BitTorrent

BitTorrent's dysfunctional relationship with Comcast

NEW YORK CITY--You've heard about the controversy over Comcast throttling back BitTorrent traffic on its network. But did you know that before the news exploded in the media, Comcast's chief technology officer was actually advising and working with BitTorrent?

That's what BitTorrent's CEO Doug Walker told me Friday when we sat down for a one-on-one interview at the Distributed Computing Industry Association's P2P Market Conference here.

According to Walker, Tony Werner, Comcast's CTO, was acting as an advisor to BitTorrent before the hoopla over traffic shaping even came to light.

"The funny thing … Read more

Verizon touts smart P2P software

A real-world Internet test reveals that "intelligent" routing of peer-to-peer traffic can drastically reduce network utilization and speed up downloads for subscribers, according to a new study.

Verizon Communications, which participated in the study headed by researchers at Yale University, plans to release the data on Friday at the Distributed Computing Industry Association's P2P Market Conference in New York City.

Using network topology data from Verizon and Telefonica, Yale University tested a software enhancement to the peer-to-peer protocol that it developed with software developer Pando Networks.

What the researchers discovered was that when using the so-called P4P … Read more

Harvard student database hacked, posted on BitTorrent

Harvard says about 10,000 of last year's applicants may have had their personal information compromised. At least 6,600 Social Security numbers were exposed. Worse, a compressed 125 M-byte file containing the stolen student data is currently available via BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer network.

In a statement published Monday night Harvard officials said the database containing summaries of GSAS applicant data for entry to the Fall 2007 academic year, summaries of GSAS housing applicant data for the 2007-08 and 2006-07 academic years, and administrator information had been compromised. The server had been taken offline for several days last month … Read more

FCC hints at taking action against Comcast

The Federal Communications Commission is edging toward taking action against cable operator Comcast for monkeying with its customers' peer-to-peer traffic, according to several news reports.

On Friday FCC Chairman Kevin Martin indicated during a speech at Stanford University's Law School that the commission may take action against the cable operator, which has been accused of blocking or slowing down the peer-to-peer file sharing service BitTorrent on its broadband network.

Martin didn't say for certain that the FCC would take action against Comcast. But he did say that he was troubled by Comcast's initial denial of slowing or blocking traffic, … Read more

Net pioneers trash Comcast's P2P traffic treatment

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Comcast has confessed to slowing down certain peer-to-peer file-sharing traffic, but is it being clear enough about what it's doing?

That's perhaps the key question that emerged by the end of a lengthy public forum convened by the Federal Communications Commission on Monday here at Harvard Law School.

While none of the FCC commissioners was willing to solidify an answer to that just yet, two MIT computer scientists on an afternoon panel accused the cable company of behaving badly on multiple levels.

Each drew on his experience with fundamental Internet standards-setting bodies. And each charged that … Read more

FCC chief grills Comcast on BitTorrent blocking

Update at 3:10 p.m. PST: CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Federal Communications Commission chief Kevin Martin on Monday targeted Comcast's contention that delaying peer-to-peer file-sharing traffic serves user interests, appearing to sympathize with the cable company's critics.

Through pointed questioning at a public hearing at Harvard Law School here, Martin, a Republican, seemed to be pushing a two-pronged agenda: Internet service providers like Comcast should be as transparent as possible about manipulating network traffic, and consumers should have the freedom to, in effect, get what they pay for.

But at the end of the event, which, all told, lasted … Read more

Rep. Markey: Don't turn BitTorrent into 'BitTrickle'

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--At an unusual public hearing held away from Washington, D.C., federal regulators and a key Democratic congressman on Monday said they're investigating the Comcast vs. BitTorrent dispute and are ready to take action against network management practices that disrupt Internet users' experiences.

The remarks came at the start of a public hearing here, where the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to hear throughout the day from corporate, academic, and public-interest group representatives about what constitutes "reasonable" network management by Internet service providers.

That definition is important because it will help the FCC decide whether … Read more

EU invests $22 million in open-source P2P technology

It's ironic how different Europe can be from the United States. While the U.S. continues its mindless rampage against the future of digital distribution with DRM, RIAA, MPAA, and other acronyms designed to stuff the 21st century back into the 20th century's ideas of how to package and sell property, Europe is actually investing in that future. To be exact, it's putting $22 million toward peer-to-peer technology, in a BitTorrent-minded project called P2P-Next.

Surely European broadcasters are against the move, right? After all, research suggests that 50 percent of those using BitTorrent are doing so to steal TV shows. As one TorrentFreak blogger noted, however, European broadcasters believe this situation presents an opportunity rather than a threat:

One of the biggest names taking part is the BBC, who will use the new BitTorrent client to stream TV programs. Other partners in the P2P-Next project are the European Broadcasting Union, Lancaster University, Markenfilm, Pioneer Digital Design Centre Limited and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The main goal is to develop an open source, BitTorrent-compatible client that supports live streaming.… Read more

Where this weekend we're going waterboarding!

EPISODE 32

Today we talk about how Monster cables are overpriced (duh), how much Paris Hilton sucks, and how to "hack" T-Mobile. Plus, Comcast is covering its ass by amending the company's Terms of Service to allow for throttling of BitTorrent traffic.

Listen now: Download today's podcast