Nov 6, 2010 - And they also know your IP address, since in order to connect to the internet. Torrent files are used by bitTorrent file sharing and downloading.
How To They Know Your Ip When Download Torrent Free
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‘I Know What You Downloaded on BitTorrent’ website knows everything that you download using BitTorrent including your IP address
If you thought that by using BitTorrent, you were keeping your identity anonymous, then you may want to think twice? Anti-piracy companies employ various tools to track down illegal downloads but this one takes the cake. I Know What You Downloaded on BitTorrent (IKWDB) knows everything that you do with your BitTorrent including your IP address.
Apparently, a website tool named as the “I Know What You Downloaded on BitTorrent (IKWDB)” has been launched online that shows millions of IP addresses of the users who have accessed illegal file-sharing sites aka torrent websites on the Internet. In other words, this tool will reveal IP addresses of anyone who has downloaded songs, movies, or anything on the BitTorrent without using VPN (Virtual Private Network), proxy or seedbox for public viewing.
As a result, there is a slight chance that you may end up getting warnings in your mailboxes from the original copyrights holder of the media content for illegal download. Having said that, BitTorrent user is not likely to face any legal hurdles per se, but a warning message suggesting not to visit the BitTorrent site again may be sent.
Currently, IKWDB has information on 460,000 torrents in its database plus 70 million unique IP-addresses captured during the last month alone. This makes it much bigger than its predecessor (Youhavedownloaded.com), which was closed recently.
The main purpose of IKWDB is to actually help original copyright holders or organisations to understand how their network is used to pirate content.
“We’ve set up the site for promotional purposes and as a demonstration of our capabilities,” Marketing director Andrey Rogov told TorrentFreak.
“We are engaged in the distribution of information relating to torrent downloading activity to rightsholders, advertising platforms, law-enforcement and international organizations.”
In some extraordinary instances, they also help individuals to remove their own content (deemed illegal and inappropriate or offensive in nature) from public view if it’s being shared without permission.
“For example, we received a letter from a girl whose sexually explicit video had appeared on the Internet and had been widely spread over torrents sites. We helped her to remove public access to this content.
“We also respond to inquiries from some organizations. For example, Northeastern University asked us about torrent downloads from their IP-addresses,” Rogov explains.
In addition, IKWDB also offers another nifty spy tool where you can see what your friends are downloading on BitTorrent sites, without knowing their IP address. If your friend clicks on the hyperlink of a file-sharing site via SMS, then their alleged download history shows up immediately, without the IP address being exposed.
How To They Know Your Ip When Download Torrent Download
Source: TorrentFreak
By exploring the features of your BitTorrent client, such as uTorrent, you can see how easy it is to identify who is sharing the same torrent file. As you can see in the following screenshot, each user’s IP is visible. It is very simple to identify these users. Each IP is linked to a person, who has a contract with an Internet Service Provider.
How does the tracking process work?
It’s simple, every torrent file you download is connected to a tracker. This tracker stores information related to the torrent file, such as the IP address of each user (peer) that has this file. It also stores which parts of that file each peer owns.
The tracker “shows” the BitTorrent software which peers have the complete file, which ones have the parts you need, and which ones need the parts you have. Each torrent file is divided into many parts. The job of this tracker is to show the torrent client “who has what“. That’s why it’s called file sharing: You send some parts that others do not have, and get the parts you still don’t have.
All these trackers are stored in a central server. And the problem is that this server is not encrypted. Without protection, your IP is showing in the tracker as one of the peers downloading or uploading the file. Any entity that wants to see your activity will do it easily, they just have to monitor the tracker. That’s why it’s very important to download torrents without having your IP address in those trackers.
Even users can see the IP and country of the people downloading and uploading the same file. As you can imagine, if it’s easy for users, it’s basic procedure for entities trying to follow your activity. After getting your IP from the tracker, they only have to associate it with your physical address. And just like that, they have your name.
How to avoid your IP from being in the tracker of a torrent file?
How To They Know Your Ip When Download Torrent Free
To avoid being traced and exposed, a VPN for torrenting anonymously is a great solution. You will be able to connect to a server in another country and change your IP. The tracker will identify the country and IP of your VPN server, not your real one. The same would happen to entities trying to trace you and your activity. They would see the IP from the VPN server, coming from another country.
Know Your Ip Address
There are some other solutions out there, but none of them is as complete and secure as a VPN. Apart from that IP exchange, the VPN encrypts your Internet connection. It prevents anyone from having a peek at what you are doing or downloading.