<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/microsoft-funded-startup-aims-to-kill-bittorrent-traffic-120513/" rel="nofollow">http://torrentfreak.com/microsoft-funded-startup-aims-to-kil...</a>
Maybe we have this thing field testing on great scale? Titles suggest it may be the case.<p>Discussion: <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3966774" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3966774</a>
It always seemed to me that the simplest way to protect content is to just upload a bunch of garbage with the same file name making it impossible to locate the actual movie, app, etc. It doesn't seem like it would require a lot of sophistication either. It could probably be done effectively, even showing a 90-minute repeating trailer for the movie or something similar. I think a lot of people pirate simply because it's the easiest way to get a movie. If paying $9.99 becomes the easiest way, then a lot of casual pirates will just buy it.<p>Virus writers seem to like this technique, uploading garbage to usenet. (50Kb files pretending to be a feature film, etc). I've always wondered why movie studios didn't do more of that.
I wonder if this might have anything to do with more people trying to use hacked up BT clients in the hopes of avoiding ISP crackdowns supposedly imminent in the US (and already in effect in other countries):<p><a href="http://www.seba14.org/2012/01/03/hacked-sb-innovation-vuze-extreme-mod-4605_b04-ddj/" rel="nofollow">http://www.seba14.org/2012/01/03/hacked-sb-innovation-vuze-e...</a><p><a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57397452-261/riaa-chief-isps-to-start-policing-copyright-by-july-1/" rel="nofollow">http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57397452-261/riaa-chief-is...</a>
"uTP on the other hand allows BitTorrent nodes to dynamically adjust bandwith congestion at the protocol level and also provides some additional functions, like support clients using low bandwidth or sharing ADSL line with a web browser."<p>In other words, this isn't a threat to Bittorrent as a technology alone, yet. I wonder how much of an impact it makes on uTP-enabled clients and if you'd be better off disabling it if you connect to an affected swarm.