[ANN] SwarmStream.org - Privacy-focused Torrent Service

[SwarmStream]

Hi all,

I've been working hard on a service that leverages the features of Bitcoin to provide private access to torrent swarms. If you grab a link to a magnet or torrent file from your favorite tracker, you can drop it into the form on http://swarmstream.org, and my server will fetch the torrent and present you with its files. If there are multiple files within the torrent, you will have the option to download all of them as a zip, and you can stream video and music using a media player like VLC directly from the server. Please be aware that the files will be removed from the server 24 hours after the torrent is downloaded. The cost is 0.05 BTC/GB, with a minimum cost of 0.01 BTC.

Protips:
- Stream quality is heavily dependent upon your connection speed. If your connection isn't the greatest, please stick to smaller media files.
- Healthier (well-seeded) torrents will provide a much better experience.
 
I have more features in the works, so please stay tuned! And if you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!

http://swarmstream.org

[thomkaufmann]

So I took a gamble and gave it a shot. It was super easy and crazy fast. Great work; you just found yourself a daily user.

[kript0x]

Im testing this now, looks cool.

EDIT:
It works! Pretty nice too.
The site is super simple and I'm amazed of how easy it is to use it, kudos to the dev!

Although it works nice I only had a download rate of ~3.5MB/s so just using a bittorent client is faster and cheaper for me.
But this could definitely be a good solution for people living in a more strict country or that  are paranoid.

[SwarmStream]

Thanks, guys - I really appreciate the feedback! If you have any trouble at all, please reach out to me right here or at admin@swarmstream.org.

@kript0x: If you'd rather not deal with waiting for it to download to your computer and having to store a local copy, you could easily stream the file directly into a media player. It's a very useful service for that scenario.

 

[kript0x]

@kript0x: If you'd rather not deal with waiting for it to download to your computer and having to store a local copy, you could easily stream the file directly into a media player. It's a very useful service for that scenario.

 

Yes but you would still have to wait for your server to download the file.

[SwarmStream]

Yes but you would still have to wait for your server to download the file.

Oh, I see - I thought you were talking about subsequently downloading it from my server to your computer before viewing it. Yes, you'll have to wait for my server to torrent it, but with a decently sized, well seeded torrent, it'll be done well before your popcorn.

[Bendur]

I'm curious as to who is your target market for this kind of service? Could you explain its advantages over something like pirate bay?

[kript0x]

I'm curious as to who is your target market for this kind of service? Could you explain its advantages over something like pirate bay?

This is pretty much the same as using the piratebay but you have a fast high-speed proxy between your computer and the p2p-network.

Some ISP's or governments block p2p networks and in some cases you can even get a fine or internet-ban.

[SwarmStream]

I'm curious as to who is your target market for this kind of service? Could you explain its advantages over something like pirate bay?

Hi Bendur,
Great question. Currently, this service is nothing like the Pirate Bay. It is much more similar to your local BitTorrent client (Transmission, uTorrent, Vuze, etc.) than it is to a torrent tracker like the Pirate Bay. You still have to go and find a torrent from a tracker just as you would go and find one to use with your local client. You can think of it as a client in the cloud.

The advantages are:

• Speed: my servers are likely significantly faster than your local client/connection.
• Reliability: you can still use your internet connection while using my service! As you probably know, torrents degrade your connection to the point where your internets are pretty unusable.
• Space: if you stream your content, you don't have to store files on your computer.
• Privacy: your IP address won't be found in a torrent swarm.

I initially built the foundation of this service for my own personal use. I travel constantly and it would be very inconsiderate of me to use shared wifi for my torrent "needs", so I am a great candidate for a service like this. If you are concerned about people seeing your IP address associated with torrents you've downloaded on a website like http://youhavedownloaded.com, you are a great candidate for SwarmStream. But, really, I think most people would find this service convenient. The rates are very low, so go ahead and give it a shot. I'd love to hear what you think.

[terrytibbs]

Do you log any customer information? If so, what and for how long?

[SwarmStream]

Do you log any customer information? If so, what and for how long?

Nope, I don't even collect IP addresses.

[SwarmStream]

Although it works nice I only had a download rate of ~3.5MB/s so just using a bittorent client is faster and cheaper for me.
But this could definitely be a good solution for people living in a more strict country or that  are paranoid.

I just downloaded the Ubuntu 12.10 iso at ~11MB/s, so your rate of ~3.5MB/s was unlikely to have been limited by the server.

[K1773R]

just found this, awesome idea (altough i dont need it). keep it up!

[SwarmStream]

Thanks, K1773R!

I'm pleased to announce that SwarmStream.org now has torrent search capability! With the disappearance of BTJunkie, Demonoid, and others, I'm certain many of you have had difficulty finding some torrents. The Pirate Bay is great but it certainly is not as good as our beloved Demonoid and BTJunkie.

As the hint on SwarmStream indicates, you can use "@name" and "@content" to more accurately find your content. Here is an example: http://swarmstream.org/search?q=%40name%20Pioneer%20One%20%40content%20avi&order=0&p=0

You can then sort your results by Relevance, Seeders, Rating, Date Added, Size, or Files.

Enjoy!

[K1773R]

Thanks, K1773R!

I'm pleased to announce that SwarmStream.org now has torrent search capability! With the disappearance of BTJunkie, Demonoid, and others, I'm certain many of you have had difficulty finding some torrents. The Pirate Bay is great but it certainly is not as good as our beloved Demonoid and BTJunkie.

As the hint on SwarmStream indicates, you can use "@name" and "@content" to more accurately find your content. Here is an example: http://swarmstream.org/search?q=%40name%20Pioneer%20One%20%40content%20avi&order=0&p=0

You can then sort your results by Relevance, Seeders, Rating, Date Added, Size, or Files.

Enjoy!

which sites are searchable?

[SwarmStream]

which sites are searchable?

BTdigg.org has granted me access to their private search API to provide the results. They don't come from any of the existing torrent tracking sites out there; they come from querying the DHT (Distributed Hash Table) following this specification: http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0005.html

If you know of any torrents you can't find on The Pirate Bay, do a search on http://swarmstream.org and you'll probably find them.