Vuze 5.7.0.0 .NFO Files and no Disable Auto-Seeding

[Mush.Brain]

I recently noticed that each torrent downloaded contains a .NFO file.  After searching the only information I could gather was (1) these .NFO files should contain something about each torrent download by indication (comments, files info, etc) and (2) there was information about how in previous releases of Vuze the ability to deactivate Auto-Seeding.  The Auto-Seeding option plugin no longer seems to be available in 5.7.0.0 and what I am really concerned about is these .NFO files each have a complete listing of the PC System including H/W, S/W and even name and user name. 

Is this .NFO file being shipped back out during seeding?  If so this is a major security hole and issue for consideration.  Also this is my first post and I am not a Leecher as my share ration is 4.610 currently.

Regards and Thanks

[GaryE]

Ok .nfo files serve a lot of different functions depending upon the site you are downloading the torrent from and depending on the origin of the torrent and those functions have changed over time.  Essentially a .nfo file is just a text file that ends in .nfo instead of .txt!

Traditionally .nfo files were what folks in "The Scene" (aka Warez) included in their shares to identify their release group.  They were essentially advertisements that said look how great we are!

Over the years that has changed the information contained in the .nfo file can now have torrent meta data in it, just random technical fact about the torrent, or just be a place holder for the presentation the uploader uses when they upload the torrent to multiple sites (that is how I always used .nfo files back in the days when I still uploaded).  Some sites would automatically put in a .nfo file into all torrents that would say something like "originally downloaded from site xxy" or whatever.  These sites thought that once a torrent hit their site that that site now somehow should have the exclusive rights for the data and they wanted everyone to know where the data was downloaded from (in other words some sites made it into an advertisement for themselves -- I still think this goes against everything torrenting is about but that is a subject for a different day).

As for your question about .nfo files effecting Vuze settings.  I do not see how that is even remotely possible.  I mean for that to be true Vuze would have to be automatically investigating/running/opening/examining/whatever the contents of the completely downloaded .nfo file.  I am about 99.999998% certain that does not happen.  Even it if is possible this is the first I have ever heard of that (which does not necessarily mean it is not true :D ) and I can not find any information anywhere about a .nfo file effecting torrent client settings.  So can you provide a source for that information?  I would happy read up about it but I would be very surprised if it were true.

As for your worry about your personal information getting out there in a .nfo file let me explain.

The bottom line however is that if the .nfo file is included in the listing of the files contained in the .torrent file (which I suspect it is) in general there is no harmful data in there.  It is not possible for a site to include a .nfo file in a torrent listing which is different for each user!

Torrent is peer to peer networking.  At a fundamental level this means that each seeding peer (each person who is seeding/uploading the torrent if you want to think of it that way) has to have exactly the same data.  If one peer has even 1 bit of data that is different than everyone else the whole torrenting protocol falls apart.  My point here is that as soon as the .nfo file was modified to contain your personal information now you have different data from the other seeders and the whole protocol kind of dies.  To make sure that does not happen there is a checksum built into the torrenting protocol to make sure everyone has exactly the same data.  If that checksum is different . . . Vuze will either stop seeding the whole torrent or it will redownload the pieces of that torrent that are different from the checksum value.

My point here is that it is not technically possible for some magic to happen so that your .nfo file is different from everyone else's .nfo file and the information in your .nfo file is getting transmitted to other users.

[Mush.Brain]

Ok .nfo files serve a lot of different functions depending upon the site you are downloading the torrent from and depending on the origin of the torrent and those functions have changed over time.  Essentially a .nfo file is just a text file that ends in .nfo instead of .txt!

Traditionally .nfo files were what folks in "The Scene" (aka Warez) included in their shares to identify their release group.  They were essentially advertisements that said look how great we are!

Over the years that has changed the information contained in the .nfo file can now have torrent meta data in it, just random technical fact about the torrent, or just be a place holder for the presentation the uploader uses when they upload the torrent to multiple sites (that is how I always used .nfo files back in the days when I still uploaded).  Some sites would automatically put in a .nfo file into all torrents that would say something like "originally downloaded from site xxy" or whatever.  These sites thought that once a torrent hit their site that that site now somehow should have the exclusive rights for the data and they wanted everyone to know where the data was downloaded from (in other words some sites made it into an advertisement for themselves -- I still think this goes against everything torrenting is about but that is a subject for a different day).

As for your question about .nfo files effecting Vuze settings.  I do not see how that is even remotely possible.  I mean for that to be true Vuze would have to be automatically investigating/running/opening/examining/whatever the contents of the completely downloaded .nfo file.  I am about 99.999998% certain that does not happen.  Even it if is possible this is the first I have ever heard of that (which does not necessarily mean it is not true :D ) and I can not find any information anywhere about a .nfo file effecting torrent client settings.  So can you provide a source for that information?  I would happy read up about it but I would be very surprised if it were true.

As for your worry about your personal information getting out there in a .nfo file let me explain.

The bottom line however is that if the .nfo file is included in the listing of the files contained in the .torrent file (which I suspect it is) in general there is no harmful data in there.  It is not possible for a site to include a .nfo file in a torrent listing which is different for each user!

Torrent is peer to peer networking.  At a fundamental level this means that each seeding peer (each person who is seeding/uploading the torrent if you want to think of it that way) has to have exactly the same data.  If one peer has even 1 bit of data that is different than everyone else the whole torrenting protocol falls apart.  My point here is that as soon as the .nfo file was modified to contain your personal information now you have different data from the other seeders and the whole protocol kind of dies.  To make sure that does not happen there is a checksum built into the torrenting protocol to make sure everyone has exactly the same data.  If that checksum is different . . . Vuze will either stop seeding the whole torrent or it will redownload the pieces of that torrent that are different from the checksum value.

My point here is that it is not technically possible for some magic to happen so that your .nfo file is different from everyone else's .nfo file and the information in your .nfo file is getting transmitted to other users.

 

Initially, your response is greatly appreciated!  As to the issue of .NFO file changing Vuze settings, it was not my intent to proclaim that a .NFO file was somehow modifying settings within Vuze rather I mistakenly put two diverse points of concern into the same title which is my bad.  Prior to 5.7.0.0. there was apparently a setting that allowed the user to hault auto seeding once the downloading of the torrent file was completed. So your confussion was caused by my not correctly and clearly stating two diverse and destinct topics. 
Now that I understand the .NFO file issue and the fact that what is seen in the original file prior to downloading by checksum is what is then shipped back out (seeding) then my concerns are at a end.  While I personally find any file, .NFO, .txt, .etc gathering and putting my personal info is intrusive as long as it is not being published to Planet Earth all is well.

Thanks again for your response