ISP Tries To Charge Users To Block File Sharing… Ends Up Installing Malware That Exposes Private Info
from the nicely-done,-Orange,-nicely-done dept
Jaime Novoa was the first of a few of you to point us to a series of links about how French ISP Orange has started offering a service to let subscribers pay 2 euros to “block” file sharing services on their connection. The theory, of course, is that this service “protects” you from getting any strikes. Of course, you could also do that for free — by limiting yourself and encrypting your connection, but that’s a separate story. Beyond the fact that this system involves a secret blacklist that could very well block legitimate uses as well, lots of folks started digging into the service and discovered that the software in question is basically malware and ridiculously insecure that more or less broadcasts the private info of anyone who uses it for anyone else to see. So, not only is the program costly, limiting and useless, but it’s a massive security and privacy problem as well. All because of three strikes/Hadopi.
Filed Under: blocking, file sharing, france, hadopi, isp, malware, security, three strikes
Companies: orange
Comments on “ISP Tries To Charge Users To Block File Sharing… Ends Up Installing Malware That Exposes Private Info”
But what if Google’s driving by at the time? They’ll be recording the info to sell to the highest bidder!!!eleven!!OMFGWTFBBQ!
Re: Re:
that’s easy, google can’t do that because it’s not the idea of the government. if it was the idea of the government, expect google to complain.
wow, both parties sound like assholes this way. Perhaps they are.
Does encryption help?
How does encrypting your connection help with anything other than preventing your ISP from deep packet inspection?
AFAIK, the “strikes” are generated when you connect to a peer and start downloading. The peer still knows your IP and thus you are still risking a strike.
Re: Does encryption help?
Last I checked a strike is generated when a rights holder complains that “your” IP downloaded protected material from them to your ISP. Not when you just merely “connect to a peer and start downloading”.
Secondly, you can easily run your torrent client through a proxy thus not providing them with your IP but that of the proxy.
Thirdly, I think “limiting yourself” in the article refers to NOT downloading copyrighted material therefore not being in danger of being accused of doing so. Although as we all know just not doing so doesn’t stop the blackmail threats from the greedy lawyers, guilty or innocent.
Encryption doesn’t help with anything other than not allowing your ISP to throttle your p2p traffic since they don’t know that’s what it is.
Re: Re: Does encryption help?
Right, I should have been a little more specific about downloading copyright protected material rather than just downloading in general.
The proxy doesn’t provide much protection, does it? It seems like it is just one more subpoena for the lawyers to write.
Re: Re: Re: Does encryption help?
> The proxy doesn’t provide much protection, does it? It seems like it is just one more subpoena for the lawyers to write.
It adds another jurisdiction, with a different set of laws. If you are using a proxy from Elbonia, for instance, they would need to write a subpoena against an Elbonian entity, which might not work for them if Elbonia’s privacy laws are stronger.
Re: Re: Re: Does encryption help?
I think in this case its a matter of making it a hassle for the people trying to track the torrent. If you make it so the work they have to put in outweighs the expected benefits then they are less likely to bother.
Re: Does encryption help?
Well, as far as torrents are concerned…
Encrypting it makes it much more difficult for people NOT in involved in the torrent to know what you are doing. Sure with a cracking program someone can grab all your packets and crack them but that’s a lot of effort and processing time used up decrypting all encrypted traffic running through your network. And you are more likely to run into legal trouble decrypting all encrypted packets on your network than not. Pretty much you don’t know what they are and could be someone’s SSN flying around for all you know.
If you are connected to the torrent you can see just about everyone involved in it. To protect yourself from that you’d need to do some IP spoofing, hop through a proxy, etc… Of course that isn’t perfect as someone can hunt through that, but once again you are making them take time in something that will be annoying to say the least to hunt through thousands of IPs flying around in some of these torrents.
You are just making life more difficult for a process that is rather difficult as is… and water always takes the path of least resistance.
i wonder how the eula is worded
what’s to stop you getting 3 strikes and then sueing orange
because you were subscribed to there service
Strikes can also be generated by neighbors logging into your wifi and peering using you ip. I believe by encryption he meant encrypting your wireless router.
Strikes can also be generated by neighbors logging into your wifi and peering using you ip. I believe by encryption he meant encrypting your wireless router.
Proxies?
What proxies?
Come to the darkside son! use darknets LoL
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