Thursday, June 27, 2013
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Saturday, November 26, 2011
How to Reset Software Update | Mac|Life
My Software Update (in the Apple menu) is no longer finding software updates. When I start up an iLife or iWork application, it tells me updates are available. If I try to manually download the updates from Apple’s website, it won’t install them because it says I don’t have the current version on my system. Is there a way to reset or fix this problem?
Resetting Software Update will display any updates you’ve ignored in the past.
With the iLife and iWork applications, Apple often advertises new upgrades to the suite of applications when you launch an older version of those iLife and iWork apps. These messages can be confusing, because they understandably lead you to believe there’s a free update. However, Apple is only advertising their new paid upgrades.
These messages are advertising Apple’s new, paid versions of iLife.
If this is not the case, you may have accidentally ignored an iWork or iLife update from within the Software Update application. To reset ignored updates, launch Software Update from the Apple menu, and then select Software Update > Reset Ignored Updates. After doing this, check for new updates again. Any updates you may have ignored in the past will show up as available for installation.
GOT A TECH QUESTION OR A HELPFUL TIP TO SHARE?
Email ask@maclife.com or write to Mac|Life,
4000 Shoreline Ct, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
How to Automatically Restart a Frozen Mac | Mac|Life
How to Automatically Restart a Frozen Mac
Posted 11/23/2011 at 6:43am | by Cory Bohon
I have a Mac mini that I use as a home file server, running Snow Leopard. Occasionally, the computer locks up, but since it’s headless (or running without a display attached), I don’t always realize it. Do you know of any software or web services that could run in the background, and if the machine freezes, alert me via email or text?
Some Macs have automatic restarting features built right in to System Preferences. One such preference, which many Macs have, is the ability to restart after a power outage. But another preference that fewer Macs have is the ability to restart after the computer freezes. (Curiously, Apple doesn’t say why some Macs can do this and some can’t in the Help documentation.)
Mac OS X Lion seems to implement this functionality across many different Mac models.
To see if your Mac has this feature, head to System Preferences > Energy Saver, and look at the checkboxes near the bottom of the screen. If your Mac supports the feature, you will see an option for “Restart automatically if the computer freezes.” We’ve noticed that this feature seems to be standard on most modern Macs running OS X Lion.
With this option checked, the OS will automatically restart the computer if it locks up or becomes unresponsive. It’s an especially nifty feature for servers without a display.
GOT A TECH QUESTION OR A HELPFUL TIP TO SHARE?
Email ask@maclife.com or write to Mac|Life,
4000 Shoreline Ct, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
How To Block Web Sites at the Router Level for Network Wide Filtering - How-To Geek
A comprehensive network filtering system is overkill if all you want to do is block a handful of web sites. Read on as we show you how—with nothing more than your router—you can selectively block and temporarily restrict individual websites.
For many people a massive commercial internet filter is overkill. What if you just want to block Facebook when your kids are supposed to be doing their homework or Reddit when you’re supposed to be getting work done? You don’t need a huge system for that, all you need is the access restrictions module in your router. Today we’re looking at how you can quickly and easily block traffic on your network using router-based access restrictions.
What You’ll Need
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/whatyouneedtomato.jpg'/></p>
For this tutorial you’ll won’t need much and you won’t have to spend a dime. Before proceed make sure you have the following things:
- A Tomato compatible router
- A copy of Tomato on the router
- Administrative access to the router
We’re going to go through the tutorial as using a Linksys router running Tomato custom firmware. The steps we’re taking are largely equivalent to the DD-WRT system (you can read about selective domain blocking for DD-WRT here). If you don’t have Tomato installed on your router check out our guide to installing Tomato here. If you have it installed and you have administrative access (you know the login password for the control panel) then you’re ready to proceed.
Setting Up URL Filters in Tomato
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-11-22_131534.jpg'/></p>
For our example we’re going to setup both a total ban and a time-based ban on the social news site Reddit. Reddit fans among us will attest to the fact that the site, as fun as it can be, is an enormous time sink and a great productivity killer. First let’s take a look at the Access Restriction module in Tomato. Navigate to your router control panel, typically an address like http://192.168.1.1 and plug in your credentials. Once you’re in the main panel navigate to Access Restriction in the left hand menu—seen above. Click on it to enter the sub-menu. If you’ve never used the feature before all you’ll see in the Access Restriction Overview section is a disabled example entry like so:
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-11-22_132959.jpg'/></p>
Just beneath the example entry, to the right, is the Add button. Click that now to create your first entry.
For our first entry we’re going to make a filter, called Reddit Killer, which blocks Reddit all day, every day. Change the description name from New Rule to Reddit Killer, check All Day and Everyday, leave Applies to as All Computers/Devices, and then uncheck Block All Internet Access—if you don’t check this part, you won’t be able to specify what exactly you want to block. It should look like this:
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-11-22_133429.jpg'/></p>
When you unchecked Block All Internet Access, an entire new portion of the menu unfolded beneath the initial entry. Within this portion of the menu is where we’re going to specify the sites we want to block.
Leave the Port/Applications section alone (these settings allow you to get more granular control over your filters such as filtering only BitTorrent or a specific port). In the HTTP Request section enter reddit.com and then, at the bottom right corner, click Save.
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-11-22_140651.jpg'/></p>
Back at the main screen you should see the new filter, Reddit Killer, with it’s rather encompassing “Everyday” schedule. Let’s take a look at Reddit and see if our filter is active:
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-11-22_144143.jpg'/></p>
Reddit is down? Well then. We’d better get back to work. Our filter is great success.
If you’re not quite ready for a full Reddit fast but you’d like to at least keep it shut off while you’re trying to focus on work, you can easily modify the scheduling component to, say, restrict access between 8AM and 5PM on the weekdays. Let’s click on Reddit Killer now so we can edit it.
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011-11-22_142424.jpg'/></p>
Uncheck All Day and Everyday, then in the new options which have appeared, select 08:00-17:00 and Monday through Friday. While we’re at it, let’s update the Description to better reflect the purpose of the filter. Since we’re restricting access to the evenings, we’ll call our new filter Reddit Tonight.
To register the changes, click save down in the lower right corner. If you wish to further massage the settings (such as applying the restrictions to only certain computers) you can pull down the Applies To menu and create white/black lists of computers that are restricted or unrestricted. You can also easily expand your filter by adding new lines into the HTTP request box. Instead of just a Reddit Killer it could be expanded to include all the web sites you routine kill time on (Reddit, Facebook, Fark, and so on). In addition to filtering web sites you can also set up keyword filters. In short, if it’s travelling through your network you can find a way to filter it in the Access Restrictions menu.
Have a clever technique for getting more out of Tomato and/or filtering time wasting web sites and other undesirable content? Let’s hear about it in the comments.
Friday, November 18, 2011
How to Prepare Your Hand-Me-Down iPhone 4 via lifehacker.com
Congratulations on your upgrade to an iPhone 4S! What are you going to do with your old iPhone 4? If you're like me, you want to give it to a spouse, partner, child or friend, because they've got an older, lousier phone. But is it possible? Doesn't the iPhone 4 have a weird micro-SIM? Here's how.
First, let's wipe your old phone. We're going to assume that you've already backed up your phone and transferred the data to your new iPhone 4S. If not, do that first in iTunes by right clicking on your iPhone icon in the left column and hitting Back Up.
The easiest way to erase the phone of all your data and personal info is to go to the Settings app on the phone itself. Then go to General -> Reset (all the way at the bottom) -> Erase All Content and Settings. Then tap Erase iPhone to confirm. This takes a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the state of your phone.
If your recipient is upgrading from an old iPhone, make sure to back up that phone as well, so you can restore it later. You can do this while you're waiting for your iPhone 4 to wipe. Multitask!
Verizon Users
Luckily for you, Verizon users have it extremely easy, because they don't have any SIM cards to deal with. All you need to do is activate the phone on thew recipient's account, and you can do it either on the phone or online. Here's what Verizon recommends.
When you are ready, please dial *228 and SEND from the iPhone and press option 1 to activate. Then follow the prompts to complete the activation.
You can also make this change online. Below I have provided you with the steps:
- Sign in to My Verizon Express at http://www.vzw.com.
- Under the Device column, select Activate a Device.
- Select which device to change, if a multi-line account.
- Enter the ESN/MEID of the new device in the appropriate field.
- Select Next. The Review Your Changes screen displays.
- Select Next. The Plan Feature Changes Required screen displays if any current features are incompatible with the new device.
- Select Continue.
- Select the features for the new device by selecting the drop down arrows to view the options.
- Select Next. The Review Your Changes screen displays.
- Select Submit.
Note: The customer must dial *228/option 1 to complete the activation.AT&T Users
Because the iPhone 4 is the only phone on AT&T to use a micro-SIM, your recipient is almost certainly using a phone with a regular SIM. What you need to do is to shrink down a regular SIM to a micro-SIM.
I used this micro SIM cutter, which worked fantastic on the first try. (Good, because you only get one try.)
To eject the micro-SIM tray, just use a very thin paper clip, or a sewing needle, and push down into the micro-SIM ejector hole. You'll need to use a little bit of force, but not so much that you're trying to punish your phone.
Now, take your regular-sized SIM and slot it into the cutter, then take the original micro-SIM from your iPhone 4 and visually line the two up. You want to adjust the SIM in the cutter so that there is enough margin on all four sides so the metal contact area doesn't push up against the edge. A good guideline is to make it look as similar to your old micro-SIM as possible.
Line the SIM up and clamp the cutter down hard enough so the SIM remains in place and doesn't slide around, but not too hard so you actually start punching out the SIM. Practice what carpenters and mohels preach: Measure twice, cut once. Ensure your SIM is lined up, then push down HARD and FAST to get a clean punch.
All that's left is putting the newly-cut SIM into the micro-SIM slot and inserting it back into the iPhone 4. If you're confused which end is which, the ejection hole faces toward the bottom of the phone (the speaker or Home button).
Then, connect your phone to iTunes to activate, and you're done. If the lucky new owner of your iPhone 4 had an iTunes backup of their own phone, you can restore it by right clicking on the iPhone in the left hand side of iTunes, and clicking Restore From Backup.
That's it! Now both of you have iPhones, and you can iMessage and FaceTime each other until one of you gets bored or annoyed.
Turning a micro-SIM back into a SIM
If you ever want to use that micro-SIM in a normal phone (like an Android phone, for example) that takes a regular SIM, you'll need to use an adapter. The micro-SIM cutter we recommended above comes with two micro-SIM adapters in order to use that micro-SIM in a normal, non-iPhone 4 phone. They're "good enough" but not great. You can get this adapter for $1, which has better reviews.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
How to Locate What's Sucking up Your Hard Drive Space | Mac|Life
How to Locate What's Sucking up Your Hard Drive Space
Posted 11/17/2011 at 8:01am | by Ben Harvell
It’s all too easy to say “oh, I’ll just delete some stuff” and then never do it. Take action today and cut the flab from your file system by locating the major space-sucking culprits.
1. Balancing the Blocks
The first step isn’t always the easiest, but this time it is: determine just how much space you have remaining on your Mac’s main disk. If you’ve read this far, chances are it’s not much. To get the complete picture, click on the Macintosh HD icon (or whatever you call your main drive) in the Finder, then type Command-I to bring up its Info window. From here, you can see the capacity of your drive as well as the amount of space available.
Aim to have a third of your drive free.
If the available storage is less than one-third of the total capacity of the drive, it’s worth freeing up more. The benefits of a healthy hard drive are far greater than just having more room to play with. With around one-third of your drive’s capacity available, you should see slight improvements in drive access as well as application speed. Mac OS X will also be able to use some of that storage as virtual memory to help it perform tasks without using your RAM, a great help to those using older Macs.
2. Find and Delete Huge Unwanted Files
Next, with the Finder selected, press Command-F to bring up a search window. Click on the first drop-down menu and select Other and then Size. From the second drop-down menu, select “is greater than” and then enter an amount in the field to the right of it. A good place to start is 50MB.
Next up: find those big files.
The files and folders that now appear in the Finder window all fit the criteria you entered—if you looked for files bigger than 50MB, these are all the files of that size or larger on your Mac. But wait! Before you start blindly erasing some of them, check out what they actually do on your system. Mac OS X includes some rather hefty system files that are necessary to keep things running smoothly. If you’re absolutely certain that you know what a file is, then chuck it, but it’s worth checking if in doubt. An easy way to find out more is to select a file, right-click on it, and select Open Enclosing Folder for more details on its origin.
3. Printer Pruning
It’s unlikely—unless you’re some kind of ink-on-paper connoisseur—that you have a printer for each of the hundreds of printer drivers stored on your Mac. If you head to Library > Printers, you’ll find a host of folders named after popular printer brands that weigh in at around 2GB in total. Wipe out all brands you don’t use, and don’t worry—if you buy a new printer, the Mac drivers will be included on the disc that comes with it or will be available online.
Drivers for printers you don’t own can take up surprising amounts of space.
4. Trash Apps
It doesn’t take long for your Applications folder to fill up with all sorts of junk you don’t need. All those 30-day trials, any apps you’ve replaced for alternative options, and outdated software you don’t use anymore can all take their toll. Fortunately, uninstalling begins with simply dragging an application’s icon to the Trash. Next, perform a quick Spotlight search for the app’s name to track down any related files, then also check your Documents folder. Better yet, if an app has an uninstall option, use that. The same applies to iOS apps—if there are any you don’t use anymore, delete them from within iTunes. You can always reinstall them at a later date using the same iTunes account you purchased them with.
5. Compress or Burn
If you’re an avid iLife user, you probably have a bunch of iMovie, GarageBand, and even iDVD projects that you’ve either published or shared already. They’re not doing any good just sitting on your drive—and the same’s true for projects and documents from other apps. So gather them all together, label them up into folders, and then compress them by right-clicking on them and selecting Compress from the menu. That reduces the file size a bit, but for even more space reduction, consider shifting these compressed folders to an external drive or burn them to a DVD, then delete the originals.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
How Can I Fix My Chronic Lateness? via lifehacker.com
Dear Lifehacker,
I'm one of those chronically tardy people. Wherever I'm going, even if I'm just meeting my friends, I'm always 10 of 15 minutes late—and it's starting to irritate people. Got any suggestions for how I can avoid all these distractions and be more punctual?Sincerely,
Late LarryPhoto by Jeff Lueders.
Dear Larry,
I certainly understand your friends' annoyance (we all have that one friend who's always late), but it's good that you're determined to fix it. In fact, there are a lot of little tricks you can pull on yourself to get out the door quicker. Here are a few of our favorites.
Figure Out Why You're Late
There are any number of reasons you could be late everywhere. Perhaps you consistently underestimate traffic, or maybe you just get distracted too easily and end up rushing out the door 10 minutes later than intended. Determining the reason for your chronic lateness can help you find your own solutions. For example, if you keep underestimating traffic, Google Maps has a nifty traffic function that will let you know where the roads are congested (and even help you find an alternate, less congested route). If you're late because you get lost all the time, you can just leave a little bit earlier—not to mention learn your way around town a little better. If you just get distracted, though, you'll need to dig a bit deeper to make yourself more punctual.Keep Yourself On Track with Reminders and Alarms
The simplest thing you can do to keep yourself from getting distracted is use your calendar, smartphone, or other device to remind you when it's time to leave. Even a simple alarm on your smartphone can keep you from "losing track of time" and get you out the door. If you're an iOS user, previously mentioned GoTime is a really great way to keep track of when you need to leave. It'll automatically grab your calendar events for the day, calculate how long it'll take you to drive to your next event from your current location, and set off an alarm when it's time to leave. Of course, you can do this with any alarm program as long as you look up driving directions to where you're going ahead of time.If you take a little more prying, you can automatically shut down your computer with something like previously mentioned Smart Shutdown or iWannaSleep. Just tell it what time you need to leave, and it'll shut down your computer at that time, so you have no choice but to drag yourself away from Facebook and go get ready.
Always Plan to Be Early
It may seem like an obvious solution, but if you're constantly 15 minutes late wherever you go, just force yourself to leave 15 minutes earlier. This works nicely with the above tip about alarms—if you pay less attention to the time and more attention to when your alarm goes off, set it 15 minutes early and you'll be on time even if you take 10 minutes just to get your shoes on. And, on the off chance you actually are early, there are all sorts of things you can do to kill time. You probably have a few errands you need to run anyway, whether it's getting gas, going to the bank, or stopping off at CVS for toothpaste. Alternatively, you can just check out a nearby shopping center. Head to the nearest Best Buy and play with tablets, or check out the bookstore next door. You can also bring something to read or install a game on your phone to keep you occupied while you wait. Photo by Lauren Hammond.Enlist Your Friends to Help
Lastly, if none of these tips are really working, you can get your friends to help motivate you. They already probably heckle you for being late all the time, but if you ask them to be a little more evil and go radio silent, it might inspire you to move a little faster. Alternatively, you can set up a system where every time you're late, you pay for one of your friends' dinners, or something to that effect. After one or two more trips, you'll probably never be late again.
Sincerely,
LifehackerP.S. Of course, these are just a few of our favorite tips, but if you've got your own solutions, be sure to share them with us in the comments.
You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
Dear Lifehacker,
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
How to Setup Gmail for Custom Domains on the Kindle Fire’s Email App - How-To Geek
If you’ve just opened your shiny new Kindle Fire and tried to connect it to Gmail using your own custom (not @gmail.com) email address, you might be in for a surprise: the email account wizard has no idea how to handle this scenario, even if you pick Gmail at the beginning. Here’s how to fix it.
Note: we’re in the middle of doing a thorough test of the Kindle Fire, and we’ll post our in-depth review in the next few days. So far: it’s a great tablet for the price.
Setting Up Gmail Custom Domain Email in Kindle Fire
You’ll need to start, naturally, by opening up the Email application and selecting from the list—you can choose Gmail, even though we’ll have to tweak the settings. Once there, enter your email address and password.
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image57.png'/></p>
Then you’ll probably want to choose IMAP.
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image58.png'/></p>
And now you’ll come to the screen that makes no sense. The username is wrong, the IMAP server is wrong, and the security type is wrong.
<p><img alt='' src='http://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image59.png'/></p>
Instead of using those values, you’ll want to use the following:
- Username: Your full email address
- IMAP server: imap.gmail.com
- Security type: SSL
Head to the next screen, which will ask you for the outgoing server settings. You’ll want to use the following:
- SMTP server: smtp.gmail.com
- Security type: TLS
Once you get past that screen, you’ll be able to access your email without issue.
How to Set Up Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts on iOS via lifehacker.com
The iPhone is a fantastic phone, but if you're a heavy user of Google services, it can be a little confusing to set up your Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts to sync with iOS. Here's how to do it.
You can get all your Google services syncing with iOS by setting up just one account. The trick is to choose Microsoft Exchange at the prompt instead of Gmail. This will give you access not only to your Gmail, but your calendars and contacts, and they will all sync directly to your phone—when you add a contact in Gmail or edit an event on Google Calendar, you'll see it show up on your phone without having to sync anything. To set it up:
- Open up the Settings app on your iOS device and go to the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" section. Hit "Add Account".
- From there, choose Microsoft Exchange as the type of account (again, don't choose Gmail).
- Type in your Gmail address under Email. Leave the Domain field blank and enter your full Gmail address under Username (including the @gmail.com, @googlemail.com, or other suffix). Type in your password and give it any description you like. Mine's just called "Gmail".
- Press the Next button at the top of the screen. It should pop up a message saying Unable to Verify Certificate—if it does, just hit cancel. Then, type
m.google.comin the new "Server" box that shows up at the top of the screen. Then tap Next.From there, you should be all set. You can turn on Mail, Contact, and Calendar syncing from the account settings page that shows up. Note that pressing the trash can icon in the Mail app will archive a message, not delete it completely. If you want to delete it, you can hit the folder icon and choose Trash from the menu to move it to the trash. For more information on setting up Gmail with iOS, check out Google's help page on the subject.
Emailable Tech Support is a series of easy-to-share guides for the less tech savvy people in your life. Got a beginner tech support question you constantly answer? Let us know at tips@lifehacker.com. Remember, when you're just starting out computing, there's very little that's too basic to learn.
You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
The iPhone is a fantastic phone, but if you're a heavy user of Google services, it can be a little confusing to set up your Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts to sync with iOS. Here's how to do it. 
Thursday, November 10, 2011
How to Back Up Your iOS Device with iCloud | Mac|Life
How to Back Up Your iOS Device with iCloud
Posted 11/10/2011 at 7:57am | by Cory Bohon
What's that? You don't know what to do with all of those gigabytes that Apple gives you? Sure, it's only 5GB of free space (Although who are we kidding? We go nuts over 2GB!) But the iCloud back up service makes it so that you don’t have to connect your device to iTunes in order to keep things synced. We’ll show you how easy it can be to live cord-free with iOS 5.
After signing into your iCloud account, navigate to System Preferences > iCloud > Storage & Backup. Once there, locate the iCloud Backup switch and move it from OFF to ON.
You’ll get a dialog that lets you know your iPad will no longer back up to your computer automatically when you sync your music, videos, etc. Select the OK button to have your iPad turn on iCloud Backup.
iCloud Backup will automatically back up your camera roll, accounts, documents, and settings when the iPad is plugged in, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi. To create your first backup, select the “Back Up Now” button. This process may take a while depending on the amount of storage you have used on your device.
iCloud will backup the following:
- Purchased music, apps, and books- Photos and video in the camera roll
- Device settings
- App data
- Home screen and app organization
- SMS and MMS messages
- Ringtones
You can purchase additional storage for the following upgrade prices:
- 10 GBs for $20.00 / year
- 20 GBs for $40.00 / year
- 50 GBs for $100.00 / year
Follow this article’s author, Cory Bohon on Twitter.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
How to Secure Your Torrent Downloads via maketecheasier.com
Internet security and privacy are two topics that are frequently in the news. Those Internet users who use the BitTorrent protocol to share files are perhaps more aware of these security and privacy issues than others. Many government agencies, special interest groups, corporations, and hackers with malicious intentions monitor torrent downloads and look for people to catch, sue, or attack.
Because of this reality, it is important for torrent file sharers to find ways to protect themselves from litigation, prosecution, bandwidth shaping, and malware. The following tips should help you make your torrent experience safer, private, and more secure.
Disclaimer: Downloading copyrighted media without the owner’s permission is illegal is some countries. Under no circumstances is this article intended to encourage illegal activity, and there are no guarantees that this information will protect you from any legal action.1. Port Forwarding
Every modern router has some form of port forwarding that you can use for your bittorrent client. With it, you can circumvent ISPs that may block common torrent ports or limit their bandwidth usage. Using port forwarding, you could, for example, forward your BitTorrent traffic through the standard web port (80). Some torrent clients also support randomizing of ports so that they will use a different one every time you start them.
2. Limit Downloads and Uploads
Since many ISPs now limit the amount of bandwidth you can consume within a month (or even at certain times of the day), it is important to not let your torrent downloading and uploading go unchecked. Torrent clients like qBittorrent have features that allow you to limit the number, speed, and even time of day that downloads are allowed.
3. Encryption
Encryption is all about privacy. There is no reason for anyone, even your ISP to know exactly what sites you are visiting or what files you are downloading. Most torrent clients support some type of encryption for the data and/or header information. It is important to note that encryption will not mask your IP address, so anyone spying on the torrent (i.e. actively connected to the tracker) will still know you are downloading it, but anyone trying to spy on your Internet traffic in general will not be able to see what you are doing.
4. Filter Lists
There are plenty of organizations that are known for their snooping or malicious intent. With an IP filter list, you can completely block them from connecting to you as peers, thereby eliminating any chance of them monitoring you and catching you in the act of downloading something. This may also help reduce the chance that you will connect to a peer that sends out harmful data or malware.
5. Proxy or VPN
Of all of the security measures on the list, this is by far the most effective. By routing your torrent traffic through a proxy or VPN, you can completely hide yourself from the outside world. Used in combination with the other tools on this list, your torrent downloading will be virtually covert. Proxy providers usually charge a subscription fee, and they will require you to either download a specially configured bittorrent client or reconfigure yours to use their proxy (often utilizing a SOCKS5 protocol).
Your privacy, however, is only as secure as the company offering the service. If they are under investigation or are willing to sell your information, using their services may not help you at all. Therefore, it is a good idea to ask around and do your research before using a proxy or VPN service.
Privacy and Security
The media often associates BitTorrent with illegal file sharing, but there are numerous legitimate organizations, from Linux distribution developers to content delivery networks (CDN), that make use of bittorrent technology. Furthermore, many free media distributors who use open licenses, such as Creative Commons, use bittorrent to help reduce their bandwidth costs.
With a little effort, you can use the above-mentioned tools to help you take back your right to download and share legitimate content and software, while also maintaining your privacy and security.
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