A question about BitTorrents?

Zenith · Tue Sep 26, 2006 5:32 pm

Hello everyone.

I've never used a BT tracker before, and I'm very cautious about downloading anything. I was wondering if anyone has ever got any viruses/spy-ware etc onto their computers while using a BT?

This is just a general wondering really.

Cheers guys
Ben

srb · Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:28 pm

In order to get a virus through bitTorrent, somebody would have to post the malicious file on a tracker. For the most part, there are usually forums associated with trackers, meaning that if somebody posts a program with a virus, somebody else is going to report it. It's not that it doesn't happen, you just need to check out what you're downloading.

When it comes to something like the hipTracker, all the shows are from well known sources, and I'd hate to think that anybody here (except maybe foats) would purposely try to upload something malicious. Even so, it would be extremely hard, since only music files and video files are allowed (ie. no archived files -.zip/.rar etc., and no .exe.)

I've been using bitTorrent for about 2 years now, and never had a virus.

IMissMyLungBob · Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:50 pm

The only problem I have with BT is when Azureus is open it slows the crap out of my windows 98

sean.bonner · Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:55 pm

The network at my university is cracking down on torrents. I am terrified that I won't be able to download any of the Summer Fling DVDs... and my beloved Charlottetown show

IMissMyLungBob · Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:04 pm

What do they have against BT?

sean.bonner · Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:13 pm

I don't know... its a real piss off when what I'm doing is completely legal.

chris · Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:33 pm

Zenith wrote:Hello everyone.

I've never used a BT tracker before, and I'm very cautious about downloading anything. I was wondering if anyone has ever got any viruses/spy-ware etc onto their computers while using a BT?

This is just a general wondering really.

Cheers guys
Ben

Further to what srb said, you're not going to get a virus through BT files. The little .torrent file that you download from the tracker contains a blueprint for what the files you're downloading should look like. A virus would alter the files. The blueprint would recognize that the files are changed and not download them.

The only way to get a virus through a torrent is if the file posted is a virus. But as srb said, the shows on our tracker come from reliable sources so for now we're safe.

IMissMyLungBob wrote:What do they have against BT?

Bandwidth issues. Bit Torrents use up a lot of bandwidth. And when you have many thousands of students on your network sharing through BT it can clog up a network, preventing the academic uses from being completed.

andy42g · Wed Sep 27, 2006 4:27 am

chris wrote:[Bandwidth issues. Bit Torrents use up a lot of bandwidth. And when you have many thousands of students on your network sharing through BT it can clog up a network, preventing the academic uses from being completed.

University computers are there for academic use? Crikey - I never knew that.

Zenith · Wed Sep 27, 2006 4:36 am

Thanks for the replies everyone.

They've been very helpful. I never had any doubt that the HipTracker would be safe - but the reassurance is always good.

I assume that no one has ever had any problems with things like dimeadozen.org either then?

Oh, I meant to put in my orginal post: What about things like Limewire? Has anyone had any bad experiences using filesharing programs like that?

Thanks again.

sean.bonner · Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:13 am

Zenith wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. They've been very helpful. I never had any doubt that the HipTracker would be safe - but the reassurance is always good. I assume that no one has ever had any problems with things like dimeadozen.org either then?

Oh, I meant to put in my orginal post: What about things like Limewire? Has anyone had any bad experiences using filesharing programs like that?

Thanks again.

Limewire isn't that bad, but you still have to be cautious. Now, with Kazaa... stay clear!

VioletlightHeron · Wed Sep 27, 2006 4:14 pm

sean.bonner wrote:
Zenith wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. They've been very helpful. I never had any doubt that the HipTracker would be safe - but the reassurance is always good. I assume that no one has ever had any problems with things like dimeadozen.org either then?

Oh, I meant to put in my orginal post: What about things like Limewire? Has anyone had any bad experiences using filesharing programs like that?

Thanks again.
Limewire isn't that bad, but you still have to be cautious. Now, with Kazaa... stay clear!

Stay clear away from Kazaa, it probably will be closed down in 6 months and the KazaaLite program isnt much better. It used to be very good, the next best source for filesharing programs is Soulseek; although it takes a little bit getting used to the search engine and the forums on their.

Billy · Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:02 pm

sean.bonner wrote:The network at my university is cracking down on torrents. I am terrified that I won't be able to download any of the Summer Fling DVDs... and my beloved Charlottetown show

Don't let that slow you down. There are plenty of Hipbasers that would gladly B&P the shows for you.

laliber · Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:34 pm

new to the torrent, so I have a few questions - simple stuff...

what is the best client to use for downloading torrents

what do most folks on HB use , considering ease of use – and compatibility with XP….

srb · Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:52 pm

laliber wrote:new to the torrent, so I have a few questions - simple stuff...

what is the best client to use for downloading torrents

what do most folks on HB use , considering ease of use – and compatibility with XP….

I've been using bitTornado for a couple years and had no problems with it. I think the 2 most popular BT clients are uTorrent & Azureus though. It's all personal preference.

Billy · Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:33 pm

VioletlightHeron wrote:
sean.bonner wrote:
Zenith wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. They've been very helpful. I never had any doubt that the HipTracker would be safe - but the reassurance is always good. I assume that no one has ever had any problems with things like dimeadozen.org either then?

Oh, I meant to put in my orginal post: What about things like Limewire? Has anyone had any bad experiences using filesharing programs like that?

Thanks again.
Limewire isn't that bad, but you still have to be cautious. Now, with Kazaa... stay clear!
Stay clear away from Kazaa, it probably will be closed down in 6 months and the KazaaLite program isnt much better. It used to be very good, the next best source for filesharing programs is Soulseek; although it takes a little bit getting used to the search engine and the forums on their.

I haven't used anything other than bit torrents for the last 3ish years, but I downloaded Soulseek on your recommendation. I can't seem to get anything to download, and I've tried about 4 different files. Ad far as I can tell I have the settings configured correctly, and when I tested the port I'm using it came back as good. Is there something I need to know to actually get a file to start to download?