Torrent blocking

#1 floppydisk

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Posted 26 August 2008 - 10:26 PM

So, I get to my dorm at New College, set up my computer and realize that my torrents won't go. I asked around and heard that they somehow block torrent programs by both blocking the download of .torrent files and by locking out the ports that the program uses. I tried randomizing the port, didn't work. I can download the .torrent files no problem because I have the option of downloading them as text files. Also, my suspicion is that they're blocking the access of these programs by not letting them through the firewall. Anybody got any suggestions? If I can manage to set uTorrent to download through a proxy, I think I could do it. Any suggestions are open.

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#2 Spoon Poetic

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Posted 26 August 2008 - 11:10 PM

Well I don't know how to get around all that, but I will suggest finding your school's own file-sharing network... Much less hassle and much more secure, most of the time.

You won't be able to find everything you want, of course, but it's still an excellent resource. And I haven't heard of a college yet that didn't have one! (Except Bob Jones. It doesn't count.)

To make things more clear: The college itself won't actually have anything to do with it. Usually a few of the computer-savvy guys set it up and the responsibility of keeping it going passes as people graduate.

And sorry if you already knew about this

This post has been edited by Spoon Poetic: 26 August 2008 - 11:11 PM

I am writing about Jm in my signature because apparently it's an effective method of ignoring him.

#3 Heccubus

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Posted 26 August 2008 - 11:52 PM

You sound screwed. If the school's network is blocking torrent downloads, then yes, it's easy to get around in the way that you mentioned. However, if they're blocking the traffic altogether, first of all you have a right to complain. A lot of open source software is distributed online through torrents, and you could technically make a case that by blocking the entire protocol they're denying you access to tools that could benefit your education.
However, I've never had more than throttling to deal with, so I'm not sure how you can solve the problem altogether.