ISPs Fight Against Encrypted BitTorrent Downloads

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ISPs Fight Against Encrypted BitTorrent Downloads

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Friday September 1, 2006 @05:03AM from the stopping-the-flow dept.

oglsmm writes to mention an Ars Technica article about a new product intended to detect and throttle encrypted BitTorrent traffic. When torrents first saw common use ISPs would throttle the bandwidth available to them, in order to ensure connectivity for everyone. Some clients began encrypting their data to get around this, and the company Allot Communications is now claiming their NetEnforcer product will return the advantage to the ISPs. From the article: "Certainly, increasing BitTorrent traffic is a concern for ISPs. In early 2004, torrents accounted for 35 percent of all traffic on the Internet. By the end of that year, this figure had almost doubled, and some estimate that in certain markets, such as Asia, torrent traffic uses as much as 80 percent of all bandwidth. However, BitTorrent is an extremely important tool that has many uses other than what everyone assumes it is good for, namely movie piracy."

17 of 588 comments (clear)

lol, moustrap, mouse by (fagging+beta) · 2006-09-01 05:06 · Score: 5, Funny

If you build a better mousetrap someone will fling a couger at you.
1. Re:lol, moustrap, mouse by iminplaya · 2006-09-01 05:55 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Is that an OSX joke?
  
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  What?
2. Re:lol, moustrap, mouse by Millenniumman · 2006-09-01 10:10 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  No, no, no! You can't do that! You have to support regulation of ISPs, not use the free market and switch! You are a powerless peon, and only the government can protect you from the evil corporations. You are preaching a philosophy of hate, you evil fascist!
  
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  Stupidity is like nuclear power, it can be used for good or evil. And you don't want to get any on you.
3. Re:lol, moustrap, mouse by Anonymous Coward · 2006-09-01 22:58 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  OSX is the joke.
Many other uses by Wind_Walker · 2006-09-01 05:06 · Score: 5, Funny

However, BitTorrent is an extremely important tool that has many uses other than what everyone assumes it is good for, namely movie piracy.
I agree wholeheartedly. There's pornography, music piracy, video game piracy, and pornography.
1. Re:Many other uses by Professor_UNIX · 2006-09-01 05:12 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  I agree wholeheartedly. There's pornography, music piracy, video game piracy, and pornography.
  Oh come on! Are you saying you don't use BitTorrent to download ISO images of Linux and home movies (not pornography you pervert) of their vacations and kids playing in the orchestra?
2. Re:Many other uses by fistfullast33l · 2006-09-01 05:12 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  You forgot pornography.
3. Re:Many other uses by Anonymous Coward · 2006-09-01 05:29 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Are you saying you don't use BitTorrent to download ISO images of Linux
  Hell no. I'm a BSD user, you know.
But I thought SPAM was 80% of traffic? by NotQuiteReal · 2006-09-01 05:10 · Score: 5, Funny

Spam + Torrent = %160, plus whatever "real" traffic the net has...
Wow, stunning efficiency, or bad statistics.

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This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
1. Re:But I thought SPAM was 80% of traffic? by bunions · 2006-09-01 05:11 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I think spam goes in either a different pipe or a truck, I'm not 100% sure of how it works though.
  
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  there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
2. Re:But I thought SPAM was 80% of traffic? by Anonymous Coward · 2006-09-01 05:15 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  No No, its not a pipe you see it a series of tubes...and if someone sends you an internet it might get stuck in a tube behind a different internet....
  
  Or at least thats how I have heard it works, not positive.
3. Re:But I thought SPAM was 80% of traffic? by niceone · 2006-09-01 05:56 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  I think spam goes in either a different pipe or a truck, I'm not 100% sure of how it works though
  
  I'm 80% sure of how it works, how sure are you? Between us we're probably completely certain.
  
  --
  ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
Re:First by Cpt_Kirks · 2006-09-01 05:29 · Score: 3, Funny

Not "first".

"Fist".

Up you ass.

About elbow deep.

(let's see, will this one be modded: Troll? Flamebait? Off-Topic? The suspense is KILLING ME!)
Re:Steganography? by davidwr · 2006-09-01 06:16 · Score: 2, Funny

Use s teganography [wikipedia.org]. Basically you could send images with extra e ncrypted data tacked on the end; c an the product detect that??? And if some unlucky admin type looks at the image, they get to see goatse in all his glory, but don't see the enc r ypted data hidden in the image.
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Is my hatr e d of this box of wires sensible? Or am I a Linux geek trying to make XP work as I slowly go batshi t insane?

I found your secret! I found your secret!

But wait, was it the correct secret????

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Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Re:Many uses other than Movie Piracy by Anonymous Coward · 2006-09-01 07:04 · Score: 2, Funny

Dear Sir,

Your IP address has slandered me, insulted me and publically humiliated me. Additionally your IP address has repeatedly "stolen" PDF versions of 'Goat Shaving Monthly' and 'Creamed Midgets Weekly' from my shared download folder. Are you as you claim, prepared to take full legal responsibility for the unfortunate actions undertaken by your IP address?

Sincerely,

AC
Re:compare to land by masterzora · 2006-09-01 07:49 · Score: 4, Funny

You're right... it was missing a car.

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Remember, open source is free as in speech, not free as in bear.
Re:Cost is in buying transit by Randseed · 2006-09-01 11:09 · Score: 2, Funny

1. The ISP goes to torrentLeech, the Pirate Bay, etc., and downloads all the torrents, caching them.
2. the ISP provides them on their local network.
3. The ISP doesn't have to pay their tier-1 provider for the bandwidth, because it's all on their local net.
4. PROFIT!