Image version: https://i.imgur.com/Jg1HNTe.jpg

Text version (credits go to @beninho):

1) What is BitTorrent?
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol used for distributing large amounts of data. It is non-anonymous, and usually relies on trackers to keep track of requests (leechers) and offers (seeds).

2) How does it work?
1) Torrenting can be divided into two parts:
a) Creation

1. An uploader creates a torrent file.
   It contains the address of one or more trackers and hashes of shared files
   It does not contain his IP address or personal information.
2. The torrent file is uploaded to a tracker or its magnet link is shared.
   On a public tracker, anyone can view & download it.
   On a private tracker, only members can do so.
3. The uploader starts his BitTorrent client and starts seeding.
   Popular clients include: uTorrent, Deluge, Transmission, rTorrent, Vuze
   The client tries to contact the trackers in the torrent file to announce it can upload content.
   The trackers in turn notify leechers that a seed is available.
   If only DHT (see below) is used, then peers try to find each other on their own.

b) Downloading

1. Find a torrent or magnet link either on tracker or on a torrent search engine.
   The most popular torrent search engine at the moment is torrentz.eu
   Popular public general trackers include: The Piratebay [TPB], Isohunt [iso], Kickasstorrents [KAT]
   Popular public anime related trackers: NyaaTorrents, Deadfrog, Tokyotoshokan, Nipponsei
   Popular private trackers include: WhatCD (music, strict!), BakaBT (anime & hentai), Underground Gamer (abandonware, strict!), Demonoid (DEAD!, no porn)

2) Download the torrent file or copy the magnet link.

3) Start your BitTorrent client and load the torrent file or magnet link.

3) Terminology

• Torrent: Either a 'torrent' file, or its contents shared on the swarm.
• Client: A program that enables file sharing via the BitTorrent protocol.
• Tracker: A server that keeps track of seeds and peers in the swarm so they can find each other. May refer to any site hosting torrents. (e.g. the TPB hosted a tracker, now using magnet links)
• Scraping: A client requesting information about seeds & peers from a tracker.
• PEX: Peer-Exchange Protocol: a substitute/complimentary method for clients to discover other peers/seeds without the assitance of trackers.
• Magnet-link: A string of characters that clients can use to directly download a torrent files from other peers instead a tracker. Well suited to distributed tracking.
• DHT: Distribute hash table, also called distributed tracking. A method to share a torrents without a tracker or keep a torrent alive if the tracker(s) went down.
• Swarm: All users (peers & seeds) sharing a torrent.
• Availability: The number of complete copies of the torrent's content in the swarm.
• Seed: A peer with 100% of the torrent's data uploading to the swarm.
• Seeding: Continued uploading to peers/leechers once downloading is finished.
• Peer: Any participant in the swarm. A leecher without the usual negative connotations of the word. "Alternatively a participant without 100% of the torrent's data who downloads from seeds and peers while simultaniously uploads to other peers."
• Leecher: A peer without 100% of the torrent content. May refer to users who only download without uploading or seeding.
• Leeching: Downloading from seeds & other peers.
• Piece: Torrented files are divided up into equal specific sized pieces which are distributed in a random fashion among peers to optimize trading efficiency.
• Piece size: The size of the pieces. Over 4 MB may cause problems in older clients. Bigger pieces mean smaller torrent file, but peers need to download more even if they only want part of the content.
• Initial-seeding: Seeding method for new torrents where the seeder sends a *different* piece to all peers, so a new copy of the content is available as soon as possible.

4) Some Quick Legal Information
a) The host of your content (if you have a seedbox, then its host) is sent a DMCA notice:

1. They don't have to give your personal details to the sender... in fact it's illegal to do!
2. The host has to disable access to the files immediately or face action themselves.
3. Many hosts will co-operate blindly. So the mere accusation is often enough.
4. Legendary copyright expert Eben Moglen was on the receiving end of take-down notices for videos of himself, created by himself, to which he owned the rights.

b) You are sent a DMCA notice of copyright infraction!

1. It went to the wrong person, the take-down notice goes to the host, not the end user.
2. If you get a DMCA take-down notice and you're not hosting the material yourself, ignore it.

c) Your ISP claims you're torrenting infringing material.

1. Remind them that copyright infringement is a criminal matter, and that if they wish to act against you on allegations of criminal activity they are to address it through the proper channels.
2. If you have a choice of ISPs suggest to them you may move to a competitor that takes your rights more seriously.
3. Lots of ISPs have low-cost tariffs with a minimum term (12, 18 or 24 months usually). If you're within the minimum term you can remind them that there is a minimum term and you will take steps to enforce it.
4. This is an easy win in court - they allege you may have breached the contract, you have rock solid proof that they did.

5) Tips on accessing the content
a) NFO Files:

1. The ".nfo" files are plain text files you can read with Notepad/Wordpad/Word, etc.
2. They typically contain info on who made the rip, its properties and any extra instructions on getting it to work in case it's software (games/applicaitons).

b) DVD Image Files (.iso, .cue, .nrg, etc):

1. These have the content of a DVD and how exactly it should be written to a blank disc.
2. You need to either burn them to a blank DVD-R with a or use a virutal drive.
3. A virtual drive takes the image file and makes your OS see it as if it was in a DVD in an optical drive. You can use it like a normal drive then, swap image files instead discs.
4. Common virtual drive software include: Daemon Tools Lite, Alcohol 120%, Virtual Clone Drive, WinCDEmu

6) Downloading (Leeching) Tips
a) Make sure you download the torrent with the right content!

1. Is the content out in the first place?
   Anything posted before the official DVD/CD release is suspect. Often the content may be placed inside a compressed folder (.zip or .rar) meaning you cannot view the actual files.
2. Always read the comments!
   If the torrent is a fake, people will likely complain about it!
   Comments asking for a password are dead ringer for a fake torrent.
3. Is the source reliable?
   A lot of trackers highlight trusted uploaders.
4. Check the files! Do they have the right extension? (mp3, mkv, etc.)
   Video formats: avi, mkv, mp4, etc.
   Audio formats: mp3, flac, aac, etc.
   CD/DVD Images: ccd, cue, iso, mds, nrg, etc.
   Movies should never come as .zip or an .exe file, if they do there is some sort of catch
5. Can you play the file?
   Any video that can't be played by VLC/CCCP/Mplayer is likely fake.
   Video that requires 3WPlayer, DomPlayer or directs to sites with forms or asks to install stuff are fake.

b) Make sure you choose the torrent with the best statistics!

1. More seeds = better. More overall bandwidth, more slots.
2. More peers = better. Peers are uploading too.
3. More seeders/peers = better. More open slots, more available bandwidth.
4. Similar seeder/peer ratios? Choose by number of seeds, then number of peers.

c) Configure your client correctly!
The tips in this part of the FAQ has been taken (like a lot of other things) from Torrent Freak:
https://torrentfreak.com/optimize-yo...download-speed

1. Limit your upload speed! This is the most important setting you can do!
   Setting it to 80% of the maximum upload speed of your connection tends to work.
   E.g. if your maximum upload speed is 64 Kb/s, set it to 52 Kb/s.
2. Limit your download speed! Not setting a limit will hurt you in the long run!
   If you want to browse the net, it's a good idea to limit download too.
   Setting it to 95% of the maximum download speed of your connection tends to work.
   E.g. if your maximum download speed is 640 Kb/s, set it to 608 Kb/s.
3. Limit the maximum number of connected peers per torrent!
   This is yet another thing you don't want to max out, as you'll only clog the tubes.
   Setting it to 1.3 x upload speed tends to work out.
   E.g if you upload speed (80% of max) is 52 Kb/s, then it should be 67 or 68.
4. Limit the overall maximum number of connections!
   If you like lots of torrents at once, it's worth setting this one too.
   Setting it to 3-4 x number of connected peers/torrent tends to work.
   Around ~200 is a good number for a typical 5 Mbps consumer connection.
5. Limit the maximum number of upload slots!
   Setting this too high can lead to loosing bandwidth from too many connections.
   Setting it to 1 + (upload speed / 6) tends to work.
   E.g. if your upload speed (80% of max) is 52 Kb/s, then it should be 1 + (52/6) = 9 or 10.

d) Avoid bandwidth throttling by your ISP!

1. Set your client to use a different port than the default one. (I.e. *not* 6881-6999)
   A lot of ISPs block or throttle traffic through these ports nowadays.
   Set it between 49152–65535, the range reserved for dynamic ports.
2. Enable encryption in your client!
   Several ISPs apply packet inspection, looking for tell-tale signs of the BitTorrent protocol to block or throttle torrenting.
   Encrypting your connection to the tracker and peers can circumvent this.
   Most clients have settings that prefer encrypted connections, but also allow legacy (non-encrypted) peers to connect. This is the preferred setting.

7) Uploading (Seeding) Tips
a) Without seeds torrents wither and die!
Q: I've downloaded the torrent from a tracker, it should still have the data, right?
A: The tracker only has the hashes and a list of other peers/seeds. No actual content.
A: With trackerless torrenting, it's possible that nothing is centrally hosted.
Q: The guy who made the torrent will probably keep seeding it, right?
A: On a seedbox, yes. Otherwise, unless people help out, downloading will be very slow.
Q: Oh... so I really should keep seeding?
A: It's the only NEET thing to do (^_^)

b) How long should I seed?

• As long as you want or as much as your private tracker dictates.

c) How can I measure how much I've seeded?

• Ratio is a good tool for measuring: it differentiates between slow/fast connections and is proportional to not only content size, but how much the user downloaded.
• Ratio is not fair: faster seeds, like seedboxes, can take up all the demand, making it hard to achieve a ratio on a consumer connection.
• In practice a ratio of 1 is decent, as you contributed as much as you downloaded.

8) Torrents & Anonymity
a) Can a Torrent file be used to identify me?

• The torrent file doesn't contain any personal information.

b) Do Trackers retain any personal information?

• No, trackers only list peers & seeds as long as they're connected.

c) How can BitTorrent traffic be monitored?

• The whole system is open by design. Anyone with access to the swarm can start logging.
• ISPs can monitor all traffic of the user and see the IP of the recipient too.
• Video showing monitoring done with uTorrent, *without* any modification to the software:
  http://youtu.be/KRMsoeofGcI

9) Staying Anonymous
a) Private Trackers

• Using private trackers is generally safer than public ones, as copyright enforcement usually goes after the easiest targets on public trackers to maximise the return on the operation.
• To spy on your traffic the copyright trolls need a user/pass themselves.
• Private trackers may have stringent ratio requirements. (Sometimes hard to keep).
• Registering may be limited to certain times of a week/month, or needs an invitation.
• Copyright agencies can gain access just as easily as you could! Afterwards a private tracker is just as easy to monitor as public ones! No real protection is provided.
• An e-mail address can be damning! If the private tracker's site is raided this can fall into the authorities hands. Beware what personal data you link to this address!
• ISPs can still see your traffic and can screw you if they're in cahoots with RIAA!

b) Proxies

• A Proxy service acts as an intermediary to your Internet traffic, so all your activity on the net seems as if it originated from the Proxy's IP address, rather than your own ISP assigned one.
• Transparent Proxies provide no real protection, as they forward your original IP.
• "Simple & Distorting Anonymous Proxies do hide your own IP, however they don't don't hide the fact that you're using a proxy service and thus may be filtered out."
• High Anonymity Proxy Services hide that fact that you're using a proxy service to begin with.
• Unlike VPNs, communication with proxies is typically unencypted, this makes them vulnerable to middle-man attacks, like your ISP snooping on your traffic!
• http://www.freeproxy.ru/en/free_proxy/faq/index.htm

c) VPNs (Virtual Private Networks)

• A VPN service acts as an intermediary to your Internet traffic, so all your activity on the net seems as if it originated from the VPN's IP address, rather than your own ISP assigned one.
• Unlike proxies, the connection to the VPN is encrypted, it makes it very hard (practically impossible) for middle-man attacks, like your ISP snooping on your traffic, to know what you are doing.
• Your activity is visible on the other end, but only as just another client of the VPN server.
• As long as there's no personal information in your traffic, this makes it impossible for anyone logging this activity to connect it to your person without access to the VPN's records.
• All in all, you're effectively transfering your trust from your ISP to the VPN provider.
• Do your research! Some companies try to limit the personal information in their possession and will fight tooth and nail to enforce your rights, others bend backwards to comply.
• Popular VPNs at the moment: BTguard, ItsHidden, Ipredator, TorrentPrivacy, Privacy.io
• https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-p...riously-111007

d) Seedboxes

• A seedbox is a step up from VPNs. Instead just having your traffic forwarded, you actually have access to a remote computer which is capable of torrenting on its own.
• Since the machine that does the torrenting doesn't have your ISP assigned IP, you're much harder to track you down. If you use encrypted communication (https, sftp) – and if you bought a seedbox for anonymity then you should! – with the seedbox, even your ISP will have no proof of what you're doing.
• Usually a web-based interface to upload torrents files and FTP access to download content.
• They have massive, duplex, bandwidth. They are fast at both down- and uploading!
• This comes handy to keep your ratio on private trackers... or hosting torrents of your own!
• You're effectively transfering your trust from your ISP to your seedbox provider.
• Unlike a VPN, a seedbox will contain lots of damning evidence by default!
• It is critical that your provider resides in a jurisdiction that protects your personal information or better yet sanctions file-sharing and that your provider has the right *attitude* to protect and enforce these rights against copyright agencies!
• One of the most popular seedbox hosts at the moment is http://whatbox.ca/

10) Anonymity Myths
a) Peerblock/Peerguardian & any other scheme involving blacklists:
These things are goddamn useless:

1. As long as they can connect to the tracker, they have your IP address, preventing them from connecting to you doesn't change anything from a legal standpoint.
2. The blocklists are publicly submitted, full of overly wide banmasks, and also contain legitimate IPs too. Just as there are legitimate IPs on the list there are illegitimate IPs not on the list.
3. Since the blocklists are freely available to anyone copyright enforcers know exactly what IP ranges are on the list and what IP ranges are not.
4. Enforcers can outsource monitoring to another organisation with a different IP range.
5. They can also use any non-blocked, residential internet connection.

"A false sense of security is worse than no security at all."

b) Encrypting your torrent connections:

• It does *nothing* to hide your IP address from enforcers monitoring the swarm.

@srn it whould be cool if you could copy the image to a text here

I'd like to say something about the bad presentation, but I guess I'll just keep that to myself for now.

Good to see that they actually know why Peerblock & co. is such useless garbage despite people still more or less widely using them.

Originally Posted by FiDeLiTo

@srn it whould be cool if you could copy the image to a text here

Sorry mate, but I don't have the text.

I tried to use an online OCR tool to convert the photo to text, but it's just too messed up.

Amazing picture. Every new user needs to read this before proceeding with the rules of TI.org. These are the basics, and reading them can save you hours of frustration. This thread needs to be pinned.

Wow I've got too much time on my hands... Enjoy the read guys

1) What is BitTorrent?
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol used for distributing large amounts of data. It is non-anonymous, and usually relies on trackers to keep track of requests (leechers) and offers (seeds).

2) How does it work?
1) Torrenting can be divided into two parts:
a) Creation

1. An uploader creates a torrent file.
   It contains the address of one or more trackers and hashes of shared files
   It does not contain his IP address or personal information.
2. The torrent file is uploaded to a tracker or its magnet link is shared.
   On a public tracker, anyone can view & download it.
   On a private tracker, only members can do so.
3. The uploader starts his BitTorrent client and starts seeding.
   Popular clients include: uTorrent, Deluge, Transmission, rTorrent, Vuze
   The client tries to contact the trackers in the torrent file to announce it can upload content.
   The trackers in turn notify leechers that a seed is available.
   If only DHT (see below) is used, then peers try to find each other on their own.

b) Downloading

1. Find a torrent or magnet link either on tracker or on a torrent search engine.
   The most popular torrent search engine at the moment is torrentz.eu
   Popular public general trackers include: The Piratebay [TPB], Isohunt [iso], Kickasstorrents [KAT]
   Popular public anime related trackers: NyaaTorrents, Deadfrog, Tokyotoshokan, Nipponsei
   Popular private trackers include: WhatCD (music, strict!), BakaBT (anime & hentai), Underground Gamer (abandonware, strict!), Demonoid (DEAD!, no porn)

2) Download the torrent file or copy the magnet link.

3) Start your BitTorrent client and load the torrent file or magnet link.

3) Terminology

• Torrent: Either a 'torrent' file, or its contents shared on the swarm.
• Client: A program that enables file sharing via the BitTorrent protocol.
• Tracker: A server that keeps track of seeds and peers in the swarm so they can find each other. May refer to any site hosting torrents. (e.g. the TPB hosted a tracker, now using magnet links)
• Scraping: A client requesting information about seeds & peers from a tracker.
• PEX: Peer-Exchange Protocol: a substitute/complimentary method for clients to discover other peers/seeds without the assitance of trackers.
• Magnet-link: A string of characters that clients can use to directly download a torrent files from other peers instead a tracker. Well suited to distributed tracking.
• DHT: Distribute hash table, also called distributed tracking. A method to share a torrents without a tracker or keep a torrent alive if the tracker(s) went down.
• Swarm: All users (peers & seeds) sharing a torrent.
• Availability: The number of complete copies of the torrent's content in the swarm.
• Seed: A peer with 100% of the torrent's data uploading to the swarm.
• Seeding: Continued uploading to peers/leechers once downloading is finished.
• Peer: Any participant in the swarm. A leecher without the usual negative connotations of the word. "Alternatively a participant without 100% of the torrent's data who downloads from seeds and peers while simultaniously uploads to other peers."
• Leecher: A peer without 100% of the torrent content. May refer to users who only download without uploading or seeding.
• Leeching: Downloading from seeds & other peers.
• Piece: Torrented files are divided up into equal specific sized pieces which are distributed in a random fashion among peers to optimize trading efficiency.
• Piece size: The size of the pieces. Over 4 MB may cause problems in older clients. Bigger pieces mean smaller torrent file, but peers need to download more even if they only want part of the content.
• Initial-seeding: Seeding method for new torrents where the seeder sends a *different* piece to all peers, so a new copy of the content is available as soon as possible.

4) Some Quick Legal Information
a) The host of your content (if you have a seedbox, then its host) is sent a DMCA notice:

1. They don't have to give your personal details to the sender... in fact it's illegal to do!
2. The host has to disable access to the files immediately or face action themselves.
3. Many hosts will co-operate blindly. So the mere accusation is often enough.
4. Legendary copyright expert Eben Moglen was on the receiving end of take-down notices for videos of himself, created by himself, to which he owned the rights.

b) You are sent a DMCA notice of copyright infraction!

1. It went to the wrong person, the take-down notice goes to the host, not the end user.
2. If you get a DMCA take-down notice and you're not hosting the material yourself, ignore it.

c) Your ISP claims you're torrenting infringing material.

1. Remind them that copyright infringement is a criminal matter, and that if they wish to act against you on allegations of criminal activity they are to address it through the proper channels.
2. If you have a choice of ISPs suggest to them you may move to a competitor that takes your rights more seriously.
3. Lots of ISPs have low-cost tariffs with a minimum term (12, 18 or 24 months usually). If you're within the minimum term you can remind them that there is a minimum term and you will take steps to enforce it.
4. This is an easy win in court - they allege you may have breached the contract, you have rock solid proof that they did.

5) Tips on accessing the content
a) NFO Files:

1. The ".nfo" files are plain text files you can read with Notepad/Wordpad/Word, etc.
2. They typically contain info on who made the rip, its properties and any extra instructions on getting it to work in case it's software (games/applicaitons).

b) DVD Image Files (.iso, .cue, .nrg, etc):

1. These have the content of a DVD and how exactly it should be written to a blank disc.
2. You need to either burn them to a blank DVD-R with a or use a virutal drive.
3. A virtual drive takes the image file and makes your OS see it as if it was in a DVD in an optical drive. You can use it like a normal drive then, swap image files instead discs.
4. Common virtual drive software include: Daemon Tools Lite, Alcohol 120%, Virtual Clone Drive, WinCDEmu

6) Downloading (Leeching) Tips
a) Make sure you download the torrent with the right content!

1. Is the content out in the first place?
   Anything posted before the official DVD/CD release is suspect. Often the content may be placed inside a compressed folder (.zip or .rar) meaning you cannot view the actual files.
2. Always read the comments!
   If the torrent is a fake, people will likely complain about it!
   Comments asking for a password are dead ringer for a fake torrent.
3. Is the source reliable?
   A lot of trackers highlight trusted uploaders.
4. Check the files! Do they have the right extension? (mp3, mkv, etc.)
   Video formats: avi, mkv, mp4, etc.
   Audio formats: mp3, flac, aac, etc.
   CD/DVD Images: ccd, cue, iso, mds, nrg, etc.
   Movies should never come as .zip or an .exe file, if they do there is some sort of catch
5. Can you play the file?
   Any video that can't be played by VLC/CCCP/Mplayer is likely fake.
   Video that requires 3WPlayer, DomPlayer or directs to sites with forms or asks to install stuff are fake.

b) Make sure you choose the torrent with the best statistics!

1. More seeds = better. More overall bandwidth, more slots.
2. More peers = better. Peers are uploading too.
3. More seeders/peers = better. More open slots, more available bandwidth.
4. Similar seeder/peer ratios? Choose by number of seeds, then number of peers.

c) Configure your client correctly!
The tips in this part of the FAQ has been taken (like a lot of other things) from Torrent Freak:
https://torrentfreak.com/optimize-yo...download-speed

1. Limit your upload speed! This is the most important setting you can do!
   Setting it to 80% of the maximum upload speed of your connection tends to work.
   E.g. if your maximum upload speed is 64 Kb/s, set it to 52 Kb/s.
2. Limit your download speed! Not setting a limit will hurt you in the long run!
   If you want to browse the net, it's a good idea to limit download too.
   Setting it to 95% of the maximum download speed of your connection tends to work.
   E.g. if your maximum download speed is 640 Kb/s, set it to 608 Kb/s.
3. Limit the maximum number of connected peers per torrent!
   This is yet another thing you don't want to max out, as you'll only clog the tubes.
   Setting it to 1.3 x upload speed tends to work out.
   E.g if you upload speed (80% of max) is 52 Kb/s, then it should be 67 or 68.
4. Limit the overall maximum number of connections!
   If you like lots of torrents at once, it's worth setting this one too.
   Setting it to 3-4 x number of connected peers/torrent tends to work.
   Around ~200 is a good number for a typical 5 Mbps consumer connection.
5. Limit the maximum number of upload slots!
   Setting this too high can lead to loosing bandwidth from too many connections.
   Setting it to 1 + (upload speed / 6) tends to work.
   E.g. if your upload speed (80% of max) is 52 Kb/s, then it should be 1 + (52/6) = 9 or 10.

d) Avoid bandwidth throttling by your ISP!

1. Set your client to use a different port than the default one. (I.e. *not* 6881-6999)
   A lot of ISPs block or throttle traffic through these ports nowadays.
   Set it between 49152–65535, the range reserved for dynamic ports.
2. Enable encryption in your client!
   Several ISPs apply packet inspection, looking for tell-tale signs of the BitTorrent protocol to block or throttle torrenting.
   Encrypting your connection to the tracker and peers can circumvent this.
   Most clients have settings that prefer encrypted connections, but also allow legacy (non-encrypted) peers to connect. This is the preferred setting.

7) Uploading (Seeding) Tips
a) Without seeds torrents wither and die!
Q: I've downloaded the torrent from a tracker, it should still have the data, right?
A: The tracker only has the hashes and a list of other peers/seeds. No actual content.
A: With trackerless torrenting, it's possible that nothing is centrally hosted.
Q: The guy who made the torrent will probably keep seeding it, right?
A: On a seedbox, yes. Otherwise, unless people help out, downloading will be very slow.
Q: Oh... so I really should keep seeding?
A: It's the only NEET thing to do (^_^)

b) How long should I seed?

• As long as you want or as much as your private tracker dictates.

c) How can I measure how much I've seeded?

• Ratio is a good tool for measuring: it differentiates between slow/fast connections and is proportional to not only content size, but how much the user downloaded.
• Ratio is not fair: faster seeds, like seedboxes, can take up all the demand, making it hard to achieve a ratio on a consumer connection.
• In practice a ratio of 1 is decent, as you contributed as much as you downloaded.

8) Torrents & Anonymity
a) Can a Torrent file be used to identify me?

• The torrent file doesn't contain any personal information.

b) Do Trackers retain any personal information?

• No, trackers only list peers & seeds as long as they're connected.

c) How can BitTorrent traffic be monitored?

• The whole system is open by design. Anyone with access to the swarm can start logging.
• ISPs can monitor all traffic of the user and see the IP of the recipient too.
• Video showing monitoring done with uTorrent, *without* any modification to the software:
  http://youtu.be/KRMsoeofGcI

9) Staying Anonymous
a) Private Trackers

• Using private trackers is generally safer than public ones, as copyright enforcement usually goes after the easiest targets on public trackers to maximise the return on the operation.
• To spy on your traffic the copyright trolls need a user/pass themselves.
• Private trackers may have stringent ratio requirements. (Sometimes hard to keep).
• Registering may be limited to certain times of a week/month, or needs an invitation.
• Copyright agencies can gain access just as easily as you could! Afterwards a private tracker is just as easy to monitor as public ones! No real protection is provided.
• An e-mail address can be damning! If the private tracker's site is raided this can fall into the authorities hands. Beware what personal data you link to this address!
• ISPs can still see your traffic and can screw you if they're in cahoots with RIAA!

b) Proxies

• A Proxy service acts as an intermediary to your Internet traffic, so all your activity on the net seems as if it originated from the Proxy's IP address, rather than your own ISP assigned one.
• Transparent Proxies provide no real protection, as they forward your original IP.
• "Simple & Distorting Anonymous Proxies do hide your own IP, however they don't don't hide the fact that you're using a proxy service and thus may be filtered out."
• High Anonymity Proxy Services hide that fact that you're using a proxy service to begin with.
• Unlike VPNs, communication with proxies is typically unencypted, this makes them vulnerable to middle-man attacks, like your ISP snooping on your traffic!
• http://www.freeproxy.ru/en/free_proxy/faq/index.htm

c) VPNs (Virtual Private Networks)

• A VPN service acts as an intermediary to your Internet traffic, so all your activity on the net seems as if it originated from the VPN's IP address, rather than your own ISP assigned one.
• Unlike proxies, the connection to the VPN is encrypted, it makes it very hard (practically impossible) for middle-man attacks, like your ISP snooping on your traffic, to know what you are doing.
• Your activity is visible on the other end, but only as just another client of the VPN server.
• As long as there's no personal information in your traffic, this makes it impossible for anyone logging this activity to connect it to your person without access to the VPN's records.
• All in all, you're effectively transfering your trust from your ISP to the VPN provider.
• Do your research! Some companies try to limit the personal information in their possession and will fight tooth and nail to enforce your rights, others bend backwards to comply.
• Popular VPNs at the moment: BTguard, ItsHidden, Ipredator, TorrentPrivacy, Privacy.io
• https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-p...riously-111007

d) Seedboxes

• A seedbox is a step up from VPNs. Instead just having your traffic forwarded, you actually have access to a remote computer which is capable of torrenting on its own.
• Since the machine that does the torrenting doesn't have your ISP assigned IP, you're much harder to track you down. If you use encrypted communication (https, sftp) – and if you bought a seedbox for anonymity then you should! – with the seedbox, even your ISP will have no proof of what you're doing.
• Usually a web-based interface to upload torrents files and FTP access to download content.
• They have massive, duplex, bandwidth. They are fast at both down- and uploading!
• This comes handy to keep your ratio on private trackers... or hosting torrents of your own!
• You're effectively transfering your trust from your ISP to your seedbox provider.
• Unlike a VPN, a seedbox will contain lots of damning evidence by default!
• It is critical that your provider resides in a jurisdiction that protects your personal information or better yet sanctions file-sharing and that your provider has the right *attitude* to protect and enforce these rights against copyright agencies!
• One of the most popular seedbox hosts at the moment is http://whatbox.ca/

10) Anonymity Myths
a) Peerblock/Peerguardian & any other scheme involving blacklists:
These things are goddamn useless:

1. As long as they can connect to the tracker, they have your IP address, preventing them from connecting to you doesn't change anything from a legal standpoint.
2. The blocklists are publicly submitted, full of overly wide banmasks, and also contain legitimate IPs too. Just as there are legitimate IPs on the list there are illegitimate IPs not on the list.
3. Since the blocklists are freely available to anyone copyright enforcers know exactly what IP ranges are on the list and what IP ranges are not.
4. Enforcers can outsource monitoring to another organisation with a different IP range.
5. They can also use any non-blocked, residential internet connection.

"A false sense of security is worse than no security at all."

b) Encrypting your torrent connections:

• It does *nothing* to hide your IP address from enforcers monitoring the swarm.

* Credit to Flaser and Ol'Greg

Good job man! OP edited.