BitTorrent & Port forwarding, do I want to do it, if so how?
 

I am using Bittorrent to download some files, and it's really slow. 10 kb/s is the max I hit.

It says to forward ports 6881-6999.

I am behind a firewall, and that seems to be one issue, and I don't know if it's going to help me not get anything corrupted from Bittorrent.

I used https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 to test all my ports from 6881-6999, and they all come back listed as stealth.

I also used http://www.dslreports.com/scan to check everything, and I got this as the result:

Conclusion: Healthy Setup! We could detect no interesting responses from any of the commonly probed TCP and UDP ports. It would be difficult for an attacker to know where to start without further information.
TCP ALL : FILTERED No response packet was received.
UDP ALL : FILTERED No response packet was received.


So do I want to open ports to download because I kep getting intrusion notices once in awhile, or should I just let it do it's thing at 10 kb/s?

I'm talking to my friend who has an OC48 connection, and he is downloading in seconds what is taking my DSL ~10 hours @ 10 kb/s as the highest speed.

EDIT: I also used http://www.u.arizona.edu/~trw/games/nat_or_not.php and it says my machine uses NAT? Dunno.

open up ports 6881-6999. what firewall are you using? NAT=Network Address Translation

I would switch to Bittornado (it has all of the checking software built in to it), and use ports 10000-10004, then open them up. Less traffic and are not blocked by some ISP's, You can also change your ports in Bittorrent to 10000-10004 if you really like the format. I also have heard good things about " Azureus" as a good torrent program to use. You can go towww.portforward.com and get some good instructions on how to open up the ports with different firewall programs, and routers. I typically get around 50kbps depending on the amount of seeds and leechers.

Go here for more info http://forums.torrentspy.com/forumdisplay.php?f=65

If that site says you're "using NAT", you're probably behind a hardware firewall. Do you have a router between your DSL modem and your connection to the computer? If not, your modem itself might support NAT, and can be configured to port forward the ports you need to use BitTorrent.

Well if you make a connection then I dont think forwarding ports will help.

Find something on that EVERYONE is sharing. Try downloading it and see if you get a faster connection. I know my problem with bittorent is that I already own the popular stuff and download stuff that not alot of people have. Therefore not a lot of people are sharing it, which makes my connection pretty slow.

Like if I tried to download the movie the Spiderman movie (which is illegal) I'll get alot faster connection then if I tried to download an old kung fu movie.

But if you want to open the ports it depends on what kind of firewall you are behind. If its a software firewall you just open the program and forward those ports. If you are behind a router firewall you open up your browser, log onto the router, and forward the ports from there.

Actually, port forwarding should help. When port forwarding isn't enabled, your client can only establish outgoing connections. That means it can only connect to other clients who are port forwarding (or aren't using NAT). With port forwarding enabled, both incoming and outgoing connections can be made. This effectively doubles the number of systems to which you can connect.

Any time you open ports to your system, you open yourself up to attack. However, a system without any ports open isn't going to be very useful. My advice is to ensure you have all applicable operating system patches installed, run the latest version of your Bittorrent client, and scan any files you download for viruses before running them. If you follow those rules, you should be fairly safe.

For specific instructions on how to enable port forwarding, we need to know what type of equipment you have. The procedures vary based on what type of firewall you are using.

Thats interesting. I figured it wouldnt matter, either it would work or it wouldnt work.

Looks like I can open up some ports.

heed piratefins words.. he gave you alot of good info. as for torrent clients... don't use the 'BitTorrent' client, it's junk compared to whats out there now.

Of the ones I've used... Azureus, Shareaza, Stock and BitSpirit. I like BitSpirit the best, has LOADS of options, and is UPnP compatible with most routers, automatically opening up the right ports for you. As for Azureus, it's one of the few (only?) ones that is RSS Feed capable. meaning you can schedule it to look for newer files of the same type, like a weekly tv show. and have it download the files for you. (handy) but... Azureus runs in java and is very system resource hungry. Shareaza really gives you no control over the BitTorrent connection. I mean, you have the options, but they don't seem to work? :dunno:

I downloaded Shareaza about an hour after I wrote this, and before I left my house, it had completed a 500mb 6 file CD (legal), so it seemed to be working well.
I am not home right now to check on it, but I am guessing it's still doing well.

I'm still going to try some other options as WinMX is still "down".

I'll check out the Azureus and a few others as I have read they are they way to go and BitTorrent was old. I just started with BT since it said it needed to be downloaded with it.

One thing, am I leeching by usung Shareaza? Like with the seeding thing and all?

I have enough files as no not be canceled by a "LeecHammer" type program.

I'm home now, and all 4 gigs of music completed. :great: All legal too. Go to www.GenerationTrance.com if you want it, it's some pretty good trance and vocal trance. You have to create a user name and password, but it is worth it.

I answered my own question about Shareaza and BitTorrent.

I checked completed uploads, and people using BT, Azureus, BitComet, BitTornado and ABC(?) all uploaded from me.

when i said the options don't seem to work in Shareaza.. I was referring to the upload. I like to turn it down.. otherwise I'm constantly uploading at full bandwidth. Which gets my ISP mad. But yea, I have found instances in Shareaza where it will sit at 99.9% for a week, or run VERY slow, while I'm uploading at MAX.. in the end I got annoyed with it it and switched. I honestly suggest you try BitSpirit. only, it doesnt have the multiple networks to search like shareaza does.

I just had a whole thing typed out and hit submit, and it was a blank page.

I was saying that I was reading how to tweak Shareaza and some people said to put that bar at 90%.
I don't have the bar anymore and still trying to figure out why.

One thing I don't likes how they keep track on what was d/l'd and u/l'd.

I still have a lot more reading to do since there is so much info out there, like the "health" of a .torrent fiile.

Warning!!!

Microsoft Windows XP SP2 limits your TCP connection attempts to 10.
You will need to change the registry entry to the max of 50 TCP connections.

Here's more info:

http://wiki.bitcomet.com/wiki/BitCom...dows_XP_SP2.3F

Do you know which key that is so I can check into it?
Thanks

An Evil minded Troll told me ...

I read something, that it's possible to change limit via registry (TcpNumConnections). Is that true?

Unfortunately not. Because the concurrent connection attemp limit has nothing to with concurrent connections, this registry-key is useless. Unfortunately there is no registry-key, which would allow the user to change the concurrent connection attemps.

Further the Troll bashed down on me for not sharing ... http://www.lvllord.de/

lvllord site has patches for entries and a FAQ.

Whats worst Trolls or Gnomes?