a couple quick questions

[itsnahtatumahh]

hey guys. I've been trying to use a tracker to download some unofficial live music recordings. unfortunately, the computer I'm using is being blocked by a firewall from the gateway it's using, so my ratio is somewhere around 0.033 (I realized the problem after one download). I'm aware that I could do that port forwarding thing to get by it, but is there another way to do it so the only computer it affects is my own?

see, I have an apple imac that uses airport, connecting to the gateway that's hooked up to my family's general-use comp. the problem is, it's a somewhat dated dell pc, and it's kind of in rough shape. we're going to need a new one soon, cause it's just FILLED with glitches and problems. I don't want to open ports if it means that the pc is going to be even MORE vulnerable to viruses and such.

basically, I'd rather not forward ports if it puts the pc at more risk. unfortunately I don't know any other way around.

also, there's the whole legal thing. musicians like phish are very pro-trading, so that means that downloading torrents of amateur recordings of (anyone's) shows that have not been officially released is perfectly legal, correct? (RIAA is making me paranoid)

and LASTLY, when I'm up at college, they've got their own firewall. any tips on how to get by colleges' firewalls?

[U2Lynne]

You don't *need* to forward your ports in order to have a good ratio. You just need to realize that if you are firewalled, you may only connect to other people who are NOT firewalled. Sometimes this is fine if you are on a torrent with hardly any firewalled people. Just leave your torrent running and it should upload just fine to other users.

As for your college firewall, usually you are just SOL.

[itsnahtatumahh]

so if i download a torrent and leave it alone in, say, azureus, i should be able to seed well as long as the others don't have a firewall? or does it only apply to torrents that i'm hosting?

[Five]

yes, if you are firewalled you can connect to ppl who are not firewalled

if you are not firewalled you can connect to anybody

if two people are firewalled they cannot connect

doesn't matter who is hosting

[itsnahtatumahh]

and i don't have to worry about anything legally? that's the last of my hangups

[U2Lynne]

No one should be getting in trouble over the content that they donwload off of this site.

[itsnahtatumahh]

do you happen to know if ISPs probe why someone's computer would be, all of a sudden, using tons more bandwidth than theye had in the past?

sorry for being such a pain in the ass. i really appreciate all your help. i just need to make sure that everything is going to be cool - making sure open ports won't hurt my comp, what to do should anyone pry into these sudden changes, etc.

[Salva Veritate]

Originally Posted by itsnahtatumahh

do you happen to know if ISPs probe why someone's computer would be, all of a sudden, using tons more bandwidth than theye had in the past?

Just in case, I wouldn't go from zero to sixty. Maybe limit yourself to a couple DVDs' worth per week or so. Don't worry too much, though, I went from zero to thirty to sixty in a pretty short period of time and I never heard anything from my ISP.