Filesharing Question - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

hawkeye · 08-28-2003, 10:04 PM

Okay, the school I currently attend has something (someone else told me that it was a 'packet shaper') that completely blocks KaZaa or KZLite. Do any of you know how this is possible, and if there are any other filesharing programs that could get around this kind of thing?

zztzed · 08-29-2003, 05:15 AM

It is probably not a packet shaper if it is blocking Kazaa entirely. AFAIK, packet shapers are typically only used to throttle connections on certain services down to a point where they might as well be useless. I could be wrong, though.

If it's blocked entirely, though, I'd suspect they're just blocking port 1214 at the border router. Or they may have a stateful firewall in place that inspects the packets for content as well as headers and blocks on the basis of that.

If they're not using a stateful firewall, it may be possible to tell Kazaa to connect on a different port or something (though I don't know, since I haven't used it in a while), or you could try other filesharing programs like WinMX, Shareaza, or SoulSeek. It wouldn't surprise me if those are also banned, though.

Keep in mind that your school probably banned them for a reason (probably bandwidth concerns as well as copyright concerns). Trying to circumvent that ban is probably a violation of their AUP -- for that matter, using filesharing in the first place is probably a violation of their AUP. But if you absolutely can't live without your ju4r3z & mp3z and don't care if your port gets shut off, you can always get it like they did back in the dark ages and use IRC -- that's probably not blocked.

neoinoakleys · 08-29-2003, 07:21 AM

Nice explanation, zztzed....Well said...

I would only interject that if the school DOES inspect the packets for content as well as headers, and blocks accordingly....this technology (in my experience) would be a VERY high cost to their speed and reliability as it relates to their network performance. I would suspect that they are doing nothing more than blocking the commonly used ports.

This can be worked around by using a different P2P product that is somewhat not commonly used.

Perhaps, Direct Connect might work??? or like you said using the good old tried and true methods like IRC and direct FTP channels, like in the days of old, might prove to be a good alternative.

I would say DO NOT be tempted to use the new ES5 (Earth Station 5) filesharing program....Here is the link to the thread about that program....

ack32 · 08-29-2003, 11:14 AM

In addition, BitTorrent and eMule/eDonkey are pretty good replacements! If you've got access to a high speed network elsewhere you could try VPN-ning into there and using the remote network as your default gateway! That might impact your throughput, but all your traffic to/there would be encrypted so there would be no way for your school to block it...

08-28-2003, 10:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
hawkeye back from sabbatical Location: Mosptopia	Filesharing Question Okay, the school I currently attend has something (someone else told me that it was a 'packet shaper') that completely blocks KaZaa or KZLite. Do any of you know how this is possible, and if there are any other filesharing programs that could get around this kind of thing? __________________ You're not fat, You're just a giant ball of love, covered in anger.

08-29-2003, 05:15 AM	#2 (permalink)
zztzed Tilted Location: Here and there	It is probably not a packet shaper if it is blocking Kazaa entirely. AFAIK, packet shapers are typically only used to throttle connections on certain services down to a point where they might as well be useless. I could be wrong, though. If it's blocked entirely, though, I'd suspect they're just blocking port 1214 at the border router. Or they may have a stateful firewall in place that inspects the packets for content as well as headers and blocks on the basis of that. If they're not using a stateful firewall, it may be possible to tell Kazaa to connect on a different port or something (though I don't know, since I haven't used it in a while), or you could try other filesharing programs like WinMX, Shareaza, or SoulSeek. It wouldn't surprise me if those are also banned, though. Keep in mind that your school probably banned them for a reason (probably bandwidth concerns as well as copyright concerns). Trying to circumvent that ban is probably a violation of their AUP -- for that matter, using filesharing in the first place is probably a violation of their AUP. But if you absolutely can't live without your ju4r3z & mp3z and don't care if your port gets shut off, you can always get it like they did back in the dark ages and use IRC -- that's probably not blocked. __________________ "It seemed to me that if humanoids eat chicken, then obviously they'd eat their own species, otherwise they'd just be picking on the chickens."

08-29-2003, 07:21 AM	#3 (permalink)
neoinoakleys Psycho Location: Michigan	Nice explanation, zztzed....Well said... I would only interject that if the school DOES inspect the packets for content as well as headers, and blocks accordingly....this technology (in my experience) would be a VERY high cost to their speed and reliability as it relates to their network performance. I would suspect that they are doing nothing more than blocking the commonly used ports. This can be worked around by using a different P2P product that is somewhat not commonly used. Perhaps, Direct Connect might work??? or like you said using the good old tried and true methods like IRC and direct FTP channels, like in the days of old, might prove to be a good alternative. I would say DO NOT be tempted to use the new ES5 (Earth Station 5) filesharing program....Here is the link to the thread about that program.... __________________ It's My Duty to Please That Booty!!

08-29-2003, 11:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
ack32 Tilted	In addition, BitTorrent and eMule/eDonkey are pretty good replacements! If you've got access to a high speed network elsewhere you could try VPN-ning into there and using the remote network as your default gateway! That might impact your throughput, but all your traffic to/there would be encrypted so there would be no way for your school to block it...