How to Get Around your ISP's Bit Torrent Blocker

by scarface May 14th 2008, 11:18 pm

More and more Internet service providers are blocking or throttling traffic to the peer-to-peer file-sharing service. Find out whether you've been targeted, and learn how get around the restrictions.

Tom Spring 14/05/2008

I'm a fan of live music and a patron of online communities such as eTree.org, where music junkies swap copyright-free music. So I was stung when I recently tried to download a live recording of a Dave Matthews concert only to discover that my BitTorrent client was dead in the water.

My system and Net connection checked out fine, so paranoia immediately set in: Was my Internet service provider, RCN, blocking BitTorrent? I called RCN and the tech I spoke to confirmed my suspicions, telling me that the ISP had added BitTorrent to its list of prohibited programs because many people use the software to download copyrighted material. The fact that the concert I was trying to download was copyright-free didn't sway him.

Later I called RCN's press department as a reporter, and the story changed. The ISP's spokesperson told me that the customer support rep I had talked to earlier misspoke. RCN has never intentionally blocked peer-to-peer traffic, the spokesperson said, and it supports the principles behind Net neutrality. Within 24 hours, my bandwidth-related problems with BitTorrent vanished.

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;409444582;pp;1;fp;16;fpid;1