I recently got a letter from my IP noting a few files I had downloaded in the last six months...it was the typical, "stop doing this." However, what I can't seem to shake is the feeling that there might be software on my computer or something facilitating this tracking, because I've been downloading files for over ten years and then all of a sudden within the last six months seven of my files were tracked? I can't imagine everyone has stepped up their game THAT much. There was a movie, a couple HBO episodes (God that was DUMB; HBO has a reputation for tracking), a document, and a music album, so it wasn't all just one type of file. I also remember going through my computer about a year ago and finding tracker-like software on it which I deleted. I should also note that I've downloaded less files in the last year than I used to download per month. It's just weird to me. Every single file is tracked by the same companies in the same order: ;Infringement xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.movielabs.com/ACNS http://www.movielabs.com/ACNS/ACNS2v1.xsd" xmlns="http://www.movielabs.com/ACNS" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"> . It's just too perfect. I'm thinking spyware. Thoughts?
Your ISP is just playing games with you! Between 4 and 5 years ago all the ISPs bought software that logs all torrent downloads into a database they know more about what you did than you do. They have a complete record of everything you did. You just didn't down load enough for them to bother you. Now that the big downloaders quit torrents anymore they have finally gotten down to you.
You might very well have a bot-net on your computer but that would be for tracking your downloads. They know EXACTLY what you are doing because you download the files through them. I say quit while you are ahead.
There are also freelance companies that gather data for the media like Sony. I assure you Sony also knows how much you have downloaded. They get that from you torrent client. If you ever used peerblock or peer guardian would would have seen all the nasties trying to get into your computer to see what you were doing. When I was doing it there were more than one attack per second. Since you probably weren't blocking them, all the media and half the countries of the world know EXACTLY what you were doing.
I sure you think you have it under control but that have you instead.
Keep in mind the sources for all of your downloads. trackers? rapidshare? ??? if it was all the same source you could point a finger at that.
I do not agree with the bot-net idea, they are used by criminal hackers (for lack of a better term) not media companies.
My opinion is that maybe you downloaded enough material that freelancers (mez is right about that one) have kept an eye for your IP over others.
If you are really worried about it reinstall fresh, get a firewall (optional - peerblock or peergaurdian) and change your sources. See Ya.
You need both a good firewall and a blocker. mrslicker why do you think a blocker is not necessary? Your torrent client posts your download stats outside the firewall. The blocker keeps the monitors from getting your total up and download stats. Once your stats cross a threshold, apps start attacking your computer. They block your port, take down your blocker ect. They probably check out your inventory as well.
Your ISP doesn't need to do any of that since they can read every packet they send to you. They DO read your torrent packets and log what you do. It is an application all ISPs have. It can throttle you as well. If your ISP throttles you port forwarding will not help. Port forwarding only helps if third parties are blocking your port. I know more than one person that got a letters that came with a complete listing of the movie name, how big it was, the start and stop times. That was when they just started doing it, now they are smarter and only give you a few facts.
Originally posted by Mez: You need both a good firewall and a blocker. mrslicker why do you think a blocker is not necessary? Your torrent client posts your download stats outside the firewall. The blocker keeps the monitors from getting your total up and download stats. Once your stats cross a threshold, apps start attacking your computer. They block your port, take down your blocker ect. They probably check out your inventory as well.
Your ISP doesn't need to do any of that since they can read every packet they send to you. They DO read your torrent packets and log what you do. It is an application all ISPs have. It can throttle you as well. If your ISP throttles you port forwarding will not help. Port forwarding only helps if third parties are blocking your port. I know more than one person that got a letters that came with a complete listing of the movie name, how big it was, the start and stop times. That was when they just started doing it, now they are smarter and only give you a few facts.
ok I'm confused. who takes down the blocker? I thought a blocker was supposed to prevent apps from attacking the computer in the first place...can you explain what you meant? I'm kinda a newbie at some of these terms...what is port forwarding?
mez- some people think a blocker is snake oil. with more paranoid configurations, ive heard estimates that 20 or 30 percent of all internet addresses are blocked. surely not all of these locations care about people's downloading habits. (also, What threshold? what kind of applications?) i *believe* "they" cannot block your port, unless they are your ISP. google, for instance, cannot block my web port. (except block me from connecting to google) taking down a blocker that is on a remote machine sounds like unauthorized access, ie criminal hacking. a media defense company would try to stay away from that. as far as the listing of movie data, metadata or file attributes are common.
Katia - The combo of a good firewall with a blocker will keep a lot of baddies from connecting to you (and keep you from connecting to them as well) -if the ip address is on the blockers blocklist , sometimes though it will block "innocent" sites or addresses. a blocker does not prevent apps from "attacking a computer" in the first place. i would say it keeps a connection from going through/finalizing, so no actual data is sent to an untrusted source. Also, ports are kind of doorways for connections for network use and port forwarding opens a port at the router/modem for computer on the network to use, for like gaming and stuff. or any service that needs it.
Well blockers they aren't snake oil. They block the public area on the other side of your fire walls where your torrent client puts your stats so trackers can tell if your ratio is good. Firewalls are at least as much snake oil as the blockers. Firewalls surely all have back doors and the media has those pass words/keys. Even your encrypters have back doors. I played a game with email security. I encrypted a text file and emailed it. Then I did the same with an old DOS zip utility. I could not send that file by email because the security could not open the file to see what was inside so it was rejected as unsafe.
I do not think blocker keep you as safe as we would like. When they add 10-20 new sites every day you know some are getting in before you get them on your block list. All they need is to read your client stats once an month and you are screwed. What I used to do is uninstall and reinstall the client so they probably lose track of some of my work.
I like blockers as much to see who is trying to get in and how often they try. Without them you live in a vacuum not realizing 10,000 times a day a hoard of anti P2P utilities try to learn what you are doing.
its pretty obvious (to me, at least) that if the connection to or from an IP address is blocked by your blocker, then the address that is refused will know your address also, because the *baddies* are probably keeping logs of it.
firewalls are a proven method for internet security, and can be made according to the rules of the owner or admin, not some vague list complied by some random person. the vague list IS the case when thinking abt blockers though.
what about open source firewalls? why wouldnt the back doors be closed by someone who noticed it?
client stats from your program? idk clear the cache or something.
You said: "I like blockers as much to see who is trying to get in and how often they try." -thats fine, i cant argue with that
--the more i know, the more i realize i dont know anything.--
