IP filter list v2

I've updated my IP filter list. For more info about the list read the original post.

The IP filter list can always be found here.

IP filter for uTorrent

uTorrent and many other torrent clients and P2P programs support IP filters in Emule's ipfilter.dat format. That way you can protect yourself from some dishonest users that try either to spy on what you share, or just over-leech data to make seeders' ratios go up fast and make them leave the swarm thinking they gave what they took. Of course there is a chance that you are blocking honest users from downloading or uploading to you but I hope this isn't that common. There are some IP filter lists on the Internet already but I am combining specific parts of other lists using BlueTack's Blocklist Manager in order to make custom one that doesn't block LAN users etc. I will update the IP filter list every now and then (I don't know if I should post here about it every time it's updated... Should I?).

The IP filter list can always be found here.

Instruction on how to use it with uTorrent are inside the zipfile.

P2P Wars

I just read a post on Pirate Bay (an index site for Torrents and also a tracker) which says that the MediaDefender company, an anti-"piracy" company, in cooperation with major entertainment companies have been trying to harm trackers and other P2P networks even by using users' computers. This information was obtained from some leaked emails of the company that were published by the MediaDefender-Defenders group along with a phone call between MediaDefender and New York Attorney General's office.

MediaDefender denies everything and took legal action to remove the leaked emails from the sites that host them. But legal actions were not enough for them so they even performed DoS attacks to the site that hosted the leaked emails. MediaDefender had also previously vandalized the Wikipedia article about itself, probably because it revealed the connection of the company with miivi.com, a site that trapped people who uploaded copyrighted content.

You can visit this site and read the emails (which have been edited so that the identity of the employees cannot be revealed). Even in the case of the site going down you can still find the emails and the phone call in Torrents. Just search on The Pirate Bay for "MediaDefender".

For more information read the Wikipedia article on MediaDefender and this article.

STOP RAR (on file-sharing networks)

If you hadn't noticed there are many RAR files on all file-sharing networks. This is soooooooo STUPID! There's absolutely no reason to use RAR. I'll tell you why.

1. If you want to distribute MP3 files you should not use compression at all! These files are already compressed! If you need to put them on a collection then consider distributing them as a Torrent and not inside a RAR file. But even if you need to distribute them on another file-sharing network then consider using a zipfile instead which is free and works on all systems (Linux does not support RAR until you install some programs and the same goes for Windows).
2. RAR is not free. It is patented. 7-Zip is a great open source application using a much better algorithm than the one WinRAR uses which achieves better compression ratios. So, if you want to distribute something that is not already compressed, why not use 7-Zip instead of WinRAR???
3. Some guys believe that they are hackers because they use RAR to distribute their files. Bullshit... RAR was useful during the Newsgroups' era but there is no reason to use it while there is a free alternative like 7-Zip.

Anyway. If you still haven't been convinced you should read this article. You might also read this clueless (in my opinion) article that supports the usage of RAR files.

And do not forget to download 7-Zip.

BitTorrent - why I won't use it.

BitTorrent is a file sharing protocol. It (like other protocols) uses cleverly the bandwidth of many users (that belong to what is called a "swarm") to deliver some data to everyone that is interested. Everyone is supposed to upload data to other users while downloading, thus reducing the costs for anyone that wants to distribute a large file to many users. To join a swarm and download the shared file, you will need to download a BitTorrent client.

μTorrent is surely one of the most compact, stable and easy-to-use BitTorrent clients. But on December the 7th, 2006, μTorrent was purchased by BitTorrent inc. I was always a bit concerned about how good μTorrent was at protecting my privacy since it was closed source. But now I am not sure if I can anymore trust a closed source program that is owned by a company that is doing business with many "entertainment" media companies like Warner Bros and MTV. These companies will do anything to protect their millions and they wouldn't hesitate to spy on everything, so why not on the BitTorrent network?

I used Azureus for some time but I never liked it for the same reasons I do not like Java (which Azureus is written in): it is toooooo heavy. It needs some time to get started and then uses too much RAM. In addition to these, Azureus is not made to be portable. So although Azureus is a well-made open source application, I don't think I'll use it anymore.

What is left then? Taking into consideration that I am using Ubuntu and that I do not have any intentions to reinstall Windows in the near future I don't think that there are any good BitTorrent clients left. So, maybe I will continue using aMule: a program that connects to the great eDonkey and Kad networks and offers great variety of files while having nice mechanisms to reduce leeching.

EDIT: I now use Deluge on Ubuntu. :-)

MUTE Portable

MUTE is an anonymous filesharing application by Jason Rohrer, placed on the public domain. When you connect to the MUTE network, you connect to a few users, your "neighbours". When you search for a file you send a search request to all your neighbours and they forward it to their neighbours etc. The search results return to you through your neighbours and the same goes for the file if you decide to download it. This way you do not have to connect directly with the person that has the file and that, in addition to some other measures that MUTE takes, makes you anonymous in the network because it is really hard for someone to find what you share or what you download. MUTE Portable is what its name suggests. I made it by compressing the executables in the directory of MUTE and then packing the directory in a zipfile. Just unzip it and you will have a ready to use MUTE installation that occupies only 5.4MB. For more information on the MUTE network and the original application visit its homepage. You can download MUTE Portable by clicking here.