BitTorrent protocol encryption: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:33, 26 September 2020

Revision as of 22:56, 10 December 2020

Line 2:

'''Protocol encryption''' ('''PE'''), '''message stream encryption''' ('''MSE''') or '''protocol header encrypt''' ('''PHE'''){{efn|Usually referred to as the more proper ''protocol header encryption''.}} are related features of some [[peer-to-peer]] [[file-sharing]] [[Comparison of file sharing applications|clients]], including [[BitTorrent client]]s. They attempt to enhance privacy and confidentiality. In addition, they attempt to make traffic harder to identify by third parties including [[internet service provider]]s (ISPs). However, encryption will not protect one from DMCA notices from sharing not legal content, as one is still uploading material and the monitoring firms can merely connect to the [[Glossary of BitTorrent terms|swarm]].

MSE/PE is implemented in [[BitComet]], BitTornado, [[Deluge (software)|Deluge]], [[Flashget]], [[KTorrent]], [[libtorrent]] (used by various BitTorrent clients, including [[qBittorrent]]), [[BitTorrent client|Mainline]], [[μTorrent]], [[qBittorrent]], [[rTorrent]], [[Transmission (BitTorrent client)|Transmission]], [[Tixati]] and [[Vuze]]. PHE was implemented in old versions of BitComet. Similar protocol [[obfuscation]] is supported in up-to-date versions of some other (non-BitTorrent) systems including [[eMule]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emule-project.net/home/perl/help.cgi?l=1&rm=show_topic&topic_id=848|title=eMule protocol obfuscation (encryption)|publisher=emule-project.net|date=2006-09-16|accessdateaccess-date=2010-03-11}}</ref>

==Purpose==

Line 21:

*BitComet version 0.63 was released 7 March 2006. It removed the old protocol header encryption and implemented the new MSE/PE to be compatible with Azureus and μTorrent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bitcomet.com/doc/changelog.htm|title=BitComet Client Release Notes |publisher=Bitcomet.com |date=2006-03-07}}</ref>

* BitTornado supports MSE/PE as of build T-0.3.18. As of January 5, 2007, this build is still marked "experimental" on the Download page.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.degreez.net/viewtopic.php?t=7074|title=BitTornado T-0.3.18|publisher=Degreez.net forum|date=2007-01-05}}</ref>

* [[BitTorrent client|BitTorrent]] (Mainline) supports MSE/PE since version 4.9.2-beta on May 2, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bittorrent.com/versionnotes.html|title=Version Notes |publisher=BitTorrent.com|date=2006-05-02|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613094322/http://www.bittorrent.com/versionnotes.html |archivedatearchive-date=2006-06-13}}</ref>

* [[Deluge (BitTorrent client)|Deluge]] supports MSE/PE as of Deluge-0.5.1.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://deluge-torrent.org/?p=15|title=Changelog: Deluge 0.5.1 (11 June 2007)|publisher=Deluge-torrent.org|date=2007-06-11|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401062051/http://deluge-torrent.org/Changelog.php |archivedatearchive-date=2008-04-01}}</ref>

* [[KTorrent]] implemented MSE/PE in SVN version 535386<ref name="ktorrent">[[Subversion (software)|SVN]] [svn://anonsvn.kde.org/home/kde/trunk/extragear/network/ktorrent server]. KDE.org. 2006-04-29.'''Subversion client required'''.</ref> on April 29, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ktorrent.pwsp.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=432|title=Encryption has been added !|publisher=KTorrent.pwsp.net forum|date=2006-04-29|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070605174155/http://ktorrent.pwsp.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=432 |archivedatearchive-date=2007-06-05}}</ref>

* [[libtorrent]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.libtorrent.org/reference-Settings.html|title=www.libtorrent.org/reference-Settings.html|last=[e-mail]|first=Arvid Norberg|website=www.libtorrent.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-16}}</ref> implemented protocol encryption in v0.13<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/arvidn/libtorrent/blob/master/ChangeLog|title=libtorrent/ChangeLog at master · arvidn/libtorrent · GitHub|website=github.com|language=en|access-date=2017-02-16}}</ref> released on 10 December 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.network.bit-torrent.rtorrent.devel/2525|title=Gmane -- Mail To News And Back Again|website=permalink.gmane.org|access-date=2017-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217065728/http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.network.bit-torrent.rtorrent.devel/2525|archive-date=2017-02-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* [[rTorrent]] supports MSE/PE as of rTorrent-0.7.0.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rakshasa.no/pipermail/libtorrent-devel/2006-December/000982.html |title=[Libtorrent-devel] LibTorrent 0.11.0 and rTorrent 0.7.0 released |publisher=Rakshasa.no mail archive |date=2006-12-13 |access-date=2007-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502055625/http://rakshasa.no/pipermail/libtorrent-devel/2006-December/000982.html |archive-date=2007-05-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

* [[Transmission (BitTorrent client)|Transmission]] supports MSE/PE as of Transmission-0.90.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://transmission.m0k.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2631|title=Transmission 0.90 Released! |publisher=Transmission.m0k.org forum|date=2007-10-24|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027022525/http://transmission.m0k.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2631|archivedatearchive-date=2007-10-27}}</ref>

* [[Vuze]] (formerly Azureus) supports the final spec since 25 January 2006 (CVS snapshot 2307-B33).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_name=200601252228.k0PMSnp0024117%40aelitis.com&forum_name=azureus-commitlog|title=[Azureus-commitlog] CVS Snapshot Azureus2307-B33.jar has been released !|publisher=Sourceforge.net|date=2006-01-25}}</ref> Azureus version 2.4.0.0 was released 10 February 2006, and was the first stable version of a client to support MSE/PE. However, glitches in Azureus' implementation resulted in improperly encrypted pieces that failed hash checking. The glitches were rectified as of version 2.4.0.2.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://azureus.sourceforge.net/changelog.php?version=2.4.0.2|title=Azureus : Java BitTorrent Client - Changelog|publisher=Azureus.sourceforge.net}}</ref>

* [[μTorrent]] premiered MSE/PE 4 days after Azureus with beta 1.4.1 build 407.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=5384|title=μTorrent 1.4.2 beta 435|publisher=uTorrent Announcements|date=2006-01-29|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514085453/http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=5384|archivedatearchive-date=2006-05-14|df=}}</ref> μTorrent version 1.5 (build 436) was released on 7 March 2006; it was the first stable version of μTorrent with PE.<ref>[http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=7199 "µTorrent 1.5 released"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529090641/http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=7199 |date=2013-05-29 }}. uTorrent Announcements. 2006-03-07.</ref>

==Operation==

Line 49:

==Criticism==

[[Bram Cohen]], the inventor of [[BitTorrent (protocol)|BitTorrent]], opposed adding encryption to the BitTorrent protocol. Cohen stated he was worried that encryption could create incompatibility between clients. He also stressed the point that the majority of ISPs don't block the torrent protocol. In 2006 Cohen wrote "I rather suspect that some developer has gotten rate limited by his ISP, and is more interested in trying to hack around his ISP's limitations than in the performance of the internet as a whole".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bramcohen.livejournal.com/29886.html |title=Obfuscating BitTorrent |last=Cohen |first=Bram |authorlinkauthor-link=Bram Cohen |publisher=Bram Cohen blog |date=2006-01-29 |url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207023731/http://bramcohen.livejournal.com/29886.html |archivedatearchive-date=2006-02-07 |df= }}</ref> Many BitTorrent community users responded strongly against Cohen's accusations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=5742|title=Debate over Protocol Encryption|publisher=uTorrent.com forum|date=2006-02-04|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022175414/http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=5742|archivedatearchive-date=2007-10-22|df=}}</ref>

Cohen later added encrypted connections to his [[BitTorrent (software)|Mainline client]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bittorrent.com/versionnotes.html|title=BitTorrent Mainline Version History|publisher=BitTorrent.com|date=2006-10-15|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225131829/http://www.bittorrent.com/versionnotes.html|archivedatearchive-date=2007-02-25}}</ref> with the ability to receive but not originate them.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} Notably, when μTorrent was purchased by BitTorrent, Inc. and then became the next mainline release, the ability to originate encrypted connections was retained, but it became turned off by default. In an interview in 2007, Cohen stated "The so-called 'encryption' of BitTorrent traffic isn't really encryption, it's obfuscation. It provides no anonymity whatsoever, and only temporarily evades traffic shaping."<ref>[http://torrentfreak.com/interview-with-bram-cohen-the-inventor-of-bittorrent/ "Interview with Bram Cohen, the inventor of BitTorrent"]. TorrentFreak. 2007-01-17. Retrieved 2013-04-07.</ref>

==Notes==