Can RIAA Monitor Downloaders?

[ZombieGak]

This is supposed to be at limewire.com:

Your activities on peer-to-peer networks such as LimeWire's may be monitored by copyright owners. By committing copyright infringement your risks include significant settlement fees if you are sued. Copyright owners have sued thousands of people for online copyright infringement. Don't be the next one!

I'm not interested in music which I get from iTunes, as much as other sound files like speeches and lectures. But the RIAA's tactics really get my goat.

I understand how uploaders can be identified through their IP. But can downloaders be identified too? If so how? By setting up their own ultrapeers?

[1337_]

I hate this stuff with the RIAA...

[LadyMatika]

how true is that story about them trying to shut limewire down??
this is the only p2p system that hasn't screwed up my computer I love limewire , even audiogalaxy didn't give me the satifaction that limewire gives me.

[terryt]

I live in the U.K. is there someone watching what i download regarding copyright ect i think keeping track of over 1 million limewire users is a bit crappy it's not like where actually doing anything seriously wrong.

[LuckysDaddy]

How effective is Peer Guardian in preventing the government or the RIAA from getting IP addresses of uploaders/downloaders?

[ukbobboy01]

LuckysDaddy

PG cannot stop someone from capturing your IP address, nothing can unless you belong to a group of technically savy pirates, paedophiles, terrorist or some other group that a government secret service or police would be interested in, e.g. Darknet

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4798059.stm

However, PG will stop organisations using LW, or any other P2P app, to access port 6346 and rummage around inside your PC.


UK Bob

[Hyper-kun]

If you use PeerGuardian, hosts at blocked IP address will receive a PUSH request. Of course, those hosts cannot connect to you but any other can. They can simply scan you and connect to from *any other* host. PeerGuardian is snake oil if you see it as a protection device against getting caught by the RIAA or whoever. I doubt that's the purpose of PeerGuardian and don't think they recommend to use for that. It just won't help. It could help against a certain amount of sabotage, corruption and spamming on the network but it doesn't hide you at all. The major flaw of PeerGuardian is that it's working on the wrong layer.

[LuckysDaddy]

Thank you! So is PG a good idea to compliment ZoneAlarm?

[ukbobboy01]

Hyper-kun

First of all, I am not going to try and defend PG but calling it "snake oil" is somewhat off the mark.

PG has never claimed or pretended to hide or disguise your IP address, this is a mistake that novices often make, and to accuse PG of perpetrating that myth is just plain wrong. After all, no organisation can stop users from misinterpreting or imagining facilities that don’t exist in their products.

You said:

Of course, those hosts cannot connect to you but any other can. They can simply scan you and connect to from *any other* host.

However, most people that have PG2 also use a firewall, such as ZoneAlarm, Norton Personal Firewall, etc. and it is the job of the firewall to protect your PC from such scans.

I am sure you realise that PG2 of itself cannot protect your PCs from all attacks, and it does not pretend that it can, as you and I both know it is an IP blocker and it works very well at what it does.

You also said:

It could help against a certain amount of sabotage, corruption and spamming on the network but it doesn't hide you at all.

And I can wholeheartedly agree with that statement because once, when PG was down, someone or something planted a keylogger on my PC. Luckily for me I had the necessary protective software to find and delete this malware.

Finally, I would like you to explain or expand upon your statement:

The major flaw of PeerGuardian is that it's working on the wrong layer.

Because as as far as I am concerned, PG does exactly what it claims to do, no more or no less.

Awaiting your reply.



UK Bob

[ZombieGak]

Originally Posted by Sphinx

This has been asked and covered more than once via the forum stickys.

I've poked through everything that seemed relevant.

I know it's easy to get the IP for uploaders. Do a search, find a suspect file then browse host.

What I was most curious about was how anyone could monitor downloaders? The only easy way I can figure is to set up ultrapeers and log all traffic. Even then I'm not sure that would be much help. When someone clicks to download... a direct P2P connection is set up and the ultrapeer is out of the loop, right? That's really not proof anyone downloaded that file... only that they started to.

I'm new to P2P. What am I missing?

Thanks!