If you’re “sharing,” the production companies are hunting you!
There are those amongst us who are more open with their “sharing” habits than others; even if you’d rather remain anonymous, I think its important to extend a few tips to making sure you don’t end up with hefty lawsuits or even jail-time for your internet activities.
I have a friend who was like many of us; he “shared” plenty of content with the rest of the “sharing” community, from video and audio to games and operating systems. He is no slouch; many of you are familiar with bit torrents, and he uses not only torrents but also newsgroups…a slightly more complicated way of obtaining “shared” content at extraordinary rates.
The other day he called me and let me know he received a letter in the mail from his cable provider. The cable company informed him that they were aware that someone on his connection downloaded the popular show Entourage; they named the date it was downloaded, that it was downloaded as a torrent, and even which IP address downloaded it.
Needless to say, he was a tad jittery; why now, after all the “sharing” he’s done over the years, has he been identified as a sharer? The first thing he wanted to know was how they identified him, and how he could avoid detection in the future (ironically no thought was given to turning from his “sharing” ways).
First, there are a few main methods the sharing community goes about their activities:
1. Peer to Peer
- known by proficient sharers to be the most insecure and dangerous method of sharing, it functions by downloading content from identified peers that share on one program; Kazaa or Limewire are examples. If you’re dying for viruses, spyware, trojans and lawsuits, this may be just for you. For everyone else, avoid it.
2. Bit Torrent
- a slightly more complicated method of downloading, it functions by downloading packets from other users also downloading the material. Although it is more difficult to find the content you desire, it is considered safer because as of now it is fairly safe. Because you are downloading pieces of the material from different users, you can usually bet you aren’t all downloading the same virus.
Because this is a Mac site, I’m going to blatantly endorse the program Transmission for torrenting. Its simple and fast, and isn’t a system resource hog. Also, Scrape Torrent is my site of choice for browsing torrents; it functions like a Dogpile of the torrent world, searching multiple sites at once.
However, torrents can be tracked. Production companies can embed their own trackers in content, upload it to sites, and as users download, simply search for the IP addresses of the downloading sharers. This is bad for you and me that have IP addresses (cough cough, we all do).
My colleague George Gardner over at Tech.Blorge.com turned me on to Peer Guardian, an open source program that monitors your transfers and blocks addresses. Check it out if you’re serious about not getting caught.
3. Newsgroups
- I’m a bit hesitant to discuss newsgroups; the newsgroup user community seems to, at times, make it purposefully difficult to figure out how to use the blasted systems. However, the journalist within me drives me to cover it. Unfortunately, that will be saved for a later article; for now, what you need to know is newsgroups will allow you to maximize your bandwidth for downloading via purchasing server space monthly or for a specific number of downloads; then, a newsreader and a few packaging and unpackaging tools should be what you need to get it going.
Newsgroups I would recommend for those of you serious about “sharing” HD content, movies, games, programs, etc. on a CONSTANT basis. I can affirmatively tell you, you will never be in want of content. It does cost, but if you are a “sharing” junkie, this might be the route for you.
The moral of this story is that those rumors of companies hunting down “sharers” really are true; before it becomes you, take a few precautionary steps and protect yourself. Here’s a cheesy slogan for you: If you’re going to share, be prepared!
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