Many people have reported getting notices from their internet service providers after downloading files using torrents. How does your ISP know? It’s all in how BitTorrent works. BitTorrent is a lot less anonymous than it might seem at a glance.
How Do Torrents Work?
An internet download involves receiving data from a remote server. Aside from the initial request you send out to get the file, most downloads are a one-way street. You receive the data from a central server, and you don’t have to send out something from your server. Loading up web pages, watching videos online, and downloading games on Steam all work in this way.
However, if too many IP addresses download from the same server at the same time, it may get clogged and cause a dip in download speed.
Torrents differ from typical internet downloads because they follow a peer-to-peer protocol. A torrent “swarm” is a group of IP addresses simultaneously downloading and uploading a file. Instead of just downloading a file from a server somewhere, you also upload parts of it to other people. Because of this constant process of exchange, a file associated with a torrent often downloads significantly faster than a standard download.
BitTorrent is frequently used for piracy. However, there are many legitimate uses for torrenting. Because they can be paused, resumed, and split up into smaller parts, they’re ideal for downloading large files such as games, software, plugin packs, and updates. They’re also a common distribution method for free music and videos.
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What Your ISP Can See
Your internet service provider can’t instantly tell if you’re using BitTorrent, nor can they tell what you’re downloading on it. Most torrent clients have some form of encryption, which makes it harder for ISPs (and your home router) to pin down that BitTorrent traffic. However, there are some ways they can tell that you’re using BitTorrent to download something.
Downloading torrents exhibits some very obvious usage patterns, such as multiple concurrent upload streams and many different TCP (transmission control protocol) connections, because you’re communicating with many IPs at the same time. If your ISP is actively trying to detect torrent use, they will most likely be able to tell.
Another way they can do it is by contracting third-parties to monitor groups of torrents, and check if an IP address under them shows up on the list of users on that swarm.
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from How-To Geek https://ift.tt/2rWMDIH
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