Turn on encryption!

K

Kez1991

New member
Just a reminder that everyone should turn on encryption in their bittorrent clients.

There are still way too many peers who don't use this simple security/privacy feature.

You also miss encrypted connections without fallback option which will result in slower speeds for you.

If you don't know how to turn it on in your client, please ask.
 
Could anyone explain to me exactly what this does?

Is it in some way similar to https, masking your traffic? Is it able to mask your IP? How does this differ from simply non encrypted BT?
 
i think it's better to ask firon to add this as default setting in utorrent. it will have a much more serious effect i think :)
 
That's pretty much what I figured. But if not that, what kind of "encryption" is used here? Is it similar to having an https tracker? That masks your activity from your ISP only?
 
Rart said:
Could anyone explain to me exactly what this does?

Is it in some way similar to https, masking your traffic? Is it able to mask your IP? How does this differ from simply non encrypted BT?
Click to expand...
There are two types of connections: client to tracker connections, and client to client (p2p) connections. Both may (some say should) be encrypted.

Client to tracker connections may be encrypted using SSL encryption (https protocol), if your tracker supports that. Client to client connections may be encrypted by stream ciphers, such as RC4.

Encrypting these connections won't hide your IP address; after all, you and your peer must know the "location" (IP address) of the other party in order to be able to direct information to each other. Encryption will ensure any party along the way between you and your peer won't be able to peak into your connections and see what's going on inside. Your ISP, for instance, won't be able to know you've downloaded a .torrent file. Basically, any sort of analyzer along the way won't know what's really inside the connection you've been using. In addition, for encrypted client to tracker connections, you'll be able to authenticate that you're actually "talking" to the right tracker, and not some fake site (phishing in BT, it's plausible :lol:).

Encryption in P2P is an extra measure of obtaining a bit more privacy and authenticity. It won't stop someone harvesting for IP addresses from connecting to a swarm and from there directly to the peers on it.

HTH.
 
uTorrent: If you want to only allow encrypted connections you select "Forced" and uncheck "Allow Legacy Connections". If you simply want to enable it, select "Enabled" and keep "Allow Legacy Connections" checked.
 
pro267 said:
There are two types of connections: client to tracker connections, and client to client (p2p) connections. Both may (some say should) be encrypted.

Client to tracker connections may be encrypted using SSL encryption (https protocol), if your tracker supports that. Client to client connections may be encrypted by stream ciphers, such as RC4.

Encrypting these connections won't hide your IP address; after all, you and your peer must know the "location" (IP address) of the other party in order to be able to direct information to each other. Encryption will ensure any party along the way between you and your peer won't be able to peak into your connections and see what's going on inside. Your ISP, for instance, won't be able to know you've downloaded a .torrent file. Basically, any sort of analyzer along the way won't know what's really inside the connection you've been using. In addition, for encrypted client to tracker connections, you'll be able to authenticate that you're actually "talking" to the right tracker, and not some fake site (phishing in BT, it's plausible :lol:).

Encryption in P2P is an extra measure of obtaining a bit more privacy and authenticity. It won't stop someone harvesting for IP addresses from connecting to a swarm and from there directly to the peers on it.

HTH.
Click to expand...

Very informative! Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question.

Off topic: Whats up with your sig?
 
@ca_aok goldy post, checked my settings for utorrent and they were as you said in the second part of your post. thanks a bunch! :D

Now the settings for vuze? :-s
 
My settings in Vuze:

bildschirmfoto20091031u.png

Pretty self explanatory I think.
 
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