Years ago, when people had less understanding of these matters, blocklists seemed like the tool everyone needed. The aim is that if all of these IP addresses can be blocked, the problem can be solved. Peer-blocking applications use lists of IP addresses (generally compiled by volunteers) which are thought to be connected to anti-piracy, copyright trolls, government bodies, and others interested in stopping piracy. The problem is the way these things work. If making sure is the aim, blocklists should be thrown in the trash can marked ‘placebo’. If locking every window on a house but leaving the front door open is “better than nothing” to prevent burglars, then it’s difficult to disagree. Peer-blocking applications should have died a death more than a decade ago but for some inexplicable reason, torrent users on many public forums continue to post about them, asking whether they’re doing the job they’re supposed to and if additional precautions are needed.ĭespite plenty of information to the contrary, some still swear by these lists and a few stubbornly believe they are “better than nothing”. Unfortunately for those using them, these blocklists were completely ineffective and remain so today. Over the years, millions of users installed these programs (along with the blocklists containing the supposed IP addresses of anti-piracy groups) believing that no ‘bad players’ could access their machines. These pieces of software act like a firewall on a user’s computer, with the aim of preventing ‘hostile’ IP addresses from connecting to a torrent client, for example, thus preventing lawsuits. Somewhere along the way, so-called ‘peer-blocking’ applications raised their head. The majority did but a significant number didn’t feel like taking so many chances.
Over the past 18 years, ever since P2P clients made their run into the big time, users have been trying to figure out a way to avoid expensive lawsuits.Īt the beginning, no real solutions were available, so it was a roll of the dice from start to finish.
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