December 18, 2007 by sharky
(BitTorrent over I2P / BitTorrent over Tor / anoNet)
Using BitTorrent to download files is quite possibly the best method going - both for speed and for sheer content availability. And when used alone, it is also the most vulnerable. All P2P users share each others’ information in order to complete a download - thus opening the door to anyone who wants to acquire that info. This is simply a requisite of the deal, quid pro quo. And BitTorrent is no exception to the rule: IP harvesting (of the shared *.torrent file) is especially easy to do with a modified Bit client.
Solutions:
As mentioned here, using a proxy server is a great way to ensure anonymity over any P2P application, including BitTorrent. But there is an alternative - ‘BitTorrent over I2P’.
BitTorrent over I2P.
FREEWARE
BitTorrent over I2P” takes you out of the loop, so to speak - right from the start. Instead, your IP address will show up as 127.0.0.1 - entirely benign. And because you’re already anonymous on I2P, everything else running through it (or ‘over‘ it) will be equally concealed.
Q: — Why use ‘Bit over I2P’ when I can use a proxy server?
A: — True reliable proxy servers aren’t free. As well, your proxy server does have your name and real IP address on file through the account, and will likely comply to coughing up this information if required to do so.
Q: — Why use ‘Bit over I2P’ when I already use IP Blocking software?
A: — IP blocklists are fallible, and not 100%. Who’s to say that employees from MediaDefender or BayTSP don’t go home at night and use the same company techniques to harvest IP addresses?! Surely these residential IPs can’t all be on the blocklists.
Getting Started with ‘BitTorrent over I2P’
As with all I2P-supporting programs, I2P must be installed and running first. See our link on installing I2P.
Getting that out of the way, it is now assumed your I2P service is properly running. The I2P icon should now appear in your taskbar.
Pre-config notes:
— I2P must also be on the allow list if you are running a firewall. The port required by I2P is UDP port 8887.
— Internet Explorer is not recommended for use with I2P (for security reasons). Thus, Firefox is used solely in our examples below.
Now, you’ll need to:
1. Configure Firefox to run through the I2P network. Go to TOOLS > OPTIONS… menu - click the ‘Advanced‘ icon, then click the Network tab, then click ‘Settings’:
The ‘Settings’ will bring up another window, as shown below. Click the ‘Manual Proxy Configuration’ button, enter “localhost” for the ‘HTTP Proxy’ and enter ‘4444′ for the ‘Port:’. Click “OK” to save changes.
2. Close and re-open Firefox (this saves and updates the changes). Next, point to your I2P ‘Router Console’ page at http://localhost:7657/index.jsp. You’ll need to wait for the ‘peers’ list to generate some connections. Also check that you have an uptime statistic - this means the I2P service is, in fact, running:
3. You are now able to view I2P eepsites. Eepsites are websites that are hosted anonymously within the I2P network (ending with .i2p). They won’t be speedy, but they will be anonymous and secure.
Finding BitTorrent Eepsites.
I2P comes loaded with its own built-in BitTorrent client. Just click on the I2PSnark link at the top of your http://localhost:7657/index.jsp page. Other I2P BitTorrent clients include I2PRufus and I2P-BT, and can be found through various I2P eepsites and search engines.
The I2PSnark page shows all torrent activity, plus it contains some links to other eepsites that host torrent files.
Additionally, I2P eepsites can be browsed and arranged by groups. Check out some of these eepsites that categorize, list and track other ones. Note that all eepsites (including below) can only be accessed through your I2P-configured browser (i.e. - proxy: ‘localhost’ port: ‘4444′), and while connected to the I2P service.
- http://inproxy.tino.i2p/status.php — tracks active eepsites, contains many links. We suggest you browse around - good links are obvious and often named appropriately to a desired category.
- http://eepsites.i2p/ — eepsite search engine.
BitTorrent over I2P (in Azureus)
I2P can be configured through Azureus, as well. Here’s a link to the I2P plugin for Azureus - don’t forget to read the documentation.
BitTorrent over Tor
FREEWARE
Mentioned previously, it is possible to configure BitTorrent traffic over the Tor network. It’s not a recommended alternative to anonymous BitTorrent, however, it does work. This causes a strain on the entire Tor network and all users that share it. Here’s an article that explains why it shouldn’t be practiced.
Having said that, there may be some circumstances where it is the only way for a P2P user to remain anonymous. Not only that, but Tor is also great at hiding the type of traffic that a user is transferring. An example would be someone living in a rural area who has but one option for an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and that same ISP throttles P2P traffic.
Regardless of any attempts to distract P2P file sharers from utilizing Tor for anonymity, we believe that the dissuasion will sell itself: BitTorrent download speeds are (comparatively) very slow over the Tor network.
Alas, here’s an article that explains how to do it. Be extremely careful that you know what you’re doing - it’s especially easy to hide the ‘tracker’, but encrypting the actual files in the downloading torrent is not the same thing. I2P is a much safer bet!
And here’s an article about how to use Azureus with Tor. The Tor plugin for Azureus is called AnonBT.
Archived by FSFmirror
