My university banned bittorrent!!

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On my university's network, if you are detected using a bittorrent client you are kicked off the network and punished. If you do so multiple times, you get a permanent removal from the network. This completely and absolutely sucks, because I use bittorrent to download stuff LEGALLY, eg this is the recommended way of obtaining copies of OpenSUSE and several other Linux distros that I might want to try. Also, various other FOSS downloads will involve P2P methods, all of which receive the same punishment as bittorrent because they assume you are using it to download stuff from Limewire illegally. Never mind that I have never, in my life, EVER downloaded or used software illegally; no matter how restrictive a license is I follow its terms because that's the law, but now I can't even use bittorrent for good, fast downloads of perfectly legal OSS. I am seriously pissed about that.

[/rant]

This is just another example of how anti-piracy measures don't address the actual problem and prevent entirely legitimate activities.

I used to use a legit copy of Age of Empires II, but I got tired of having to carry around a CD along with my laptop just to prove I wasn't a pirate, and when I heard the CD drive eats the battery like crazy, I decided to just download a pirated version. Now I'm not asked for the CD anymore and I can enjoy in piece.

I subscribe to Object Desktop. After having to reinstall the software several times due to a bug, the Stardock server blocked me from running the program, claiming I had activated an excessive number of times. Not only is it none of their business when and how frequently I install a program I paid for, but I do not believe they have a right to take it away from me just because it's possible I'm sharing it with my friends. I wasn't, by the way. In the end, they reactivated my account, but did not apologize, and I was without the software for a week because they couldn't be bothered to respond to my email.

I have a Dell copy of Windows Vista that came with my machine. I also have a normal copy of Vista I bought separately for an old laptop. I got sick of how slow it was on the laptop, but it had already been activated on it. Dell does not distribute 64-bit media with their Vista copies, and I wanted to run 64-bit on the desktop. Too bad for me, because even though I've now paid for Vista a total of three times, they want me to pay again to get a key compatible with a 64-bit install disc. f**k them.

And it won't stop either. It will get much worse. I'm reminded of the recent MSN music fiasco, but even that is only the tip of the iceberg. As "sharing" continues to be turned into a dirty word, and companies continue to terrorize their own customers, we will lose even more freedom.

At any rate, I feel your pain Orwell. Hope you find a workaround.

I mean, I'm pretty opposed to violating software licenses, even if I don't necessarily agree with the terms (and if it's that huge an issue, I'll go without that particular piece of software) but if you are prevented from using something that you have obtained perfectly legally because someone else might want to try to pirate it, then what's the use? And now, I can't even circumvent the problem by avoiding proprietary software with restrictive licenses; I am not even able to obtain, through completely legal channels. some of the FOSS software I want to use because my university's tech support place is paranoid about Limewire.

I've been trying to ask the tech people if using bittorrent for legal downloads still carries the same punishment (since they monitor for the use of a bittorrent client, rather than what's actually being downloaded) and they just looked at me in incomprehension, as though it were completely inconceiveable that there could ever be a legal way to use bittorrent. And then they started saying to each other, in a somewhat confused manner, "well, I mean, what if it was for something he had paid for?" and I didn't even bother to correct them on that point, since they probably wouldn't have understood the distinction between illegal pirated music and FLOSS under the GNU GPL.

Orwell - Try showing them websites of folks and companies who have set up version and patch releases pointing to Bittorrent. Maybe that would help them understand it's legitimate use?

I second that, AnnieDog!

Link them to Jamendo, to legaltorrents, to various Linux sites, to rhymetorrents, and so on.

Or go the otherway and tell them that most illegal content comes via port 80 and ask them to close that as well. Maybe they understand subtlety if it hits them on the head.

Sound like a good idea, they don't want people hogging all the bandwidth up, just be happy you have access to the internet.
Bit torrent is great and has perfectly legal uses, but its going to be used illegally by most students, at the expense to other students who are using the network for legitimate reasons.

Comcast, which is the biggest cable internet provider in the US, blocked the use of bittorrent and other P2P file sharing services. They were sneaky too-they would simply shut off the connection if it was activated, and they didn't tell anyone. When it was revealed, the feds made them say they would stop, but they didn't. I agree with Orwell-if you can't use software because every user is automatically assumed to be a warez pirate, what's the point? It reminds me of companies inventing theftproof packaging to deter sticky fingered store roamers, only the legit buyer couldn't get into it either without using a swiss army knife. If you can't use it, it's not say a radio, it's a way too expensive paperweight. If you can't use software that you buy, then why buy it?

Sounds interesting. I'll try that- the people I spoke to, though obviously befuddled, seemed to agree that I should (hypothetically) be permitted to use bittorrent for legal downloads, but suggested I check with some higher-ups. Which I will do after researching enough about the things you mentioned so I can refer to them.

A friend of mine is in the same position with the Dell and not having a 64-bit version of Vista, though he doesn't particularly need one. Seriously, who the hell in their right mind sells a PC with a 64-bit processor and a 32-bit OS?

I only use torrents for legal things (To replace a damaged CD and so I don't need to use the CD)
*edit* I once found a client that didn't upload anything and hid the fact that it was on the torrent network

Last edited by supahneko on 22 Aug 2008, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Same here. All the music I have is from CDs that I purchased. I don't use any software that could even be pirated (has anyone ever seen a pirated copy of Firefox? or OpenOffice?) so the torrents are still just a better way to access free, legal open-source software.

I e-mailed the computer security people to ask about it. On the plus side, my uni does offer up some proprietary software to students for free. If I can find my old Win98 install disc (back from the days of VirtualPC) I can get a free upgrade to XP or Vista. At least, that's the impression I'm getting from the website. MS Office is free, and there are discounts on some actually useful programs like Maple.

Yeah, You could get Office 2007 and Vista Ultimate for free. It also takes up a lot of bandwith that the students and teachers need. I had to ban Bittorrent from the school I'm at for that purpose.

Well, I asked and it's a definite no-go on bittorrent, end of discussion.

I e-mailed them: I was informed earlier today that any computer that
was detected using a bittorrent client would be removed from the campus
network, and possibly have access permanently revoked if there were
repeat violations. I realize that this an an effort to curb software
piracy and copyright violation, but I often use the bittorrent protocol
to download files and software from entirely legal sources. I am
currently running my computer on Linux (and yes, I know Linux is not
supported here) and much of the software available for Linux is
downloaded via P2P methods such as bittorrent. This doesn't mean it is
illegal or pirated; much of this software is distributed under the GNU
General Public License and allows unrestricted redistribution by end
users, and in many cases the bittorrent download is even recommended by the software developers themselves. If necessary, I could provide some examples of sites that utilize P2P file-sharing methods and fully
respect all copyright laws. Is there any way of using bittorrent methods
to download LEGAL software and files, or would I still be punished
simply for downloading something because the same downloading methodcould conceivably be used to download pirated music?

Their response: With regards to BitTorrent P2P, it does not differentiate good from bad, the policy will stand in place.

Oh well then. It still sucks, but nothing I can do about it.

Have you try i-tunes or a site called emusic.com to download stuff?

There might be a work-around. I bet I could figure out a way for you to get torrents to work, you'd just have to tinker around with the settings.

It's not even so much about downloading music, sine most of my music is off of CD's. Linux relies pretty heavily on Internet downloads, and many of those downloads are best down via P2P methods such as Bittorrent.