All stealth encryption does is attempt to prevent the ISP from deciding if the traffic coming to and from your connection is P2P content. Yes, all content is encrypted, even between you and the tracker, and it prevents unencrypted connection from even being made to your system. But all the MPAA/RIAA/whoever had to do, is connect to the same tracker, with the same torrent, using stealth encryption as well, and over comes the list of everyone on it.

iclim4 has mentioned peer guardian. This is about the best you can do to defend yourself, as it won't allow for any potential 'bad guys' to connect to you, although there is nothing stopping them from scanning from an unblocked IP range. While they can still see your IP, the idea behind this is they won't be able to send or receive any data from you, making it impossible for them to be certain that you are actually sharing or receiving the torrent.

The thing is, no matter how many times you change your ip it doesn't actually protect you in the least. When you connect to the net and get a dynamically generated ip you have to contact your isp first so they can give it to you. So they know when you start using that ip and when you stop using it. It may be a pain for them to track the data down, but they can do it which means that their system doesn't grant you any protection.

funny how we refer to the people who enforce the law "Bad Guys'

but is it legal for them to spy on what we do on our internet and computers?
how about what freetalklive mentioned, ive also heard the same thing before.
that its okay to download music, but its illegal to upload.

There is no possible way for you to be untraceable. There is a way to use a proxy to sort of hide it. This involves using something like ssh to forward all traffic from a specified port to a different server first, and then from there to the final destination (This, of course, would limit your ability to be contacted first, however downloading from someone else would work just fine). The proxy will take your packet and take out your IP and Mac address Information. The server keeps a hash(unique identifier) on the server end that identifies the packet so that when it comes back from its destination it can be re-encapsulated with your IP and Mac address and forwarded back to you. This is commonly used by people to block their identity because of privacy concerns (Sadly this is also a way for a hacker to hide himself/herself as well).

Also, I seen someone early post that using an encrypted connection makes it harder to trace. That is simply not the case. A packet has to always carry an IP and Mac address (Well one or the other if it is a terminal device trying to get the other missing part). Otherwise, your packet will go no where. With encryption, only the content you are sending will be more difficult to decipher by anyone trying to view it.

What I meant to ask is, can you be sued for downloading from limewire?
Ive heard theres a loophole where its alright to download, but its illegal to upload. though the end effect is the same, no uploaders= no downloaders.

would it be possible to implement the proxy feature to trackers?
I wonder why people arent implementing that.

thanks for the info guys im learning a lot.

The loophole you are talking about only partially exists. It is true that copyright infringement is based upon distribution; however, recent court cases have made it so that even 'making available' can be dangerous legally. In this matter, there are no guarantees -- even something that seems clearly spelled out in law might not protect you depending on your judge. Not to mention that in sending out the letters, the RIAA doesn't care about legality at all; settlement is cheaper than fighting for your rights, and that is what they are counting on.

You *can* be sued for doing illegal things in any medium. Limewire is no different. My college had a limewire hub that was only available from on-campus; the RIAA found out about it and the people running it had to take it down (no other legal action though, fortunately).

And everyone talking about how encryption won't work, keep up the good work. Too many people think of it as a fix-all solution; really, it just protects you from snoopers along the wire, not at the end of it. To be protected from both you would have to connect through a Tor node (or something similar) and get almost no bandwidth.

I use it , but NEVER for PSP games ... I sometimes get some ultra hard to find PC games , but thats all . I hate pirating games :?

All I ever use it for is TV shows, but only if I cannot buy them