[ZS] Researchers To Release an Anonymous BitTorrent Client

Karel Bílek kb at karelbilek.com
Mon Jun 4 07:50:38 PDT 2012


I don't understand this idea, at all. (I don't like the current tribler,
its decentralized search is a throwback to all the gnutella systems of the
past; I think bittorrent is showing that there is still a need for
centralized repository with control)

What are the proxy nodes? Is it like Tor with only volunteers? Is it like
Freenet where every user is a proxy? Or are they themselves the proxy
servers?

Also, I think they are basically doing two things that are in opposition -
making bittorrent faster and making it more anonymous.

This will not work.

K
On Jun 4, 2012 4:21 PM, "Eugen Leitl" <eugen at leitl.org> wrote:

> ----- Forwarded message from "mixter at gmail.com" <mixter at gmail.com> -----
>
> From: "mixter at gmail.com" <mixter at gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2012 16:05:31 +0200
> To: doctrinezero at googlegroups.com
> Subject: [ZS] Researchers To Release an Anonymous BitTorrent Client
> Reply-To: doctrinezero at googlegroups.com
>
> Not a super new idea, but a comprehensive anonymization package from a
> single source is usually more secure.
>
>
> http://torrentfreak.com/researchers-anonymous-bittorrent-client-120601/
>
> Researchers at Delft University of Technology have taken up the
> ambitious challenge of creating a BitTorrent client which secures the
> privacy of its users. Their Tribler client is already completely
> decentralized, meaning it will still work even in the event that all
> BitTorrent sites are shut down. Anonymity is the next big step in its
> evolution. b Web re going to take Internet privacy to the next level,b
> the lead researcher says about the upcoming release.
>
> BitTorrent users are increasingly looking for more anonymity but right
> now their options are limited.
>
> For a monthly fee they can sign up with a VPN or proxy to hide their
> IP-address. Free options with decent speeds or without other
> restrictions arenb t easily available.
>
> This lack of fast, unlimited and free anonymous BitTorrent options is
> what the Tribler team at Delft University of Technology are hoping to
> change. Their Tribler client has been around for more than half a
> decade already, and during that time itb s developed into the only
> truly decentralized BitTorrent client out there.
>
> Unlike traditional BitTorrent clients, Tribler does not rely on
> central servers or third-party sites. Users can search, download and
> moderate files from within the application itself, based on pure
> peer-to-peer communication. Quite a remarkable achievement, but itb s
> also just the beginning for the research team.
>
> During a talk at the Stanford University this week, Dr. Johan Pouwelse
> talked about the past and the future of Tribler, announcing the
> ambitious play to add make BitTorrent transfers more private.
>
> Talking to TorrentFreak, Pouwelse explained that the idea is to add a
> proxy layer where proxies act as b cachesb  of content. This can hugely
> improve downloads speeds, but also makes BitTorrent downloads more
> private.
>
> b Our goal is to provide all users with the download speed which today
> can only be found in private BitTorrent communities, combined with the
> privacy that is currently only offered by paid VPN services,b  said
> Pouwelse.
>
> The Triber team has been perfecting the technology for years and itb s
> expected to be released in two or three months. Initial tests show
> that even with the added anonymity, people donb t have to sacrifice
> speed at all. Quite the contrary.
>
> b Experimental results have shown that the performance of the proposed
> mechanism is better than that of regular BitTorrent in a large number
> of scenarios. At the same time, the proxy layer can be used to offer
> the users a shield of plausible deniability enhancing their privacy,b
> Pouwelse told us.
>
> With the new code Tribler says it outperforms other clients such as
> uTorrent in download speeds. Ultimately, the researchers hope to
> compete with on-demand video services such as YouTube.
>
> b BitTorrent has served us well for 11 years, but modern features such
> as YouTube-like easy streaming, sharing of your 1 Terabyte harddisk
> and solid anonymity are needed. The BitTorrent protocol simply does
> not scale to safe private sharing of 1 Terabyte, which would begin to
> bridge the gap between the wealth of content on YouTube versus the
> weak archive capability of BitTorrent.b
>
> Helped by money from European tax payers, the b understaffedb  team say
> they are now at a point where Tribler can compete with some of the
> fastest centralized services. Their P2P streaming technology is
> currently under consideration to become an official Internet standard
> and is being actively tested by major broadcasting companies including
> the BBC.
>
> The Tribler proxy layer is expected to be implemented this fall, but
> those who want to give the current version of Tribler a spin are
> welcome download it here. The client is completely Open Source and has
> a version for Windows, Mac and Linux.
>
> --
> Zero State mailing list:
> http://groups.google.com/group/DoctrineZero
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
> --
> Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
> ______________________________________________________________
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