How People Are Tracked Using BitTorrent
Being tracked by anti-piracy organizations and receiving infringement notices on file-sharing networks is becoming more common. A security project manager has just released a short video showing how it’s done.
A common question from BitTorrent users is how anti-p2p outfits trace and trace file-sharers in order to send infringement notices. We’ve reported on one technique in the past and now, thanks to Dan Morrill, a Security Project Manager with VMC Consulting in Redmond Washington, we have a short video illustrating another basic technique which is easy to understand.
Dan’s example involves him downloading a large file with the popular Azureus client, while giving a commentary on the various types of information offered by the client, a brief overview of how BitTorrent works, how it’s possible to be tracked and how the gathered information could be processed. He also touches on anonymity and the use of blocklists.
A popular piece of IP blocking software is Peerguardian, which can be downloaded at Phoenix Labs, with the blocklists available from Bluetack. Users seeking anonymity can achieve this by using a free proxy server but in reality, most don’t offer performance anywhere near good enough for BitTorrent. VPN services such as VPNTunnel aren’t free but they’re reliable and generally protect users from the techniques shown in the video.
Just one criticism; Dan states towards the end of the video that if you don’t use blocklists you are almost guaranteed to be ‘nabbed’. The majority of people don’t use blocklists and the majority of those are not getting ‘nabbed’.
Indeed, most of the cases we hear of from the United States are people who don’t use BitTorrent at all. On the other hand, blocklists mostly offer pseudo-security, since there’s no guarantee that you are not tracked while using them.
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:source: Source: http://torrentfreak.com/video-how-pe...orrent-080114/
Re: How People Are Tracked Using BitTorrent
I would like to add that IP's are transfered through the entire swarm.
There is no need for "them" to be able to connect to you directly to get your IP address.
In all reality blacklist are more about feeling safe then actually being safe.
Re: How People Are Tracked Using BitTorrent
This isn't news. This is common knowledge. I though I would learn something new. :(
"In all reality blacklist are more about feeling safe then actually being safe."
You cannot get prosecuted if a peer sends a your IP address to an anti-p2p client. As the EFF already said, you cannot get sued for the intention to share. They need concrete evidence. So if these blocklists live up to their name, then you are wrong.
Notice that statement was conditional. You may actually be right, but wouldn't be right for that reason.
Re: How People Are Tracked Using BitTorrent
Just to let everyone know that after I saw this video, I decided to watch my download from piratebay today, and to my dismay I saw hollandhart.com uploading files. I was kind've nervous at this point. I looked them up and they are a law firm. I just got off and discarded the file, not even 10% in on the download.I'm Not if that meant anything. After that I learned that I will not be downloading off any public torrent sites again. Beware!
