BitTorrent Encryption Myths
There are a few myths out there when it comes to BitTorrent encryption. The two most common misapprehensions that circulate are: "BitTorrent encryption hides your identity" and "BitTorrent encryption hides the data you are transferring". So now that everyone is wondering what exactly BitTorrent encryption encrypts, let me explain what it was created for.
BitTorrent encryption hides your identity - Wrong!
BitTorrent encryption was developed with only one purpose in mind: circumventing traffic shapers and sniffers. Certain ISPs employ traffic shaping tactics to lower BitTorrent speeds and thus reduce BitTorrent traffic.
There is only one reason why they would do this: more traffic requires more bandwidth, which requires a network that can handle more traffic. A network that can handle more traffic sounds expensive, doesn't it?
BitTorrent encryption hides the data you are sharing - Wrong!
ISPs cannot distinguish BitTorrent traffic from other traffic so easily anymore with BitTorrent encryption -- However, that does not mean they cannot see what you are sharing. BitTorrent encryption does not offer us a secure way of sharing sensitive information or illegal files.
Even with BitTorrent encryption enabled, anyone can connect to a BitTorrent swarm, see your IP address and send you an infringement notice.
With encryption enabled you can circumvent ISP filters that prevent .torrent downloads - Wrong!
BitTorrent encryption only kicks in when you start a download using the BitTorrent protocol, so it does not apply to .torrent file downloads from websites. There are three ways you can circumvent your ISP filter: The first is to download an archive with your .torrent file inside, for example a .zip or .rar file. The second method is to download the .torrent file from a secure website using HTTPS. The last method is to start your BitTorrent download with a magnet link; most torrent index sites offer a magnet link next to the .torrent file download, and most BitTorrent clients now support the magnet links.
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