uTorrent DHT patch == privacy threat?

Question

There are releases of uTorrent with DHT Patch and I was wondering if they do not pose a privacy threat.

DHT Patch is basically a patch, that allows you to use DHT on torrents marked with private flag.

If I'm not wrong, whole idea of private torrents is to allow only auhtorized (for example through registration) users to use torrent. Making it harder to spy on users' downloading habbits.

And now, there is DHT Patch, which enables to use DHT on those more "secure" torrents. Isn't it that patched client starts to propagate IP adressess of people who think they use private torrent and make them exposed?

Solution

Using a client that disrespects the private flag on a private tracker does violate your privacy and, potentially, the privacy of other users (if you have peer exchange enabled, for example) and is considered an offense of the highest order by most private trackers. It is also extremely easy to trace back to you, as any competent tracker will notice irregular activity after you join the swarm with such a client. Using a client with a DHT patch will quickly get you on an inter-tracker blacklist.

The only instance where using such a client will not negatively affect you or others is if you limit it to public torrents that have had the private flag set erroneously. To make sure you don't accidentally use the patched client with other torrent files, move uTorrent's configuration files from %appdata%\Roaming\uTorrent to the same directory as your original uTorrent executable (thus engaging portable mode) before running the patched client.

Comments

[Ramhound]

You assume the private trackers are more private then the public trackers. The only way to stay private, when using a program like uTorrent, is to use a VPN which itself cares about privacy. Of course if you are downloading legal content there isn't really a privacy issue to be concerned with. An ip address cannot be used to identify you, without the help, from your provider.

[Gacek]

Yes. I know private trackers does not make me annonymouse. But they make it a bit "more" privtate than public torrents.

[Ramhound]

@Gacekt - If you are sharing content you do not have the right to share the people who track that type of sharing will eventually find out about it.

[Gacek]

Thx Ramhound. For me privacy threat are cookies on websites and google analytics. Any form of monitoring my behaviour. In my country something that UK is going to invent was invented years ago. We can download anything, that was published.

[Ramhound]

You can't download anything. Copyright still applies even in the UK.

[Gacek]

But I'm not from UK. In my country we're not allowed to public works we do not own. We're 100% free to download anything that is already published (except software). If it's published, only publisher/uploader takes responsibility. Since we do not know if publusher had rights. If he published it, it means he had right to do so. But that's not a question here.

[Oleg V. Volkov]

Any privacy that is dependend on EACH of thousands of other users following protocol is not privacy at all.

[kotekzot]

@OlegV.Volkov in that case privacy doesn't exist at all, because you're relying on 7 billion people not installing hidden cameras in your house.