BitTorrent: a site which documents your downloads

A site which tracks IP addresses logged against public BitTorrent trackers is capable of displaying the files that you have downloaded.

The site You Have Downloaded may worry certain internet users. They cover about 20% of the public BitTorrent trackers to update current downloads. The site also constitutes a database of close to 53 million users identified by their IP addresses.

By visiting the site You Have Downloaded, internet users can see a list of files that they have possibly downloaded via BitTorrent. A list which is of course only valid with current IP addresses. The search engine allows you to perform a search on IP address, file name or torrent hash.

The service does have some limits, not only in terms of the files it monitors, but also in the management of dynamic IP addresses.

While you may think that You Have Downloaded has the aim of scaring internet users, its primary purpose is to make internet users conscientious that they are not anonymous on the internet. The site is in no way managed by the entertainment industry, with it only having the aim of being a practical guide.

At KrebsOnSecurity, one of the You Have Downloaded founders has stated that this is a proof of concept which nevertheless has a dissuasive effect. He also states that he received an email from an internet user requesting that all information be delete because he had downloaded pornographic content and was afraid that his parents would find out…

According to statistics posted on the site, the most widely downloaded files were music, movies, TV shows, games and applications in that order. These illegal downloads were downloaded from the following countries in order: China, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom and Taiwan.

The sites authors confirm that they have found a way to make P2P downloads completely untraceable, using inspiration from the BitCoin decentralised virtual money system.