Internet Tips and Tricks: TORRENTS!

Torrents, oh torrents. Lets just dive right into what a torrent is. A torrent is a "file", or rather a group of "files", that anybody anywhere can download (assuming they have a torrent client like utorrent, bittorrent, etc etc). The torrent clients connect to others (peers and seeders) that have the file you are looking for and take bits and pieces from them and give them to you. Then the clients take the pieces from you and distributes them to others. This is an ingenious way to distribute files because it takes very little of a users upstream to give back to the community.

Now here comes the big question: Is it legal? Unfortunately this is probably the best answer you're going to get: Yes and no. Of course it depends on the type of file you're downloading. Yes it's less legal downloading a copyrighted file. But it's also equally legal in that you're not actually downloading the file itself but pieces of the file. That's why very rarely do people ever go to jail or get fined for having downloaded a file. Now you can't go downloading any sort of movie or music that isn't technically released yet (that is, without a doubt, fully illegal), but there is virtually no way in court to prove that you didn't buy it or even just "borrowed" it from a friend.

Here are some starting links that I know will "get the ball rolling" for new torrenters.
thepiratebay.org
www.isohunt.com
www.btjunkie.com
Just head these words of warning:
1) Even though you most likely won't get fined or go to jail
2) Please use protection when torrenting. Protection being A) proxy services, B) Antivirus, C) Firewalls, and D) Updates.
3) Be smart when torrenting, don't just go downloading anything that might strike your fancy. There are such a thing as fake torrents that are viruses or malware. Some people just like to watch the word burn.

Internet Safety Tools: Encryption

Encryption is the process of using software to transform plaintext information (just regular data) into unreadable information. The way encryptors work are by using mathematical algorithms to alter the data for use with a key to "decrypt" it back to the original plaintext file.

Normally, most end users wouldn't have any sort of reason to encrypt 99% of their data, aside from "sensitive" documents or files that have to do with their personal information (ie credit cards, bank accounts, sometimes even digital receipts). Businesses on the other hand, have EVERY reason to encrypt their data. Whether it be some project they are working on, personal information of their clients, or even just their emails. I couldn't count how many businesses have gone down because they've been hacked and the information has been released.

There are a number of tools for encryption, and a quick google search will return an almost overwhelming results. But, by far, the best and simplest to use would have to by none other than Truecrypt.

I use it, and at first it might be seem overwhelming, just follow the steps, and you'll be up and running in no time.

Internet News: PROTECT IP Act

I am by far not a political person. But when I learned of this law trying to be pushed through congress, I most definitely took a stand on it. So I'm going to start out this post by saying that I am against the PROTECT IP act. The PROTECT IP act, in a nutshell, is bad. It would give congress and corporations the ability to flat out BLOCK all access by Americans to any site they deem to be "disobeying" copyright laws.

What does this mean to you, who may be the typical end user? EVERYTHING! Okay, I'm just trying to scare you. But it most certainly can affect just about any social site that you go on. Sites like Youtube, facebook, myspace, even Blogger. Any site that anybody says anything from any copyrighted material can compromise not just the page of that site, but the entire site itself.

One of the "major" problems that PROTECT IP are suppose to solve probably won't be in the long run. For starters, PROTECT IP won't be able to block the site by ip address. Meaning you could always enter the ip address instead of the URL and it will bring you back straight to the site. Good game.

Internet Basics: Updating your computer!

Sometimes I feel I shouldn't have to actually tell anybody to keep their computer up-to-date, but every once in a while I'm proven wrong. So think of this as a PSA, if you will. And please, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF WHATEVER GOD YOU WORSHIP, take it to heart.

Lets demonstrate the importance with a personal story of mine:

When I worked in customer service, we had a customer bring his computer in because he had "corrupted file" errors start popping up whenever he would turn on his machine. Corrupted files are cause by a number of things, especially with mishandling of the program that we supported at the time. After a little digging around in safe mode, I noticed he had multiple instances of a specific file in almost every directory. He most surely had a virus. When I researched the virus and cleaned it out I notice his computer hasn't been updated since the day he purchased it. I confronted him about it when he picked up his computer later that day and he simply said,"Some window named Windows Update kept showing up and slowing my computer down so I just hit cancel every time." This response blew my mind.

Keeping your computer up-to-date is one of the most important things. This means program updates, virus definitions, windows update, or even hardware. Take the time to update at LEAST once a month can be a (computer) life saver. I explained to the customer how easy it could have been for him to lose all of his data (or even his entire computer) in a case like this and I firmly believe what I was saying went in one ear and out the other.

Internet news: Google starts censoring search from piracy sites

 Earlier this month, Google has decided to filter "piracy-related" terms from suggestions. What that means is that you won't actually be given results with their "instant search" if you start typing in words like "torrent", "pirate bay", "bit torrent", etc etc. I find that this is quite baseless for reasoning behind it. They weren't pressured legally, even though I wouldn't be surprised if they were pressured by the MAFIAA (no, not the gangsters! I mean the MPAA and the RIAA).

How can users get around this?! Oh yeah, it's quite easy actually. All you have to do is actually press enter. This only affects suggestions and instant search. So if you know what you're looking for, it's just an extra keystroke away. I find these types of websites invaluable to the denizens of the internet (not just for piracy) and I hate to actually see Google do evil by censoring them and trying to be the "big brother of the net".

Relevent Internet Articles: IT hell!

I know this article isn't really about Internet Safety and Security, but I feel that it affects everybody that has ever found a bug, waited for a product to be released, tried to browse a website, or anything that has anything to do with a computer and the internet. I have worked in the IT field a couple years ago, fresh out of high school. And believe me when I say, it is hell at times. I have a major soft spot for those who try to do it for a living. Because of my soft spot, I urge all of you to maybe give this article a read.

In a nutshell, the article gives the reader quite a true perspective from those who are on the inside of software/hardware/system development/support. I personally haven't been "fortunate" enough to experience every sphere the article mentions, and I find myself thankful.

Here's a short list of all the 9 circles you can find in the article.
1st circle of IT hell: Limbo
Description: A pitiful morass where nothing ever gets done and change is impossible

2nd circle of IT hell: Tech lust
Description: A deep cavern filled with mountains of discarded gadgets, with Golem-like creatures scrambling to reach the shiny new ones at the top

3rd circle of IT hell: Stakeholder gluttony
Description: A fetid quagmire filled with insatiable business users who demand more and more features, no matter the cost


4th circle of IT hell: Corporate greed
Description: An acrid forge where piteous creatures drown in a river of molten gold

5th circle of IT hell: App dev anger
Description: A fiery pit of smoke and brimstone, where geeks and suits alike grow hot under the collar

6th circle of IT hell: Tech-cult heresy
Description: An inscrutable labyrinth where all paths lead to the same destination, lit by the fires of nonbelievers burned at the stake

7th circle of IT hell: Vendor-on-vendor violence
Description: A dismal miasma full of ogres with $200 haircuts, wielding Louis Vuitton briefcases

8th circle of IT hell: Fraudulent practices and malevolent hackers
Description: A slippery pit of deception where daemons lurk in the shadows and nothing is as it seems

9th circle of IT hell: Tech-pro treachery
Description: An icy wasteland, filled with lost souls desperately clawing at the knives in their backs.

Internet News: Sony Hacked. Again.

Yes. Sony had another attack. Was it any where close to as extreme as previously? No, they only gained access to the accounts of the 93,000 users. The attackers really couldn't do anything with that access either. Only a very few accounts had stuff purchased that they didn't do themselves when they logged in again. What happened this time? It was a significantly less sophisticated attack (simply a Brute Force Attack, from the looks of it, much akin to the one below), leading to the idea that it wasn't the same people who have done it before.

The amount of people that were affected because of this attack was SIGNIFICANTLY lower than before. According to the Sony Chief Security Officer, less than one tenth than 1 percent of their users has been affected this time (as opposed to last time where 100 million+ accounts were compromised).  I haven't been able to find REAL specifics on what methods were used this time, unlike last time, but as I previously said all signs point to a Brute Force Attack.

Now, this doesn't restore my faith in Sony. I highly doubt that anything ever will. But I will acknowledge that they might have finally got their stuff together in the security department. And for that, I applaud them.

Internet Safety Tools: TOR

My last post delved into the definition of a proxy. Well in this post I'm going to show you a VERY powerful tool for those who are more interested in it. This tool is called "TOR" short for "The Onion Router". It's named so for how many "layers" you're concealed behind when using it.

The TOR network is easily explained via their site. But for those who don't want to read another webpage it is simply a giant proxy service supported by those using it. Sounds a little confusing? Well it sort of is. But once someone wraps their head around the idea, the only word that comes to mind is brilliant.

Internet Safety Tools: Proxy

This post will be quite special to me in that I find this to be an invaluable tool in the fight for internet anonymity.  The tool is called a proxy. A "proxy" is short for "proxy server" The meaning of a proxy is to talk to the proxy server and the server talks to the requested website in your stead. This means you don't have to show those watching your internet habits and uses what exactly you are looking at, because if they try to track you via the website then all they'll get is the proxy server. Here is a small diagram for a visual on what a proxy server is

As you can see, Charles doesn't actually ask Jonas what time it is, instead he asks the proxy, who then asks Jonas. One might think why would anybody need such a thing? While the abuse potential for such a tool is high, the use for it can also be up there as well. What if someone was being watched or had sensitive information they wanted to reveal? This lets them communicate to others or servers without fear that others would know they were doing so. Do I use a proxy for some things? Yeah. But very very rarely. Would you ever use a proxy? Probably not ever in your life. Most typical end users will probably never know they exist.

Here is a small gif showing how a proxy can change someones "identity" on the web.