Staying Anonymous with Torrents

[camgaertner]

After reading this thread

http://www.cometforums.com/topic/12794868-btguard/page__pid__62863__st__0entry62863

I feel somewhat like a moron. I purchased a month of Btguard's services only to find out that they slow out torrent download by a lot, and they do not keep you completely anonymous.

I was wondering if anyone knew any alternatives to using a proxy through uTorrent? I simply want to download with my regular speed, anonymously. I wouldn't worry about being anonymous so much if it weren't for the 3 letters I received (at once) entitled "Notice of Claim of Copyright Infringement". I suspect that the movie production companies snagged my IP address from the peer list on the movie torrents.

Also, I've heard about Usenet, but I wasn't too sure about its anonymity. Can anyone of you suggest alternatives that can keep me from getting in trouble with my ISP? I'd much like to continue downloading.

Edited July 14, 2011 by greywizard (see edit history)

[The UnUsual Suspect]

BitComet has a new feature we've added to our VIP service called Anonymous Download. it will prevent any direct connections to bittorrent trackers or peers. Although it's currently in Beta Testing, all users with an active VIP account have access to it.

I am working on a FAQ list that will probably answer most of your questions, but when fully stable, it will maximize your download speed and keep you anonymous, where other services offered give you only partially anonymous downloading, and usually reduce speeds, often considerably.

Look in our VIP section for more details

[camgaertner]

BitComet has a new feature we've added to our VIP service called Anonymous Download. it will prevent any direct connections to bittorrent trackers or peers. Although it's currently in Beta Testing, all uses with an active VIP account have access to it.

I am working on a FAQ list that will probably answer most of your questions, but when fully stable, it will maximize your download speed and keep you anonymous, where other services offered give you only partially anonymous downloading, and usually reduce speeds, often considerably.

Look in our VIP section for more details

That sounds pretty cool. I'm curious as to how it will be able to do this. I'll look into it, thanks for the information.

[The UnUsual Suspect]

The FAQs explain exactly how this is done. There is also an article on torrentfreak that was posted when we first begun beta testing, but to sum it up, your tasks are downloaded on a remote highspeed VIP server, then sent direct to you, so your only connection is to our VIP server.

[greywizard]

The main complaint about BTGuard, in that thread, was that it seemed to claim that they don't support incoming connections on their service and what's more they told you that you didn't needed them.

As far as privacy goes, if the connection between you and them is encrypted, you ARE safe (as long as they don't keep logs).

I haven't tested them, so I can't say how well or badly the service works with BitTorrent.

Other similar services, designed with P2P in mind are IPredator and HideMyTorrent. AFAIK they allow incoming connections but I haven't used them, so I can't vouch for that.

Usenet is pretty safe, if you purchase an account that benefits of encryption, as well.

[camgaertner]

The main complaint about BTGuard, in that thread, was that it seemed to claim that they don't support incoming connections on their service and what's more they told you that you didn't needed them.

As far as privacy goes, if the connection between you and them is encrypted, you ARE safe (as long as they don't keep logs).

I haven't tested them, so I can't say how well or badly the service works with BitTorrent.

Other similar services, designed with P2P in mind are IPredator and HideMyTorrent. AFAIK they allow incoming connections but I haven't used them, so I can't vouch for that.

Usenet is pretty safe, if you purchase an account that benefits of encryption, as well.

Does Usenet have a wide selection like torrents? And how much does it usually cost for everything per year?

[The UnUsual Suspect]

I think 60 to 80% of p2p is bittorrent, and usenet is probably less then 5% You won't get the same selection, but you may find it easier to get less popular releases, as unpopular stuff tends to vanish from public torrents.

I'd consider giganews if you want a leeching account. It works on the same principal, direct downloads with a subscription fee.

I'd also consider joining a good private tracker. As long as your eager to share (seed) their torrents, you can get all the latest releases at fastest speeds and much more secure, although not anonymous. You also won't have to worry about fake torrents anymore.

I made a post in the lounge about a friends site "galactic central". If you want to join but invite is required, let me know and I'll send you one. They sometimes open registration to the public, so I post in the lounge when they do.

[camgaertner]

I think 60 to 80% of p2p is bittorrent, and usenet is probably less then 5% You won't get the same selection, but you may find it easier to get less popular releases, as unpopular stuff tends to vanish from public torrents.

I'd consider giganews if you want a leeching account. It works on the same principal, direct downloads with a subscription fee.

I'd also consider joining a good private tracker. As long as your eager to share (seed) their torrents, you can get all the latest releases at fastest speeds and much more secure, although not anonymous. You also won't have to worry about fake torrents anymore.

I made a post in the lounge about a friends site "galactic central". If you want to join but invite is required, let me know and I'll send you one. They sometimes open registration to the public, so I post in the lounge when they do.

Sorry for the late reply.

But I don't think I'll be wanting membership to a private torrent site. I still feel production companies can monitor these torrents though. Are seedboxes efficient for downloading torrents anonymously? Do they cost a lot?

[kluelos]

The problem has never been identifying people. For the MPAA, this is the classic "target-rich environment". It is not at all the lack of potential people identified as file-sharers, that holds the MPAA back. If anything, they've got far too many.

If I were them, I'd just get a private account, download a few dozen torrents from TPB or Isohunt, hop aboard, and harvest thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of IP addresses in a couple days, of the swarms on those torrents.

It's not a problem. In fact, assume they've already got you on a list somewhere. Along with a few million other folks.

The problem is what to do about it. So far, the only thing the MPAA can effectively do is threaten and bluster. Legally, they haven't done well at all. All of this has been in the news, so you may want to follow up on that.

Generally, anonymity is not possibly. If that's what you're looking for, you'll find it on the same road that leads to El Dorado. Seed boxes won't get you there either.