Newbie Torrenting Question

[quercusnut]

Hi everyone. New here and love what I see so far. I'm a pretty low-level techie for now and looking for some answers to a few basic questions. I've browsed threads to try and find an answer before starting a new thread.
I do everything on my Samsung j7 phone. I haven't opened my laptop in ages.
My question is: do torrents only upload while I'm downloading? I can't use Roku and run my vpn at the same time. I only download while vpn is running. So I'm wondering if my isp, or anyone else, can see any torrent activity while I'm using Roku?
Maybe a dumb newbie question but I guess I'm a little paranoid and want to be absolutely sure.
Thanks for your help.

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Maybe I should have provided more info.
I have PureVPN and download from Bitport.io. I play my files directly from the Bitport channel on Roku. The files are never in my phone storage.

[dueda]

Torrents upload as far as there's someone connecting to you.

BitTorrent protocol uses the DHT system to find peers with the wanted torrent then the BT client app selects the best providers for the needed pieces. "Best" means other peers in the swarm with the pieces needed, willing to send them, and with good speed / response time.

As far your client has allowance (torrent seed limit is not set or not reached), and no faster clients are available to a particular downloader, you will be taken as source for a piece. Each 10 seconds or so the downloader client will evaluate the performance of the connected peers and the best stay; if you are at the bottom of the pack you'll be dismissed from that connection in lieu of faster peers.

Due the "tree" characteristic of the DHT network, if you're close (in node jumps terms) to the torrent downloader you'll be first to be connected, but as clients are always looking for better peers, if enough faster peers are available you'll be dumped.

That's why guys with very slow Internet living in remote countries like me have a hard time seeding some torrents, there're many faster peers closer to the dense traffic areas. To make it worse, some professionals or just rich aficionados use very fast connections on dedicated machines, common users can't race them.

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About your mobile phone:

If you set battery saving to an aggressive mode or didn't mark the torrent app / internet connection to run on background (screen off), you don't upload.
J7 and other phones have an auto-reset feature, remember to let the torrent app to autostart with the system and turn on the connection (WiFi).

Can't tell about specific apps like Roku. Your VPN should suffice as long it is properly configured, but some ISPs can track your "traffic shape"; torrent traffic has some unique characteristics (data packet sizes and frequencies, etc), also your use profile (transfer volume) may hint the ISP you're torrenting.

[quercusnut]

So I could be seeding even though my files aren't on my phone? Would I be seeding from BT and can my isp or anyone else detect that it's me while I'm not running vpn?

[SectorVector]

Their FAQ clarifies a lot of points. https://bitport.io/faq

Short answer: Yes, you are exposed when streaming from BitPort using Roku, without a VPN.
And read this: How To Setup VPN for Roku?

The seeding related question is also answered in the FAQ. They seed to 1.0 ratio by default.
When seeding, it is BT that is seeding, so you are out of the picture. You can relax.


Long Answer:
Their Terms of Condition and Privacy Policy requires careful reading. (Links are on the page bottom.)

The latter document states, that user IP information etc., is shared with Google and third Parties !



While your IP address is surely not exposed when BitPort downloads the torrent, you are surely exposed when you stream the downloaded file.

Anytime you communicate with BitPort you are exposed. So use a VPN.

If you want to stick with BP or similar, 'securely' fetch the downloaded files to your PC, using a VPN connection.
Then you can try to stream via Roku from your PC. (HOWTO). I would prefer this method.

At any rate do not expose your real IP, any other personal info, to BitPort, if/even during registration. Use a VPN

Hope this answers some of your questions. I've merely tried to interpret the available information. I have no first hand experience with BP or similar service.

[quercusnut]

Their FAQ clarifies a lot of points. https://bitport.io/faq

Short answer: Yes, you are exposed when streaming from BitPort using Roku, without a VPN.
And read this: How To Setup VPN for Roku?

The seeding related question is also answered in the FAQ. They seed to 1.0 ratio by default.
When seeding, it is BT that is seeding, so you are out of the picture. You can relax.


Long Answer:
Their Terms of Condition and Privacy Policy requires careful reading. (Links are on the page bottom.)

The latter document states, that user IP information etc., is shared with Google and third Parties !



While your IP address is surely not exposed when BitPort downloads the torrent, you are surely exposed when you stream the downloaded file.

Anytime you communicate with BitPort you are exposed. So use a VPN.

If you want to stick with BP or similar, 'securely' fetch the downloaded files to your PC, using a VPN connection.
Then you can try to stream via Roku from your PC. (HOWTO). I would prefer this method.

At any rate do not expose your real IP, any other personal info, to BitPort, if/even during registration. Use a VPN

Hope this answers some of your questions. I've merely tried to interpret the available information. I have no first hand experience with BP or similar service.

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Thanks much for reply. I will check it out.

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I checked your link about setting up vpn with Roku. I've been there before. Problem is my ATT router is incompatible. I already tried.
I download to Bitport so I'm safe there I understand. That should keep me from getting a DMCA letter. So my isp shouldn't care what I'm watching on Roku as long as they don't receive a complaint . Am I right?

[waregim]

Not familiar with Roku, but it seems to be a simple streaming device. You may need to configure it for a router. First need to login to the router to see the options available. The typical IP is 10.0.0.1 (at least for comcast). Contact your tech support to be sure.

Presently the only folks at risk are those who *upload* or *share* - P2P - which has an upload function inherent to it. People have been sued for unauthorized 'viewing', but that is mainly on the Satellite and PayTV markets. I know of no pink slips for USEnet downloads, for example - which is not P2P.

Assuming Roku has no upload functions, you should be safe. But be aware that the current rules can change at any time, and pure downloads *can* be targeted. There are no constitutional rights anymore. Roku seems to be a wireless cable provider that sells various 'viewing plans', so one would assume that the contens would/should be legit in any case. Unless accounts used are not legit, and subject to 'theft of service' lawsuits.

As most android/google apps are some type of spyware, if you are concerned about privacy/security switch to the laptop and a VPN.
Perhaps something like this may be helpful:
https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/v...e-0176871/

[quercusnut]

Thanks for the info. I have a pretty much flawless casting setup. I have several Roku channels plus Roku's Bitport channel. I can also cast any web video or file on my phone with the Rokify app.The files I download from Bitport go to their cloud and I play them on the Bitport channel. They're never in my phone storage. Bitport claims no vpn is needed with their service. Just as a (maybe unnecessary) precaution I still use vpn when downloading files with Bitport.
I'm just wondering if my isp (ATT) monitors what I watch on my Bitport channel on Roku or cares. A couple of weeks ago  I did receive one DMCA email from ATT when I accidentally downloaded a movie torrent without vpn before I started using Bitport.

[waregim]

ISPs would be very much monitoring user traffic as they are trying to figure out usage patterns that would allow them to cap 'unlimitated' rated while pizzing the fewst people off.

Companies use an 80/20 plan. Center on 80% of users, and burn the other 20% who may be using 'extra resources'. Too many issues to carry out a Night of the Long Knives- now. Time will tell later. Think IP treaties....

[quercusnut]

ISPs would be very much monitoring user traffic as they are trying to figure out usage patterns that would allow them to cap 'unlimitated' rated while pizzing the fewst people off.

Companies use an 80/20 plan. Center on 80% of users, and burn the other 20% who may be using 'extra resources'. Too many issues to carry out a Night of the Long Knives- now. Time will tell later. Think IP treaties....

I get that they monitor traffic. But do they monitor content? Should I already know the answer to that? 
Could you reread my post?  Thanks.

[waregim]

OK lets clarify some issues.

Roku is, as I understand it - a streaming service. Typically these use RTMP type protocols that are ONE WAY. There are no uploads involved. I beleive there is one streaming service that has tried to add P2P to its streaming service, and refer to it as some kind of community 'antenna'. But I dont think Roku is it.

P2P - Person-to-Person - protocol is just that. Its the basis of torrents, magnets, and related file sharing. It is TWO WAY, and will upload while downloading. (Some streaming *clients*, like Popcorn use it, so a VPN is essential with that. Sickbeard uses Usenet typically, so there are no uploads there. )

Now, P2P CLIENTS like uTorrent, qBittorrent, etc can have their upload methods adjustable, so as to only upload (*seed*) so much, and then stop. Some, like Vuze with addons, can be directed to not seed at all. The oroblem with P2P is that even if you are not actually uploading, by simply being identifiable in a swarm (without a VPN/Proxy) the corporations will assume you are also uploading (seeding), as that is how the software is normally configured.

Complicating matters is the fact that most P2P clients can be easily coaxed to yield up their list of downloaded torrents, unless deleted from the client.

Generally ISPs dont care to go through the trouble of packet sniffing to identify what you download. Its the MPAA cand the cottage industry of copyright nazis who will make a fuss, and typically can only make a complaint with the content torrented, and the IP address to the ISP who simply matches IP against its logs and sends you a pink slip. Or, the server of the VPN which will utterly ignore it, as it should ideally have no logs at all.

Bitport complicated the issue because it is essentially a seedbox. It acts like the client software, by taking supplied tracker/magnet (dht) info and handling all data downloaded from the swarm to its server, and from its servers to you. Any seeding would be done from ITS servers, and IT would be the recipient of thousands of MPAA complaints.

I do not know if your software has any control over ITS seeding, but that can be terminated by simply deleting the file.

If you stream directly from Bitcloud, there is no issue. If you torrent from it, it *should* act as a private tracker, and not put you into the swarm. In any case your use of a VPN should protect you while downloading content.

That should provide you with anomymity from the copyright nazis, but actual privacy is a different matter.
Browsers are typically configured as spyware, and for those issues google :
disabling referrer
disabling geolocation
setting DNS
disabling IPV6

As to the phones I am a bit clueless as I hate them, keep them in a different room, and check my messages once a week, whether I need to or not. They are pure corporate spyware.