Can Someone Watch What Are You Downloading?

[Unknown Hero]

HI! My friend from Italy told me that he can't download any illegal contents, cuz there are people who can watch if you are downloading illegal contents! Is this true? Can someone really know what are you downloading?
In first place I meant on peer-to-peer downloading. :help:

[evilded]

Echelon...


look it up, you'll be surprised

[Caged]

I've always been curious if people can watch what you are doing on your computer...however, considering the lag I get when on game servers, i doubt they can get very much off of me. That and this lovely part of dial up is that I don't have a static IP addy, therefore, pretty concealed.

[Eagle of Fire]

Your provider knows every single packet you received and sent. Most of the time those informations are not stored, but they do keep some information for a limited time on what you are doing at which place at which time for archiving and informational purpose.

So yes, people can know what you are doing on the internet. Always been so too.

[evilded]

Yes your provider could technically 'see' everything you do online, but whats more disturbing is the ECHELON satelite, to which the CIA will not admit to having.

Im not a conspiricy nut, look it up and youll see...

[FreeFreddy]

In USA there're many things that are preferably hidden from usual people, top secret and all... And not only in USA. You can never know who can see you or not. So if you're not careful, one nice day something ugly could happen... Especially if your part in something illegal is larger. :whistle:

[Rogue]

Originally posted by Unknown Hero@Nov 22 2004, 08:26 PM
HI! My friend from Italy told me that he can't download any illegal contents, cuz there are people who can watch if you are downloading illegal contents! Is this true? Can someone really know what are you downloading?
In first place I meant on peer-to-peer downloading. :help:
Yes, especially if you are married, you have to know that somebody is watching over every move! LOL LOL LOL

What's the point in collecting all the data when most likely your IP changes every time you are on the net? That's why they have big problem catching net-criminals.;)

[FreeFreddy]

It's usually possible to see the real, stationary IP of the computer which never changes. It's another one than the one you see when you dial up, either on modem or DSL-modem.

[Rogue]

There are couple books worth checking. Mostly they are about hacking, and how to protect your self.

If you so much scared, then use proxy server....

[Yamcha]

Here is the solution...There are programs that attach your PC to another server and give him another IP.I think the program is called socksap or something like that I downloaded it (it's free)but i didn't knew how to make it work so I erase it

[aaberg]

We are probably monitored on much of what we do on the internet. But I don't think we should be scared about it, they aren't gonna use the information anyways, because if they did, they would break the law. So at less you are doing something REALLY bad, don't get stressed about this. Whatta they gonna do, sue the hole world?

:cheers: cheers

[FreeFreddy]

Originally posted by yamcha565656@Nov 23 2004, 04:05 PM
Here is the solution...There are programs that attach your PC to another server and give him another IP.I think the program is called socksap or something like that I downloaded it (it's free)but i didn't knew how to make it work so I erase it
This program is only for TCP/IP Network, not for Internet, but would be a good idea though...

[Yamcha]

Originally posted by FreeFreddy+Nov 23 2004, 03:15 PM****</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (FreeFreddy @ Nov 23 2004, 03:15 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ******QuoteBegin-yamcha565656@Nov 23 2004, 04:05 PM
Here is the solution...There are programs that attach your PC to another server and give him another IP.I think the program is called socksap or something like that I downloaded it (it's free)but i didn't knew how to make it work so I erase it
This program is only for TCP/IP Network, not for Internet, but would be a good idea though... [/b][/quote]
D'oh

[The Niles]

Your ISP (internet service provider) is required to store all you internet traffic (which websites you visit for how long and how much you downloaded and uploaded) for a set amount of time. In the Netherlands this term is two months. This can be longer or shorter in different countries.

Appart from that it is possible that someone (read athorities) monitor a specific computer to see what it does. Then the people who are watching not only know which websites that computer is connected to but also what the person behind the computer is looking at and specfically what the computer is downloading and uploading.

In the case of P2P programs there are a few ways in which people can know what you are downloading. The music industry have placed large amounts of music online themselves and they can then monitor who is downloading those files. They do this by recording all the IP's (Internet Protocol) that make a connection to those computers. This IP is virtually unique to a single computer at any one time. This does not tell them who it is that is doing the downloading but with this information they can ask your ISP who was using that IP at the time in question. Some ISP cooperate with this some do not. Dutch ISP's for instance refuse to give this information. The people behind the P2P program have servers which make sure all the users of the P2P program can connect to each other. They can store this information if they wished to. As this cost a lot of money they usually do not do this unless required by law.

That said there is little need for worry. Unless you draw attention to yourself (for example by doing something perticularly nasty like breaking into other peoples computer) authorities don't care what you download. In the western world well over half the people have an internet connection. That means about half a billion people. There are maybe one and a half million policeofficers in the western world even if all of those do nothing else but monitor internet traffic they could not watch everyone all the time.
As long as you do nothing to draw attention to yourself like stated above no one is really looking at what you are doing even if machines are recording it.

[Havell]

I know that in England that records of who you have phoned (not the contents of the calls just what number you called) are kept for 5-6 years :blink: And seeing as your interent is connected to your phone line (even if you have DSL) this would enable them to find out what websites you have been going on, just not necessarily WHAT you have been downloading.

[Unknown Hero]

Originally posted by Anubis@Nov 23 2004, 03:12 PM
There are couple books worth checking. Mostly they are about hacking, and how to protect your self.

If you so much scared, then use proxy server....
I have heard about proxy server, but what is it?

[Rogue]

Read more about proxy here (http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html).

[Ioncannon]

I saw once on the Screen Savers a program that constantly connects to differnet proxy servers around the world, changing you ip every 2 seconds.

[The Niles]

Originally posted by R Havell@Nov 23 2004, 07:06 PM
I know that in England that records of who you have phoned (not the contents of the calls just what number you called) are kept for 5-6 years :blink: And seeing as your interent is connected to your phone line (even if you have DSL) this would enable them to find out what websites you have been going on, just not necessarily WHAT you have been downloading.
This is not true. Those phone record would only show you have been connected to the ISP and for how long it would not show ANYTHING about your browsing habits. DSL does use the same cable as the phoneline (only if it is glassfiber older phonelines do not work) but it works entirely different. They would not be able to tell even when you have been online by phonerecords of you use DSL.

[evilded]

Due to the Patriot Act, if you live in the USA, I suggest not doing anything even remotely illegal...


Patriot Act (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html)

[Rogue]

Originally posted by evilded@Nov 23 2004, 09:02 PM
Due to the Patriot Act, if you live in the USA, I suggest not doing anything even remotely illegal...


Patriot Act (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html)


They really did not need patriot act to have access to everything. They just legislate what they were already doing. :blink:




@Ioncannon
I tryed once program which changed IP while you browse internet, but did not like it very much (that was about 2-3 years ago), and did not need it, as I was not doing anything illigal. :angel: :D