BitTorrent: Bypass any Firewall or Throttling ISP with SSH
Written by Ernesto on October 14, 2007On some networks it’s impossible to use BitTorrent. For example, if you’re at work, school, or connected to Comcast or a public hotspot. But there’s an easy solution to overcome this problem. By using a secure connection (SSH), you can bypass almost every firewall or traffic shaping application.
Here’s a relatively simple 3-step guide that will show you how to set it up.
I wouldn’t recommend BitTorrent over SSH as a permanent solution since it will cripple the servers of the SSH providers. If you’re looking for a long term solution check out a VPN service such as Relakks.
1. Get an SSH account.
You need an SSH account in order to get this working. You can try one of these free shell providers from this list. I currently use silenceisdefeat which requires a small $1 donation. However, the account is immediately activated and works fine for me.
2. Download, Install and Configure Putty
Download Putty, store it somewhere on your computer and run it. In the session screen enter the host name (I use ssh.silenceisdefeat.org), the port number (22), and tick the connection type box (SSH).
Next, go to SSH –> Tunnels, enter a source port and tick the dynamic box. I’m using port 23456, but you are free to choose any post you like as long as it’s available.
When you’re done, it might be a good idea to save the session so you don’t have to enter the info next time you run Putty. If you’re ready, hit the “open” button in the session screen. A command-line interface will pop-up so enter your username and password that you received from your shell-provider, and you’re done.
3. Configure your BitTorrent client.
The last step is to configure your BitTorrent client. I will show you how it’s done in uTorrent and Azureus but other BitTorrent clients use a similar setup.
uTorrent: go to Options > Preferences > Connection. Enter your port number (I use 23456), socks 4 or 5 as type, and localhost in the proxy field.
Azureus: go to Tools > Options > Connection > Proxy Options. Tick the “Enable proxying of tracker communications” and “I have a SOCKS proxy” box. Next, enter your port number in the port field (I use 23456) and localhost in the host field.
When you’re done, restart your BitTorrent client and you’re ready to go. BitTorrent over SSH tends to be a bit slower than your normal connection, but it’s a great solution when BitTorrent connections are blocked or throttled.
For those on a Mac OSX, please check out this great tutorial (which in part inspired this article) for more details. It includes instructions on how to do this on a Mac, using Azureus.
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189 Responses
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Continuing proof that however many millions are spent on techniques to throttle the p2p community, the tried and true combination of human ingenuity and too much spare time can overcome anything.
Ill try it soon.
My ISP throttles BitTorrent but this didn’t help…
[quote comment="187302"]My ISP throttles BitTorrent but this didn’t help…[/quote]
Which ISP are you on?
My university blocks common torrent ports and most arbitrary ports are firewalled or show up as “NAT OK?” in Azureus. Would this solve the problem?
YOU ROCK DUDE! I can now reach Demonoid.com again from Canada!
http://www.digg.com/software/BitTorrent_Bypass_any_Firewall_or_Throttling_ISP_with_SSH
[quote comment="187309"]My university blocks common torrent ports and most arbitrary ports are firewalled or show up as “NAT OK?” in Azureus. Would this solve the problem?[/quote]
It should, let us know if it works!
any thoughts on os X? I might add ever thought I port port forward on the WAP I can never go green with Azureus, any thoughts?
Seani… erm SSH.
“Secure Shell or SSH is a network protocol that allows data to be exchanged over a secure channel between two computers. Encryption provides confidentiality and integrity of data. SSH uses public-key cryptography to authenticate the remote computer and allow the remote computer to authenticate the user, if necessary.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Shell
I’m at university in London and they have the most stringent network policies I’ve ever come across. I had to check the box “Use proxy server for peer-to-peer connections” to get it to work. This does mean all the traffic is going the proxy though which makes it a lot slower. Oh well, I can finally download my shows from America again.
silenceisdefeat.org probably did not design their service for bittorrent
according to their site they have a server colocated on 10Mbps (i assume uncapped). how far does 10Mbps get you as a bittorrent proxy?
oops
I hate torrent download. I like rapidshare, megaupload …
So I create a site give to all mems around the world can use Premium Account(s): It’s Free !
http://k3lvinmitnick.blogspot.com
Incredible! My (sucky) college normally blocks all torrent activity, and now I can get torrents to work! Granted, only 10kB/s, but that’s better than 0 by far!
Confirmed, working ;-) This also works great as a browser proxy ;)
VPNs are so much better and easier and free!
VPN free? which ones? most of them are free but give a bandwidth limit. :S
Tunneling things over SSH is a good idea in many situations to increase your level of security. Browsing, grabbing e-mail when on unsecured wifi etc.
However, some ISPs block and/or throttle all encrypted traffic [known to me is Rogers in Canada]; while this was aimed at slowing down people using torrent encryption, it has negatively affected SSH usage in some places. So YMMV.
I understand that secure shell is encrypted and everything but would this increase my security downloading torrents on a college campus? I have gotten a few cease and desist letters from the DMCA dept at my college because they some how tracked me but with this and peer guardian what is my level of safety?
I’ve had good experiences with vpntunnel (www.vpntunnel.co.uk). They charge $20 a month but I get 16Mbit/sec seeding and downloading!!
I use http://www.your-freedom.net/
it works with openvpn
Most free shell providers have severely limited bandwidth and hardware specs.
If a bunch of ppl start using those free services to tunnel their traffic through them they’ll sooner or later disable tunneling altogether.
And keep in mind that even though the ssh provider isn’t able to read your incoming connections the outgoing onces are not encrypted and clearly readable. So if I was one of those free providers I’d start throttling bw and/or connections… which is pretty easy on *nix there are even ap2p kernel patches.
Sounds dandy till traffic blocking and shaping occurs with SHH connections.
I don’t think they can do that Nutty (or at least they shouldn’t) most businesses even small onces encrypt all their traffic (http, ftp, tunneled db connection and all that).
And all this traffic is indistinguishable from tunneled ssh traffic. In fact most of that is based on open-ssh.
That would even slow down websites when you order from amazon.
Damn you for abusing a nice shell provider for p2p. That’s about as “good” as using TOR für torrenting. >:(
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