The Danger of BitTorrent and Popcorntime

Torrenting is a digital concept that has been around for well over a decade now. Basically, it is the act of downloading many small bots of files at the same time from a number of sources. Essentially, torrenting is crowd sourcing, except for the fact that it’s for media content. The cover of the World Wide Web makes torrenting seem safe. However, the truth is that torrenting is a very risky endeavor that has the potential of landing you in a lot of trouble…trouble you might not even realize. While the basic protocol and network of the famous BitTorrent is not in itself illegal, majority of its content which are shared via torrents are comprised of files that violate rights and privileges of copyright holders. Due to torrenting being decentralized and streamlined, it’s very easy to believe that it comes with absolutely no consequences

Understand this; without taking certain cautions and precautions, torrenting indiscriminately could lead to some serious issues. While high profile Hollywood studios might no longer sue college students for tens of thousands of dollars (you know, because they’d be looking like capitalist bullies), don’t be under the illusion that copyright holders are no longer waging wars on piracy in the shadows.

There are three main ways through which you can run into trouble when you use services like BitTorrent and Popcorntime; legal ways, ISP penalties and malware or virus infection. The peer-to-peer BitTorrent network basically relies on users who have previously downloaded a media file to upload it again for other users and as such, it leaves them exposed to certain vulnerabilities. That being said, here are some torrenting dangers which you should always keep at the back of your mind:

Copyright Trolls:

If you’re involved in illegal torrenting, you could get in some serious trouble for infringing on copyrights, whether you’re aware of the fact or not.

As stated earlier, Hollywood studios hardly sue people for downloading their creations or contents without express permission anymore. In the past, this was a very common scare tactic that was used to dissuade any would-be offenders. However, this tactic eventually proved to be highly ineffective due to the growth of BitTorrent many years ago. Instead, the legal battle was handled by entities known as legal copyright trolls

A copyright troll gets permission on the behalf of the copyright holder to take action against people who are actively downloading media illegally. The protocol operated by BitTorrent is built in such a way that when a device connects directly to a torrent it is able to directly view the IP addresses of all other devices which are connected to that torrent. A copyright troll is capable of targeting everyone who is currently uploading or downloading that media file.

The IP addresses can be traced back to their internet service providers. The copyright trolls send a list of IP addresses down to the internet service providers and they in turn send settlement letters to their customers who bear those addresses.

Ideally, these letters will ask for thousands of dollars in damages. However, if the issue escalates to a full blown legal battle, the fee could rise to tens of thousands of dollars. Thousands of these letters can be sent, and the copyright trolls only need some to actually get through to have a basis for using this as a scare tactic to ensure the co-operation of others in the suit.

ISP Throttling:

Except you’re connected to an active VPN or some other form of identity encryption (VPNs are mostly used due to a VPN protects you when downloading torrents), a user’s internet service provider will be able to monitor and track all of the internet traffic. In the U.S, internet service providers are in co-operation with copyright holders and they also won’t want to be held liable for privacy. Due to these, ISPs frown sternly at torrenting, regardless of whether it’s legal or not.

Malware and Virus Infestation:

Torrents are a great way to get malware and viruses. These can be especially found in gaming software, which will need to be installed and executed. In order to prevent future infestation, you should run strong and active antivirus software to scan through the torrent file and read through its comments before even downloading it.