There is no denying the fact that BitTorrent ecosystem is marked by doubt and uncertainty. In fact, the recent discontinuation of The Pirate Bay has provided further evidence of its vulnerability to disorder.
It took just one raid to take down one of the most widely used torrent sites which adversely affected various other BitTorrent services. There is now hope for the pirates out there following the release of an anonymous BitTorrent network by Delft University of Technology researchers.
Researchers have been able to develop a decentralized BitTorrent client with the help of Tribler. The assistance of Tribler in decentralizing it helps the continuous operation of BitTorrent even in instances when trackers and indexes go offline. Users do not need to rely on a central server to successfully download a torrent anymore.
The Tor network inherent in the latest version of Tribler provides the added advantage of anonymity to users. It basically allows seeding and sharing files without revealing one’s IP address. As a result, the identity of the user remains hidden to others on the internet.
It’s not all fun and games with such perks of privacy. The immediate downside is the increased bandwidth that is used in the process. This is attributed to the fact that users begin to act as proxies as they pass on whatever files others transfer to them. Moreover, there is every possibility of slow transfer rates in case people do not follow the sharing and caring principle. If they are consistent about it, it surely paves way for smooth downloading experience for all and sundry.
The lead researcher of the project claims that the idea is to counter violations of privacy which is common on the Internet. With aid from Tribler, the researchers are focused on making Internet a secure place for torrent users. It is important to note that this is a great opportunity for Tribler to rise among the ranks given that it experienced a 30 percent boost in users following the raid on The Pirate Bay.
It would not be surprising if their user base grows further in light of the philanthropic approach they are taking. Tribler team welcomes researchers aboard the fully Open Source project. If you feel up to it, you may download Tribler for Mac, Linux or Windows.
