FileShareFreak THE source for P2P File Sharing Tips, Tricks and information.

Anyone who’s old enough to buy their own cigarettes is probably familiar with old skool P2P file sharing with KaZaA. And likely this same group probably even remembers when it just stopped working one day - dead in it’s tracks many moons ago. Do you remember where you were when KaZaA died? I do - I was at work and my girlfriend called me to tell me something was wrong with my computer; that KaZaA wasn’t working anymore. To soothe her, I said I’d check it out as soon as I got home, but I could hear the panic in her voice. Right as rain, KaZaA was in the grave - no warning, no notice - just a quick & painless death. “Whew…what a relief!”, I thought inwardly, “Now I can reclaim my hijacked computer and use IRC once again!”. No more blank movie files, no more MP3s with scritchy-scratchy bits and white noise, and best of all - no more bullshit from this RIAA scam & spam-flooded network. It truly was a day of rejoice. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Anyways, KaZaA got sued and went legit. The only ‘known’ way to connect to the FastTrack network was to whip out a credit card, since it went entirely private and pay-to-use.

Flash ahead - four years later. We’ve tested over a hundred P2P programs, and not one has ever connected to the old KaZaA network known as FastTrack. We’ve tried KaZaA Lite, KaZaA Resurrection, KaZaA K Lite, K++, KLT K++ and every other KaZaA mutant. Many claimed and offered, but none delivered. That is, until today. Huzzah.

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Every once in a while a P2P utility comes along that really captures our attention, and so deservedly earns an honorable spot all by itself in the annuls of FileShareFreak. Such is the case with Avarice. Avarice is a multi-server IRC client designed to simplify XDCC file transfers - so simplified that users need not even know what IRC is in order to utilize it. Moreover, Avarice should be rightfully classified as a P2P program unto itself.

Unlike other IRC “scripts”, Avarice is a stand-alone IRC client that mimics the behavior of a P2P program. And since IRC is a goldmine for copyrighted content that exists at the apex of the piracy pyramid, it is an essential tool used in facilitating XDCC IRC searching.

The best feature about Avarice is in the search results. When treated as a regular P2P program, users need not worry about the quality of the files in the results - everything that should be, will be! Unlike public BitTorrent sites with all the publicly-submitted junk .torrents and Limewire-style P2P programs with the bogus files and anti-P2P corruption - XDCC Bots don’t suffer the same maladies. They are a highly-organized group of file servers from the upper echelon of piracy, itself. Avarice cuts out the middlemen and brings you right to the heart of “the scene” for newbies and experts alike.

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A review of Movie ‘Streaming’ Websites, and why it works.

Websites that feature full-length movies shown as ’streaming’ video have taken great strides in becoming quite remarkable. Some even offer films & clips in High-Definition (HD). So how do they get away with it, you ask? Simple! They don’t host the movies - just the links to them. This lovable loophole even permits them to play the movies on their sites, while staying and inch or two out of the MPAA’s reach.

Very few ‘free’ online movie sites actually host the movies themselves - it requires an enormous amount of bandwidth, not to mention the legalities associated with hosting copyrighted content. The solution? They use inadvertent carriers such as youtube, megavideo, stage6, video.google, veoh.com etc. - all of which offer a staggering amount of video - but frown upon any copyrighted content submitted by their users. Uploaded content is heavily moderated - and promptly deleted - if and when something is found to be in direct violation of the sites’ policies on copyright infringement. Well, piracy is a wonderful weed - give it just a crack of sunlight and an iota of soil, and it will happily flourish. Movie piracy has found an opportunistic niche within the folds of the youtubes - almost the same way that pirates have inundated the 1-click file hosting sites with illegal content, as in the case of rapidshare and megaupload.com. The exact same ideology bodes true for youtube - copyrighted content gets uploaded; it becomes discovered and gets deleted; someone else re-uploads it under a different filename. It’s an infinite cat-and-mouse game in a world where there’s too many mice and not enough felines.

What we’re trying to drive home is this: you’ll not find many movies by doing any searching from within streaming video sites like youtube, veoh and megavideo.com. Content that obvious is a sure-fire candidate for immediate deletion. Take, for example, the newly released movie “Step Up 2 - The Streets” - found everywhere as a CAM release on P2P, but you can’t find it on video.google.com. That is, you can’t find it by searching video google (all you’ll find are 2- minute clips & trailers), but it IS there Click here to do the search, and click here to watch the movie.

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We felt it necessary to give Tor projects its own page on FileShareFreak - more or less for our own convenience (when updating this entry). For those unaware, Tor is two things: First; it’s an anonymizing network used for establishing anonymous communications over the Internet. And second; Tor is also considered a Darknet.

Tor in itself is not a P2P program, but it can be implemented to add anonymous support to just about any ‘Internet’ program that will employ the addition of proxies. Tor adds layers of anonymity through onion routing, similar to both Internet tunneling and proxy services. Adding Tor to a P2P program is fairly easy to do, as long as Tor is already installed, running, and properly configured. Be sure to visit the ever-expanding Wikipedia page for Tor.

Tor Projects

Tor’s success has spawned the development of an entire armada of side projects, 3rd party spinoffs and software addons & plugins. It enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features. Listed below are just some of the projects that support Tor and the Tor network. It should be assumed that many of these require Tor to be installed and running prior to using (unless otherwise noted).

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What the heck is an eD2K ‘Hash Link’ ?

eD2k Hash Links are direct links to files being shared through P2P programs such as eMule and Shareaza. Think of them as a *.torrent file, or even a NZB (Usenet), or Direct Download Link (DDL). Grossly understated, a hash link is a unique keystring, or identifier, that is attached to a file that is being shared. Whether you know it or not, all files incorporate some form of hash link scheme to give them a uniqueness or specific digital fingerprint. All *.torrent files, all *.mp3s, *.ZIP/RAR files, movies, images - they all have some type of hash function used in identifying it. Think of it as an IP address - everyone has one and no two are alike.

Why are Hash Links so important?

As will all methods of P2P file sharing, the doors are wide open to scams, fake files, malicious code, anti-piracy groups bungling up the search results with bogus entries, blank movie files, mp3’s with no sound…the list goes on and on. Anti-P2P / Anti-Piracy groups are constantly evolving and ever-creative in finding new ways to fuck up the P2P networks. But with (eD2k) hash links, you’ll be sure to get exactly what you paid for (ha ha!) each and every time, with no surprises.

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« Part I of a 3-Part Tutorial [2] [3] »

Do you think you got what it takes to become the next mininova?

Do you ever wish there was a button you could push to delete all the crappy torrents at those popular BitTorrent sites? Ever wonder what it’d be like to run your own BitTorrent site? It’s a blast! And the best part - Total control! You get to add only the torrents that you want, without all the junk found on the public BitTorrent juggernauts.

There’s one thing that ALL BitTorrent websites have in common: they started out small. Here we document the entire process for setting up your own BitTorrent website - with your own trackers, as well. We’ll give you fair warning - this takes some work!

About this tip:

A few things we must first mention:

This tutorial explains how to set up a private BitTorrent website, not a public one (although the difference between the two is a mere adjustment in the sites’s settings). New users to your site will have to sign up and create accounts in order to access the offered *.torrent files. This way you’ll be able to moderate the incoming torrents (or be the only one adding them), and limit who can access your site, your tracker and its’ torrents.

We don’t include information for setting up a BitTorrent site through a free webhosting service, or with websites that offer free ‘homepages’. This tutorial is designed for anyone who is serious about setting up a service-hosted BitTorrent site at their own domain. Most webhosting companies offer services starting at $5 per month, or even less. The reason for documenting the “paid” method is because:

— There’s always a catch to free services - if too much monthly bandwidth is used, they can easily just remove your site. With a paid service, you just upgrade your account.

— If you draw complaints, they’ll take your site down without any notice. Many premium webhosting companies will have no issues with you running torrents on it.

— You won’t get any support from a free service. Many paid webhosting companies have “live” support at their website or at least a phone number you can call.

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« Part II of a 3-Part Tutorial »

The frontend is a (PHP) BitTorrent theme, or template, that includes the visual aspect of the BitTorrent website. A typical “frontend package” will consist of two things: A GUI for the website and a tracker. The GUI of a frontend will house the user-interface and “Control Panel” through which the general settings can be modified, as well as the configuration of the site’s tracker. The tracker is a server between all of the peers, and coordinates the “who-gets-what” when distributing the data in a torrent. By default, the tracker in a typical frontend package will be a private one - whereby anyone using the torrent must be a registered user of the site, and thus registered with the tracker.

The backend is what runs the BitTorrent tracker. Many older frontends rely on an external tracker (software) to be installed and configured separately, and this approach is not for the novice user. Most newer BitTorrent frontend packages come with a backend (aka.. ‘tracker’) already incorporated into the template, making it possible for almost anyone to run their own BitTorrent website.

The ‘Frontend’ - a BitTorrent template for your domain

We detail the installation for three newer (PHP) BitTorrent frontends - BtiTracker, FTS and xBtit. Each of these three examples comes pre-configured with their own backend (tracker), and are implemented through an easy, web-based “installation”. NOTE: For the more experienced users who’d like more examples of frontends, we’ve uploaded an entire “BitTorrent frontend / tracker” release-package to rapidshare.com - it comes with these and many more (older) BitTorrent frontends, backends and trackers. Download it here. If this rapidshare link dies, let us know and we’ll re-upload it.

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« Part III of a 3-Part Tutorial »

We’re not going to wade too deeply here explaining all the different BitTorrent backends and available features. All three frontend packages that we featured in PART II include their own internal backend trackers. But if we had to pick just one of the bunch, we’d go with xBtit - BtiTeam has put all of their eggs in the basket for this one. Not only is it an “active” project from very motivated developers, but the list of features speak for itself. And if you have a couple extra bucks, xBtit Premium is also a very good all-in-one solution which is worth checking out, as well - for £20 you’ll get support, mods & hacks for your template. They’ll even offer VPS hosting for your BitTorrent site, if needed.

xBtit is not the only horse in town; here is a thorough release package consisting of many frontends and backends for BitTorrent, and below is a list of helpful links to BitTorrent files, templates, complete tracker packages, and other goodies.

“Backends” - Using Trackers and adding Torrents.

We break this down into three sections. For all practicalities, there are only 3 ways for a BitTorrent site admin (you) to get .torrent files onto your Bit site. You could:

— 1. Download your desired existing torrents from public BitTorrent sites, and host them on your site, as-is.

— 2. Make .torrents from your own files, and either upload it to a public Bit site, or use an open public tracker for hosting.

— 3. Create .torrents from your own files, and use your own tracker to host the torrents. (This requires a more expensive webhosting plan, as you’ll require a dedicated server for your domain).

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Unless you were recently found frozen in the arctic tundra and scientists managed to miraculously thaw you out, you’re probably already aware of the legal pressures the RIAA has been putting on file sharers. So instead of yackin’ our fool heads off about lawsuits & litigation, we thought it’d be more fun to share some interesting facts & stats that aren’t so well known. So test your trivia knowledge with these factoids - who knows, maybe they’ll come in handy if they ever put out a Trivial Pursuit “RIAA” Edition! (proceeds from sales not going to artists anytime soon).

— The RIAA represents hundreds of recording labels, of which the big 4 (Warner, Song BMG, Vivendi Universal and EMI) holds the rights to over 85% of all the music.

— The first “wave” of lawsuits began in 2003 against 261 U.S. file sharers. By January 20th, 2004, the number of active or settled cases reached almost 1,500. Of these, 333 had already been settled for an average judgment of $3,000 for each case.

— Up until March 24, 2004, you had a 1 in 25,290 chance of being sued by the RIAA if you lived in the U.S (and you actively shared music). Keep rolling those dice, Limewire users! Read on; this dramatically increases…

— By February 23, 2007, it had been estimated that 60 million Americans (1 in 5) actively share music files or did so in the past. By this time there had been roughly 20,000 litigations (active or settled) which leads to a 1 in 3,000 chance of being on the sued list. We believe that 60 million is quite high (c’mon, that’s almost everyone who has a computer) - a more conservative figure such as 20 million (overall) users would increase your chances of getting sued to 1 in 1,000. And it gets worse…

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Here’s 500 or so working private BitTorrent sites that are presently accepting new members. 250 on this page and 250 over here.

Note that at least 99% of them were accepting new signups at the time of this post (In fact, only 4 out of 515 were not working, but we left them in just in case the signup page comes back up). Not all are English; some will have an English language link, others will not. In many cases it’s easy to tell the default language: URLs ending in .ro (Romanian), .ru (Russian), .fr (French) etc.

http://68.10.249.11:88/account.php
http://68.150.36.2/torrent/account.php
http://77.101.12.223/signup.php
http://78.130.150.143/Torrent/account.php
http://80.192.68.227/signup.php
http://81.103.179.195/signup.php
http://91.103.220.4/tt-beta/account-signup.php
http://91.121.71.135/signup.php
http://abetterplace2b.org/abp/signup.php
http://all4nothin.net/signup.php
http://alt.bitworld.to/signup.php
http://anvilofsound.com/account.php
http://arab-torrents.org/signup.php
http://arbraptor.com/account.php
http://arenabg.com/account.php
http://armageddonmusic.tx.hu/
http://asiandvdclub.org/signup.php
http://audiozonetorrents.com/signup.php
http://avatarbg.info/signup.php
http://avi-torrents.com/account-signup.php
http://baltracker.net/account.php
http://bean-crisis.org/tt2/account.php
http://bestmmatorrents.com/account.php
http://besttracker.cz/account-signup.php
http://bitaddict.org/signup.php
http://bit-byte.org/account.php

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http://www.all-series.com/tracker/account-signup.php
http://www.ambits.org/signup.php
http://www.appzuniverse.org/signup.php
http://www.araditracker.com/account.php
http://www.arenabg.com/account.php
http://www.asianload.com/torrent/account.php
http://www.astalavistatorrent.com/signup.php
http://www.audionews.ru/
http://www.awtorrent.net/account-signup.php
http://www.baltracker.net/account.php
http://www.bb-torrents.net/signup.php
http://www.bestmmatorrents.com/account-signup.php
http://www.bestshare.ro/signup.php
http://www.bitcosmo.net/account-signup.php
http://www.bit-hdtv.com/signup.php
http://www.bithq.org/signup.php
http://www.bitshock.org/signup.php
http://www.bitsoup.org/signup.php

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(for Feb.13/08)

We’re always chompin’ at the bit to test out the latest P2P file sharing programs. So here’s a few more programs to get you connected and help you find your junk.

LionShare v1.2

Looking for the latest movies, software and music to download? Great! But you won’t find them with LionShare. LionShare is strictly an academic concept of legal file sharing, and connects to other users through university accounts. Users can search and retrieve academic content from other LionShare users and many academic networks across the globe. Be advised that LionShare is not intended for anonymous filesharing - and it requires user authentication to participate in sharing of your own files. If academia is your passion, give it a whirl! Here’s the developer’s tagline:

LionShare is a secure P2P file sharing application for higher education, enabling legal file sharing for Penn State university and beyond. Find and share legal academic content in a secure P2P environment.

Features include: Buddy List (Instant Messaging), multi-user chat (with different channels), and “browse host” to find similar content from the same users.

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In a word: YEP.

Why anyone uses public BitTorrent sites such as mininova, The Pirate Bay, Isohunt and others, we’ll never know. Their soaring popularity opens the door to all kinds of scammers, fakes and decoys - it’s hard to tell what is righteous and what’s bogus, anymore. Toss in the fact that anyone can upload a torrent here, and it’s a recipe for file-sharing madness. We have a feeling of hopelessness for public BitTorrent sites, and we don’t care. Private sites are the wave of the future!

« Diluted torrents - the water-down effect. »
« Improperly ‘Tagged’ Torrents on Public sites. »
« The ‘New Wave’ of Pseudo release-groups. »
« Private Trackers vs. Public Trackers - PROs & CONs. »
« Use a Private Torrent site. »

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Looking to break into the Internet piracy “scene”? Good luck! But first, here’s a news flash - they’re not looking for you, they don’t want you, and they sure as hell don’t need you. Not daunted by that little piece of reality pie? Read on…maybe there’s a place for you after all, young grasshopper.

Here’s a few tips that just might set you on the right path to ‘warez’ enlightenment.

Find a ‘Niche’

The scene is already over-saturated. You need an asset, skillset, or an angle.

The first thing you have to do is ask yourself this, “What do I have to offer?”. “What could I possibly have that a warez group would want or need?”. Can’t think of anything? Well then we’re sorry - go back to BitTorrent websites and Lamewire.

You need a ‘niche’. Something small that’ll open even the slightest door.

Warez groups are always looking for new connections. As long as you have something to offer. Here’s a few examples of how to bust into the piracy scene:

You can always start out as a ‘warez trader’.

Got a little extra time on your hands? The scene always has room for good warez traders. You’re gonna need a little extra time, though. Scratch that, a LOT of extra time; like 12 hours+ a day extra! Either quit your job or quit sleeping, because if you go this route, you’re gonna be eating, sleeping and sh*tting FTP. Hey, but at least you get to keep what you trade! Learn PFTP and glFTPd, and learn them well!

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« Part 7 of a 7-part series on Advanced Searching for Copyrighted Content »

Part 7. Advanced Searching & Search Tips

Still can’t find what you want? Can’t seem to find that elusive $99 software application? Here’s a few more tips for specific searching.

Advanced Web (Browser) searching:

Alternative Search Engines

Alternative Search Engines can offer untapped resources to your search repertoire.

— www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_100_alternative_search_engines.php (be sure to check out the user-added entries at the bottom of the page).

— websearch.about.com/library/tableofcontents/blsearchenginetableofcontents.htm

Google

You can also apply operators to a Google search to narrow down the search specifications. Or, use Google’s advanced search webpage to hone in on your target.

— www.google.com/help/operators.html

— www.google.com/advanced_search

An example of how an operator could be applied would be this:

— “rapidshare.com/files” alvin

Google will now search web pages that only have the words rapidshare.com/files and the keyword alvin. This example works well for finding DDL websites that host certain links on rapidshare.com.

And here’s a great search tip for finding private BitTorrent trackers that are accepting new signups. In the Google search window, type in this:

torrents inurl:signup.php

Google will now search torrent sites that are currently displaying a signup page (and thus accepting new members). At last check, it came back with 674 results. (No longer must you fumble around with ‘Tracker Checker 2′.) You can also customize it your own way by replacing signup.php with register.php, account.php and account-signup.php which are also common “sign up” pages used by BitTorrent sites.

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