My ISP is really cracking down. Can I do anything about it?

So my ISP has shut off my internet twice accusing me of downloading copyrighted files. in one case, it was a PC game. In the other instance, it was an episode of a television show. Their message indicated to me that the copyright holders are patrolling the bittorrents and that they are the ones who reported my downloading of these files.

Does anyone know if it is possible to circumvent this problem or to download anonymously without being tracked? If I get caught downloading one more time, my ISP will shut me off, because they have a three-strikes and you're out policy.

By the way, I use Azureus as my client.

change isp ;)

There is an option to enable encryption, (dunno where it's located in Azureus), that might help...

Changing ISP's would probably be a good option as well, if available.

Which ISP is it?

and which trackers are you using? public and/or private?

As others have said if you have the option to change isp then do it, it's the best option imo

More than likely hes using public sites or some very easy to get in private sites (Open signup sites with a large number of users.)

Cox is my ISP. I have never gotten in trouble with them over music. I've gotten enormous amounts of music without any problem, but when it comes to games or TV shows, that's where I get "caught." Though I have been using bit torrents for many months (and gnutella for even longer), I have gotten all of my downloads from public sites such as btjunkie.com. I am honestly not familiar with private trackers. Can anyone fill me in on what private trackers are, and what the advantages are? I know it's kind of simple, but apparently my many months of using Azureus are not enough experience...

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Originally Posted by jesusf65an

...I have gotten all of my downloads from public sites such as btjunkie.com. I am honestly not familiar with private trackers. Can anyone fill me in on what private trackers are, and what the advantages are? I know it's kind of simple, but apparently my many months of using Azureus are not enough experience...

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The short answer is, because they're smaller, they don't attract the RIAA/MPAA's attention as much. Some private trackers have higher speeds than the public trackers.

See more answers in this thread.

Some private trackers have higher speeds than the public trackers...........
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well i would say in 95% private trackers have betters peeds then open ones

cox eh.... in the United states? and what state if you dont mind

So pretty much, I just need a more lenient ISP? Is it enough to simply change the download name of the file before it's dropped onto my computer? Also, does anyone know how the MPAA or whatever actually patrols bit torrent downloads or how they can even do that?

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Originally Posted by jesusf65an

So pretty much, I just need a more lenient ISP? Is it enough to simply change the download name of the file before it's dropped onto my computer? Also, does anyone know how the MPAA or whatever actually patrols bit torrent downloads or how they can even do that?

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It's how bittorrent works - the tracker will publish your IP to all the clients that are sharing the pieces of the files you're downloading. Even if you change the filename of the torrent, the content will stay the same so they can still catch you. Basically the MPAA gets your IP from the tracker, then sends a letter to your ISP to track the IP to you.

Private trackers, like I said before, are less susceptible to MPAA monitoring, but are still somewhat vulnerable because of the nature of bittorrent. If you want to be completely safe, download from usenet/newsgroups. (See the newsgroup section here on FST)

does anyone else use Peer Guardian 2. i use it and i'm always amazed at how many "big brother" IPs it blocks. especially when i download really popular torrents (like the illusionist for example). it may not be a bulletproof solution but i'm sure it helps.

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Originally Posted by jesusf65an

Cox is my ISP. I have never gotten in trouble with them over music. I've gotten enormous amounts of music without any problem, but when it comes to games or TV shows, that's where I get "caught." Though I have been using bit torrents for many months (and gnutella for even longer), I have gotten all of my downloads from public sites such as btjunkie.com. I am honestly not familiar with private trackers. Can anyone fill me in on what private trackers are, and what the advantages are? I know it's kind of simple, but apparently my many months of using Azureus are not enough experience...

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Switch to private trackers for sure.

I couldn't help but have a wee chuckle at the name of your ISP Cox? Aye ditch them if you can, and remember about that encryption thing as well.

As someone else mentioned, Peerguardian2 wouldn't hurt as well.http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/9...lyroger6lg.gif

Right, everyone enough is enough GET COX OUT NOW!http://smilies.sofrayt.com/^/aiw/crazy.gif

What is a good bittorrent program with encryption? In addition to that, can I use PeerGuardian along with any of these bittorrent programs? Finally, will any "big brother" activity be able to detect that I'm using encryption and/or PeerGuardian2?

Utorrent has encryption, but so does Az at least I used to when I used it...

Also I should be clear, i think encryption only helps if your ISP is throttling BT traffic. So your ISP can't tell if it's BT traffic or not...therefore cannot throttle it. It won't stop people seeing your IP address when you connect to a torrent swarm.

Again I must emphasise the usage of Private trackers = better anonymity.

No one will know if you use PG2 it's purley an IP blocker.

Bittorrent client encryption is not designed to circumvent all the riaa/mpaa stuff. It's to avoid the throttling of torrent traffic by isps (aka as traffic shapping). It masks the torrent traffic as if it would be ordinary http traffic. Both utorrent and azureus have that feature.

I dont know how effective peerguardian is, but it sure doesnt hurt. And i use it all the time. You can also use ipfilters. They are very common in emule and you can enable them in utorrent (i dont know about other clients).

Obviously, you should stay away from public trackers. Well, thats the first thing. I dont think that your isp is the problem. You can have the same problems with any other isp.

I'm honestly having trouble enabling encryption in Azureus. Any tips? I'm using the latest version.

I have my connection maxed out 24/7 @ 1000KB/s off of TL. PeerGuardian will block 20-30 IP's per second and the hits never stop. I also have 13 of the 21 lists active just for the hell of it. I rarely browse with my download machine so I can afford to have my security settings very high. I'll get hit by Time Warner Telecom, Sony, MPAA, FBI, you name it.

I've been downloading off of torrents with Comcast for over 2 years now and I've never received a letter or warning.

Stay off of those public trackers whenever possible. The private ones are not 100% safe either but you're less likely to get spotted. Just get into a decent private tracker and keep PG active and cross your fingers.

How do I get involved with a private tracker? As you know, since I've been using public trackers for so long, some of this is pretty new to me. I just got PeerGuardian2. Where can I find blocklists?

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Originally Posted by jesusf65an

How do I get involved with a private tracker? As you know, since I've been using public trackers for so long, some of this is pretty new to me. I just got PeerGuardian2. Where can I find blocklists?

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Not sure what you mean by blocklists. Wait a few more weeks and then start hunting for TorrentLeech invites in the invite section. They are given away all the time and it's a good place for you to start.

I think he means IPfilters. I get mine from openmedia.info. Enough though I only have the basic version, it still blocks quite a lot of IPs from even the most private sites. :unsure:

Also if it has not been mentioned then disable DHT. When this is disabled people outside the tracker cannot see you or connect to you.

DHT? Is there an option for this in Azureus? I looked around in the options menu and found nothing.

Tools > Options > Connection
in Peer Sources, only check 'From a tracker', uncheck the other three options

Tools > Options > Plugins > Distributed DB
uncheck Enable the distributed database

Thanks.

Oh sugar cookies, I have cox. Trying to get FiOS, that should be way better.

Oh sugar cookies, I have cox. Trying to get FiOS, that should be way better.

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Originally Posted by deputysalty

Oh sugar cookies, I have cox. Trying to get FiOS, that should be way better.

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Verizon (parent of the FiOS service) also fights for the user's internet rights; which is good as they are almost protecting you from the MPAA/RIAA:D

If that's the case, then they probably won't give you a strike just because the MPAA says so. I think with Cox, they just want to be overly cautious so they don't have any risks. It does make them less desirable as an ISP. If I'd have known they would be this anal, I would have found someone else to carry me a long time ago. Anyway, the statistics are that one out of every four internet users regularly uses file-sharing of some type, so it's not like it's some rare thing out there.

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Originally Posted by jesusf65an

Anyway, the statistics are that one out of every four internet users regularly uses file-sharing of some type, so it's not like it's some rare thing out there.

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70% of all statistics are made up on the spot. :D

Touche!

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Originally Posted by aburyach

Verizon (parent of the FiOS service) also fights for the user's internet rights; which is good as they are almost protecting you from the MPAA/RIAA:D

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Fios is expensive, aint it? Verizon's DSL is cheap as crap though, very nice service too. I had it until I moved to a state that doesn't have it - having to switch to TimeWarner RoadRunner.

According to Verizon's website, Fios is free installation with a one-years contract and $50/month for the cheapest package.

Actually, there is a 40$/month 5 mbps down 2 mbps up package, which is better than Cox's at the same price.

sources: http://www22.verizon.com/content/con...and+prices.htm