Gaming My god PeerBlock blocks a lot

[elenar]

JESUS SHIT FUCKING CHRIST BLUESTAR, GO LIVE UNDER YOUR DAMNED ROCK.
Just get your stupid bullshit out of here. Seriously, you're trying so hard to make your point you're going way the hell overboard into absurdity.

This is the kind of frothing, rabid, screaming tantrum I'm talking about. If people just used peerblock and shut up about it, no-one would care. But they don't. They continue to use torrents to dirstribute pirate media, in spite of the privacy problems, yabber on about how they're safe because they use peer block, and go out of their tiny little minds in full on rage flamefest when people with half a braincell point out it makes little difference.

I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain.
And my head I'd be scratchin' while
my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.
I'd unravel every riddle for any individ'le,
In trouble or in pain.
With the thoughts you'll be thinkin'
you could be another Lincoln
If you only had a brain.
Oh, I could tell you why The ocean's near the shore.
I could think of things I never thunk before.
And then I'd sit, and think some more.
I would not be just a nothin' my head all full of stuffin'
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry,
If I only had a brain...





See also, pertaining to your last statement: The Fallacy of False Dichotomy

 

[Originality]

@twiz, you must be so proud of the stuff you download illegally to get so worked up about someone saying PeerBlock doesn't work like people thinks it does.

The effectiveness of PeerBlock can be compared to the effectiveness of a thin paper veil at concealing your dirty business (the kind you wouldn't want your parents seeing - or strangers from law firms trying to gather evidence on your habbits). You can still see the silhouette (refer to my earlier analogy "Look at me! I'm hiding something"), and you can still look through the many holes and cut out sections in the paper veil (refer to most of the points BlueStar, Rydian, FAST and I have been making). But it is still providing some sense of privacy. Between seeing the silhouettes and seeing through the many holes and cut out sections in the veil, there's plenty enough to see the full picture, but it is still providing some sense of privacy.

If you weren't doing any "dirty business", you would have nothing to hide, and you wouldn't need that paper veil (PeerBlock) in the first place. Maybe the best solution to the entire problem would be to stop downloading illegal material.

EDIT: @elenar, you should include the source of the verse you quoted. Not everybody has watched/read The Wizard of Oz.

 

[BlueStar]

See also, pertaining to your last statement: The Fallacy of False Dichotomy

Pertaining to people's belief in the magical protective powers of PeerBlocker, see cum hoc, ergo propter hoc.

 

[notmeanymore]

They go through your computer, and the movie is nowhere to be found outside of analyzing the "empty" hard drive space which would be a waste of time for something like this.

Just because you "delete" something from your computer, doesn't mean it's gone. The drive just flags that section as deleted, but the data is still there - at least until it puts something else there (say, another downloaded movie).

You'd be surprised how easy it is to locate traces of phantom files long after they've been deleted. This makes it much easier for the "feds" to dig up evidence against you. They don't need the entire file, but having 16KB from the header would be enough to prove the file existed. Couple that with ISP logs of your internet activities at the time, and you're screwed.

As they say, the law isn't stupid.

Fine, TrueCrypt still stands.

and you would be forced to hand over the keys or you will be charged with interfering with an investigation

http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=plausible-deniability

 

[Deleted-188346]

you are using their services, they can see what your IP is doing regardless of what you install

installing a program isnt going to make you magically hidden from everyone trying to see what you are doing

Of course your ISP can always see what you are downloading. However, there is no reason for your ISP to be monitoring you, after all, they are happy as long as you are giving them money. Do you think it'd be profitable for ISPs to ban every user that torrented? They'd lose at least 30% of their customers.

However, Sony or 20th Century Fox are interested in disciplining people that download their movies. So, they monitor select torrents, track certain users, and then attempt to contact their ISP and force them to take action.

If all ISPs had the same attitude as Sony or Fox, then we'd be getting letters the second we googled Piratebay.

Now, a program which blocks the connections of IP Address that are known to belong to anti-piracy groups...sounds kinda useful.

 

[Urza]

Public bittorrent is insecure by definition.

That is fact. There is no remedying it. "Solutions" like PeerBlock merely delude the user.

Online file sharing generally boils down to this:

1) Free
2) Effective
3) Secure

Pick two.

 

[Crass]

The ignorance is strong in this thread! What's stopping the big media companies and investigators from using different IP addresses other than their public HQ's well-known IP? Couldn't they just, you know, run their snooping software from a different computer with different internet connections, thereby negating peer blocks supposed features? Seriously?

But yeah, as others have said, if it makes you feel better, then I guess there's no harm in using it. Just don't try to kid yourself or others into thinking it actually protects you.

Of course your ISP can always see what you are downloading. However, there is no reason for your ISP to be monitoring you, after all, they are happy as long as you are giving them money. Do you think it'd be profitable for ISPs to ban every user that torrented? They'd lose at least 30% of their customers.

There are plenty of reasons why ISPs don't want you torrenting. For one they could be partially liable, and/or paid off by the big media companies. Secondly a lot of the ISPs in the US are also owned by those very same big media companies (NBC-Comcast merger anyone??). I live in a relatively rural area, and my ISP is supposedly locally-owned, but their also the only cable company in town and have an effective monopoly. If I were to run torrents all day for TV shows and movies, and stop watching and paying for my television subscription, then they lose that profit, so they are financially motivated to stop as much torrenting as possible (hence the recent rise of bandwidth capping!).

 

[omgdaniel]

In reality, if the companies really wanted to get you, they would. No program is going to slow them down. Peerblock just does the simple thing and follow a list of IP's, which MAY or MAY NOT be any government. Really, they just search for IP's that aren't willing to give any information back of where and who it is.

Hate it, love it; use whatever you want, if you want a real solution, get a VPN.

 

[Deleted-188346]

The ignorance is strong in this thread! What's stopping the big media companies and investigators from using different IP addresses other than their public HQ's well-known IP? Couldn't they just, you know, run their snooping software from a different computer with different internet connections, thereby negating peer blocks supposed features? Seriously?

But yeah, as others have said, if it makes you feel better, then I guess there's no harm in using it. Just don't try to kid yourself or others into thinking it actually protects you.

Of course your ISP can always see what you are downloading. However, there is no reason for your ISP to be monitoring you, after all, they are happy as long as you are giving them money. Do you think it'd be profitable for ISPs to ban every user that torrented? They'd lose at least 30% of their customers.

There are plenty of reasons why ISPs don't want you torrenting. For one they could be partially liable, and/or paid off by the big media companies. Secondly a lot of the ISPs in the US are also owned by those very same big media companies (NBC-Comcast merger anyone??). I live in a relatively rural area, and my ISP is supposedly locally-owned, but their also the only cable company in town and have an effective monopoly. If I were to run torrents all day for TV shows and movies, and stop watching and paying for my television subscription, then they lose that profit, so they are financially motivated to stop as much torrenting as possible (hence the recent rise of bandwidth capping!).


Actually ISP's are not liable for the actions of their customers.
Sony (and a bunch of other companies) recently took an ISP to court for failing to prevent users from illegally downloading copyrighted materials.
The ISP won the case. And, the ISP also stated that it's not an ISPs responsibility to prevent illegal downloads, and that publishers should strive to release content around the world simultaneously in order to prevent the demand for piracy.

I forgot the name of the ISP though. I think it may have been iiNet.

Although, you are correct that some ISPs who operate as a subsidery under a larger media company may have interests in preventing piracy. But, they are an exception. ISPs who simply operate as a company that offers internet services do not have any interest in preventing piracy.

QUOTE(omgdaniel @ Mar 17 2011, 07:56 AM)

In reality, if the companies really wanted to get you, they would. No program is going to slow them down. Peerblock just does the simple thing and follow a list of IP's, which MAY or MAY NOT be any government. Really, they just search for IP's that aren't willing to give any information back of where and who it is.

Hate it, love it; use whatever you want, if you want a real solution, get a VPN.

Government? This has nothing to do with the government.
And I'd like a source proving that Peerblock simply blocks IP address that don't return information.

Also, just because a company has money, doesn't actually mean that they have hardcore sci-fi equipment and Tony Stark abilities with computing.

 

[Crass]

Actually ISP's are not liable for the actions of their customers.
Sony (and a bunch of other companies) recently took an ISP to court for failing to prevent users from illegally downloading copyrighted materials.
The ISP won the case. And, the ISP also stated that it's not an ISPs responsibility to prevent illegal downloads, and that publishers should strive to release content around the world simultaneously in order to prevent the demand for piracy.

I forgot the name of the ISP though. I think it may have been iiNet.

In Australia, or the US? Remember this is an international forum with members from around the world, and each country has their own separate laws. And while ISPs have yet to be held liable for the actions of their customers in court, that still doesn't stop them from practicing CYA to prevent such court cases to begin with. And it still doesn't stop the big media's lawyers from sending those small ISPs copyright-infringement nasty-grams, which to a small company can be scary, as fighting a huge companies lawyers is insanely expensive (big companies have money to throw at lawyers, small ones don't). Anyway this is all getting rather pedantic, the point is: Peerblock is a placebo.

Edit: fixed broken hyperlink and lawyers

 

[omgdaniel]

Government? This has nothing to do with the government.
And I'd like a source proving that Peerblock simply blocks IP address that don't return information.

Also, just because a company has money, doesn't actually mean that they have hardcore sci-fi equipment and Tony Stark abilities with computing.

Stop acting so butthurt, lulz.

I already gave my solution, if you want to use it, go for it.

But as far as peerblock, you think that it just magically blocks IP's? And also it blocks IP's that were people have been caught off of before, so someone had to get caught for that IP to get added.

 

[Urza]

That's why its useless.

For every IP blocked by PeerBlock, there are a hundred more which remain untouched.

It's like trying to drain the ocean with a 1 liter cup.

 

[Originality]

Of course your ISP can always see what you are downloading. However, there is no reason for your ISP to be monitoring you, after all, they are happy as long as you are giving them money. Do you think it'd be profitable for ISPs to ban every user that torrented? They'd lose at least 30% of their customers.

On the contrary, ISPs monitor all their customers anyway. The thing is, they don't do anything with the logs until the police/big companies come knocking on their door with a court order. It has happened in the past, where ISPs had to hand over the logs relating to certain hackers. I've also heard a number of reports from news sources saying that some ISPs have declared that they will actively help the police in cracking down on illegal downloaders.

That last bit was probably a CYA move, as Crass puts it, and I've only heard scattered reports of people who download massive amounts of illegal data getting reported for it by their ISP. Sporadic downloaders like myself probably don't fall under their radar.

 

[Deleted-188346]

Government? This has nothing to do with the government.
And I'd like a source proving that Peerblock simply blocks IP address that don't return information.

Also, just because a company has money, doesn't actually mean that they have hardcore sci-fi equipment and Tony Stark abilities with computing.

Stop acting so butthurt, lulz.

I already gave my solution, if you want to use it, go for it.

But as far as peerblock, you think that it just magically blocks IP's? And also it blocks IP's that were people have been caught off of before, so someone had to get caught for that IP to get added.

Firstly, the minute you start attempting to troll, you've proven that you're losing the arguement. Just because I'm not agreeing with you, doesn't actually mean that I'm "butthurt".
Secondly, you've given me 2 different "explainations". You think Peerblock blocks IP addresses that don't return information, and then you think that Peerblock blocks the IP address that was responsible for people that have been "caught".

Now, tell me...in the scenario that you were "caught", how would you find the exact IP address that "caught" you? When you're notified that you're in trouble with your ISP or even Sony, do you think that they also reveal the IP address that was responsible for detecting you? Duuuuurrrr.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

QUOTE

Of course your ISP can always see what you are downloading. However, there is no reason for your ISP to be monitoring you, after all, they are happy as long as you are giving them money. Do you think it'd be profitable for ISPs to ban every user that torrented? They'd lose at least 30% of their customers.

On the contrary, ISPs monitor all their customers anyway.

Perhaps I used the wrong wording, but when I said "monitoring", I meant active enforcement. Sure, they keep logs of the activity of all users. They'd need to, for gathering evidence for more serious matters such as child pornography cases and such.

But when it comes to piracy, ISPs will not send out warning letters without legal provoking from the larger companies.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

You know whats funny, this thread went WAY off topic.

I was talking about how much it blocks. And then everybody got the sand in their vagina and started going "Your ISP can still get you."

Grow up guys, seriously.

 

[Urza]

You know whats funny, this thread went WAY off topic.

I was talking about how much it blocks. And then everybody got the sand in their vagina and started going "Your ISP can still get you."

Grow up guys, seriously.

God forbid a productive conversation result out of your completely worthless topic post.

 

[junkerde]

this is why i dont use torrents.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

You know whats funny, this thread went WAY off topic.

I was talking about how much it blocks. And then everybody got the sand in their vagina and started going "Your ISP can still get you."

Grow up guys, seriously.

God forbid a productive conversation result out of your completely worthless topic post.

Productive? Clearly you don't know the meaning of it if you think everybody posting in this was having a "productive" conversation.

 

[Urza]

You know whats funny, this thread went WAY off topic.

I was talking about how much it blocks. And then everybody got the sand in their vagina and started going "Your ISP can still get you."

Grow up guys, seriously.

God forbid a productive conversation result out of your completely worthless topic post.

Productive? Clearly you don't know the meaning of it if you think everybody posting in this was having a "productive" conversation.

There were a few clearly ignorant and thick-headed posts, as with any discussion on a public form that spans over a page, but for the most part the posters have been respectful in presenting their viewpoints.

Although I'm sure your implication that all the posts should have been "omg comcast blox'd by perblock wut is this dark magik" is the more productive outcome.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

Of course you're sure of that. After all, you're always right with everything. I've seen you post, you're always right. Feel free to be sure about stuff all you want.