How does MPAA, RIAA, ect know whats going on?

oneshot1

Baseband Member
Messages
46
First of all, I know some aren't going to like this conversation and are going to want to immediately close the topic. I am not asking for any more than I already know when it comes to circumventing something, so can we give it a chance?

From what I understand, when using peer to peer networks or torrents, your ip address can be seen by organizations that may not like what is being downloaded. For these organizations (excluding government run organizations) to be able to take legal action, they need to actually see the file on your computer. A program called peer guardian is commonly used to block addresses from organizations that are known to seek this information. This means no legal action could be taken, assuming no government organizations have an interest in what you are downloading.

One step further:
I live on a college campus and use the university's internet. Students have been known to get their connection suspended. I am not sure if this is because warning letters have been received, or if it is because they can just tell see what is going on.

In a nutshell, is someone in my position likely to stay out of trouble if "blacklisted" ip addresses are blocked?
 
Well, when I was on campus a few years back, they would suspend your account for bandwidth over-usage. They would assume either you're DLing viruses or too many files, and put you a tier or two down. This is a year or two before the DC++ craze hit, and then it was a different story. I can't say this with a certainty, but the University was most likely packet sniffing and sniffed out who was hosting the main server, and made quite the example of him, along with several others.
 
It is mainly bearshare and limewire that they target. For example, if one of their contractors finds thousands of mp3s in somebody's limewire shared folder, they will take a screenshot and send it to their law firm, who will send you a legal threat. If they have somebody watching your torrent (fairly rare), they can catch you. Or if you go to a website set up by them.
 
You should be running PeerGuardian while running torrents to block "bad" IPs.

These organizations will connect to popular torrents and find who is downloading from them. Then they get you in trouble.

I'm not sure about college though...typically like Pville said isn't there a DC++ network so it's not really over the internet, just the local network?
 
You should be running PeerGuardian while running torrents to block "bad" IPs.

These organizations will connect to popular torrents and find who is downloading from them. Then they get you in trouble.

I'm not sure about college though...typically like Pville said isn't there a DC++ network so it's not really over the internet, just the local network?

You don't necessarily want to do any filesharing on a university's network. I used peerguardian for a short time, then stopped. It blocked some legitimate websites, and I was tired of making exceptions.
 
I just decided to give the IT department a call and see what I could get out of them. After 3 times I got a hold of someone who was willing to talk about it. Pville was right; I was told all they can see is activity. If there is excessive activity on my part, I will be blocked whether it is illegal or legitimate.

I really don't download all that much, so I doubt I will have problems if I use PeerGaurdian.

If I only have PeerGaurdian on when I am downloading, and otherwise not using the internet(overnight), but off at other times, would I still be protected? Or is it important to have it turned on at all times?
 
You are right. But I like my music, and would rather not support the corporate music industry. So if I can better my odds of staying out of trouble the risk is worth it to me.
 
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