Archive for April 21st, 2008

Secret BitTorrent Websites - The Ones You Shouldn’t Know About

April 21, 08 by sharky   6,965  views  

Some private BitTorrent sites are so secretive that members need to click hidden links to login; others run covertly behind a false ‘frontpage’ under the pretense of offering a legitimate service. Many of these trackers would be considered ‘closed communities’ and don’t have an active ‘invite system’, so it’s a futile effort for most torrenters to gain access. This is anything but an exhaustive list - there’s bound to be others and likely more that very few people even know about.

Out of admiration and respect for these private trackers, we’ve omitted any URLs that can lead to unwanted exposure. Due to their secretive nature, data, screenshots & statistics are provided "as-is" and may not be current.

iFi

— Max. Members: 1,000.# of Torrents: ~300.About: As with most top level sites, any mentioning of the URL or full name is forbidden. They use a false login screen as the frontpage for the tracker, which (believe me) is enough to throw anyone off the scent. iFi is a new tracker primarily for music/movies/TV that doesn’t have use a ratio scheme, however you’ll need to seed back. With a minuscule max. user count of 1,000, it’s a tough cookie to get into.

Torrents User Classes Stats Forums

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Specialized Private BitTorrent Websites - Software / Appz

April 21, 08 by sharky   2,500  views  

Just about any experienced BitTorrent user will tell you that public trackers are not a recommended resource for software (mininova, isohunt etc.). And because they’re public, (and allow access to anyone) they’re fair game for anyone wishing to create and upload any torrent containing just about anything. This carte blanche approach opens the door to purposefully harmful torrents & bad software releases. We’re seeing more and more of this all the time - torrents containing malware, viruses and trojans are quite commonplace and can be found on all public trackers. What’s worse is that public torrents are essentially unmoderated, and bad torrents are not only allowed to be uploaded and shared, but are allowed to proliferate and remain in the community.

Private BitTorrent sites alleviate (and even eliminate) the problems associated with bad torrents, and remain a trusted source amongst the ’software scene’:

1. Piracy Pyramid. — Private sites are closer to the top of the piracy pyramid, and many have direct access to the ’scene’ through FXP boards, topsites & IRC pre-channels that announce the release as it happens. Proper ’scene releases’ will not contain malicious files, so members can expect high quality torrents as a result.

2. Moderation. — Private sites not only restrict who is able to upload, but they also actively check and moderate the releases on their trackers. Most will boast that 99% of new torrents are completely ‘good’, and if any are found to be bad releases, they’re promptly deleted from the site. Above all else, good reputation is paramount to survival in the private torrent circuit.

Most private trackers have a category specifically designated to software releases; however here’s a few that specialize in appz:

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