Protecting BitTorrent Users from VPN Disconnects

[NelsonG]

[img]http://torrentfreak.com/images/cameraspy.jpg[/img]To protect themselves against excessive monitoring and [url="http://torrentfreak.com/security-flaw-links-bittorrent-users-to-skype-accounts-111020/"]security exploits[/url], many BitTorrent users have signed up for anonymizing services such as [url="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-that-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2013-edition-130302/"]VPNs and proxies[/url].

However, getting a subscription doesn’t guarantee privacy. If for some reason the connection with the VPN is lost, BitTorrent downloads will simply continue from one’s residential IP-address.

Luckily there are ways to minimize this risk and make sure BitTorrent downloads only work when the VPN is connected. Vuze, for example, now has a “connect through VPN only” option built-in.

This new feature comes with Vuze’s updated proxy and VPN support in version 4.8.1.0. It notifies users via a pop-up and asks them whether they want to connect only when the VPN is running.

“Vuze now includes logic to detect when you are running over a VPN and prompts you explicitly to bind to its interface to increase privacy,” Vuze [url="http://blog.vuze.com/2012/12/14/who-wants-socks/"]explains[/url] on its blog.

If the automatic detection doesn’t work, which is often the case, the feature can be activated manually in a few simple steps.

[b]1.[/b] ‘Tools’ > ‘Options’ > set ‘Mode’ to advanced

[b]2.[/b] Go to ‘Connection’ > ‘Advanced Network Settings’

[b]3.[/b] Make sure that you are connected to the VPN. Select the right network interface [url="http://wiki.vuze.com/w/UG_Options#Advanced_Network_Settings"]from the list[/url] and enter the corresponding id in the “Bind to local IP address or interface” box. This varies per computer.

[img]http://torrentfreak.com/images/bindbox.png[/img]

[i]E.g. On Windows PPTP/L2TP generally goes through the WAN Miniport and OpenVPN uses the TAP-Win32 Adapter V9. Usually you will see the name or IP-address of the VPN listed.[/i]

[b]4.[/b] Make sure the box “enforce IP bindings” is ticked at the bottom.

[img]http://torrentfreak.com/images/enforce.png[/img]

Then when everything is working correctly a green “routing” icon should appear in the bottom bar of the client.

To check whether it’s working you can simply disconnect the VPN. [img]http://torrentfreak.com/images/routing.png[/img]The “routing” icon should then turn red and all active downloads and uploads will be halted.

As far as we know Vuze is the only popular BitTorrent client that has a network interface binding feature. Many BitTorrent / uTorrent users [url="http://utorrentideas.uservoice.com/forums/47263-%C2%B5torrent-for-windows/suggestions/719302-interface-binding"]have been asking[/url] for a similar privacy protecting option as well, but for now these clients only allow binding to static IP-addresses.

For those not using Vuze there are other options available though. The easiest, and perhaps most safe, is to install a general VPN monitoring tool. We’ve discussed these and other tips in a previous article [url="http://torrentfreak.com/how-to-make-vpns-even-more-secure-120419/"]on VPN security[/url].

Do you have other tips or suggestions? Please post them in the comments.

Source: [url="http://torrentfreak.com/protecting-bittorrent-users-from-vpn-disconnects-130414/"]Protecting BitTorrent Users from VPN Disconnects[/url]

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