Comcast Purposely Blocking traffic

[DudeAsInCool]

According to MSNBC.com, "Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally.

The interference, which The Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company computers masquerading as those of its users."

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[vernarial]

We all knew they were. I have personally noticed it myself. They just didn't want to admit anything. I hope some sort of net neutrality bill gets passed soon.

[Potato]

That's flipping awesome. Jesus.

[CTC Command]

No kidding! Like maybe why it's taken me almost a month and there's still 7% left to download of a single Neil Young album!

[method77]

Torrentfreak has some ways to bypass that...

What is working

1. Quite a few Comcast users report that forcing protocol header encryption completely eliminates the problems. This is the easiest solution since most BitTorrent clients support encryption. Please note that simply enabling encryption is not enough, it has to be forced. More details on how to do this can be found over here.

2. Another successfully workaround is to run BitTorrent over encrypted tunnels such as SSH or VPN. BitTorrent over SSH works, but it will cripple the servers of the SSH providers if you plan to use it permanently. A VPN service such as Relakks or VPNTunnel is a better option, and it is worth a few bucks.

3. Comcast prevents seeding, if you’re on a private tracker, and want to share as much as possible, an easy solution is to lower your download rate. When downloading, make sure that you have met your uploading goal by the time that the download completes. The easiest way to accomplish this is to set a download rate slower than the uploading rate. This of course is not an optimal solution because your download will never be faster than you upload speed.

4. One of the best options, if possible, is to switch to another ISP.

What is not working

1. Some people suggested that setting your firewall to drop RST packets could be effective, however, this is not the case. The RST-messages Comcast sends go in both directions, ignoring the RST on only one side creates a useless half-open connection.

2. According to most reports, enabling the Lazy Bitfield option in your BitTorrent client doesn’t solve the problem either

3. Reporting the issue to Technical Support. No explanation needed here.

4. Grab a hammer, visit the Comcast office, smash a keyboard and knock over a monitor. This might sound like a great alternative but apparently it only results in jail time.

I would advise affected Comcast subscribers to play around with these alternatives, some solutions that work for one person, might not work for another. Do you have another solution that is not reported here? Let us know in the comments!

[Redneck4sure]

I don't use p2p of any sort but now I won't consider Comcast for internet. I have AT&T dsl but Comcast is expanding in the area and I have been thinking about checking to see if I can get cable internet at this address. It is much faster than what I have but a year ago it was not available at my house. Today they are blocking p2p, next month will it be Rapidshare, Megaupload or some other file hosting service? I don't need a fast connection to pay my bills online.

As far as using a VPN as suggested in Dude's article........I used one for a while and it cut my speed in half and increased my failed file transfers by about 4 times what I get when not using a VPN. It could have been the service I was using (Findnot) but I suspect it is inherent in using a anon proxy.

[DudeAsInCool]

Eric Bangeman at Ars Technica reported today that Comcast is blocking even more apps and groupware clients:

"...Comcast's traffic-shaping efforts have apparently extended beyond the realm of P2P and into good old enterprise groupware. Kevin Kanarski, who works as a Lotus Notes messaging engineer, noticed some strange behavior with Lotus Notes when hooked up to a Comcast connection."

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[DudeAsInCool]

The Consumerist takes a look at the issue:

"Comcast's technology kicks in, though not consistently, when one BitTorrent user attempts to share a complete file with another user.

Each PC gets a message invisible to the user that looks like it comes from the other computer, telling it to stop communicating. But neither message originated from the other computer -- it comes from Comcast. If it were a telephone conversation, it would be like the operator breaking into the conversation, telling each talker in the voice of the other: "Sorry, I have to hang up. Good bye."

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[nukehella]

Comcast blows.This was driving me nuts until the story broke a few months ago on brroadband reports.I've since switched to FIOS with an awesome 2MB upload.There is a rumor that a 20MB/20MB connection is going to be offered starting today for $65 a month.

[Redneck4sure]

I'd trade my front row seat in Hell for a FIOS connection.

[DudeAsInCool]

Ars Technica contacted Comcast about this issue:

Delaying as a blocking tactic

The company still claims that it is isn't blocking BitTorrent and other P2P traffic, just "delaying it." In a statement given to Ars earlier today, a Comcast spokesperson denied that the company blocks traffic. "Comcast does not block access to any Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer activity like BitTorrent," the spokeperson told Ars. "Our customers use the Internet for downloading and uploading files, watching movies and videos, streaming music, sharing digital photos, accessing numerous peer-to-peer sites, VOIP applications like Vonage, and thousands of other applications online. We have a responsibility to provide all of our customers with a good Internet experience and we use the latest technologies to manage our network so that they can continue to enjoy these applications."

Comcast VP of operations and technical support Mitch Bowling put it this way. "We use the latest technologies to manage our network so that our customers continue to enjoy these applications. We do this because we feel it's our responsibility to provide all of our customers with a good Internet experience."

Another Comcast executive told the New York Times that the company "occasionally" delays P2P traffic, "postponing" it in some cases. His rather clumsy analogy was that of getting a busy signal when making a phone call and eventually getting through after several attempts. "It will get there eventually," is the takeaway message.

That's a distinction without any meaning.

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