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bart, if you download a file from someone via P2P, the RIAA can find your address. seriously... just think about the definition of P2P: Peer-to-Peer. it basically means to connect directly to another person without the use of a server for transferring data. Now let's think about how it works.
Imagine you're hosting a shitload of music for people to download. Someone from the RIAA searches on Soulseek for a Metallica track, which you have. When they double-click the file to request the file, the following process happens:
once the file transfer begins, you're basically fucked. try this... go to a MS-DOS command prompt and type NETSTAT. you'll see a list of all ports on your computer, what remote address is bound to it, and the status of the port. finding someone's IP address can be done within minutes thanks to P2P networks:
From there, it's cake. just take the ip address and do a reverse whois on it with pages such as http://dnsstuff.com. By using this process, I just got beanz's IP address, found that his ISP is Comcast in Los Angeles, CA (Corona, CA to be exact), and that I can contact +1-856-317-7272 with any network/policy abuse situations. With this information I can contact Comcast, give them a date, a time, and an IP address, and they will be required to cooperate with the law by providing which of their customers had that IP address at that time, which leads straight to which person was hosting illegal music.
The same process can be done to those trying to download from you, as well... this shows that anybody on any computer anywhere can find anybody with minimal tools. I don't work for the RIAA/Government, but I think it's safe to assume their tools are more powerful than those that I just showed you... so no, P2P isn't safe. Downloading from anywhere on the Internet isn't safe. The only "safe" thing you can do is not share a fuckload of music with people you don't know, and definitely don't make copyrighted music available to the public.
Imagine you're hosting a shitload of music for people to download. Someone from the RIAA searches on Soulseek for a Metallica track, which you have. When they double-click the file to request the file, the following process happens:
- their computer opens a port and listens for traffic on it.
- sends your computer a notice via the server that you want to download the file. this notice is comprised of the file they want to download, their IP address, and the port that has been opened
- your computer receives their request via the server
- your computer opens a new outgoing port
- your computer connects directly to the person requesting the file (here's where the P2P comes in) by using the IP address and port specified
- the file transfer begins
once the file transfer begins, you're basically fucked. try this... go to a MS-DOS command prompt and type NETSTAT. you'll see a list of all ports on your computer, what remote address is bound to it, and the status of the port. finding someone's IP address can be done within minutes thanks to P2P networks:
- Open Soulseek
- Go to a command prompt
- Type NETSTAT
- Start a download from someone in soulseek
- type NETSTAT again
- look for the IP address that wasn't in the first list
From there, it's cake. just take the ip address and do a reverse whois on it with pages such as http://dnsstuff.com. By using this process, I just got beanz's IP address, found that his ISP is Comcast in Los Angeles, CA (Corona, CA to be exact), and that I can contact +1-856-317-7272 with any network/policy abuse situations. With this information I can contact Comcast, give them a date, a time, and an IP address, and they will be required to cooperate with the law by providing which of their customers had that IP address at that time, which leads straight to which person was hosting illegal music.
The same process can be done to those trying to download from you, as well... this shows that anybody on any computer anywhere can find anybody with minimal tools. I don't work for the RIAA/Government, but I think it's safe to assume their tools are more powerful than those that I just showed you... so no, P2P isn't safe. Downloading from anywhere on the Internet isn't safe. The only "safe" thing you can do is not share a fuckload of music with people you don't know, and definitely don't make copyrighted music available to the public.
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