Got a lovely letter from my university. Apparently someone found out about, and reported me for my... downloading habits. The way the letter is worded, it's either:
>All the anime I've torrented
>All the games I've torrented
>That one time I torrented a piece of professional research software
>Wombo Combo, multiple of the above
So, how fucked am I? Also, how do I handle this? Would removing the evidence be a bad idea?
Got a lovely letter from my university. Apparently someone found out about, and reported me for my...
Andrew Fisher
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Owen Reyes
say you gave out your wifi and admit that probably happened, but you dont know who.
Leo Morris
Tell them to get fucked, this is your personal device I assume?
Camden Stewart
Forgot to mention, the reason they are even saying anything about it, is probably because some of it occurred on the university's network.
It's set up in a way that every device has to be registered on the network, and is registered in a way that associates the device with the student's ID. I'm not sure about the full extent of what they can see using this system, but apparently it's enough to raise a red flag.
Benjamin Barnes
Here are some tips on how to be anonymous OP
Use a VPN even on a registered network your traffic is encrypted until it reaches the servers of whatever VPN you're using. Also I torrent in linux personally because it is easier to not get caught and less likely to download a virus so I test it in linux but I dual boot my PC mint and windows. In linux mint go to the repository and download macchanger set it to run automatically everytime you connect to a network. You can also go into the linux terminal
sudo su (command for super user rights)
sudo ifconfig (shows name of your wifi card)
sudo ifconfig (wifi card name) down
sudo macchanger -r (wifi card name)
This will spoof your mac address on the network. If your already on their network and it's not set up to only allow certain mac addresses it will appear as if a different computer is connecting every time. Also with a VPN all your internet connection is encrypted and they dont see where the traffic is going only that it's going to a VPN server which sends the requests back to you. You will also find that you can now access sites blocked on your school network while using a vpn. Good luck user
Colton Bennett
too late now this guy is fucked
Brayden Richardson
Admit nothing, say oops and say you'll talk to someone that's an expert on the subject to figure out how to fix it
Jonathan Collins
At most he will get in trouble at his university. I really doubt he'll get into legal trouble for torrenting. The school found out but only the companies who own the copyrights to the stuff he downloaded can take him to court anyways. Just dont be stupid next time OP.
Connor Nguyen
Was this on eduroam OP?
If yes you are in the clear. Just deny and nothing will really happen.
Jack Ross
Say nothing.
Anyone could have used your PC (malicious via virus) to download those things
Connor Ross
Nope, not eduroam.
The letter did mention violation of "local, state, or federal laws" But I suspect that's just them covering their bases, because torrent.
Won't work. Everyone around here is very tech capable, me included. It's to the point where everyone basically assumes that everyone else knows at least one programming language.
Saying nothing is my general plan. I'll let them tell me what they found. If they don't mention it, they don't need to know about it.
But should I delete the downloaded files and torrent software from my laptop? Or would that make things look more suspicious?
Leo Morris
Unless it's the plagiarism, which they will come down on you HARD for, they're mainly annoyed at your overusing the system. They'll make you promise not to do it again
Austin Reyes
Just don't download torrents that companies are watching.
Anime and anime games from Nyaa are fine, but games, especially modern ones, will get you caught.
>some of it occurred on the university's network.
Well if you have access to a different network then do it on that.
Oliver Clark
>But should I delete the downloaded files and torrent software from my laptop? Or would that make things look more suspicious?
Gee, OP, having all your illegal files on there when they check will surely work out for you.
Just delete them or transfer them to an external hard drive and never do this again on a university wifi.
Liam Richardson
>Anime and anime games from Nyaa are fine
I would recommend still protecting yourself even if you are using Nyaa. I got a letter for downloading an old 2008 anime on there.
Oliver Turner
>every device has to be registered on the network
They will log every connection made by your machine and it will be logged by your unique mac address... they will see all connections (IPs and times) but maybe not every file will be recorded (too much data).
Don't offer up any info but don't lie - they probably know you torrented xy or z.
Thats how I would run a university network - never browse your power level with public networks of any kind - university very especially... if you must get your fix then use a VPN ffs!
Nord is good... pay with crypto currency for added privacy. (this will not hide you from NSA etc - just from companies/organizations).
Blake Gray
>Everyone around here is very tech capable, me included.
But you are asking this question and don't use a VPN?
What line do I stand in for my qualification hand out?
Brandon Lee
Lmao this kind of thing never actually goes anywhere, the days of legal action over this shit are way behind us. Just say nothing and play dumb if anybody actually brings it up again, retard. You didn't know it was not allowed/a big deal, please tell me how to follow this rule going forward, okay thank you very much for the clarification yes I am very embarrassed etc. etc. etc.
The university is sending you a scary letter so that nobody can call them complicit in piracy. They don't actually give a shit, they have no incentive to pursue it any further, you stop being a retard and all of this just goes away.
Jackson Adams
Deny all knowledge. Never admit to anything. Deny everything. They know it was your computer? Okay. But you know nothing about it.
Chase Allen
Nord VPN is cheap and solves this problem from ever happening again, OP. Get under a few layers of proxy.
Luis Johnson
Ask again after you code a few self-balancing binary search trees from scratch. Everyone has their specialties, and cybersecurity ain't one of mine.
>VPN
>Use VPN
>Where's your VPN, idiot?
Yes yes yes, I know, VPNs are a very nice thing to use. They cost money though, and I am a die-hard cheapskate.
Sometimes I did run proxy over SSH from a network I control. It might not be on par with paid VPNs, but I'll be setting up a serious, encrypted proxy of my own after all this.