Don't plan to sell your first chip - Bob Colwell, former Intel chief architect
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Web site exposes Bit Torrent users’ IP addresses and downloads
A WEB SITE is able to show what users have downloaded using Bit Torrent and is exposing their IP addresses to others who visit it.
According to Torrent Freak, the developers of youhavedownloaded.com want to make people aware of the lack of privacy with Bit Torrent, and they are working on a more anonymous version of the technology.
The Russia based service, which claims to track about 20 per cent of all public Bit Torrent downloads, displays the user's IP address and what you have downloaded, immediately when you visit the web site.
You can also search for files or IP-addresses to find out who has downloaded what. Apparently the database has information on 51,274,000 users, who together shared 103,200 torrents.
Torrent Freak spoke to Suren Ter, one of the web site's founders, who said, "We just want to remind people that the Internet is not a place to expect privacy. Nowadays many people use it without understanding what information they leave behind. Also, even those who understand choose to ignore it quite often."
Of course, those who are using Bit Torrent through a proxy or VPN will not turn up on the web site.
Does it work? We visited the web site and got this message, "Hi. We have no records on you."
It went on, "This means you are using a private torrent tracker or, of course, you may not be a torrent user at all! It happens. Please, entertain yourself. Feel free to see what other people have downloaded. The search box is on the top. If you have any friends who use torrents, use it to scare them off. We also have a widget that you can install in your website, blog or Facebook page. Or you can just send them a link to this site. They will see a table similar to what you see below. The only difference - they will see their downloads."
And it concluded, "Well, you are in the clear. But look what others do."
This was followed by a list of IP addresses and downloads that we'd rather not print on our web site.
Youhavedownloaded.com has obviously been created with the greater good in mind, but those who are filesharers of copyrighted media content will have to hope that the MAFIAA's internet police don't start using this information for their own purposes. µ
Tags: Internet
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It's cool but even I don't know what IP address I have on any given day. It's not like I worry about what is downloaded it's more of do I even care.
It would appear that the author of the site in question has a stick up his arse about adding a disclaimer noting the fact that it is entirely possible for a completely innocent user to end up with the dynamic IP previously used by a prolific pirate. I'd hate to be the guy in a DHCP pool with a chronic pirate, who gets the pirate's recycled IP just when the boss finds this site...
Something tells me that this isn't "just for fun".
Seems less like it is motivated for the greater good than it is motivated for publicity at the least (for their new competing standard) or motivated for personal gain at the most. This hardly seems "selfless" for the greater good of all. Seems rather Machiavellian to me.
Well, it's pretty brilliant. Don't flame them for doing that. It's only showing what can be done, and what is probably being done by the major labels on a daily basis.
There is no easy way to be truly anonymous on the Web. But you can use things like proxy, VPN, and even a IP-address based firewall like PeerGuardian2. The thing is that the RIAA and such will usually look for the simplest way to catch people. If you make it harder for them, then the chances are that they'll simply move along to easier fishes... Think of it that way. It's much easier (time and money wise) to throw a big net and catch the easy ones than craft a custom net to catch the few ones that are harder to spot. So it's effort vs reward. Unless you make something really bad, then it's probably not worth the effort to track you through your disguises (firewall, VPN, etc.)...
presumed that this stuffed was logged anyway.
I regularly reboot the router. As I always presume that the time stamps will be unreliable.
And yes; as expected Im in the clear.
I apparently have downloaded Frozen Planet, Sound of Music and NCIS. Yep, caught red-handed.
Doh Ray Me Far So Lah Tee!
Thankfully, it's for personal use and I'm in Switzerland..... :-)
Just tried it,it showed two downloads that I've never heard of!
Guess it is because my IP is issued differently every time I log in to my ISP. It's rubbish.
Barry