BitTorrent protocol encryption: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:38, 28 April 2016

Revision as of 15:58, 1 August 2016

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'''Protocol encryption''' ('''PE'''), '''message stream encryption''' ('''MSE''') or '''protocol header encrypt''' ('''PHE''')<ref name="name">{{efn|Usually referred to as the more proper ''protocol header encryption''.</ref>}} 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).

MSE/PE is implemented in [[BitComet]], [[BitTornado]], [[Deluge (software)|Deluge]], [[Flashget]], [[KTorrent]], [[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|accessdate=2010-03-11}}</ref>

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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|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070225131829/http://www.bittorrent.com/versionnotes.html|archivedate=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 and references==

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==References==

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