I had to download some files through a p2p application over the week-end (I used μTorrent). What a pain it was because of the throttling done by my ISP. They limit downloads to 30 kB/s from 4 pm to 2 am… and from what I read on the Web, that’s generous compared to some other ISPs.
I tried all I could to bypass this “network management”. I tried to encrypt the session using the built-in encryption function in μTorrent. That did not help, as it’s a well known workaround and it’s easily defeated by the ISP. I used this technique from Per Vices Corporation. That seemed to help a bit, as the download speed went up (about doubled to 50-80 kB/s) – what I get from this is that the ISP is not only throttling p2p but they are also throttling VPN connections. By the way, I had previously noticed the 4 pm slowdown while connecting through VPN with my workplace… But that’s another debate… wait… it’s not even a debate when you read Tim Berners-Lee words of wisdom:
Freedom of connection, with any application, to any party, is the fundamental social basis of the internet.
and…
If I pay to connect to the net, with a given quality of service, and you pay to connect to the net with the same, or a higher, quality of service, then you and I, can communicate across the Net with that quality of service.
That’s all there is to know about Net Neutrality. Done with this parenthesis, back to the main topic…
So there are only a few other options left…
- Do your thing between 2 am and 4 pm. I was at my computer at 2 am when the computer literally “clicked” its way to 500 kB/s. Wow. That’s what we pay for.
- Tor (Vidalia) (to hide from the ISP which application you are using, thus defeating the throttling)… but the Tor network is slow, so that defeats the purpose.
- Connecting to a non-throttled server through SSH tunnel. First, you have to find (and trust) that open server. Next, you have to set-up the connection yourself (install a VPN/SSH client on your computer and connect to the open server).
- Subscribe to a specialized service that offers a non-throttled remote server connection and an easy to install VPN/SSHed client. I found: relakks.com (€5 per month, €50 per year, ran by Piratpartiet in Sweden – I trust them), btguard.com ($7 a month, Canadian company that’s been around for a little while, no complaints so far), and torrentprivacy.com ($3 a week, or $100 a year, ran by the torrentreactor.net team).
These solutions can of course be used for purposes other than p2p applications (straight desktop to destop exchanges, phone, IM).
But remember:
a. Your ISP won’t know what you are doing (encrypted session), so they can be subpoened all they want but won’t be able to reveal anything about the content of the file
b. To the sender of the file, your IP will be concealed (though luck if its a trap set-up by RIAA, MPAA or law enforcement)
c. The weak points: the server (whether set-up by yourself or paid service) knows your IP address (do you trust them?) and can see what file you are requesting/transferring (if it’s in the clear)
d. So, a good precaution, if you use those services for other purposes than p2p, is to only only transfer encrypted files. That way, nobody will know (well, except the person who encrypted the file) what the file is about. So if your server is subpoened, it does not matter, your IP address will be known but the content of the file stays private. Big deal!
e. And finally, the dreaded “Is the computer you are using compromised by an adversary? – ie packet sniffer, keylogger”. Law enforcement is getting good at this…
Whew, that was a long article!
