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...:::::*rav009's Bit Torrent Safety & Privacy Guide*:::::...(NEW!!)
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AfterDawn Addict
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21. November 2006 @ 05:50 |
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Well that's your choice. If your getting bad pre releases it cos your downloading dodgy torrents etc. Yay for PUKKA!! (If you don't know, don't ask!)
Anyway, that's not rly relevant to this thread, now, is it?
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Senior Member
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21. November 2006 @ 06:33 |
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What Ripper said^
Its not really relevant to this topic, that's precisely why I didn't reply..now its even worse :-p
*Back on topic*
Glad the guide helped ya fellas.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. November 2006 @ 09:12
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nasman
Newbie
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28. November 2006 @ 03:36 |
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Hi Guys,
Rav009 that was a really good guide...but one bit of advice needed...how do you do this with Bit Tornado? What do you think of Bit Tornado?
Thanks,
Nasman
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Senior Member
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28. November 2006 @ 04:39 |
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Hi nasman,
Glad it helped you, I'm personally not familiar with Bit Tornado, used it just once way back in the day (at the time it didn't have MSE or PE) your best bet is "Googling" it.
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Xplorer4
Senior Member
4 product reviews
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6. December 2006 @ 02:01 |
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Originally posted by nasman:
Hi Guys,
Rav009 that was a really good guide...but one bit of advice needed...how do you do this with Bit Tornado? What do you think of Bit Tornado?
Thanks,
Nasman
I'm not familiar with the client from personal use but I know it is banned on alot of private trackers for things like not respecting the private flag on the torrents to keep it being shared to people outside the tracker. It also pounds the tracker with stats updates causing alot of stress on the server and a few other things.
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ddp
Moderator
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6. December 2006 @ 06:55 |
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post deleted
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nm07901
Newbie
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7. December 2006 @ 12:40 |
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RAV,
I'd like to thank you for this excellent, and understandable, thread.
I recently subscribed to the Findnot service, and found my downloading speeds reduced by 80-90%. In fact some torrents were disappearing before I was able to complete my downloads.
I just followed your suggested tweak of Azureus, now I'm off to get PG2...hopefully that'll be as easy to configure as Azureus was.
One quick, (and stupid), question:
My understanding of PG2 is that it bans IP addresses that might cause problems with MPAA, etc. How do I keep this list updated?
Where do I get the most current lists?
Again many thanks for your advisory. As you can tell I'm new to this stuff...it's good to read something that I can actually understand, and implement.
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Xplorer4
Senior Member
4 product reviews
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7. December 2006 @ 13:58 |
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Originally posted by nm07901:
One quick, (and stupid), question:
My understanding of PG2 is that it bans IP addresses that might cause problems with MPAA, etc. How do I keep this list updated?
Where do I get the most current lists?
Again many thanks for your advisory. As you can tell I'm new to this stuff...it's good to read something that I can actually understand, and implement.
They update them selves and they are included in PG2 automatically.
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nasman
Newbie
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16. December 2006 @ 10:57 |
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Hi Rav009,
I have been trying to access the bluetack site for Protowall but can't connect at all...any ideas....as I really would like to get protected.
Thanks,
Nasman
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xhardc0re
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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22. December 2006 @ 20:02 |
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@rav009: thanks for the guide, any chance us end users can protect against the onslaught of spyware or adware is appreciated!
I've been using PG/Protowall for about 3 yrs but recently switched to only blocking using the HOSTS file. While it's not as up to date as PG/Protowall, it doesn't slow down the computer one bit & is only a little slow in going to websites. Lots of established spyware sites are now blocked; most sites other than important cookie sites (Amazon being one of them) are also blocked.
HOSTS is one of the most powerful ways to protect yourself, from MPAA/RIAA just as much as spyware/adware/phishing. The more ppl that learn about HOSTS, the better. It's impossible to spoof the HOSTS file if someone knows how to use it properly. Keeping it updated (because new sites appear every second) is the only problem compared to PG/Protowall.
I have a question about blocking Adult sites. Has anyone found a good list of IP/DNS they can insert into their HOSTS file? I was looking for a list by Stephen Martin but his site is offline.
if you're a college student, do NOT settle with the RIAA http://tinyurl.com/37oz2z
~ SlimPS2 v15US, PSP v3.60FW, TaiyoYuden DVD-R, SwapMagic_v3.6 & BreakerPro 1.1 (No mod)
Writer: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4080N 0G03 SW: DVDDecrypt*r,
lastest Nero Ultra 7 & Alcohol 120% ~ This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22. December 2006 @ 20:56
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AZeyC
Newbie
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6. January 2007 @ 08:41 |
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EXCELLENT POST!
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Senior Member
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7. January 2007 @ 02:56 |
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Thank you^ :-D
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nm07901
Newbie
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11. January 2007 @ 16:55 |
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I'm still new enough to this stuff to be paranoid as hell. What is "HOSTS" ? Can it be used in concert with PG2 ? How is it updated ?
Thanks
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Xplorer4
Senior Member
4 product reviews
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11. January 2007 @ 17:08 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11. January 2007 @ 19:32
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xhardc0re
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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14. January 2007 @ 04:16 |
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OK, a bit of explaining about HOSTS.
Every computer has a HOSTS file (yes, Win/MAC/Linux/Unix/FreeBSD all have it!!) and your computer can operate using DNS services or without. By default, Windows has a Service running called DNS Client. What that does is whenever you need to access a website, it will look to your ISP's server to see if a website exists. Complicated things follow, but I will spare you that.
By turning the DNS Client OFF, and instead using a HOSTS file, you can filter sites that you don't want from your computer.
I suggest you visit wikipedia or another site that explains it in simple terms. SCHOOL yourself. Because learning how HOSTS works, and using the right anti-spyware/firewall/anti-virus, you can be 99% more secure than the average Windoze user.
you can grab a custom HOSTS blocklist from either MVPS.org or BlueTack.co.uk. Both of them contain thousands of known spyware/adware/pr0n sites that you won't be connecting to by mistake anymore ;)
if you're a college student, do NOT settle with the RIAA http://tinyurl.com/37oz2z
~ SlimPS2 v15US, PSP v3.60FW, TaiyoYuden DVD-R, SwapMagic_v3.6 & BreakerPro 1.1 (No mod)
Writer: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4080N 0G03 SW: DVDDecrypt*r,
lastest Nero Ultra 7 & Alcohol 120% ~ This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 3. March 2007 @ 10:19
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Senior Member
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20. February 2007 @ 22:40 |
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@Rav009...very useful...easy to understand...and thorough...Nice Job...
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Senior Member
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7. March 2007 @ 06:04 |
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Thanks :-D
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MaXeEmOe
Newbie
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9. March 2007 @ 15:21 |
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Senior Member
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13. March 2007 @ 04:44 |
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i have one extra box to tick or not to tick. which is the safest way to set this up.
quote>>>
4. You can choose to tick the ?Allow non-encrypted outgoing connections if encrypted connection attempt fails? box.
This will ensure compatibility with clients that are not using encryption.
However, it makes it easier for your ISP to detect Bit Torrent traffic. Its recommend that you try to tick this box first. If you are still not getting proper speeds untick it.
why would i want to make it easier for my isp to detect my torrents
if i leave this Transport Encryption
box blank am i safer or more at risk of getting busted .. thanks
 I AM A DUMPSTER DIVER AND PROUD OF IT..
Reach Down & Grab it Or Walk in & Get Some !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!} This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. March 2007 @ 04:54
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Member
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19. April 2007 @ 15:44 |
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this sound stupid but I just wanna make sure. :D How do you download the lists manually? Do you just go to "List Manager" and just press add? Then what? I'll copy the url of the block site of Phoenix labs?
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Shyeh
Newbie
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22. April 2007 @ 18:31 |
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Just a quick one, which program is good to use to dl torrents? I use BitLord, could someone suggest a preferred program and why. Thanks heaps.
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Xplorer4
Senior Member
4 product reviews
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22. April 2007 @ 19:34 |
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Originally posted by Shyeh:
Just a quick one, which program is good to use to dl torrents? I use BitLord, could someone suggest a preferred program and why. Thanks heaps.
Azureus. Heavy on system resources but tons of features.
I do not recommend uTorrent because of a recent buy out by an MPAA henchman(to make a long story shot).
You may look into ABC though, but Azureus is more widely used and accepted especially in the private tracker community.
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Shyeh
Newbie
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23. April 2007 @ 17:27 |
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Thanks heaps for that Xplorer4. I heard Utorrent is good to use and Azures is to complicated but I'll dl Azures and see how that performs and keep my posts updated on the progress.
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Member
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23. April 2007 @ 20:26 |
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uTorrent is really GOOD! check out DVD's guide
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tencows
Newbie
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14. July 2007 @ 00:30 |
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I'm a bit skeptical about these tactics actually helping you much. Encryption prevents someone on your path listening in on what you're up to, ie your ISP. Which would be fine, except that's probably not how the authorities track p2p users - pinpointing each user individually and tracking them through ISP cooperation would be a monumental, impossible task. Much more logical is that they simply connect to the same downloads and just keep a list of all the peers providing them the data. Do this all the time, 24/7, at numerous sites, and they can quite quickly build a database of the top downloaders. You only need to track, say, 1000 or so of the most popular downloads (recent films, album releases, etc) to probably effectively track over 90% of everyone. Then just take the top users, send scary letters, confiscate computers, etc. Why get the ISP involved? It's just annoying paperwork and bad press.
As for IP filters (peer guardian, hosts file, firewalls, etc), I _really_ question the plausibility of people actually being able to figure out all, or even a small chunk of, the IPs used by the various authorities (MPAA, RIAA, BSA, police, etc). It's absolutely trivial to get a massive pool of IPs and use them totally randomly, and even to change them all at a moments notice, with even just a little cooperation from any ISP or IP registry. Hell, you don't even need their cooperation, and they don't even need to know what you're up to.
I'd guess these lists are mostly gathered from IP registries, dns records, whois, the occasional "informer" and such, which probably means everyone's filtering out the public corporate networks of various governmental organizations, RIAA, MPAA, etc. Call me crazy, but somehow I figure they'd use a dedicated network segment for the sniffing activities, one that isn't registered in any public database, or is registered under some bs name. Another simple alternative would be to use various hosting providers (you know, one of those 10,000 get-your-own-server-for-5-bucks-a-month companies) and just recycle them every month or two. This would allow you to get IPs from _anywhere_ in the world.
It's just so trivial, if you have any resources at all, to acquire completely random IPs, that only one or two network admins would need to even know about, that I would quite stunned if the police and other organizations didn't use such methods for their warez/kiddie porn/whatever tracking activities.
If nothing else, isn't it obvious that the authorities read these guides and would thus take the very simple measures required to render them invalid? They are people too, who know how to use the inntarnet, download warez in their private life, have children who download warez, work at companies that have network admins who know this stuff inside out, etc.
Besides simply living somewhere where downloading copyrighted material isn't illegal/punishable, or simply not downloading at all, I'd say your best bet to staying off the authority radar is to stick to older and less popular material.
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