BitTorrent: Bypass any Firewall or Throttling ISP with SSH

Written by Ernesto on October 14, 2007 

On 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.

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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).

ssh putty tunnels

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.

ssh

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.

utorrent ssh configuration

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.

Previously: Most Popular DVDrips on BitTorrent (wk41)

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189 Responses

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176 Apr 18, 2008 at 11:19 by Banshee

I should also point out I do NOT use a free shell account. I have a linkstation live on my home network, you can add an ssh server to that in minutes and I connect tunellier from my work network to that, then use that as my jumping off point. So, no public ssh abuse.

177 Apr 27, 2008 at 12:04 by Olivia

How do you get the password after signing up at silenceisdefeat?

178 May 01, 2008 at 07:14 by Mikispag

You should not use SSH tunnels to convey P2P traffic, especially public SSH servers…

179 May 02, 2008 at 07:56 by Ben

what speed do u get guys ????

180 May 04, 2008 at 21:34 by Dr. Mike Wendell

When I configured uTorrent, I had to check the box for Using proxy server for peer-to-peer connections to get it to work.

181 May 04, 2008 at 23:53 by kb38758

I tried it with my Comcast connection and uTorrent.
It doesn’t work.
Tried tweaking the settings on uTorrent; either no up/download at all, or same throttle problem on the browser.
When uTorrent is running, within 5 minutes the browser slows to a crawl.
Never happened before I switched to Comcast.

182 May 20, 2008 at 03:10 by Anonymous

ok

183 Jun 09, 2008 at 03:20 by jamie

@23: It already does with some ISPs in UK.

184 Jun 23, 2008 at 15:40 by john

http://www.browsershell.com

185 Jun 24, 2008 at 08:10 by Anonymous

I did everything in the tutorial. However, when the command window pops up, it says “network error:unable to reach network”

now what? :(

186 Jul 10, 2008 at 05:42 by jj

It is working. but very hard to find a peer and very very slow.

187 Jul 17, 2008 at 03:53 by Anonymous

buy a record you lazy fuckers.

188 Aug 04, 2008 at 07:29 by cactusfrog

WOOT! comcast is in court over this issue! they are not giving me full internet service because they are blocking torrents therefore i should get my money back because all this time i thought i was paying for the full internet when i really wasn’t!
looky http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071114-comcast-hit-with-class-action-lawsuit-over-traffic-blocking.html

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