[LBo] bit torrent security concerns

[Jason Turning]

On Sat, 2006-11-11 at 17:18 -0500, Tim Lemmon wrote:
> I have never used bit torrent for downloading large files, but it
> appears to be quite popular.  What are the security concerns with
> using a program like this?  I don't know too much about it, but have
> concerns about other computers downloading files from my own computer.
> 
> -Tim

I use bit torrent to grab TV shows I've missed and distribution ISOs or
other similar legal content. Since it is a community downloading scheme,
it does depend on others wanting the same file at the same time along
with all pieces being available. But I find it works pretty well even
with limited people, although slow depending on how people limit their
upload speed. I have not had a security problem with it, even before
when I was mostly running XP. Azureus (Java) and Ktorrent (which I use)
are good bit torrent clients in Linux. They do work better if you punch
a hole through your router/firewall for them to listen on, but I've had
no problem with this. Always good to use something other than the
standard port setting.

Here's a link to a recent security discussion on the Ktorrent Forums:
http://ktorrent.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=873&sid=27d0a98f14c3432128b323c272826797

-- 
Jason Turning
jturning at sbcglobal.net
-----
http://www.hikenride.net