How to PROTECT yourself while using BitTorrent
General Info:
Here's a brief guide on how you can protect yourself from the RIAA, MPAA, the ESA, BayTSP and many other nasties out there scanning the Internet for filesharers. This is done by blocking a wide range of IP addresses so they cannot access your computer and catch you in the act of uploading/downloading torrents. Currently, two stand-alone programs and one Azureus plugin are available.
PeerGuardian - http://methlabs.org/ - this is the first of its kind, and still the most popular. The website gives you the executable for download, as well as a constantly updated blocklist, help/support, FAQs and forums to discuss the program.
Protowall - http://bluetack.co.uk/pw.html - a newer app that does the same thing as PeerGuardian but uses a different approach by using a driver for Windows instead of handling blocking at the application level. This results in greatly reduced CPU usage.
The above two apps provide systemwide protection from blocked IP addresses. That means they can be active at all times, and can protect you regardless of which P2P filesharing program you're using. Note that they are NOT firewalls, or meant to replace firewalls. You should continue to use a router and/or software firewall alongside PG/PW.
Firewalls manage all connections on a per-application basis and dynamically allow or block them; they also block hacker attacks and prevent some vulnerabilites that may be present on your computer from being exploited remotely. PeerGuardian/Protowall, on the other hand, completely block a predetermined list of IP addresses from connecting to your computer, period, regardless of whether the attempted connections are incoming or outgoing (originating from your computer).
SafePeer Plugin for Azureus - http://azureus.sourceforge.net/plugi...lugin=safepeer - this is an excellent IP filter with very low CPU usage which uses the PeerGuardian database, and can redownload that database in user-definable intervals (once daily by default).
The difference to PG/PW is that this plugin ONLY blocks IP addresses from connecting to Azureus, nothing else - so it will not protect you while using any P2P apps other than Azureus - and that the plugin is of course only running while Azureus runs.
This plugin is updated rather often, so if you're an Azureus user, it's worth checking out the above link regularly, even if Azureus itself has not been updated in a while (as the plugin is developed separately).
F.A.Q.:
"What's the point in blocking media companies etc. from my computer? They can still find my own IP address through the tracker, can't they?"
That's correct (although some trackers do, in fact, protect themselves with PeerGuardian as well). However, if they cannot connect to you, they can't catch you in the act of actually uploading/downloading any torrent data, and without that they are powerless and have nothing against you.
"Can I use my firewall to block IP addresses, so I won't have to use PG/PW/SP at all?"
Yes. The PeerGuardian website has detailed instructions for each of the most popular firewalls on how to do this, and provides plain-text versions of the blocklist that can easily be imported into your firewall. See the PG site for more information.
Source: DCForums
