However, while many users simply can’t be bothered to read the rules, some site staff don’t stop to think what it’s like to be a user. A couple of dozen basic rules are easy enough to follow, but make them too complex and members just switch off, rules get broken, and no one is happy as a result.

Last Monday CHDBits, a private tracker specializing in HD content, introduced a set of rules for those members who use seedboxes on the site. These server-based tools paid for by members pump bandwidth into torrent swarms, making transfers quicker for everyone on the site.

Far from seeing this as a good thing, CHDBits felt the need to regulate their use with the most bizarre and complex rules the torrent world has ever seen. They include users having to send the site proof that they paid for the seedbox, along with a “legal agreement of usage as well as any other certificate / proof of rental from the original service provider.”

In order to fully appreciate the complexity of the rules a copy can be found here. Please have a read through now and we’ll meet you back here for the next paragraph in 20 mins.

Back already? Excellent!

Perplexed that we may have somehow overlooked the need for such a complex set of rules, TorrentFreak spoke with DroidX from Underleech.org, a company that provides VPNs and seedboxes to BitTorrent users.

“Sometimes things seem like great ideas at the time, similar to when you code your website with a barking dog on every page refresh when you’re drunk at 6am. The difference between the aforementioned and CHDBits’ new seedbox policy is the policy wasn’t taken down when they sobered up unlike your barking dog surely was,” Droidx begins.

“At first glance the policy sounds normal enough: prevent hit and runs and cheating by enforcing a set of rules. Sounds like a perfectly valid reason with good intentions, unfortunately everyone but CHDBits’ has heard the story about how the road to hell is paved. Simply put, these new rules are ridiculous.”

Droidx says that the ruleset basically treats seedbox users like cheaters (people who manipulate their stats to make it appear they have uploaded more than they have) when in reality they tend to be the users that go out of their way to help a tracker.

Rule 1A states that any seedbox used on the site must have a dedicated IP address for that user’s exclusive use. This, Droidx explains, is problematic.

“Maybe CHDBits’s haven’t heard but IPV4 addresses have basically run out, all remaining blocks are owned and users are forced to rent them from their provider or buy them at high prices. This is the main reason just about every seedbox provider in the business uses a shared IP. There is no good reason to buy a dedicated IP for every user on a box and end up charging more for the seedbox plan.

“Worse, I believe the reason for this is that CHDBits’ tracker software isn’t compiled to handle multiple users seeding on the same IP and rather than invest time in fixing the issue and recompiling the tracker, they are taking the easier way out and just banning shared IPs,” he explains.

As mentioned earlier, CHDBits also want their users to send over proof that they paid for the seedbox. That anonymity users hoped for when they signed up for the seedbox in the first place? Forget it.

Other rules basically dictate the terms that a user must agree with their seedbox provider in order for it to be accepted on the site.

“Requiring a minimum rental period of not less than a calendar month rules out the one week and two week plans some users strapped for cash use to get a quick boost. What is the harm in that? The user is paying their own hard earned money to do the right thing and help their account,” says Droidx.

Furthermore, if a user purchased their seedbox in a promotion, received a discount, or even won it in a competition, unbelievably that seedbox is banned from the site.

Of course, no draconian set of rules is complete without the punishments for non-compliance which in CHDBits’ case include being barred from downloading torrents for up to four weeks or being banned completely. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the madness so far, these punishments can kick in for the most minor of infractions, such as using a seedbox for its intended use.

“No mass downloading/ uploading torrents?? HUH? REALLY? Did they not get the damn memo of what seedboxes are used for!?!?!……. MASS SEEDING! That is the whole damn point for the majority of the users. They spend their cash to seed as much as they can to get their money’s worth,” Droidx notes.

But perhaps the best one (and you may have to read this twice) is that users’ seedbox use may not “Disturb the other users download/upload experience.”

“I can see it now,” says Droidx. “CHDBits’ !!! My torrents from your site are downloading TOO FAST! It’s using up all my connection and I can’t stream YouPorn! BAN the asshole with the seedbox who is causing this disturbing situation!”

As highlighted at the start of this article, rules are put in place to make a site a better place, but if they don’t achieve that then one has to question why they are there at all. Furthermore, rules that treat contributing members in this fashion are simply ridiculous and should never have been put in place.

“At the end of the day, with all these rules and regulations, I fear most users will say ‘Why bother with all this bullshit? Easier to download a cheat client.’ I for one, hope CHDBits’ rethinks this assinine policy,” Droidx concludes.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

A member of support staff at Xirvik, a company selling seedboxes and other related services, told us a little about b4rt and the serious exploit one of their customers has just discovered.

“Torrentflux-b4rt is one of the major fully multi-user BitTorrent frontends that exist. It supports several clients (such as BitTornado and Transmission), the source code is available, and it’s been around for a long time.”

Xirvik told TorrentFreak that they have discovered a major bug in TorrentFlux-b4rt, one which could lead to users having access to other users’ torrents. While that might not initially sound that threatening, for private tracker users it constitutes quite a security breach. Contained in those .torrent files is the user’s unique torrent passkey which allows sharing on a private site. Getting access to this allows the attacker to masquerade as the other user on private trackers

A user can access another user’s torrents if he already knows the exact name of the torrent (easy to find from any search engine) and provided, of course, it is present on the server.

“Given a torrent with a name such as Ubuntu.8.10.Server-CANONICAL.torrent that already exists on the server, another user could upload another torrent with the name ubuntu.8.10.server-canonical.torrent (not necessarily all lowercase – just one different character is enough) and get access to the first file,” Xirvik explains.

Luckily Xirvik has not only found the bug and reported it, but have also worked on a fix which can be found here on the TorrentFlux-b4rt forums.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

The downside to having a seedbox is of course that they are not free. To some this isn’t a problem, “I pay for my Internet connection, so why not pay a few extra bucks to get the best out of it,” is an argument we often hear. Others, however, are satisfied with the speeds they get, and don’t want to pay extra for BitTorrent traffic.

So why should people use these seedboxes? What are the benefits? Here are some of the advantages.

1. Competition.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, users on private trackers are extremely competitive. No matter how many torrents you have seeding, or how you’ve managed to tweak the BitTorrent client settings, there’s just no competing with the uploading power of a seedbox. With many elite private trackers, a seedbox is not just recommended, they’re almost essential for account longevity.

2. Speed.

Most seedboxes are on 100Mbit lines, which makes them really fast. Unquestionably faster than your home Internet access – unless you live in Japan or Sweden, that is. You can sit back, relax and watch in amazement at how fast the torrents finish. Gigabyte files will be downloaded in minutes, practically without limitations. Of course, you’ll still be limited to the speed of your home connection when you want to transfer these files from the server to your computer.

3. Uploading.

Some users of private trackers are less concerned about the downloading, and more about seeding. Good ratios are crucial to a healthy membership – without them, the account will wither away and die. With a seedbox, your ratio will be 1:1 within minutes, not days. 10:1 ratios are not uncommon within the first hour for popular torrents. No more do you have to seed the torrent for weeks just to stay in the good graces with your private tracker. You’ll be free to delete seeding torrents, and replace them with other ones.

4. No more throttling and bandwidth limiting ISPs

ISPs like Comcast are known to throttle your BitTorrent traffic, and they will soon introduce a monthly bandwidth limit of 100GB. With a seedbox you can bypass these limitations. Your seedbox traffic is not counted towards your ISP account stats and won’t be throttled. The only time it becomes ‘your’ traffic is when you choose to download the files from a finished torrent to your home PC, and uploading torrent traffic will not eat into your cap.

5. They’re Secure & Safe

With a seedbox, you don’t even need to use a BitTorrent client on your home computer – your worries about the RIAA or MPAA spying on you are over. No more DMCA notices or warning letters from your ISP – and more importantly, no lawsuit letters will be coming either.

Where to get a Seedbox…

Seedboxes aren’t cheap, but they don’t have to break the bank. Many services now offer a ‘torrent-specific’ seedbox packages that are great for entry-level users. Here is an affordable seedbox solution:

Happy torrenting…

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.