Member of the Month

KilaTsunami
October, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

BitTorrent Tracking

profile picture
Bodhisattva
Posts: 878 - Karma: 138
So...today I got a letter from Comcast sent to my house threatening to end my families subscription for TV, Internet and whatnot. They said that they have tracked illegal movies that I have downloaded, such as Animal House. They said that Animal House was the movie that they tracked and I was just wondering how I can avoid this or if I should stop all together. I usually download the files, save them to iTunes, etc., then delete them from BitTorrent for that very reason. Can they track it if I do that? Animal House was left in my BitTorrent queue for about 3 weeks just because I forgot to delete it.
Jun 8 2011 4:10PM
0 0
profile picture
Emma_Watson
Posts: 4491 - Karma: 6,796
Are you seeding? I heard somewhere that if you sseed for awhile that you can be caught..
Jun 8 2011 4:47PM
0 0
profile picture
Emma_Watson
Posts: 4491 - Karma: 6,796
Are you seeding? I heard somewhere that if you sseed for awhile that you can be caught..
Jun 8 2011 4:47PM
0 0
profile picture
.Ian.
Posts: 1568 - Karma: 72
Honestly if I were you I'd just lay low for awhile. I mean, you can live without torrenting for a little right? I've read stories of companies like paramount and such charging people who torrent ridiculous amounts of money to try and make an example of them. Whether the stories are true or not, if I were you I wouldn't want to find out myself.

A separate question, I have a mac router but I'm on a pc. I use peerblock when I torrent, but my friend told me it wasn't necessary because the mac router has the same IP address as everything else mac so it's untraceable. Is that true or not?

I really don't mean to threadjack and I hope I'm not. My question just isn't of enough importance to make my own thread so hopefully I can just get a solid answer and not take over the whole thread. Thanks.
Jun 8 2011 4:56PM
0 0
profile picture
240sxKid
Posts: 733 - Karma: 3
This is totally possible, and if youre seeding, your internet gets slower and slower.
Jun 8 2011 4:57PM
0 0
profile picture
Msully
Posts: 575 - Karma: 21
your routers ip address has nothing to do with your ip.

Comcast in his case is giving his modem an ip address that they can see everything you upload and download. Unless you hide behind a proxy or create a network which you mask all your upload/down stream traffic they will continue to be able to see what you are using the internet for.

Look into part time seed boxes if you are really worried about them. usually like 20 a month and the server will download and seed for you and all you have to do is download it off the server so that it doesnt look like a peer to peer trander (p2p aka torrenting)

It is true that they can fine you, but only if you are doing 10+ terabytes of data a month (basically obscurely high numbers) Those fines are more to scare people who use seed boxes with 100mBit lines and have the massive upload ratios for private trackers (backbone of the pirating industry).

If you have any questions you can pm me. I torrent well over 5-10 tb a month with timewarner and havent had any issues yet.
Jun 8 2011 5:07PM
0 0
profile picture
icon1234
Posts: 3081 - Karma: 1,475
It is the act of downloading that got you caught, not where the data is stored on your HD. So downloading a file, then just deleting it from the program you used to download it, or even from your computer wont stop your ISP of having a record of your downloading history.

So i would stop torrenting.
Jun 8 2011 5:11PM
0 0
profile picture
Bodhisattva
Posts: 878 - Karma: 138
Truthfully, I don't even know how to seed or not. I just download things. People always say PLEASE SEED but I don't give a fuck to figure out what it even means
Jun 8 2011 9:05PM
0 0
profile picture
NickSki.
Posts: 2009 - Karma: 61
Download the program "PeerBlock" only run it while torrenting, should help.
Jun 8 2011 9:11PM
0 0
profile picture
NickSki.
Posts: 2009 - Karma: 61
Oh, and classic Mac user.
Jun 8 2011 9:11PM
0 0
profile picture
forum10
Posts: 421 - Karma: 2
oh well that's completely necessary and logical...
Jun 8 2011 9:14PM
0 0
profile picture
n_b
Posts: 580 - Karma: 68
def. delete things earlier and dont seed at all. Also try not to download big things (movies). I got caught that way.
Jun 8 2011 9:15PM
0 0
profile picture
YoungJeezy
Posts: 252 - Karma: 13
Shit these responses are scaring me. I havent in like 4 or 5 months, but i used to torrent a shitload of stuff, like movies, games etc. not really music and usually i dont seed for long but ive still been scared. i heard somewhere that the cable/internet company cannot release your info to the record companies and the poeple who would get you in shit and make you pay, but they can shut your stuff down (OP's case). is that true?
Jun 8 2011 9:15PM
0 0
profile picture
Bonzalo
Posts: 2593 - Karma: 1,812
I live in chile and i dont give a fuck about beeing caught.
Jun 8 2011 9:17PM
0 0
profile picture
Bodhisattva
Posts: 878 - Karma: 138
I read the email over and it was actually Universal Pictures that tracked it and notified Comcast since I was being serviced by them. I think they might of put it on Demonoid as a trap
Jun 8 2011 9:19PM
0 0
profile picture
Campeador
Posts: 7516 - Karma: -1,227
Just download PeerGuardian 2
Jun 8 2011 9:21PM
0 0
profile picture
Bonzalo
Posts: 2593 - Karma: 1,812
getting*
Jun 8 2011 9:22PM
0 0
profile picture
BigJew
Posts: 6974 - Karma: 79
None of the above suggestions will help you. Peerguardian is a nice idea but it doesn't actually work. And they can track you while you're seeding or just leeching so not seeding will not help you.

You need to stop using public trackers. That's the best you can do if you want to use torrents. You'll need to find a way to get into an invite only torrent tracker. I know there's a bunch of sites where you can get invites by passing an entrance interview and once you're in on one site it's a lot easier to get into others. Also, Demonoid doesn't count as a private tracker.

If you're using thepiratebay or any other public torrent site there's really nothing you can do about being tracked.
Jun 8 2011 9:25PM
0 0
profile picture
Bodhisattva
Posts: 878 - Karma: 138
Yeah I was thinking Demonoid because that's what I use until the end. What are some other sites?
Jun 8 2011 9:28PM
0 0
profile picture
alvy.
Posts: 2134 - Karma: 377
thank god I read this thread...I have been seeding for something like 6 months now and didn't realize they can fuck you like this. phew.
Jun 8 2011 9:28PM
0 0
profile picture
Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
is there really any chance of getting caught if you only download small amounts of music (an album or two occasionally or a few hundred songs like every 4 months) and don't let it seed.
Jun 8 2011 9:31PM
0 0
profile picture
reverendwrong
Posts: 3145 - Karma: 142
Most of the time when you get a letter from the cable company and mention a specific movie/file you downloaded its because the torrent you downloaded contained a tracker within it, once you download the file it sends your IP to whoever made the torrent in the first place (much like a trojan). That's really the only way they know what specific file you downloaded.

If it was about high traffic numbers it would say so in the letter.

I have had friends that have gotten both kinds of letters so that's how I learned about them.

your best bet is to move all files to an external (especially the one they mentioned), also move your bittorrent client there too if you know how to run it from there. Use peerblock when you do torrent, and don't seed very much or put a upload limit of like 10kb/sec on your client and all should be fine. If you get another letter, then you can just ditch the hard drive somewhere and they have no real proof that you downloaded it, and it could have been someone leeching off your Wifi.

Jun 8 2011 9:32PM
0 0
profile picture
AWALLRUS.
Posts: 5762 - Karma: 223
i turn my pc off at night, and bittorrent only comes on when i turn it on. so hopefully i dont get tracked for anything. i dont download many movies anyways, mostly just oldschool games and music, which is legal in canada
Jun 8 2011 9:32PM
0 0
profile picture
Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
yeah i downloaded a few movies a few years back and then realized that it could get me fucked. now i only occasionally download music. for videos, get a dvd ripper/copier and just rent the movies from blockbuster and copy them to your computer. you cant get caught doing that
Jun 8 2011 9:34PM
0 0
profile picture
BigJew
Posts: 6974 - Karma: 79
https://www.alphaomega.me/register.php

Is a good place to start. Registration is temporarily open and it's pretty easy to stay on. Just read the faq before you start downloading so you know what you can and can't do.
Jun 8 2011 9:41PM
0 0
profile picture
BigJew
Posts: 6974 - Karma: 79
Sorry, but that's not true at all. Not only is that blatantly illegal, but it's far too much work. They just look at your IP address from the swarm.
Jun 8 2011 9:42PM
0 0
profile picture
Get.Kronk
Posts: 2543 - Karma: 226
On a lot of torrent download programs, there is a button next to the item you downloaded that says "seeding". What that means is you are sharing that file for people to download from you (how peer to peer works). Stop that and you should be good, but don't torrent anything for a solid month anyway.
Jun 8 2011 9:43PM
0 0
profile picture
Rossberger
Posts: 768 - Karma: 168
My only advice is to use peerblock and keep the movie & other large file downloading to a minimum for a while. And before you download something, check out the comments. People usually comment whether it has a tracker or not.
Jun 8 2011 10:00PM
0 0
profile picture
Msully
Posts: 575 - Karma: 21
Uploading is key on the private tracker im on. I downstream maybe 2-400gigs but my upload is always 10-15x what i download.


Theres been 2 posts that have actually had truth to them. Deleting the file/stopping the seed has no effect whether you get caught or not. Like mentioned above they put a tracking file inside the movie or in the packaging and once you open the file it sends your info back to them or they get it from the isp which 90% of the time is more than willing to give it to them. They will make more from universal pictures than they will you (on demand deals, etc...)


Jun 8 2011 10:31PM
0 0
profile picture
Bodhisattva_
Posts: 5749 - Karma: 2,009
If you use Utorrent is seeds automatically after torrent finishes downloading.
Jun 8 2011 10:35PM
0 0
profile picture
.Ian.
Posts: 1568 - Karma: 72
Do you mean I'm a classic Mac user? Or do you mean my friends a classic Mac user? Haha just curious because my friend is definitely a classic mac user. Oh and for the record I very rarely torrent. I mean I torrented Lightroom and a couple movies. Literally though probably 4 or 5 things in the past year haha.
Jun 8 2011 10:43PM
0 0
profile picture
--ski--
Posts: 1670 - Karma: 817
I use run my torrent clients TOR, if configured properly you SHOULD be safe.

Although as of late, there are ways that it unsecure.
Jun 8 2011 10:44PM
0 0
profile picture
Broseph_Stalin
Posts: 3745 - Karma: 178
just dont do it, rent it with a group of friends so its cheaper if you wanna see movies that bad
Jun 8 2011 10:49PM
0 0
profile picture
swd
Posts: 475 - Karma: 12
My dad got an e-mail about it and i barely ever use bit torrents
Jun 8 2011 10:49PM
0 0
profile picture
jibjunkie
Posts: 3807 - Karma: 191
this. never fucked with bittorrent for this reason but i dl tons of music from mediafire
Jun 8 2011 10:53PM
0 0
profile picture
Deezy
Posts: 4580 - Karma: 1,004
my bro maxed out our internet usage for this month... its day 6... fml
fucking cunt downloads every fucking movie he has ever heard of and every fucking tv series on air.

i download at my school, not only is it 100x faster (one movie = 10 mins no lie) i cant rly get sniped for it there.

oh and i limit my seeding to 5kb/s
Jun 8 2011 10:54PM
0 0
profile picture
Bodhisattva
Posts: 878 - Karma: 138
I can easily stay away from downloading movies, I mean i've only downloaded a few that just aren't on Netflix, but i just wanna find a way to download small amounts of music files. Just a few songs/albums every now and then. Does PeerGuardian really work and if so how do you use it?
Jun 10 2011 1:47PM
0 0
profile picture
Bodhisattva
Posts: 878 - Karma: 138
Okay I just made an account on AlphaOmega. Is it basically like Demonoid? and since you seem like the smartest guy on here, I have a question. I was browsing through the BitTorrent preferences and there's a section that says "IP address to show to tracker: _____________" Can I just put in a random IP address and will that actually be what the tracker sees? And how do I change it so i'm not seeding on BitTorrent?
Jun 10 2011 2:00PM
0 0
profile picture
Rossberger
Posts: 768 - Karma: 168
Just use some youtube to mp3 converter, there's some good ones out there. I don't have peerguardian, but apparently peerblock is based off it so they have the same function. Their function is to filter ip addresses and make sure nothing bad is coming in. When you download it, all you need to do is set your preferences and you want to make sure to keep p2p checked because it will check for anything bad in the movies/music you're downloading. All you need to do is keep it open, you can minimize it to taskbar so don't worry about it clogging your bar on the bottom center. I also suggest keeping http blocked, and then adding on sites to the "allowed" list, so those websites you do want to go to will work. But if your main purpose is to just use it for torrents, then you can allow all http. This might seem confusing since you don't have the program yet, so go download it and you'll understand this.
Jun 10 2011 3:00PM
0 0
profile picture
Looorney
Posts: 9 - Karma: 13
Companies will always send you a warning letter or call first (I got one from Sony, fuck you Sony).  Just download a couple items a week.  If you get a letter, stop downloading for 3-6 months.  When you start up again don't download items that are owned by the company that sent you the letter.  Companies can sue you for $250,000 a file so its not really something to fuck around with.
Jun 10 2011 3:08PM
0 0
profile picture
Looorney
Posts: 9 - Karma: 13
And it seeds the entire time you are downloading as well.  Just to to options, preferences and set the global upload rate to 1.
Jun 10 2011 3:09PM
0 0
profile picture
TechnoPotamus
Posts: 11626 - Karma: 3,522
so what you're saying is that they can see all the porn i watch, i hope they enjoy it as well
Jun 10 2011 3:15PM
0 0
profile picture
Rossberger
Posts: 768 - Karma: 168
I don't think you can completely stop a file from seeding while it's downloading, but you can reduce the speed by a lot. Right click your utorrent icon in the taskbar, go to upload speed, and keep putting it lower until you reach 1 kb/s.
Jun 10 2011 3:25PM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-5)