Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

starman · Jun 29, 2005, 01:09 PM

So, here's the deal. There's something I want to put up on the net so that BitTorrent users can download it. I have NO clue how to do that. I know I have to make a .torrent file, but what else do I need? Do I need a legal tracker? How do I find that?

Mike

Mithras · Jun 29, 2005, 01:22 PM

You can also use the new trackerless method.
Either way, you'll need to have at least one computer connected to the Net 24/7, "seeding" the file.

starman · Jun 29, 2005, 01:23 PM

Oh, that's right

. Thanks.

One thing - if I'm the primary seed, is my IP address going to be seen by everyone? I'd rather keep it hidden.

Mike

Mithras · Jun 29, 2005, 01:43 PM

Yes, it will be seen. That is why Bittorrent is good for sharing bandwidth, and bad for illegal P2P.

lavar78 · Jun 29, 2005, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by starman

One thing - if I'm the primary seed, is my IP address going to be seen by everyone? I'd rather keep it hidden.

"Hidden"?

starman · Jun 29, 2005, 02:05 PM

Yeah, hidden. I don't want to bradcast my IP address while I'm seeding. It's a legal file, but I'd rather still keep it hidden.

Mike

lavar78 · Jun 29, 2005, 02:10 PM

That was a "you think your IP address is hidden?" joke.

starman · Jun 29, 2005, 02:16 PM

Considering that there are MANY systems that make your IP anonymous, I didn't really get the joke. I haven't tried any myself, but I know for a fact they work well enough to keep most people from knowing your IP.

Mike

Angus_D · Jun 29, 2005, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by starman

Considering that there are MANY systems that make your IP anonymous.

There are?

turtle777 · Jun 29, 2005, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by starman

Considering that there are MANY systems that make your IP anonymous, I didn't really get the joke. I haven't tried any myself, but I know for a fact they work well enough to keep most people from knowing your IP.

Mike

One way to be anonymous is to use a proxy when surfing. But even then you are only anonymous to the website you are requesting, not to the proxy itself.
If you were completely "hidden", how would any request sent out ever come back ?

As long as you are hosting data, you can't be completely anonymous. How would any packet request EVER get to you ? At some point (proxy, gateway, router), SOMEONE has to know your IP.

That being said, I can imagine that there are services that work like dynamic DNS servers that sort of redirect requests to you. Have you tried any of these ? Like dyndns.org ?

-t

lavar78 · Jun 29, 2005, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

As long as you are hosting data, you can't be completely anonymous. How would any packet request EVER get to you ? At some point (proxy, gateway, router), SOMEONE has to know your IP.

Exactly.

Mithras · Jun 29, 2005, 06:11 PM

There is the Anonet, which is a worldwide VPN system using the 1.0.0.0/8 space, so that knowing a server's IP address tells you nothing about where they are physically.

starman · Jun 29, 2005, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by lavar78

Exactly.

At worst, the first hop will know my IP. I don't care about that. How many end users are REALLY going to trace my IP address through a dozen randomizers?

Mike

turtle777 · Jun 30, 2005, 08:55 AM

Originally Posted by starman

At worst, the first hop will know my IP. I don't care about that. How many end users are REALLY going to trace my IP address through a dozen randomizers?

Mike

You are right, most won't. But again, it is possible. Since you are not trying to host anything illegal, you should be fine. But it's security by obscurity, just be aware of that.

-t