BitComet question

[Quirinus]

I use BitComet for P2P downloads.... I just noticed this:

What does this mean, and what's a NAT router? Is there a way to unblock it, and will speed really improve if it was unblocked?


[P.S. Sorry if P2P discussion is not allowed here....]

[Mithrandir]

I believe P2P falls under the category of piracy here and is therefore not allowed here.

[Whacker]

There shouldn't be anything wrong with discussing P2P, it's just a filesharing method, there's nothing inherently illegal about it. Of course if you talk about using it for downloading stuff you shouldn't be, then yes this thread can get shut down quickly.

What the program is telling you is that you haven't mapped ports to your machine so that outside connections can get in. If you have a Linksys, Dlink, Netgear, or some other kind of router in front of your PC, then this is the cause. What you want to do is figure out:

1. What the make and model is of your NAT router
2. What port your torrent client is using. Default is 6881 iirc, but you will want to check. Consult the help files or site of the program you use for help, in this case it's Bitcomet.
3. What the IP address of your computer is. If you have it set up to use DHCP, meaning a new random IP address is assigned every time you power it on, you will strongly want to consider setting it up for a static IP.

Once you have figured those out, use the information from 1. and find a FAQ or user manual from the manufacturer that will tell you how to map ports to your PC. You'll want to map whatever port it is you're using in 2. to the IP address of your machine from 3. That should fix the problem.

If none of this made sense to you or you're not technically inclined, I would strongly suggest getting a friend over who is technically minded to help you out and make it that much easier for you.

[Whacker]

I believe P2P falls under the category of piracy here and is therefore not allowed here.

I gotta strongly object here. P2P is not illegal. There are thousands of examples of legitimate usage of it out there, some of the more common ones are used by Valve (Steam), Blizzard (WoW), Direct2Drive, and most major Linux distributions are available now via P2P. That said, it's no big secret that P2P is also one of the larger methods used for illicit activities, but it's blatantly untrue that the "majority" of it is for that purpose, however organizations such as the RIAA or MPAA would want you to believe just that.

[LeftEyeNine]

As long as the essence of our guidelines is kept being given attention to, there's nothing wrong. However the very first moment P2P discussion goes "astray", we can't allow it to continue, folks.

Quirinus, Whacker has made a comprehensive guide to address your issue and solve it. If you still need things to get cleared up, however, with your router's brand and model no. in hand, point your browser to Portforward.com 's Guides section. There, in the left side of the page you'll have the most basic topics such as how to get yourself a static IP (essential for port mapping/forwarding) and a router by router guide to get your ports forwarded so that your programs will be working to their fullest.

Hope that helps.

[Quirinus]

Thanks Whacker, LeftNineEye.

I did stumble upon PortForward.com while digging around P2P support forums. It does seem amazingly comprehensive and idiot-proof for the most part-- I've even been able to make my IP static, buuut (and apologies for such a basic question) I have no idea how to find out what my router is. I think I know my router is a Billion one, but which one I have no idea. =( (I'm using a laptop btw, so I think my router is built in.)

[LeftEyeNine]

Oh well, routers can't be built in as far as I know. Something is a router because it can route a connection among several clients through itself. So a built-in router on a laptop doesn't make sense. I'd need to be corrected if I'm ay behind latest laptop technology, though.

How do you access internet, Quirinus? Wireless? Ethernet LAN ? USB LAN ?

Uh, and also..

Thanks Whacker, LeftNineEye

How did you manage to do this ?

[Quirinus]

Oh well, routers can't be built in as far as I know. Something is a router because it can route a connection among several clients through itself. So a built-in router on a laptop doesn't make sense. I'd need to be corrected if I'm ay behind latest laptop technology, though.

How do you access internet, Quirinus? Wireless? Ethernet LAN ? USB LAN ?

Ahhh, I see. Looked around, there's a thing calling itself an ADSL router. I connect to the Internet using a LAN cable, which runs from my laptop to said "ADSL router".

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Not very obvious from here, but "ADSL router" is the top one.

Uh, and also..



How did you manage to do this ?

Apologies, LeftEyeNine.....

[LeftEyeNine]

So that's it. That's the router we're talking about and the one you need to look up in PortForward.com 's router-by-router guide list.

Apologies, LeftEyeNine.....

Get yourself a spare flesh just in case you repeat that foul of yours.