. I&#39;m not 100% sure, so don&#39;t quote me, but I&#39;ve heard that SOCKS5 proxies are non-caching, meaning they keep no logs. As soon as you log off, all records that could be traced to you will likely be destroyed. :ph34r: :D

[dave]

A few more advantages. Filetopia comes with built in chatrooms, and it is a collection manager (it will make sure you are not downloading a file you already have).

[VB]

RIAA = USA

So everybody outside the USA doesn&#39;t have to worry.


Or move to The Netherlands, the only country in the world where KaZaA is officially legal B)

[DiogenesUK]

Originally posted by Paul@4 March 2003 - 14:22
RIAA = USA

So everybody outside the USA doesn&#39;t have to worry.


Or move to The Netherlands, the only country in the world where KaZaA is officially legal&nbsp; B)
Cor blimey,I wish &#33;&#33;&#33;........Just lurve your ahem....&#39;Coffee&#39; shops,though I think it&#39;s a great shame that the &#39;Dam has become quite a heavy place over the years..."Goddam the pusher man" - Steppenwolf :blink:

[Switeck]

Get Peer Guardian and enabled No.files in Kazaa Lite++ v2.1 and you&#39;re pretty safe unless they&#39;re doing file-by-file searches for your shared files using a cop-bot on an &#39;unknown&#39; (to Peer Guardian) ip.

[TRshady]

Originally posted by Paul@4 March 2003 - 13:22
RIAA = USA

So everybody outside the USA doesn&#39;t have to worry.


Or move to The Netherlands, the only country in the world where KaZaA is officially legal B)
You sure that people outside us (im in the uk) have nothing to worry, or at least less likely to get caught?

As for buying cd&#39;s, I only buy cd&#39;s which I believe deserve to be bought, as fc said, "most albums only have about five good songs", this is mainly peoples music I&#39;m a fan of. Eminem, shaggy, Linkin park, Dr.dre, 50 Cent, D12, and a lot of compilation cd&#39;s. So I do buy music cd&#39;s (about one a week), but as for software, I prefere the cheaper option (KAZAA LITE). :D

[starship1st]

How I see it: So long as no one is makeing money by selling what is shared there is nothing wrong. The piracy police need to be concerend only if people turn around and sell what they down loaded for free. :angry:

[pmg]

Originally posted by starship1st@4 March 2003 - 23:20
How I see it:&nbsp; So long as no one is makeing money by selling what is shared there is nothing wrong.&nbsp; The piracy police need to be concerend only if people turn around and sell what they down loaded for free.&nbsp; :angry:
I don&#39;t know about that...So If I give copies of my games and programs to everyone for free, it&#39;s ok because I&#39;m not making a profit? I&#39;m a p2p guy too, but there&#39;s a fundamental flaw with your reasoning.

[J'Pol]

Originally posted by pmg+5 March 2003 - 02:27--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (pmg @ 5 March 2003 - 02:27)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--starship1st@4 March 2003 - 23:20
How I see it: So long as no one is makeing money by selling what is shared there is nothing wrong. The piracy police need to be concerend only if people turn around and sell what they down loaded for free. :angry:
I don&#39;t know about that...So If I give copies of my games and programs to everyone for free, it&#39;s ok because I&#39;m not making a profit? I&#39;m a p2p guy too, but there&#39;s a fundamental flaw with your reasoning. [/b][/quote]
Actually he&#39;s correct in practical terms. I can&#39;t be arsed explaining why, because I&#39;ve done it loads of times before. So if you can tell me what criminal offence he is commiting I will tell you why he will not be prosecuted.

Don&#39;t just say he is copying or sharing files, because that is not a criminal offence. It may be a civil matter, but that is an entirely seperate issue. Do me a favour, if you can&#39;t make a sensible reply to this then shut up, You don&#39;t know what you are talking about.

Glib urban myths and anecdotal evidence do not constitute a reasoned arguement.

[harrycary]

Originally posted by dave@26 February 2003 - 23:10
Well, I&#39;d like to add my 2 cents (I know a lot about privacy, or think I do). To hide your IP address from other users go to the options menu. Under the Firewall tab, configure your copy of Kazaa Lite or K++ to use a privacy SOCKS5 proxy. This will hide your true IP from the downloader. Beware however, it will slow down your transfers.
If you are truly paranoid (after reading the articles, I&#39;m sure more of you are), you could switch over to Filetopia (http://www.filetopia.com). This uses strong encryption to hide your activities from even your own ISP&#33; Make sure you configure Filetopia to use a SOCKS or HTTP proxy, and switch the encryption algorithm from Rijndael to 256-Bit Twofish or 448-Bit Blowfish (I don&#39;t fully trust Rijndael). That way your IP will be hidden from the RIAA/MPAA, and your activities will be hidden from your own ISP&#33;
Although I agree you can hide your IP address from other users, it is impossible to hide your internet activities from your ISP. It&#39;s inane to think such a thing is possible.
Your ISP monitors all of your internet activity. Remember you must go through their servers first to reach any proxy server you may be using. This is no different than your telephone company(they keep track of all calls from your phone# in a similar manner). The prime difference is how long your ISP decides to keep this vast amount of information(and whether they want to "share" it with anyone). I imagine that it isn&#39;t kept for to long due to the need for the space. But, this is continually changing as hardware costs drop.
Frankly, encryption is the future of P2P. My ISP, the government, the RIAA, whoever, can monitor me, but so long as it is encrypted, they won&#39;t know what I&#39;m trading.

[toddiscool]

I have I got a few things to say on the subject aswell, my first being a ironic point, we are bitching about companies trying to stop us from stealing their software. I mean be honest we are down right jacking the shit, but until they stop us we are gonna do it. We rationalize by saying we are not making money, it is stealing. Atleast be able to admit that we ar no better than a common theif that robs a electronics beautique.
The problem with the companies is that they are trying to catch the people that actually buy the stuff then share it. The real problem is me, I have not bought anything, software or music wise in a few years now.
I am not lecturing becuae I am the same as everyone else i just think it is pretty bad that we are bitching about companies trying to stop us from jacking their shit.
About privacy, that could be problem for some of you out there, I am canadian and our rights are actually protected so I am not worried about it.

I say if we are gonna do it they can try and stop us. Until then happy downloading, and keep sharing.

[dave]

Originally posted by harrycary+5 March 2003 - 06:27--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (harrycary @ 5 March 2003 - 06:27)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--dave@26 February 2003 - 23:10
Well, I&#39;d like to add my 2 cents (I know a lot about privacy, or think I do). To hide your IP address from other users go to the options menu. Under the Firewall tab, configure your copy of Kazaa Lite or K++ to use a privacy SOCKS5 proxy. This will hide your true IP from the downloader. Beware however, it will slow down your transfers.
If you are truly paranoid (after reading the articles, I&#39;m sure more of you are), you could switch over to Filetopia (http://www.filetopia.com). This uses strong encryption to hide your activities from even your own ISP&#33; Make sure you configure Filetopia to use a SOCKS or HTTP proxy, and switch the encryption algorithm from Rijndael to 256-Bit Twofish or 448-Bit Blowfish (I don&#39;t fully trust Rijndael). That way your IP will be hidden from the RIAA/MPAA, and your activities will be hidden from your own ISP&#33;
Although I agree you can hide your IP address from other users, it is impossible to hide your internet activities from your ISP. It&#39;s inane to think such a thing is possible.
Your ISP monitors all of your internet activity. Remember you must go through their servers first to reach any proxy server you may be using. This is no different than your telephone company(they keep track of all calls from your phone# in a similar manner). The prime difference is how long your ISP decides to keep this vast amount of information(and whether they want to "share" it with anyone). I imagine that it isn&#39;t kept for to long due to the need for the space. But, this is continually changing as hardware costs drop.
Frankly, encryption is the future of P2P. My ISP, the government, the RIAA, whoever, can monitor me, but so long as it is encrypted, they won&#39;t know what I&#39;m trading. [/b][/quote]
That was what I was trying to say. When you use filetopia, it encrypts all data that goes across the network. That will stop your ISP from reading it.

[J'Pol]

In the UK, if you encrypt data in such a way that even your ISP cant read it, it is a seriously good way to draw attention to yourself. They may even decide to inform the authorities. Particularly with everyone so paranoid about terrorism etc. They may be forced to hand over the encrypted data and provide your personal details. You really don&#39;t want this to happen. At the very least they may cut you off to protect their own position.

Please don&#39;t kid yourself. You will not be able to encrypt in such a way that it will not be able to be opened. They may not even bother, they may just come and talk to you instead. Or indeed your parents. Incidentally if they are forced to hand over the data and they have a key for it, they will also be obliged to hand that over as well.

If your ISP is currently monitoring your traffic and isn&#39;t complaining about it then why do something to rock the boat.

[SolidWing68]

damn uk man, they have a problem with everything

[dave]

Originally posted by JmiF@5 March 2003 - 13:11
In the UK, if you encrypt data in such a way that even your ISP cant read it, it is a seriously good way to draw attention to yourself. They may even decide to inform the authorities. Particularly with everyone so paranoid about terrorism etc. They may be forced to hand over the encrypted data and provide your personal details. You really don&#39;t want this to happen. At the very least they may cut you off to protect their own position.

Please don&#39;t kid yourself. You will not be able to encrypt in such a way that it will not be able to be opened. They may not even bother, they may just come and talk to you instead. Or indeed your parents. Incidentally if they are forced to hand over the data and they have a key for it, they will also be obliged to hand that over as well.

If your ISP is currently monitoring your traffic and isn&#39;t complaining about it then why do something to rock the boat.
Yeah. I know about the UK law. Sucks don&#39;t it? I&#39;m glad I&#39;m in America. It may draw attention to you, but it is officially legal here. I read that in England there is legislation (or propoped legislation, I&#39;m not sure which) that states that if you send an encrypted file and refuse to give the government the key, they can give you an automatic 2 year prison sentence. Proud to be an American.
Also, it is possible to stop your ISP/ Government from reading your encrypted traffic. Because if you use public key cryptography the ISP will not have a decrypted copy of the secret key. Just do a google search for asymmetric encryption. There are many encryption algorithms out there that have been studied by professionals for years without finding any cracks... See Blowfish, etc.

[reddevs]

[I read that in England there is legislation (or propoped legislation, I&#39;m not sure which) that states that if you send an encrypted file and refuse to give the government the key, they can give you an automatic 2 year prison sentence. Proud to be an American.
]

Dave, no offence is intended here,but, if i lived in a country that recently suffered a huge terrorist incident i wouldnt brag about the fact that terrorists are able to encrypt any information they send over the internet without fear of recrimination.
If you need to encrypt it for fear of Congress or RIAA/MPAA, perhaps its not so wise to be "proud"

[dave]

Originally posted by reddevs@7 March 2003 - 19:57
[I read that in England there is legislation (or propoped legislation, I&#39;m not sure which) that states that if you send an encrypted file and refuse to give the government the key, they can give you an automatic 2 year prison sentence. Proud to be an American.
]

Dave, no offence is intended here,but, if i lived in a country that recently suffered a huge terrorist incident i wouldnt brag about the fact that terrorists are able to encrypt any information they send over the internet without fear of recrimination.
If you need to encrypt it for fear of Congress or RIAA/MPAA, perhaps its not so wise to be "proud"
I fully understand your argument, but I&#39;ll put it like this.

Point 1) The terrorists would (and still do) use encryption whether it is illegal or not. Laws don&#39;t apply to criminals, only to innocent people. If we were to ban strong crypto just because of the terrorist attack, then we are living in fear, and the terrorists have won.

Point 2) As the saying goes (I believe it was Ben Franklin who said it) "Those who would give up a little freedom for safety deserve neither freedom nor safety".

I prefer freedom. I don&#39;t want a group of terrorists telling me I have no right to security.

[Skillian]

It is not illegal to use encryption in the UK (AFAIK), but you must hand over the key if the authorities require you to.

I&#39;m pretty sure if someone suspected of terrorism used encryption in the USA, the authorities would also require them to reveal the key (or just braek the encryption themselves). Not really much difference.

[dave]

Originally posted by Skillian@7 March 2003 - 20:42
It is not illegal to use encryption in the UK (AFAIK), but you must hand over the key if the authorities require you to.

I&#39;m pretty sure if someone suspected of terrorism used encryption in the USA, the authorities would also require them to reveal the key (or just braek the encryption themselves). Not really much difference.
What if the terrorists, etc. were using a form of encryption the government couldn&#39;t break?

[Ron]

I don&#39;t think an unbreakable code exists...

[Skillian]

What if the terrorists, etc. were using a form of encryption the government couldn&#39;t break?

If even one existed, the same would apply in the UK. Just because the authorities can ask them to hand over the key, it doesn&#39;t mean they would.

[dave]

Originally posted by Ron@7 March 2003 - 21:07
I don&#39;t think an unbreakable code exists...
No "unbreakable" code exists... However, I can tell you that Blowfish hasn&#39;t been broken (well, all the security companies in the USA have failed to break it... not certain about the underground military labs...).

[zolaisugly]

in my humble and limited knowledege i would say that the companies would not go after the user&#39;s as there is too many rather they go for the networks as once these are shut down then file sharing will slowly come to an end look at napster or audio galaxy they exist but you have to pay..by forcing file sharing networks down this route many will stop as the user&#39;s do not want to pay or they will go underground as it were....(not sure what that last bit is meant to say or mean but it sounded good).

as i said this my humble opion on the matter

but for now download while you can if u get caught deny everything LOLOLOL :lol:

[sArA]

The Uk law you are refering to is the &#39;Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act&#39; and is in operation already.

There are two key points to be aware of, although no major test cases have happened yet as far as I am aware.

1. You must provide the key to the authorities if requested and if you refuse you can get up to 2 years in prison.

2. If for example you work for someone, and the authorities make you give up the key so they can read their encrypted messages, if you tell them that their encryption is no longer secure you can be put into prison for up to 5 years&#33;&#33;&#33; Yep.....5.....long.....years.

[J'Pol]

Originally posted by sara5564@8 March 2003 - 05:38
The Uk law you are refering to is the &#39;Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act&#39; and is in operation already.

There are two key points to be aware of, although no major test cases have happened yet as far as I am aware.

1. You must provide the key to the authorities if requested and if you refuse you can get up to 2 years in prison.

2. If for example you work for someone, and the authorities make you give up the key so they can read their encrypted messages, if you tell them that their encryption is no longer secure you can be put into prison for up to 5 years&#33;&#33;&#33; Yep.....5.....long.....years.
Sorry to be a pedant, but that act doesn&#39;t cover Scotland, where there is Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act. As you called it a UK Act people may have thought it covered the whole of the UK.