New Auto-Seeding Torrent Server Released

ludwigvan968 writes "The University of Texas New Media Initiative in association with Google's Summer of Code program have been working on a project to make sharing files over the internet easier than ever before. Summer of Code intern Evan Wilson just released Project Snakebite, the first fully automatic BitTorrent server. Just as with a normal webserver, you drop files in a folder to share them. Snakebite takes care of generating torrent files and running a tracker and a seeder for each file. Additionally, it builds a user-customizable link page with all of your files. It will even register your Snakebite server with an easy to remember URL for people that can't remember their IP. Snakebite is free and open software and is currently released for Debian. It's fully portable to both Windows and OS X and the developers just need some help packaging it."

Automatic + Open = Garbage in?

[thehunger]

With an unattended, fully automatic, open torrent server, how are you going to stop it from being filled with trash (ie. pr0n, infected files, illegal material) etc?

Re:Source

[Anonymous Coward]

For those wondering where the source code is (the website isnt really your typical open source project breed), this app is written in Python. Something quite interesting the article failed to mention.

Your post isn't for those wondering where the source code is, it's for those wondering in what language the app is written.

An answer for those wondering where the source code is would state where the source code is.

Re:OK, but is it anonymous?

[mlwmohawk]

Illegally obtaining files that are copyrighted is a crime NOT just in the USA. It's a crime everywhere.Everyone knows that. Do you?

I know the law quite well, and I have had to advise many engineers on the subject. My comment was not about performing an illegal act with intent, I am speaking about mere accusation and the damage that causes in this country. RIAA identifies you as a "file sharer," via bit torrent.

Make no mistake, jail is the least of your worries. Just being accused by RIAA or MPIAA is enough to bankrupt you and make sure your children don't go to collage.

The "If you aren't doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to worray about" mind set is foolish. We *ALL* have something to worry about, and being anonymous is vital to maintain a free state. Which, IMHO, the U.S.A. is no longer.

Re:Source

[painQuin]

It seems that Python is the language of BitTorrent...

Re:OK, but is it anonymous?

[MerrickStar]

Hve you never heard of possesion of stolen property? I realize there are differences making the analogy difficult, but there are parrallels as well. Just because the law says the uploading is the crime, don't count yourself invincible because you only download.

Re:OK, but is it anonymous?

[Fred Porry]

Yeah, so theres no problem, because who would want copyright-protected files? My Grandfather singing and dancing, thats the stuff they want! Paris Hilton's new song or even pornography that is copyright-protected by law? Come on, seriously! ...

The .deb doesn't work on Debian

[hacker]

Oops! Another case of not testing your software before you release it.

# dpkg -i snakebite-rc3.deb
Selecting previously deselected package snakebite.
(Reading database ... 100410 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking snakebite (from snakebite-rc3.deb) ...
Setting up snakebite (1.1) ...
Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/snakebite ...
/etc/rc0.d/K20snakebite -> ../init.d/snakebite
...
aphrodite:/tmp# /etc/init.d/snakebite start
Starting Snakebite...Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/snakebite", line 16, in ?
from BitTorrent.defaultargs import get_defaults
ImportError: No module named defaultargs
.