[p2p-hackers] Monitoring and blocking the bittorrent monitoring spies

[Aymeric Vitte]

This is a study based on the DHT only which shows how to
find/track/block real-time the bittorrent monitoring spies, how to set
methods to protect the bittorrent users and make their use of the
bittorrent network much more private, how to create/maintain a dynamic
blocklist and possibly how to set a more fair relationship between the
users and the copyright holders.

The abstract and begining of the study is here:
https://gist.github.com/Ayms/077b114a27450f773939

At the begining of the study the assumptions were:

- the spies are millions
- they do legal things
- they can prove that you downloaded a torrent
- no methods inherent to the bittorrent protocol exist to stop them
- no methods can exist to protect the privacy of the users

At the end it is:

- what are doing the spies is very questionable from a legal standpoint
- they are hundreds, or a couple of thousands, not more
- they cannot prove anything
- a simple change in the bittorrent protocol would defeat them all
- some efficient means can be used to protect the users and could be
implemented in any bittorrent client without disturbing anything

The method to create and maintain the dynamic blocklist is explained
here:
https://github.com/Ayms/torrent-live#how-is-the-dynamic-blocklist-createdmaintained

But it might not be enough and it is recommended to combine it with:

The method to protect the users is explained here:
https://github.com/Ayms/torrent-live#findspies

The technical details, code and installation details for the
anti-spies/private bittorrent client are here:
https://github.com/Ayms/torrent-live

A less technical general presentation is available here:
http://www.torrent-live.org

PS1: it's under consideration whether the optional 'total freerider'
feature should be the default or not, because, of course, this one does
disturb the network, but this is not the key feature here.

PS2: while it's obvious that protecting the bittorrent users might not
please some people, unexpectedly we have to fight with the VPN folks
too, who argue that blocklists cannot work and don't realize that,
despite of some advantages, using a VPN just consists in destroying the
magic of the bittorrent network. The blocklist here is determinist and
its accuracy is just a matter of processing capabilities, combined with
the privacy methods it becomes extremely unlikely to encounter a monitor.

PS3: indeed, the methods might block by mistake some peers that are not
spies, but this is completely marginal given the size of the bittorrent
network.

PS4: no, the monitors are not using the Tor network (unless they tunnel
udp through Tor to some proxies, which would seem completely absurd).

PS5: yes, financing would be appreciated to support this work (and
related projects Peersm, node-Tor) and to disclose the full study.

[Aymeric Vitte]

FYI:
https://torrentfreak.com/thousands-of-spies-are-watching-trackerless-torrents-151004/

Most of the study is now here:
https://gist.github.com/Ayms/f2da9f860775ead2066e but some parts remain
undisclosed and slightly change some conclusions and methods mentioned
in the previous post below.

For those that would not like the 'paid' aspect of the dynamic
blocklist, see one TF comment:

"One word about the "paid" blocklist that we forgot to mention since
some feel uncomfortable with this, you can use torrent-live and the
"findspiesonly" option to create your own blocklist free of charge, but
depending on your processing capabilities you would then probably create
blocklists for targeted torrents, it's explained in section "Why do we
need you to get the dynamic blocklist" of FAQs
http://torrent-live.org/?links"

Post by Aymeric Vitte
This is a study based on the DHT only which shows how to
find/track/block real-time the bittorrent monitoring spies, how to set
methods to protect the bittorrent users and make their use of the
bittorrent network much more private, how to create/maintain a dynamic
blocklist and possibly how to set a more fair relationship between the
users and the copyright holders.
https://gist.github.com/Ayms/077b114a27450f773939
- the spies are millions
- they do legal things
- they can prove that you downloaded a torrent
- no methods inherent to the bittorrent protocol exist to stop them
- no methods can exist to protect the privacy of the users
- what are doing the spies is very questionable from a legal standpoint
- they are hundreds, or a couple of thousands, not more
- they cannot prove anything
- a simple change in the bittorrent protocol would defeat them all
- some efficient means can be used to protect the users and could be
implemented in any bittorrent client without disturbing anything
The method to create and maintain the dynamic blocklist is explained
https://github.com/Ayms/torrent-live#how-is-the-dynamic-blocklist-createdmaintained
https://github.com/Ayms/torrent-live#findspies
The technical details, code and installation details for the
https://github.com/Ayms/torrent-live
http://www.torrent-live.org
PS1: it's under consideration whether the optional 'total freerider'
feature should be the default or not, because, of course, this one does
disturb the network, but this is not the key feature here.
PS2: while it's obvious that protecting the bittorrent users might not
please some people, unexpectedly we have to fight with the VPN folks
too, who argue that blocklists cannot work and don't realize that,
despite of some advantages, using a VPN just consists in destroying the
magic of the bittorrent network. The blocklist here is determinist and
its accuracy is just a matter of processing capabilities, combined with
the privacy methods it becomes extremely unlikely to encounter a monitor.
PS3: indeed, the methods might block by mistake some peers that are not
spies, but this is completely marginal given the size of the bittorrent
network.
PS4: no, the monitors are not using the Tor network (unless they tunnel
udp through Tor to some proxies, which would seem completely absurd).
PS5: yes, financing would be appreciated to support this work (and
related projects Peersm, node-Tor) and to disclose the full study.