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Test: Does Your ISP Slow Down BitTorrent Traffic?
torrentfreak.com — Hundreds of larger and smaller ISPs all over the world try to limit BitTorrent traffic on their networks. Unfortunately, most companies are not very open about their network management solutions, with Comcast as the prime example. Thanks to the Glasnost project, you can now test wheter your ISP is one of the bad guys.
hairyback- 2399 diggs
- digg it
- mmeiser, on 05/07/2008, -1/+55Finally, a web based test for testing blocking. I hope they will get better, test more ports and protocols and reach the popularity of bandwidth testers. Ultimately it would be great if they were integrated into many of the top web based bandwidth testers.
- johnsweber, on 05/07/2008, -40/+4To be very frank, I'm very glad that my company (insight) limits bit torrent traffic. The reason? When they didn't, the Internet was unusable. ~You~ may live in a nice neighborhood where 1-3 people cap out on their bandwidth, but I live in a dense neighborhood where SO many people would use bit torrent it caused me to get about 10KB/sec downloads and 900 pings everyday. I called them and told them it was unacceptable and to call me back when they did something about it while I switched to DSL.
They finally did, and I very happily switched back. If their system can handle bit torrent, then by all means uncap it. But when it effects my bandwidth that I pay 40 bucks a month for, I have a problem with it.- commenter01, on 05/07/2008, -0/+40In your case it might have been beneficial for you, but you have to remember these other people are also paying 40 bucks a month. They are within every right to use their bandwidth to the fullest. This is really a matter of ISPs lying about their capacity, making consumers think that they can have 16 megabit downloads, when in reality it is more like you said, an anemic 10 kB/sec.
- johnsweber, on 05/07/2008, -18/+2It's certainly not a perfect system, but it is a system that allows casual to medium users the benefit of having 600KB/sec speeds when they needs it. Maybe they want to watch a steaming HD movie for an hour, then go read the NYTimes the next. That is what a cable based system relies on their users doing.
If you want a 24/7 700KB/sec connection, you can't realistically expect to pay 40 bucks for it without some sort of drawback, unless you're very luck and live in a tower that offers it as an amenity.- commenter01, on 05/07/2008, -0/+21"you can't realistically expect to pay 40 bucks for it without some sort of drawback"
Thing is, this is exactly how ISP's market it. They say "X megabit connection for $Y a month". They literally promise gobs of bandwidth they do not have. And since it is a slightly competitive industry, other firms must follow suit. - andydumi, on 05/07/2008, -0/+6Correct. They need to advertise it as "occasional" high speed with XXX as the average, not as High speed all the time as they do now.
- sliksta, on 05/07/2008, -0/+8Yeah, tell it to the ISP. They are the one's lying about the bandwidth. If they all quit saying "unlimited" and told the truth, there wouldn't be a problem. They're in a racket anyway, it's not like they need to lie. They're just all crooked.
- Gir53457, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2Unfortunately until we get more viable uses for bittorrent and other P2P protocols other than rampant piracy and Linux distributions, ISPs will continue to throttle connections.
- commenter01, on 05/07/2008, -0/+21"you can't realistically expect to pay 40 bucks for it without some sort of drawback"
- johnsweber, on 05/07/2008, -18/+2It's certainly not a perfect system, but it is a system that allows casual to medium users the benefit of having 600KB/sec speeds when they needs it. Maybe they want to watch a steaming HD movie for an hour, then go read the NYTimes the next. That is what a cable based system relies on their users doing.
- viniciusfontes, on 05/07/2008, -0/+44Your ISP should be able to deliver what they sell you. If you contracted 10mbps, you should get 10mbps all the time.
- bigmac7669, on 05/07/2008, -1/+5Get what you actually paid for? Wow, what a great concept! I think major corporations and businesses are forgetting who is paying their bills...... the consumer!
- diggitydoc, on 05/07/2008, -0/+20if your ISP offers "unlimited" internet, then the burden is on them to keep their network up with the bandwidth demands.
- munkyxtc, on 05/07/2008, -1/+20Maybe your ISP should take the huge sacks of money they are pulling in every month and invest in upgrading their networks so everyone can download porn, torrents or surf facebook 24x7 rather than trying to find ways to restrict internet usage of paying customers....just a thought.
- cawpin, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3@johnsweber - Where are you? I had Insight cable when I was still in Indiana and they didn't block ANY traffic. It was the most reliable internet I've ever had. I had to reset my cable modem maybe once in the 2 years I had them.
- jgtg32a, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Insight == Comcast now, just got bought out.
- Yokohamalion, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I think we have identified the problem. NET NEUTRALITY
- commenter01, on 05/07/2008, -0/+40In your case it might have been beneficial for you, but you have to remember these other people are also paying 40 bucks a month. They are within every right to use their bandwidth to the fullest. This is really a matter of ISPs lying about their capacity, making consumers think that they can have 16 megabit downloads, when in reality it is more like you said, an anemic 10 kB/sec.
- bambooshoot, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3All the UK guys need to sign this petition to stop this...
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/broadbandripoff/ - amenic, on 05/07/2008, -2/+1Agreed - testing other ports is key. I'm using TWC and I think they are also tampering with traffic on both FTP (port 21) and Remote Desktop (port 3389). Of course, you can change the FTP port, but can you change the RDesktop port?
Another thing I don't like about TWC (Time Warner Cable) is that once you are downloading a single large file, all your available bandwidth is chewed up. Pretty cheesy imo.
Is Grande any better?- sinembarg0, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Yes, you can chance the remote desktop port, and if you are going to use remote desktop over the internet, you should change the port. If you look on Microsoft's website, there is an article about setting up remote desktop for use over the internet, and I believe that has information abot changing the port number.
- IllBeBack, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306759
- amenic, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Perfect - thanks guys!
- sodade, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1The behavior I have seen on qwest is that I can torrent for about 24hrs or so and after that my bandwidth for everything is shot for a couple of days.
- johnsweber, on 05/07/2008, -40/+4To be very frank, I'm very glad that my company (insight) limits bit torrent traffic. The reason? When they didn't, the Internet was unusable. ~You~ may live in a nice neighborhood where 1-3 people cap out on their bandwidth, but I live in a dense neighborhood where SO many people would use bit torrent it caused me to get about 10KB/sec downloads and 900 pings everyday. I called them and told them it was unacceptable and to call me back when they did something about it while I switched to DSL.
- vfreak2, on 05/07/2008, -6/+19At http://broadband.mpi-sws.mpg.de/transparency/resul ... there's a world map showing where people have tested it. There's someone in the middle of Australia! Ayers Rock anyone? And look where all the red dots are! How surprising...
- billbugger, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2404'd :-
- Lewiji, on 05/07/2008, -1/+5It's really not that difficult to work out the right URL.
- sinembarg0, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1http://broadband.mpi-sws.de/transparency/results/
- MetaDFF, on 05/07/2008, -0/+13Somehow vfreak2's comment got mangled by the commenting system...
http://broadband.mpi-sws.mpg.de/transparency/resul ...- danger127, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I'm seeing alot of red dots along I-5, no surprise to me.
- obliviousfool, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3That's ***** up. The red dots are all inside the US!
- JackHarkness, on 05/07/2008, -1/+7it's Uluru you nescient dumpkopf
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3how did comcast get control of our cities? i want them OUT.
- christhechris, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3thats to far south for Uluru...looks more like Cooper Pedy...
- Aeonasphere, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1The underground city, if I recall?
- Tenoq, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Not so much these days. Red-neck-ville is more accurate. There are still a few underground dwellings though, and they are awesome to walk around (tour). But the town is basically just a caravan park + a small local population. And mines. Lots of mines. If you like opals, you'll like Cooper Pedy. :p
- SasquatchBill, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Coober Pedy.
And there's a fair amount of underground stuff - as it gets up to 55c in the summer, and it's harder to cool a caravan than a cave in that sort of heat. And the opal statement is true - you can find opals in the gravel on the street fairly easily. Did it myself while waiting for a friend to come out of the loo.
There's also leftover props from the movie "Pitch Black," like a full size spaceship. It's an odd, odd little town. Definitely worth the visit.
- Aeonasphere, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1The underground city, if I recall?
- tomjm5000, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Aha, looks like I'm safe here in Strasbourg... now if only they would import Chipotle.
- SasquatchBill, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Dugg for Chipotle! YUMM!!!
The world is a better place where Chipotle exists. - jedisushi, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1God I love Chipotle.
- SasquatchBill, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Dugg for Chipotle! YUMM!!!
- JBmtk, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Good God. They even block people in Alaska.
- t0x2c, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2No that's just packet loss.
/sarcasm
- t0x2c, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2No that's just packet loss.
- Tenoq, on 05/08/2008, -0/+10Australia doesn't have red dots yet? I guess that's because my ISP slows down ALL traffic, not just BitTorrent. :p
- danger127, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1HAHAHA! We need a mirror for a comment!
- daizaru, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1"Note: ISPs may throttle (rate-limit) BitTorrent traffic without blocking it. The results we present here are limited to hosts whose BitTorrent transfers to our servers are interrupted by RST packets generated by some ISP along the path. We do not report throttling as blocking, and thus we do not mark such throttled hosts in red."
This test is to see if your torrents are throttled no? The main site is busy for me so I'm not 100% sure but that map is people being completely blocked. Like colleges and stuff.
Edit: the map is the same site, my mistake. I thought Comcast throttled not blocked?- Mike89, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1They throttle by blocking connections randomly, instead of just giving them low QoS
- xxgigavirusxx, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2So everyone in Africa has perfect internet except 3 people
- Schmich, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I feel sorry for those who live in major cities of the land of the free, change ISP!
- worldchanger, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1quoth the server: 404.
- billbugger, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2404'd :-
- deviouster, on 05/07/2008, -5/+195submitter has odd name
- jbob2000, on 05/07/2008, -1/+30It gets worse, check out the pics in his profile o_0
- leerayIG88, on 05/07/2008, -0/+15*fapfapfapfap
oh gawd..- commenter01, on 05/07/2008, -0/+15thats what happens when you multitask
- celkin, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5[:(]GC
- leerayIG88, on 05/07/2008, -0/+15*fapfapfapfap
- PhattyPhattMatt, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3Lets all friend request him
- Uranium118, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2He probably made this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmW0dHUWQwE
- jbob2000, on 05/07/2008, -1/+30It gets worse, check out the pics in his profile o_0
- shyboy2008, on 05/07/2008, -30/+4isp = INTERNET SUCKS. PERIOD.
- Tddupre, on 05/07/2008, -1/+4Great site to post that on
/sarcasm - twiztidsinz, on 05/07/2008, -1/+3Then GTFO my interwebs
- Nougat, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1And where the hell else do you think you're going to get access from?
- 2oonhed, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1well....there's always AOL = ALWAYS OBVIOUSLY LAME.
- Tddupre, on 05/07/2008, -1/+4Great site to post that on
- crgnetworks, on 05/07/2008, -10/+1http://www.duggmirror.com
- donjuan571, on 05/07/2008, -5/+34Seems like they are also throttling torrentfreak.com cuz their bandwidth is *****.
- shyboy2008, on 05/07/2008, -23/+1U have no proof.
- commenter01, on 05/07/2008, -1/+9shut up. it was clearly a joke, although a bad one at that.
- shyboy2008, on 05/07/2008, -23/+1U have no proof.
- SSCrow, on 05/07/2008, -10/+1This page was down an hour before it hit Digg front page. It was on Reddit at the time.
Idk, maybe I'm the only one who is not loading the page as of 1:38 GMT. - billbugger, on 05/07/2008, -2/+13my isp doesn't even allow it... damn work.
- merripen, on 05/07/2008, -2/+110MY ISP is slowing down traffic to this page, apparently.
- Fr00sh, on 05/07/2008, -1/+23and its down
- ElBeh, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2Did you hear that awful sound?
- WarBloodlust, on 05/07/2008, -2/+10Down?
- mattwalton56, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Left?
- ligyron, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Mirror? oh wait
- scotishstriker, on 05/07/2008, -0/+8Right, then press start?
- leetninja, on 05/07/2008, -9/+1i dont think my ISP made your crappy server die ... i think that was digg ... i could be wrong though ... could you test it?
- magneteye, on 05/07/2008, -1/+131This whole fiasco kind of reminds me of how we pay for cable TV, then they play commercials anyway and air nothing but infomercials on most channels all night. WTF are we paying for?
This ***** has got to stop!- Mast3rDigg3r, on 05/07/2008, -11/+4the cable provider doesn't get paid for the commercials dude
- sliksta, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2Say what? Maybe they are paid by the programmers but still, it's part of the deal.
- sliksta, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2Say what? Maybe they are paid by the programmers but still, it's part of the deal.
- scotishstriker, on 05/07/2008, -0/+17The television will not be revolutionized
- GhostCow, on 05/07/2008, -0/+14They get paid for the cob commercials. COB stands for cable operators break, which is usually where you see local commercials rather than national.
- ByteGuerilla, on 05/07/2008, -0/+17Exactly why I refuse to pay for Sky/cable TV over here in the UK. I pay a TV License fee to fund the BBC. As a result I get well-funded television with no adverts. ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 play adverts, but I don't have to pay ***** (theoretically, though realistically I would still need a TV License as I can't say "I just don't watch the BBC") for those channels.
Fees OR Adverts. Not both. Never both.- Roblodocus, on 05/09/2008, -0/+2You pay a licence to receive a broadcasted signal from within Great Britan. Theoretically you wouldn't need to pay for a TV licence if you were receiving a signal from outside of the UK. IIhave a TV but I don't use it for receiving a broadcasted signal so II don't have to pay a TV licence. I download the shows I like and watch them through my PC, sans adverts. (Saves me £12 a month on the TV licence too)
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -3/+2cable schmable. i use the internet to work and get informed, so what comcast is doing is significant. but t.v. is for entertainment only. don't like it? drop it and get netflix.
- craiginct, on 05/08/2008, -0/+0TIVO is your friend.
- djlosch, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1the entire television industry has every reason to resist fully on-demand TV. if everyone got fully on-demand TV, informercials would never be watched at all anymore. ever. DVRs already kill informercial value and commercial skipping racks regular commercials too. the bottom line is that the cable companies have been adding more and more commercials and raising service rates along with it. if you've ever downloaded a TV show or watched it on Hulu, you know that the shows only last about 43 minutes for an hour long show and about 21.5 for a half hour. In other words, 30% of your TV time is being wasted on adverts that you probably couldnt care less about. and the providers have just kept doing it to raise profits because there's virtually no competition. even if the providers don't like it, it's not like they can go and extend TV show times. a lot of TV shows (especially [un]reality TV) already come back from a commercial by replaying the 30 seconds from before the commercial, not to mention the numerous 20 second pauses to "build suspense." with so few options in providers, and providers having little interest in having the studios lengthen their programming, consumers are fighting back the only way they can - torrents and DVRs.
- Noisewater84, on 05/08/2008, -0/+0Satellite Radio is the same way. At first XM and Sirius advertised that they were commercial free, and there were no commercials, but now some stations have them on almost as regularly as AM/FM. Companies have to be shown that they can't take advantage of their customers, and that means a negative impact on their bottom line.
- Mast3rDigg3r, on 05/07/2008, -11/+4the cable provider doesn't get paid for the commercials dude
- jordanleegauci, on 05/07/2008, -23/+4when I write a comment saying my opinion people always digg me down so I prefer to say nothing...
- DomZy, on 05/07/2008, -9/+4People usually digg me up
- xxgigavirusxx, on 05/07/2008, -4/+1C-C-C-C-Combo breaker
- davidkeithjones, on 05/07/2008, -0/+6I had a flashback to 1995.
- xxgigavirusxx, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1October 3, 1995 O. J. Simpson is found innocent of the murder of his wife and another man.
??
- xxgigavirusxx, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1October 3, 1995 O. J. Simpson is found innocent of the murder of his wife and another man.
- davidkeithjones, on 05/07/2008, -0/+6I had a flashback to 1995.
- xxgigavirusxx, on 05/07/2008, -4/+1C-C-C-C-Combo breaker
- rreadysetno, on 05/07/2008, -1/+4Dugg up for fact.
- tdogg241, on 05/07/2008, -2/+11It's because your opinion is wrong.
- ninsei, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1see, now that was funny.
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1wow. that comment was so stupid it also gets you blocked.
- mrblister, on 05/07/2008, -2/+1am i the only one to hear the sardonic tone of that post?
- DomZy, on 05/07/2008, -9/+4People usually digg me up
- Tippx, on 05/07/2008, -2/+33yes its comcastic!
- paradigmdream, on 05/07/2008, -2/+1well that was fast
- Vipersfate, on 05/07/2008, -2/+2I can't even load the site...
- scheibs14, on 05/07/2008, -7/+6Dugg to try out later
- RealityCheque, on 05/08/2008, -1/+0Thanks for letting us know that vital piece of information!
- xxgigavirusxx, on 05/07/2008, -12/+1So How many times is this gonna hit Front Page?
- xxgigavirusxx, on 05/07/2008, -8/+3As long as they don't slowdown my Porno Downloading Speed
I'm not gonna complain- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2i bet they do limit you, and lots of people. the torrent folks have just caught on faster than you with your porn and me with my podcasts. torrents and porn don't make good poster children. but if it turns out comcast is blocking people from downloading nice educational history podcasts, they're gonna be up ***** creek without a paddle, p.r.-wise.
- Gratefuldead, on 05/07/2008, -3/+3Get used to it
/scratch that, get ready for it to get worse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality- lolinyerface, on 05/07/2008, -2/+2FUD
Did you actually read the articles that were posted on Internet2 today? It's not cost effective, and won't be implemented anytime soon.
QQmorprzprz
- lolinyerface, on 05/07/2008, -2/+2FUD
- Tddupre, on 05/07/2008, -1/+12"Did you hear that sound, oh another server is down"
- teh_techie, on 05/07/2008, -0/+7Gotta digg, gotta digg, gotta digg....
- ByteGuerilla, on 05/07/2008, -0/+6Gotta make that story big.
- Phasmorphage, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Did you hear that awful sound?
Another server’s down!- zakool21, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Ahhhhhhh, Kina.
Saw her SF show a few weeks ago. Awesome live performance. AND she played this song alongside her sisters.
- zakool21, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Ahhhhhhh, Kina.
- Phasmorphage, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Did you hear that awful sound?
- ByteGuerilla, on 05/07/2008, -0/+6Gotta make that story big.
- endlessoul, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1BEHOLD! The Digg Effect!
- teh_techie, on 05/07/2008, -0/+7Gotta digg, gotta digg, gotta digg....
- D14BL0, on 05/07/2008, -2/+5Oh, the irony.
- ukmark75, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5No, I'm with BT - they just slow all traffic.
- ElBeh, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2A similar article: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Test-Your-ISP-F ...
- Dunge, on 05/07/2008, -1/+7What happen when you bring thousands of person on a server who test bandwich...
- Densetsu, on 05/07/2008, -0/+20Mmm, bandwich. :D
- Scira, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Bandwich, You cant get enough.
- evo8ftw, on 05/07/2008, -9/+7The bastard that posted this to digg should be shot
- twiztidsinz, on 05/07/2008, -2/+85went down faster than a GTA Hooker
- bagelmaster, on 05/07/2008, -0/+11I like how that can be taken two ways...
- acetv, on 05/08/2008, -0/+7That's what she said.
- bagelmaster, on 05/07/2008, -0/+11I like how that can be taken two ways...
- Essjay419, on 05/07/2008, -0/+7I thought Comcast gave me Powerboost?
- matthewf01, on 05/07/2008, -2/+1wtf is that powerboost ***** anyway? anyone?
- Dotcommer, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Its sci-fi globby jizz used to increase the speed of lab mice, and make lame actors travel fast enough to circle the globe.
- Farik, on 05/07/2008, -0/+6It's a DOCSIS protocol that allows for boosts in speed if the particular node you are on has available bandwidth. The bursts are "uncapped" (25mbit), or whatever would be available, for a few seconds or the first 25 or so megabytes. My ISP utilizes it and it is quite handy with newsgroups.
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1daaang.
what is a node, though? i have some knowlege, but network stuff is not part of it (yet). i'd google it, but i don't want to wade through a bunch of electrical engineering jargon.- ChildeRoland420, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2As I understand it: The fiber optics go out to a neighborhood node. Here the internet traffic is transferred from the optics to the cable line. Because everyone on that same node has to go through the same fiber optic line you are limited in your speed by what everyone else in the neighborhood is doing.
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1daaang.
- DMDekoth, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Googled > "PowerBoost is a patent-pending Comcast network technology that enables you to experience faster connection speeds while you are downloading and uploading large files to the Internet. PowerBoost leverages an additional capacity that is already built into Comcast's advanced network."
- screensnot, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2Except that is not really true, depending on what you consider a large file.
It works as Farik described above.
- screensnot, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2Except that is not really true, depending on what you consider a large file.
- Nougat, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3Also known as "a way to inflate the actual speed of a connection when performing a speed test." I hit about 15/3 Mb at speedtest.net, but when I'm torrenting full bore and I watch the traffic monitor on my router, I see I'm really only getting about 4/1 sustained.
- matthewf01, on 05/07/2008, -2/+1wtf is that powerboost ***** anyway? anyone?
- pukiman, on 05/07/2008, -0/+30"We are sorry. Our measurement servers are currently busy. Please try again later.
If you are interested in hosting a test server, please contact us at broadband@mpi-sws.mpg.de or go to: http://broadband.mpi-sws.mpg.de/transparency/contr ... "
Now, who's going to donate a server so I could run this damn thing? - mizike, on 05/07/2008, -1/+26Actually my ISP doesn't throttle traffic....the ***** company that owns all the ***** phone lines in the ***** country decided to throttle for them, as they didn't think it was fair that their DSL wholesellers could offer a better service than they were willing provide themselves....***** canada with it's TWO choices for internet service (one company owns the cable, one owns all the phone lines)....I wish the government would do something to open up the market; it's a libertarian's dream right now (the two top players in the market are able to crush all potential competition while it's in its' infancy as the government refuses to actually regulate the market.....it's the same reason we have the worst cell service in the developed world, market leaders crush all competition within a few months of it existing, then provide the most expensive and ***** service possible as, hey, there's no one competing with them anymore cause that's how the free market works baby!)
wow, that was a bit of a rant...apologies all...- theonlywizdum, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5I'm in the same boat. Verizon just looked at everything above New York as "uninhabited wasteland" and sold their lines.
- davidlick, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I'm sure some politicians are seeing a cut of the money.
- mCanada, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1Actually it's sorta 3, Telus, Bell , Rogers (if your in the east i suppose it's more Bell / Rogers).
- dood, on 05/07/2008, -7/+2I wonder how much more internet service would be if the ISP had to have enough bandwidth to handle unrestricted torrent bandwidth. Have there been studies?
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -1/+3what's sad is you don't know what you're talking about, so you just assume you deserve the abuse.
- dood, on 05/07/2008, -3/+2I've been around long enough to see the "unlimited" vs "unmetered" arguments go on and on in various forums including NANOG. Nobody's going to be able to offer truly unlimited Internet access to thousands/millions of customers without some throttling or oversubscription. It's a fact of life.
I don't feel that I "deserve" any abuse, any more than I feel that I deserve 5Mbit/s 24x7 access to the internet for $50/month.- 3ugene, on 05/08/2008, -0/+35mbit overseas is like 14.4k
- davidlick, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2I like your avatar. I almost was disappointed because I didn't think I'd be about to bury you.
- dood, on 05/07/2008, -3/+2I've been around long enough to see the "unlimited" vs "unmetered" arguments go on and on in various forums including NANOG. Nobody's going to be able to offer truly unlimited Internet access to thousands/millions of customers without some throttling or oversubscription. It's a fact of life.
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -1/+3what's sad is you don't know what you're talking about, so you just assume you deserve the abuse.
- jorisb, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5Rogers easily wins this test. All other ISPs have inferior throttling techniques.
/angry sarcasm - nethenm, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4What's to stop ISPs from excluding the Glasnot test servers from rate limiting in order to appear as if they don't rate limit traffic?
- scamper22, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4effort and incompetance
- valharick, on 05/07/2008, -0/+8The more you tighten your grip, Comcast, the more customers will slip through your fingers.
- mizike, on 05/07/2008, -0/+7only where the customers have another option...
- fr3ddie, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1I am a dedicated comcast user.... or at least I WAS.... Now looking for a new isp.
- bagelmaster, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1It's always a bad thing to support monopolies. Or oligopoly, whatever you call the Comcast/Verizon/TimeWarner thing going on in America.
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1i can't wait to move and get dsl again. qwest never pulled this ***** back when i used them.
- mrblister, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2tell me where i can get the speed of comcast for anywhere near the price and I will drop my contract like a sunday turd.
- bebopredux, on 05/07/2008, -0/+5No need to test here.
I asked Time/Warner Cable if they blocked torrents and they told me "we don't support torrents" flat out. They don't just block them. They shut my connection off completely. I have to reboot a few minutes later. But, they win. I don't have another choice. Incredibly, they advertise locally about their service and tout "file sharing" as one of the reasons to use them!- mizike, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4...tout "file sharing" as one of the reasons to use them!...
That's actually the worst part of this whole fiasco....ISP's advertise one thing, then provide another, yet it's somehow not false advertising? Doesn't "unlimited" mean "without limits" as opposed to "anything under 5GB and no packets that we don't like"?. It's like your situation "join up with us for your file sharing needs" which, in reality, means "if you actually try to share files we will shut your connection off"- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2when (not if) there are massive class-action lawsuits, i can't wait to sign up.
- mizike, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4...tout "file sharing" as one of the reasons to use them!...
- austinnowlin, on 05/07/2008, -3/+4Nice idea, TorrentFreak.
I'm not being sarcastic.
This was a good a idea.- austinnowlin, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2holy *****
digg users digg down anything i type
- austinnowlin, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2holy *****
- queenstarsha, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1site was broken.
i don't understand "ports" at all, but i'm curious whether blocking torrent traffic might block other traffic as well. i download a lot of mp3s (podcasts and other things i legitimately should be able to get, given that my share for the comcast bill is $35 a month) using a download manager (firefox downthemall). it is *excruciatingly* slow sometimes. not only that, but i feel like comcast just shuts us off sometimes. our connection drops *all the time*. i wonder if they sometimes just decide you're using the internet too much and just shut you down.- Avolii, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1I wouldn't doubt that at all. However, just be sure of the fine print in your agreement. Some places will charge if you go over a certain amount of bandwidth, or, just throttle it (not too common though).
- xdarkfluxx, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1It all depends what type of traffic they targeting. What some isps can do is target ports that bittorrent usually uses and just limits bandwidth on those ports. If you are downloading slow the problem isnt always with comcast, it can also be the server where you are downloading from you can use www.speedtest.net to test your bandwidth if you think your internet unusually slow. Throttling wont cause comcast to shut you off, it could be because you have construction or just bad service:P. Also it could be something wrong with your network (ie router,modem, cabling, wireless access point, etc)
Its nice that comcast in my area doesnt throttle :D more torrents for me.
- RidgeWalker76, on 05/07/2008, -0/+12Cox Communications suspended my internet access today, and accused me of illegal file sharing. I told them my Airport was unprotected and that I would resolve the situation. Cox Communications now has a 3 strikes policy before they cancel your service. If this happens to you, DO NOT admit to anything, or give them any information, just tell them you have an open network. The guy on the phone was ready to record all information I was willing to give, it seems like Cox is willing to throw its customers under the bus.
- Xcel, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Yep, I have Cox as well.
They're a bunch of ***** cox. Although their internet is fast and almost never down.
- Xcel, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Yep, I have Cox as well.
- DeathfireD, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3Now if only the people working on the bittorrent protocol could come up with a successful way share files without being throttled/blocked.
- bagelmaster, on 05/07/2008, -1/+3They already have encryption that gets around whatever Comcast is using. It works for me at least.
- DeathfireD, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Encryption doesn't stop it completely. Even with it on I notice a very small drop in browsing speed when trying to browse the Internet. Not to mention my VoIP phone and a few other programs get extremely affected whenever bittorrent is on. Even when I set my speed throttle to under 30kb upstream and 100kb downstream with a limit of only 1 torrent at a time and 30 connections per torrent. I've been packet sniffing as well and still notice Comcast spams large amounts of RST packets like crazy even when bittorrent traffic is on the highest level of encryption. So your lucky wherever you live if your not noticing anything negative happening to your connection. So I still hope the creators of bittorrent come up with a way to solve this.
- bagelmaster, on 05/07/2008, -1/+3They already have encryption that gets around whatever Comcast is using. It works for me at least.
- sk11, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2This problem seems largely confined to the US, for now...
- Tooch07, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2I have Optimum Online Boost (30Mbps/5Mbps) and for the last few weeks my torrent speeds have been fractions of what they once were on the download side and upload speed is nearly non-existent. Popular torrents used to easily clear 1.5MB/s down, now popular ones are at best 250KB/s down. Uploading at best is 40-50KB/s. But for everything else (browsing/download from sites/FTP upload) I'm full speed ahead.
Is anyone else with Optimum Boost in the NYC area experiencing this?- andrew522, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1looks like you're ***** out of luck...
- Portfolioso, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Actually, no. It's called Verizon FiOS (if available)
- ElBeh, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2I have Optimum Online and I'm on Long Island. Yeah, it's pretty slow. A huge shame since the only other place aside from home that I get a constant internet connection is at school, and torrents don't work at all there.
- Portfolioso, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Optimum Online Boost is a sham. They rip you off completely and give you 30MBPS of web traffic on port 80. This it is nothing Verizon FiOS cannot do. Verizon does not interfere with their network at all. I get 20MBPS down and 5MBPS up and on legitimate, well seeded torrents, I can easily pass 15MBPS on a download...
Optimum also brags about how they have the best network. However, they do not run fiber to your house (not that this matters for speed that much) but I'd say fiber to the house is friggin sweet and ready for the future. - Tooch07, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1FiOS is available, but not at our apartment. I didn't want to get it because I wasn't sure how long I was going to be here and didn't want to sign a contract. Plus running a home server is great and as far as I know it's against Verizon's TOS. I do agree about Optimum's FTTP vs. Verizon FTTH though. But like I said above, it's just torrents, everything else the speed is great. I just think it's a bad step for Optimum to do that especially when there's FiOS in much of it's footprint.
- andrew522, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1looks like you're ***** out of luck...
- mentor972, on 05/08/2008, -4/+1"We are sorry. Our measurement servers are currently busy. Please try again later."
PWNED! - unoriginal, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1If you need unfiltered dsl access, at least in CA, I used both Sonic.net and DslExtreme. Neither one of them blocked any ports and were able to provide me with my full line speed. But I moved and now am stuck with TWC Roadrunner as my only high speed option.
- daizaru, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2"Note: ISPs may throttle (rate-limit) BitTorrent traffic without blocking it. The results we present here are limited to hosts whose BitTorrent transfers to our servers are interrupted by RST packets generated by some ISP along the path. We do not report throttling as blocking, and thus we do not mark such throttled hosts in red."
Just because you pass this test doesn't mean you aren't having your speeds reduced. I actually thought this was a throttling test, I don't quite understand what blocking implies... besides possibly not allowing torrents at all. - AvangionQ, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I wonder if they'll come up with plugins for different torrent clients ...
- LoudMusic, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2I experienced Comcast torrent throttling in Little Rock, Arkansas, but I'm not getting any kind of throttling at my new house in the northwest. I've seen 8MB+ download speeds purely of bittorrent.
- bbliss17, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1that is whack
- daGUY, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Too bad it's down at the moment...I have Comcast and am almost positive they're monitoring/blocking BT traffic. A few weeks ago I was downloading a torrent (legal, mind you) at a decent speed when right in the middle, my entire connection dropped for no apparent reason. I had to reset my modem and router to reconnect.
- AlaskaLoneWolf, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Don't think that it's fair they regularly hold up the street sign on internet traffic. Expansion would be better than the stop sign. Actually they block a lot of people in Alaska. It's getting to the point where we'll be laying out are own cable and launching are own satellites... oh, wait, I guess we're already doing that.
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