TMB Wiki - User contributions [en]

Get iplayer

2022-10-23T17:29:48Z

Slackline: Linking to get_iplayer homepage so people know where to get the software discussed within.

[get_iplayer](https://get-iplayer.github.io/get_iplayer/) is a free and Open Source program released under the GNU GPL that allows you to access content from the [[BBC]] iPlayer. It is primarily used to capture video (TV) and audio (Radio) broadcasts. You are able to capture these media files from both the archived watch/listen again iPlayer as well as live streams. The media files captured are the actual source files transmitted by the [[BBC]] iPlayer.

Currently the BBC iplayer live streams are transmitted at 320kpbs. However, only BBC Radio 3 & BBC 6 Music does so with full frequency range. Thus, there is still an imposed 15-16kHz frequency cut-off for all other stations. The listen again iPlayer transmits at 128kbps.

The reason for highlighting the use of the get_iplayer is that the quality is as good as we have ever been able to get. Even a 128kbps [[M4A]] ([[AAC]]) file sounds excellent and of comparable quality to the very best FM recording. And with the 320kbps broadcasts the audio is truly excellent. Therefore, this is the recommend way to record BBC content.

==Capturing & Preparing BBC Radio Shows==

===Windows OS===

====Required Programs====

*'''get_iplayer'''
*[[MP3DirectCut]] (requires the [http://www.rarewares.org/aac-decoders.php libfaad2.dll] to be installed)
*[[MP4Box]]
*A good tagging program such as [[Foobar2000]] or [[MP3tag]]

====Steps====

# Run '''get_iplayer''' and use the appropriate commands to capture the content you want:
#* '''Live iPlayer Streams''' (these are broadcasts/transmissions that are going out live on the BBC station)
#** <big><code>get_iplayer --type=liveradio --get 80131 --stop=02:10:10 --force --attempts=5 --raw --ffmpeg-liveradio-opts="-bsf:a aac_adtstoasc"</code></big>
#*** The above command captures 2 hours 10 minutes and 10 seconds of the live transmission from the BBC Radio 1 station once the get_iplayer program has been sent the command. The <big><code>--stop</code></big> option is hh:mm:ss. This enables you to cleanly end a recording. Do not use the <big><code>--start</code></big> option with live stream recording. Multiple instances of get_iplayer can also be scheduled to run. And using a Windows scheduler allows you to set up weekly repeats, which will be described later.
#*** You will be left with a [[Transport Stream]] (.ts) file. You can extract the raw [[AAC]] audio from it using [[FFmpeg]] with the following command:
#**** <big><code>ffmpeg -i input.ts -acodec copy output.aac</code></big>
#:* Or better yet, create a batch script to make the process easier. Create a folder called <big><code>ts2aac2m4a</code></big>. Copy the following into a file named <big><code>ts2aac.cmd</code></big> and place the file into the folder you have just created (you might need to first make the file a text file and then change the .txt to .cmd):
#:* <big><code>@ECHO OFF </big></code>
#::<big><code>MKDIR aac</big></code>
#::<big><code>FOR %%f IN ("*.ts") DO ffmpeg -i "%%f" -acodec copy "aac\%%~nf.aac"</code></big>
#:* To run the above file you will need to have ffmpeg.exe in your PATH or within the same folder as the batch script or you can use [http://wiki.themixingbowl.org/User:Jaybeee jaybeee's] batch scripts.
#* '''Listen Again iPlayer Stream'''
#** <big><code>get_iplayer --type=radio --pid=b006wkfp</code></big>
#*** The above command captures the audio that relates to the program with the pid as defined above; make sure you change it to the programme you want.
# You will most likely need to '''edit the audio''' to remove unwanted parts from the start and end. You can [[lossless]]ly do this with [[MP3DirectCut]]. It is vital to use a lossless / non-destructive audio editor to preserve the audio quality; otherwise you will decode and then re-encode (aka [[transcode]]) and further compress the file. However, [[MP3DirectCut]] only works on [[AAC]] (and [[MP3]]) files and not the [[M4A]] format, so you will need to '''unpackage the [[M4A]] file''' using [[MP4Box]] to '''extract the raw [[AAC]] file'''.
#* Run [[MP4Box]] with the following commands:
#** <big><code>mp4box -raw 1 input.m4a -out output.aac</code></big>
#* Or better yet, create a batch script to make the process easier. Create a folder called <big><code>ts2aac2m4a</code></big>. Copy the following into a file named <big><code>m4a2aac.cmd</code></big> and place the file into the folder you have just created (you might need to first make the file a text file and then change the .txt to .cmd):
#** <big><code>@ECHO OFF </big></code>
#::<big><code>MKDIR aac </big></code>
#::<big><code>FOR %%f IN ("*.m4a") DO mp4box -raw 1 "%%f" -out "aac\%%~nf.aac"</code></big>
#* So now all you have to do is place the captured .m4a file into the <big><code>ts2aac2m4a</code></big> folder, run the <big><code>m4a2aac.cmd</code></big> batch script and you will find the extracted [[AAC]] file in a sub-folder called <big><code>\ts2aac2ma4\aac</code></big>.
# Run [[MP3DirectCut]] and open the extracted [[AAC]] file and make the necessary edits. Make sure you save your changes.
# The [[AAC]] file must now be repackaged back into a [[M4A]] container to ensure correct playback and compatibility with media players (and to allow you to tag the file).
#* Run [[MP4Box]] with the following commands:
#** <big><code>mp4box -add input.aac output.m4a -new</code></big>
#* Or better yet, create a batch script like above to make the process easier. Copy the following into a file named <big><code>aac2m4a.cmd</code></big> and save the file into the folder <big><code>\ts2aac2m4a\aac</code></big>:
#** <big><code>@ECHO OFF</big></code>
#::<big><code>MKDIR m4a</big></code>
#::<big><code>FOR %%f IN ("*.aac") do mp4box -add "%%f" "m4a\%%~nf.m4a" -new</code></big>
#* Run the <big><code>aac2m4a.cmd</code></big> batch script and you will find the repackaged [[M4A]] file in a sub-folder <big><code>\ts2aac2m4a\aac\m4a</code></big>.
# Using your preferred '''tagging tool''' (we recommend [[Foobar2000]] or [[MP3tag]]) add the appropriate tags.
#* Take pride in your uploads by tagging them correctly. It helps the grateful listeners organise their media files.
# Optional part: [[Replaygain]] the file. In [[Foobar2000]] you can do this by adding [[Replaygain]] tags or even permanently apply the [[Replaygain]] changes to the actual file, meaning all media players will play the file at this adjusted loudness.
# Upload to [[TMB]], sit back and have thousands download and admire your great work... or get a few thumbsup :-P

==Troubleshooting==
* To re-mux without transcoding a .ts [[Transport Stream]] file to an [[M4A]] file use the following [[FFmpeg]] command:
** <big><code>ffmpeg -i input.ts -acodec copy -acodec copy out.m4a</code></big>
* To re-mux without transcoding a .ts [[Transport Stream]] file to an [[AAC]] file use the following [[FFmpeg]] command:
** <big><code>ffmpeg -i input.ts -acodec copy output.aac</code></big>
* When you forcibly kill a get_iplayer session when it is capturing content (leaving you with a file with the extension .ts), the above command is unlikely to work. This [[Transport Stream]] file will need to have it's bitstream filter fixed and then packaged to an [[M4A]] or [[MP4]] file in order to adequately use it. You can do this with [[FFmpeg]]:
** <big><code>ffmpeg -i "input.ts" -c:a copy -c:a copy -bsf:a aac_adtstoasc "output.m4a"</code></big>
*** get_iplayer installs [[FFmpeg]] as part of it's own installation.

==Download==
*[https://github.com/get-iplayer/ Github get_iplayer official repository]
*[https://squarepenguin.co.uk/ Squarepenguin website] - a nicely designed website that mirrors the Github site

==Further Reading==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/internet/entries/296ac283-54df-4c21-a38f-8cc1fa8731c8 Official BBC Audio Factory project info]
*[http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/BBC/AudioFactory/AudioFactory.html Audio Factory explained by an audiophile]

[[category:Audio Tools]]
[[Category:Uploading Own Recordings]]

Rules

2019-04-24T12:33:35Z

Slackline: Adding clarity to the non commercial only rule.

__NOTOC__
{{Policy}}

==General rules - Breaking these rules can and will get you banned!==

#Be excellent to each other.
#Do not defy the admins expressed wishes.
#Keep your overall ratio as close to 1.0 as possible.

==General forum guidelines - Please try to follow these guidelines==

#No moaning!
#No language other than English in the forums.
#Do not request/offer/trade invites to other bittorrent trackers in the forums.
#Please read the [[FAQ]] before asking any questions!

==Uploading rules - Torrents violating these rules may be deleted without notice==

#All uploads must include the mixingbowl [http://www.themixingbowl.org/static/www.themixingbowl.org.nfo nfo].
#Only '''non commercial music and videos''', i.e. nothing that has been '''commercially licensed''' that you can buy in the shops, on amazon etc.
#Videos must either be of a broadcast by an artist, or be documentaries about an artist or a genre. Documentaries that the admins do not feel are suitable for the site will be removed without warning. [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin Ask an admin] if you're not sure.
#If you have the tracklist, post it in the Description part of the upload form.
#Make sure your torrents are well-seeded at least until there are above 5 other seeds.
#If you have something interesting that somehow violate these rules, [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin ask an admin] and we might make an exception
#Adhere to all of the [[Uploading_Guidelines | Uploading Guidelines]]

==Avatar rules - Your avatar must adhere to these requirements==

#'''Must be work safe''', no nudity etc.
#GIFs must be less than 100KB in size

FAQ

2018-11-20T07:20:10Z

Slackline: /* Freeleech */

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind Bittorrent is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [https://lifehacker.com/285489/a-beginners-guide-to-bittorrent|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[qBittorrent]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio. See the [[Client whitelist]] for more supported clients.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account which has a low ratio. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio hasn't improved.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

See [[RSS Feed]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

If you are logged in to the site, use [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin Message Admin] to send a question to the admin team. If you are not able to log in to the site for any reason, use [http://themixingbowl.org/contact/us Contact Us]. In either case your question will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly on the site you may not get a response, especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

To delete the account so you can re-register, send a message to the admin team with [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form]. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://themixingbowl.org/forgot this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form].

===What happens to my account if I don't use it?===

Some user accounts are disabled for inactivity.

Accounts are '''inactive''' if the user hasn't not logged in for 3 months. At 3 months you will get a notification, a reminder after 1 month and disabled if another month passes.

Accounts are '''unused''' if the user has signed up a year ago and not used the account since signing up. Unused accounts will be disabled if not used within 30 days of first notification.

These rules apply to all user and uploader classes. All accounts Resident and above are exempt from being disabled for inactivity.
Furthermore, if you are seeding at least 5 torrents you will not be disabled (although you will still recieve notifications).

If you know that you will be away from internet for a long time, you may park your account from your profile page. Parked accounts cannot login to the site and use of the tracker is restricted to seeding, i.e. parked accounts can seed but can not download new torrents.

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

Send a message to the admin team including the email address you signed up with using [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio on your [http://themixingbowl.org/user/view profile page]

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Why does my profile show "unconnectable"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents and reduce your chance of being able to upload anything, so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#2B4157"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#2B4157"|User[[Image:star.gif]]
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#00C"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet ALL the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
*Downloaded more than 5GB
*At least 5 forum posts
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
''Residents are exempt from being disabled for inactivity''.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:darkblue"|Broadcaster
|Participates in the TMB Radio shenanigans.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:darkblue"|Pipecock
|There is only one Nifty Pipecock.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:purple"|VIP
|Awarded to a user in recognition of an outstanding contribution to TMB. Our way of saying you're pretty bloody awesome.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner). RIP.
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://themixingbowl.org/my/prefs/ Preferences] page.

Select the image you wish to use as you avatar and the click "Submit changes" at the bottom of the page. The site accepts JPEG, PNG and GIF image types and they are resized automatically to the appropriate size for the forum. You can upload files up to 2MB in size, if the original is larger than this you will need to manually reduce it's size before uploading. GIFs are not resized and there is a 100KB file size limit for these.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorised users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/requestuploader read the instructions and fill out the form on the Uploader Request page] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

Maintain excellence at all times. For a more in-depth discussion of what this involves, see the [[Uploading Guidelines]] page.

===How should I title my torrent? (Torrent Naming Guidelines)===

This is covered in the [[Uploading Guidelines]].

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask you to give credit where it's due.

===How do I create a torrent?===

See the [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|Bittorrent client guide]] page for guides on how to create torrents.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. See the [[client whitelist]] for details of supported clients.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

All torrents are tracker on a per-client basis. Any number of user accounts and/or Bit Torrent clients can report from the same IP address and account stats will be updated correctly.

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]] and keep an eye out for [[FAQ#Freeleech|Freeleech]]'s.

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===You have the torrent I want, but there's no seeds so I can't download it!===

It may be possible still to download, first of all - just download it and leave it running. There's possibly seeds out there but don't know anyone wants the torrents, at least if you download it you have a chance. If this fails, you can request a reseed. A link will appear on torrents which are eligable for reseed. See [[reseeds]] for more details.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===What ports can I use with my Bit Torrent client===

Due to the widespread use of Deep Packet Inspection by ISPs the choice of a non standard port to use for Bit Torrent connections no longer improves transfer speeds. The Mixing Bowl does not restrict the usage of any ports for clients however it does recommend the use of [[Protocol_Encryption|protocol encryption]]. Please consult the manual for you client for details on enabling protocol encryption.

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

You can only download megatorrents with a ratio better than 0.75. If the size of torrent is more than you have downloaded, you must have enough uploaded, such that downloading the torrent will not drop your ratio below 1.0. For example, a 10G torrent can be downloaded by a user with a ratio of 0.8 and 12G downloaded but could not be dowloaded by a user with a ratio of 0.8 and 9G downloaded.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my internet so slow while leeching?===

Your internet bandwidth is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it may saturate your connection, and your browsing will suffer. From your client you can limit the download and upload speed to mitigate this.

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==Proxy/VPN use==

===Site===

If you wish to use a VPN to browse the site, it must be a paid for service that allows you to specify a server/region (or be based in a static location).
You may also browse the site using your seedbox or private server.
You should always let staff know by sending a [http://themixingbowl.org/contact/us staff PM] before using the VPN. If possible, please include what service it is, the location, and IP(s).
Tor, public proxies, and other freely available services are strictly prohibited and your account is likely to be disabled if you use them.

===Tracker===

It is permissible to use almost any type of connection - including public proxies - for P2P bittorrent traffic. Users can seed and download torrent pieces, and announce data to the tracker, from any connection they wish - with the exception of Tor which is forbidden.

It is worth noting that due to a combination of factors (increased latency, worse peering, bottlenecked traffic, inability to port forward, etc), users seeding from behind a proxy could see their upload speeds/net upload traffic decrease.

==Freeleech==

===What is Freeleech?===
Freeleech is where your ratio doesn't take a hit for downloading a torrent, but your ratio benefits from the uploads. They are a useful way of improving your ratio.

===Where can I find TMB torrents that are Freeleech?===

* All [https://tmb.dj/forum/view/21/ Readers Mixes] are Freeleech.
* TMB has fortnightly '''Freeleech of the Week''' picks ('''FLOTW''') that go up every other Monday and highlight a member-suggested [https://tmb.dj/forum/view/22/ Megatorrent]. These are announced as news items, so keep your eyes open.
* All current Freeleech torrents can be found via the [https://tmb.dj/torrent/advancedsearch/ Advanced Search] page by ticking the "'''Free'''" checkbox.

===How can I suggest a Megatorrent for Freeleech?===

* Make suggestions for future Megatorrents in [https://themixingbowl.org/thread/view/132018 Freeleech of the week nominations].

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forum/ forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Make just one thread for your issue, an admin can move your thread to the right forum so you don't need to post in them all.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

FAQ

2018-11-17T21:17:19Z

Slackline: /* How do I improve my ratio? */ Linking to freeleech section

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind Bittorrent is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [https://lifehacker.com/285489/a-beginners-guide-to-bittorrent|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[qBittorrent]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio. See the [[Client whitelist]] for more supported clients.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account which has a low ratio. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio hasn't improved.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

See [[RSS Feed]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

If you are logged in to the site, use [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin Message Admin] to send a question to the admin team. If you are not able to log in to the site for any reason, use [http://themixingbowl.org/contact/us Contact Us]. In either case your question will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly on the site you may not get a response, especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

To delete the account so you can re-register, send a message to the admin team with [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form]. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://themixingbowl.org/forgot this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form].

===What happens to my account if I don't use it?===

Some user accounts are disabled for inactivity.

Accounts are '''inactive''' if the user hasn't not logged in for 3 months. At 3 months you will get a notification, a reminder after 1 month and disabled if another month passes.

Accounts are '''unused''' if the user has signed up a year ago and not used the account since signing up. Unused accounts will be disabled if not used within 30 days of first notification.

These rules apply to all user and uploader classes. All accounts Resident and above are exempt from being disabled for inactivity.
Furthermore, if you are seeding at least 5 torrents you will not be disabled (although you will still recieve notifications).

If you know that you will be away from internet for a long time, you may park your account from your profile page. Parked accounts cannot login to the site and use of the tracker is restricted to seeding, i.e. parked accounts can seed but can not download new torrents.

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

Send a message to the admin team including the email address you signed up with using [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio on your [http://themixingbowl.org/user/view profile page]

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Why does my profile show "unconnectable"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents and reduce your chance of being able to upload anything, so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#2B4157"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#2B4157"|User[[Image:star.gif]]
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#00C"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet ALL the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
*Downloaded more than 5GB
*At least 5 forum posts
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
''Residents are exempt from being disabled for inactivity''.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:darkblue"|Broadcaster
|Participates in the TMB Radio shenanigans.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:darkblue"|Pipecock
|There is only one Nifty Pipecock.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:purple"|VIP
|Awarded to a user in recognition of an outstanding contribution to TMB. Our way of saying you're pretty bloody awesome.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner). RIP.
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://themixingbowl.org/my/prefs/ Preferences] page.

Select the image you wish to use as you avatar and the click "Submit changes" at the bottom of the page. The site accepts JPEG, PNG and GIF image types and they are resized automatically to the appropriate size for the forum. You can upload files up to 2MB in size, if the original is larger than this you will need to manually reduce it's size before uploading. GIFs are not resized and there is a 100KB file size limit for these.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorised users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/requestuploader read the instructions and fill out the form on the Uploader Request page] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

Maintain excellence at all times. For a more in-depth discussion of what this involves, see the [[Uploading Guidelines]] page.

===How should I title my torrent? (Torrent Naming Guidelines)===

This is covered in the [[Uploading Guidelines]].

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask you to give credit where it's due.

===How do I create a torrent?===

See the [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|Bittorrent client guide]] page for guides on how to create torrents.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. See the [[client whitelist]] for details of supported clients.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

All torrents are tracker on a per-client basis. Any number of user accounts and/or Bit Torrent clients can report from the same IP address and account stats will be updated correctly.

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]] and keep an eye out for [[FAQ#Freeleech|Freeleech]]'s.

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===You have the torrent I want, but there's no seeds so I can't download it!===

It may be possible still to download, first of all - just download it and leave it running. There's possibly seeds out there but don't know anyone wants the torrents, at least if you download it you have a chance. If this fails, you can request a reseed. A link will appear on torrents which are eligable for reseed. See [[reseeds]] for more details.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===What ports can I use with my Bit Torrent client===

Due to the widespread use of Deep Packet Inspection by ISPs the choice of a non standard port to use for Bit Torrent connections no longer improves transfer speeds. The Mixing Bowl does not restrict the usage of any ports for clients however it does recommend the use of [[Protocol_Encryption|protocol encryption]]. Please consult the manual for you client for details on enabling protocol encryption.

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

You can only download megatorrents with a ratio better than 0.75. If the size of torrent is more than you have downloaded, you must have enough uploaded, such that downloading the torrent will not drop your ratio below 1.0. For example, a 10G torrent can be downloaded by a user with a ratio of 0.8 and 12G downloaded but could not be dowloaded by a user with a ratio of 0.8 and 9G downloaded.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my internet so slow while leeching?===

Your internet bandwidth is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it may saturate your connection, and your browsing will suffer. From your client you can limit the download and upload speed to mitigate this.

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==Proxy/VPN use==

===Site===

If you wish to use a VPN to browse the site, it must be a paid for service that allows you to specify a server/region (or be based in a static location).
You may also browse the site using your seedbox or private server.
You should always let staff know by sending a [http://themixingbowl.org/contact/us staff PM] before using the VPN. If possible, please include what service it is, the location, and IP(s).
Tor, public proxies, and other freely available services are strictly prohibited and your account is likely to be disabled if you use them.

===Tracker===

It is permissible to use almost any type of connection - including public proxies - for P2P bittorrent traffic. Users can seed and download torrent pieces, and announce data to the tracker, from any connection they wish - with the exception of Tor which is forbidden.

It is worth noting that due to a combination of factors (increased latency, worse peering, bottlenecked traffic, inability to port forward, etc), users seeding from behind a proxy could see their upload speeds/net upload traffic decrease.

==Freeleech==

===What is Freeleech?===
Freeleach is where your ratio doesn't take a hit for downloading a torrent, but your ratio benefits from the uploads. They are a useful way of improving your ratio.

===Where can I find TMB torrents that are Freeleech?===

* All Readers Mixes are Freeleech.
* TMB has regular Freeleech on roughly a monthly basis for a member-suggested Megatorrent. These are announced as news items, so keep your eyes open.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forum/ forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Make just one thread for your issue, an admin can move your thread to the right forum so you don't need to post in them all.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

FAQ

2018-11-17T21:15:25Z

Slackline: /* What if I can't find the answer to my problem here? */ Starting a freeleech section.

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind Bittorrent is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [https://lifehacker.com/285489/a-beginners-guide-to-bittorrent|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[qBittorrent]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio. See the [[Client whitelist]] for more supported clients.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account which has a low ratio. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio hasn't improved.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

See [[RSS Feed]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

If you are logged in to the site, use [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin Message Admin] to send a question to the admin team. If you are not able to log in to the site for any reason, use [http://themixingbowl.org/contact/us Contact Us]. In either case your question will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly on the site you may not get a response, especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

To delete the account so you can re-register, send a message to the admin team with [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form]. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://themixingbowl.org/forgot this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form].

===What happens to my account if I don't use it?===

Some user accounts are disabled for inactivity.

Accounts are '''inactive''' if the user hasn't not logged in for 3 months. At 3 months you will get a notification, a reminder after 1 month and disabled if another month passes.

Accounts are '''unused''' if the user has signed up a year ago and not used the account since signing up. Unused accounts will be disabled if not used within 30 days of first notification.

These rules apply to all user and uploader classes. All accounts Resident and above are exempt from being disabled for inactivity.
Furthermore, if you are seeding at least 5 torrents you will not be disabled (although you will still recieve notifications).

If you know that you will be away from internet for a long time, you may park your account from your profile page. Parked accounts cannot login to the site and use of the tracker is restricted to seeding, i.e. parked accounts can seed but can not download new torrents.

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

Send a message to the admin team including the email address you signed up with using [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio on your [http://themixingbowl.org/user/view profile page]

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Why does my profile show "unconnectable"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents and reduce your chance of being able to upload anything, so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#2B4157"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#2B4157"|User[[Image:star.gif]]
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#00C"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet ALL the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
*Downloaded more than 5GB
*At least 5 forum posts
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
''Residents are exempt from being disabled for inactivity''.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:darkblue"|Broadcaster
|Participates in the TMB Radio shenanigans.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:darkblue"|Pipecock
|There is only one Nifty Pipecock.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:purple"|VIP
|Awarded to a user in recognition of an outstanding contribution to TMB. Our way of saying you're pretty bloody awesome.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner). RIP.
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://themixingbowl.org/my/prefs/ Preferences] page.

Select the image you wish to use as you avatar and the click "Submit changes" at the bottom of the page. The site accepts JPEG, PNG and GIF image types and they are resized automatically to the appropriate size for the forum. You can upload files up to 2MB in size, if the original is larger than this you will need to manually reduce it's size before uploading. GIFs are not resized and there is a 100KB file size limit for these.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorised users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/requestuploader read the instructions and fill out the form on the Uploader Request page] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

Maintain excellence at all times. For a more in-depth discussion of what this involves, see the [[Uploading Guidelines]] page.

===How should I title my torrent? (Torrent Naming Guidelines)===

This is covered in the [[Uploading Guidelines]].

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask you to give credit where it's due.

===How do I create a torrent?===

See the [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|Bittorrent client guide]] page for guides on how to create torrents.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. See the [[client whitelist]] for details of supported clients.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

All torrents are tracker on a per-client basis. Any number of user accounts and/or Bit Torrent clients can report from the same IP address and account stats will be updated correctly.

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]] and keep an eye out for Freeleech's.

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===You have the torrent I want, but there's no seeds so I can't download it!===

It may be possible still to download, first of all - just download it and leave it running. There's possibly seeds out there but don't know anyone wants the torrents, at least if you download it you have a chance. If this fails, you can request a reseed. A link will appear on torrents which are eligable for reseed. See [[reseeds]] for more details.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===What ports can I use with my Bit Torrent client===

Due to the widespread use of Deep Packet Inspection by ISPs the choice of a non standard port to use for Bit Torrent connections no longer improves transfer speeds. The Mixing Bowl does not restrict the usage of any ports for clients however it does recommend the use of [[Protocol_Encryption|protocol encryption]]. Please consult the manual for you client for details on enabling protocol encryption.

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

You can only download megatorrents with a ratio better than 0.75. If the size of torrent is more than you have downloaded, you must have enough uploaded, such that downloading the torrent will not drop your ratio below 1.0. For example, a 10G torrent can be downloaded by a user with a ratio of 0.8 and 12G downloaded but could not be dowloaded by a user with a ratio of 0.8 and 9G downloaded.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my internet so slow while leeching?===

Your internet bandwidth is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it may saturate your connection, and your browsing will suffer. From your client you can limit the download and upload speed to mitigate this.

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==Proxy/VPN use==

===Site===

If you wish to use a VPN to browse the site, it must be a paid for service that allows you to specify a server/region (or be based in a static location).
You may also browse the site using your seedbox or private server.
You should always let staff know by sending a [http://themixingbowl.org/contact/us staff PM] before using the VPN. If possible, please include what service it is, the location, and IP(s).
Tor, public proxies, and other freely available services are strictly prohibited and your account is likely to be disabled if you use them.

===Tracker===

It is permissible to use almost any type of connection - including public proxies - for P2P bittorrent traffic. Users can seed and download torrent pieces, and announce data to the tracker, from any connection they wish - with the exception of Tor which is forbidden.

It is worth noting that due to a combination of factors (increased latency, worse peering, bottlenecked traffic, inability to port forward, etc), users seeding from behind a proxy could see their upload speeds/net upload traffic decrease.

==Freeleech==

===What is Freeleech?===
Freeleach is where your ratio doesn't take a hit for downloading a torrent, but your ratio benefits from the uploads. They are a useful way of improving your ratio.

===Where can I find TMB torrents that are Freeleech?===

* All Readers Mixes are Freeleech.
* TMB has regular Freeleech on roughly a monthly basis for a member-suggested Megatorrent. These are announced as news items, so keep your eyes open.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forum/ forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Make just one thread for your issue, an admin can move your thread to the right forum so you don't need to post in them all.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

FAQ

2018-11-17T21:11:10Z

Slackline: /* How do I improve my ratio? */

{{Policy}}

==Site information==
We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The Essential Mix, The Breezeblock, Kiss FM, XFM, Worldwide, BTTB, One World, Blue Room, The Milk Run, Solid Steel, Annie On One and much more...
Before you do anything here we suggest you have a look at the [[rules]].

===What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?===

The idea behind Bittorrent is the SHARING of files. As you download a file you will also upload the parts you already have to help others. Bittorrent only works because other users like you are also sharing the files so please be considerate and leave the files open in your [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|bittorrent client]] for as long as you can. The site will keep track of your [[ratio|sharing ratio]], the more you share the more music you have access to.

If you are new to BitTorrent then you will be advised to have a look at the very good [https://lifehacker.com/285489/a-beginners-guide-to-bittorrent|Beginners guide to BitTorrent] which explains how BitTorrent works and how to get started.

For a BitTorrent client we recommend using [[qBittorrent]] or [[uTorrent]]. Both clients keep track of all your torrents for you, making it easier to seed and maintain a decent ratio. See the [[Client whitelist]] for more supported clients.

===Where does the donated money go?===

All donated money goes towards hosting the site.

===How does the auto ban/warning system work?===

'''Auto warnings'''

Every day we automatically issue warnings to any account which has a low ratio. The account then has a warning flag issued recording the date and account statistics when the warning was issued.

'''Auto bans'''

Every day we automatically ban any account which has been warned for over 30 days and whose ratio hasn't improved.

We also monitor the accounts currently flagged with a warning and will ban any one who is trying to download lots before the auto ban or whose ratio has gotten worse since the warning.

Other non-ratio related warnings can be issued by the admin team for abusive behaviour, persistent commercial uploads etc.

===How does your RSS feed work?===

See [[RSS Feed]]

===How can I contact an admin?===

If you are logged in to the site, use [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin Message Admin] to send a question to the admin team. If you are not able to log in to the site for any reason, use [http://themixingbowl.org/contact/us Contact Us]. In either case your question will be answered by any available admin.

If you message an admin you see online directly on the site you may not get a response, especially if your question is already covered in the FAQ.

==User information==

===I registered an account but did not receive the confirmation e-mail!===

To delete the account so you can re-register, send a message to the admin team with [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form]. Note though that if you didn't receive the email the first time it will probably not succeed the second time either so you should really try another email address.

===I've lost my user name or password! Can you send it to me?===

Please use [http://themixingbowl.org/forgot this form] to have the login details mailed back to you.

===Can you rename my account?===

Possibly. Send a message to the admin team explaining why using [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form].

===What happens to my account if I don't use it?===

Some user accounts are disabled for inactivity.

Accounts are '''inactive''' if the user hasn't not logged in for 3 months. At 3 months you will get a notification, a reminder after 1 month and disabled if another month passes.

Accounts are '''unused''' if the user has signed up a year ago and not used the account since signing up. Unused accounts will be disabled if not used within 30 days of first notification.

These rules apply to all user and uploader classes. All accounts Resident and above are exempt from being disabled for inactivity.
Furthermore, if you are seeding at least 5 torrents you will not be disabled (although you will still recieve notifications).

If you know that you will be away from internet for a long time, you may park your account from your profile page. Parked accounts cannot login to the site and use of the tracker is restricted to seeding, i.e. parked accounts can seed but can not download new torrents.

===Can you delete my (confirmed) account?===

Send a message to the admin team including the email address you signed up with using [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin this form].

===So, what's MY ratio?===

You can view your ratio on your [http://themixingbowl.org/user/view profile page]

It's important to distinguish between your overall ratio and the individual ratio on each torrent you may be seeding or leeching. The overall ratio takes into account the total uploaded and downloaded from your account since you joined the site. The individual ratio just indicates the values for each torrent.

You may see two symbols instead of a number: "Inf.", which is just an abbreviation for Infinity, and means that you have downloaded 0 bytes while uploading a non-zero amount (ul/dl becomes infinity); "---", which should be read as "non-available", and shows up when you have both downloaded and uploaded 0 bytes (ul/dl = 0/0 which is an indeterminate amount).

===Why is my IP displayed on my details page?===

Only you and the site moderators can view your IP address and email. Regular users do not see that information.

===Why does my profile show "unconnectable"? (And why should I care?)===

The tracker has determined that you are firewalled or NATed and cannot accept incoming connections. This means that other [[peers]] in the [[swarm]] will be unable to connect to you, only you to them. Even worse, if two peers are both in this state they will not be able to connect at all. This will slow down ''your'' torrents and reduce your chance of being able to upload anything, so it's in your best interests to fix it.

Have a read of the [[How to become connectable]] page or lookup your router on [http://www.portforward.com portforward.com]).

===What are the different user classes?===

{|class="wikitable"
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#2B4157"|User
|The default class of new members.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#2B4157"|User[[Image:star.gif]]
|Has donated money to themixingbowl.org.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:#00C"|Uploader
|Allowed to upload torrents. For information on how to become an Uploader please see the uploading section of the FAQ.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:green"|Resident
|User who has contributed to the site. To become a Resident you must meet ALL the following criteria:
*Have to be registered on the site for more than 3 months
*Have a ratio of 1.0+
*Downloaded more than 5GB
*At least 5 forum posts
And at least ONE of the following criteria:
*Over 200 forum posts
*Uploaded over 20 individual torrents
*Uploaded over 100GB
*Have donated any amount
''Residents are exempt from being disabled for inactivity''.
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Other
|Customised title. Only an Administrator can customize someones title.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:darkblue"|Broadcaster
|Participates in the TMB Radio shenanigans.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:darkblue"|Pipecock
|There is only one Nifty Pipecock.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:purple"|VIP
|Awarded to a user in recognition of an outstanding contribution to TMB. Our way of saying you're pretty bloody awesome.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|Administrator
|Can do just about anything.
|-
!align="left" valign="top" style="color:red"|SysOp
|coptang (site owner). RIP.
|-
|}

===Hey! I've seen a Resident with less than 100GB uploaded!===

Members who make an outstanding contribution to The Mixing Bowl may be promoted to Resident before they meet all the normal criteria.

===How do I add an avatar to my profile?===

You can set your avatar from your [http://themixingbowl.org/my/prefs/ Preferences] page.

Select the image you wish to use as you avatar and the click "Submit changes" at the bottom of the page. The site accepts JPEG, PNG and GIF image types and they are resized automatically to the appropriate size for the forum. You can upload files up to 2MB in size, if the original is larger than this you will need to manually reduce it's size before uploading. GIFs are not resized and there is a 100KB file size limit for these.

===Can I become an admin?===

No. I'm afraid getting to be an admin by asking is not possible on themixingbowl.

==Uploading==

===Why can't I upload torrents?===

Only specially authorised users ('''Uploaders''') have permission to upload torrents.

===What criteria must I meet before I can join the Uploader team?===

Any member can become an uploader. In order to join the uploader group [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/requestuploader read the instructions and fill out the form on the Uploader Request page] to signify that you've read the rules about what kind of torrents are allowed ('''no commercial releases!''').

Once you've done this an admin will add you to the uploaders group. This is a manual process so please allow a few days for this to happen. You will be sent a PM to confirm when your account has been upgraded.

===General Uploaders Etiquette (Uploading Guidelines)===

Maintain excellence at all times. For a more in-depth discussion of what this involves, see the [[Uploading Guidelines]] page.

===How should I title my torrent? (Torrent Naming Guidelines)===

This is covered in the [[Uploading Guidelines]].

===Why have I been demoted back to a user from uploader status?===

There are a number of reasons you might have been demoted to user from uploader or resident. These include (but are not limited to):

*Uploading commercial releases
*Uploading stream rips
*Persistently uploading poorly classified torrents
*Uploads not following the naming guidelines

===What will happen if I ignore any of the uploading guidelines?===

The upload will be deleted, and if you do it persistently you will be demoted. If you persistently upload commercial releases or argue with an admin you will probably be banned as well.

===Can I upload the new blahblahblah music video?===

No, music video's are treated the same as single songs and are not allowed. vj mixes, mashups etc are normally ok, if you are in any doubt at all [http://themixingbowl.org/tickets/messageadmin ask] before uploading.

===Can I upload a stream rip?===

See the [[Internet Radios]] page for rules about uploading internet radio streams.

===Can I upload your torrents to other trackers and/or share them with my friends?===

No. Each torrent you download from here contains a unique ID linking it to your account. If other people try to download using the same torrent they will mess up your stats, which could result in you getting banned.

However, the files you download from us are yours to do as you please. You can always create another torrent, pointing to some other tracker, and upload it to the site of your choice. We only ask you to give credit where it's due.

===How do I create a torrent?===

See the [[:Category:Bittorrent_Client_Guide|Bittorrent client guide]] page for guides on how to create torrents.

==Stats==

===Most common reason for stats not updating===

*The user is cheating. (a.k.a. "Summary Ban")
*The server is overloaded and unresponsive. Just try to keep the session open until the server responds again. (Flooding the server with consecutive manual updates is not recommended.)
*You are using a faulty client. If you want to use an experimental or CVS version you do it at your own risk.

===Best practices===

*If a torrent you are currently leeching/seeding is not listed on your profile, just wait or force a manual update.
*Make sure you exit your client properly, so that the tracker receives "event=completed".
*If the tracker is down, do not stop seeding. As long as the tracker is back up before you exit the client the stats should update properly.

===May I use any bittorrent client?===

NO. See the [[client whitelist]] for details of supported clients.

===Why is a torrent I'm leeching/seeding listed several times in my profile?===

If for some reason (e.g. pc crash, or frozen client) your client exits improperly and you restart it, it will have a new peer_id, so it will show as a new torrent. The old one will never receive a "event=completed" or "event=stopped" and will be listed until some tracker timeout. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

Another reason could be that you have given torrents you have downloaded from this site to other people. Each .torrent file you download contains a unique ID that links it to your account. For this reason sharing .torrent files you have downloaded from The Mixing Bowl is forbidden.

===I've finished or cancelled a torrent. Why is it still listed in my profile?===

Some clients, notably TorrentStorm and Nova Torrent, do not report properly to the tracker when cancelling or finishing a torrent. In that case the tracker will keep waiting for some message - and thus listing the torrent as seeding or leeching - until some timeout occurs. Just ignore it, it will eventually go away.

===Multiple IPs (Can I login from different computers?)===

Yes, the tracker is now capable of following sessions from different IPs for the same user. A torrent is associated with the user when it starts, and only at that moment is the IP relevant. So if you want to seed/leech from computer A and computer B with the same account you should access the site from computer A, start the torrent there, and then repeat both steps from computer B (not limited to two computers or to a single torrent on each, this is just the simplest example). You do not need to login again when closing the torrent.

===How does NAT/ICS change the picture?===

All torrents are tracker on a per-client basis. Any number of user accounts and/or Bit Torrent clients can report from the same IP address and account stats will be updated correctly.

===How do I improve my ratio?===

Read the [[One Stop Ratio Shop]] and keep an eye out for Freeleech's.

==Downloading==

===Why did an active torrent suddenly disappear?===

The most likely reasons are that the uploader deleted it because there was a problem with the release, or an admin/moderator deleted it because it broke the site [[rules]].

===How do I resume a broken download or reseed something?===

Download the original .torrent file from server after that open it in you Bit Torrent client and browse the folder of the torrent you are downloading/reseeding.

===What are these "a piece has failed an hash check" messages?===

Bittorrent clients check the data they receive for integrity. When a piece fails this check it is automatically re-downloaded. Occasional hash fails are a common occurrence, and you shouldn't worry.

Some clients have an (advanced) option/preference to "kick/ban" clients that send you bad data or similar. It should be turned on, since it makes sure that if a peer repeatedly sends you pieces that fail the hash check it will be ignored in the future.

===You have the torrent I want, but there's no seeds so I can't download it!===

It may be possible still to download, first of all - just download it and leave it running. There's possibly seeds out there but don't know anyone wants the torrents, at least if you download it you have a chance. If this fails, you can request a reseed. A link will appear on torrents which are eligable for reseed. See [[reseeds]] for more details.

===The torrent is supposed to be 100MB. How come I downloaded 120MB?===

See the hash fails topic. If your client receives bad data it will have to redownload it, therefore the total downloaded may be larger than the torrent size. Make sure the "kick/ban" option is turned on to minimize the extra downloads.

===What ports can I use with my Bit Torrent client===

Due to the widespread use of Deep Packet Inspection by ISPs the choice of a non standard port to use for Bit Torrent connections no longer improves transfer speeds. The Mixing Bowl does not restrict the usage of any ports for clients however it does recommend the use of [[Protocol_Encryption|protocol encryption]]. Please consult the manual for you client for details on enabling protocol encryption.

===Why do I get an "Error (You need a better ratio to download megatorrents!) message?===

In order to prevent members from digging a big hole in their ratio they can't get out of, they are prevented from downloading any torrent over 1GB.

You can only download megatorrents with a ratio better than 0.75. If the size of torrent is more than you have downloaded, you must have enough uploaded, such that downloading the torrent will not drop your ratio below 1.0. For example, a 10G torrent can be downloaded by a user with a ratio of 0.8 and 12G downloaded but could not be dowloaded by a user with a ratio of 0.8 and 9G downloaded.

==How can I improve my download speed?==

===Do not immediately jump on new torrents===

The download speed mostly depends on the seeder-to-leecher ratio (SLR). Poor download speed is mainly a problem with new and very popular torrents where the SLR is low.

(Proselytising sidenote: make sure you remember that you did not enjoy the low speed. Seed so that others will not endure the same.)

The best speeds will be found around the half-life of a torrent, when the SLR will be at its highest. (The downside is that you will not be able to seed so much. It's up to you to balance the pros and cons of this.)

===Limit your upload speed===

The upload speed affects the download speed in essentially two ways:

*Bittorrent peers tend to favour those other peers that upload to them. This means that if A and B are leeching the same torrent and A is sending data to B at high speed then B will try to reciprocate. So due to this effect high upload speeds lead to high download speeds.
*Due to the way TCP works, when A is downloading something from B it has to keep telling B that it received the data sent to him. (These are called acknowledgements - ACKs -, a sort of "got it!" messages). If A fails to do this then B will stop sending data and wait. If A is uploading at full speed there may be no bandwidth left for the ACKs and they will be delayed. So due to this effect excessively high upload speeds lead to low download speeds.

The full effect is a combination of the two. The upload should be kept as high as possible while allowing the ACKs to get through without delay. '''A good thumb rule is keeping the upload at about 80% of the theoretical upload speed.''' You will have to fine tune yours to find out what works best for you. (Remember that keeping the upload high has the additional benefit of helping with your ratio.)

===Limit the number of simultaneous connections===

Some operating systems (like Windows 9x) do not deal well with a large number of connections, and may even crash. Also some home routers (particularly when running NAT and/or firewall with stateful inspection services) tend to become slow or crash when having to deal with too many connections. There are no fixed values for this, you may try 60 or 100 and experiment with the value. Note that these numbers are additive, if you have two instances of a client running the numbers add up.

===Limit the number of simultaneous uploads===

Isn't this the same as above? No. Connections limit the number of peers your client is talking to and/or downloading from. Uploads limit the number of peers your client is actually uploading to. The ideal number is typically much lower than the number of connections, and highly dependent on your (physical) connection.

===Just give it some time===

As explained above peers favour other peers that upload to them. When you start leeching a new torrent you have nothing to offer to other peers and they will tend to ignore you. This makes the starts slow, in particular if, by change, the peers you are connected to include few or no seeders. The download speed should increase as soon as you have some pieces to share.

===Why is my internet so slow while leeching?===

Your internet bandwidth is always finite. If you are a peer in a fast torrent it may saturate your connection, and your browsing will suffer. From your client you can limit the download and upload speed to mitigate this.

Browsing was used just as an example, the same would apply to gaming, IMing, etc...

==Proxy/VPN use==

===Site===

If you wish to use a VPN to browse the site, it must be a paid for service that allows you to specify a server/region (or be based in a static location).
You may also browse the site using your seedbox or private server.
You should always let staff know by sending a [http://themixingbowl.org/contact/us staff PM] before using the VPN. If possible, please include what service it is, the location, and IP(s).
Tor, public proxies, and other freely available services are strictly prohibited and your account is likely to be disabled if you use them.

===Tracker===

It is permissible to use almost any type of connection - including public proxies - for P2P bittorrent traffic. Users can seed and download torrent pieces, and announce data to the tracker, from any connection they wish - with the exception of Tor which is forbidden.

It is worth noting that due to a combination of factors (increased latency, worse peering, bottlenecked traffic, inability to port forward, etc), users seeding from behind a proxy could see their upload speeds/net upload traffic decrease.

==What if I can't find the answer to my problem here?==

===You can try these:===

Post in the [http://www.themixingbowl.org/forum/ forums], by all means. You'll find they are usually a friendly and helpful place, provided you follow a few basic guidelines:

*Make sure your problem is not really in this FAQ. There's no point in posting just to be sent back here.
*Before posting read the sticky topics (the ones at the top). Many times new information that still hasn't been incorporated in the FAQ can be found there.
*Make just one thread for your issue, an admin can move your thread to the right forum so you don't need to post in them all.
*Help us in helping you. Do not just say "it doesn't work!". Provide details so that we don't have to guess or waste time asking. What client do you use? What's your OS? What's your network setup? What's the exact error message you get, if any? What are the torrents you are having problems with? The more you tell the easiest it will be for us, and the more probable your post will get a reply.
*And needless to say: be polite. Demanding help rarely works, asking for it usually does the trick.

Transmission

2017-11-29T10:51:06Z

Slackline:

[https://transmissionbt.com/ Transmission] is a fully featured fast, easy and free BitTorrent. Its a bit different from other (Windows orientated) clients and is geared towards GNU/Linux, BSD and OSX operating systems as it runs as a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(computing) daemon] process in the background and connections are then made from clients such as [https://forum.transmissionbt.com/viewforum.php?f=8 a Web browser], Command Line [https://forum.transmissionbt.com/viewforum.php?f=9 dedicated client] or [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neogb.rtac&hl=en_GB Android application]. Transmission also has the ability to create torrents using a dedicated programme.

==Installation==

This will depend on the GNU/Linux (or OSX) that you are using, but Transmission is available in most distributions package repository.

'''Gentoo'''

emerge -av transmission

'''Arch'''

pacman -Syu transmission

'''Debian''' (includes Ubuntu)

[sudo] apt-get install transmission

==Creating Torrents with Transmission==

===Pre-requisites===

Before starting...

* You must have Uploader privileges in order to upload torrents. If you don't already have them please read the [https://wiki.themixingbowl.org/FAQ#Why_can.27t_I_upload_torrents.3F FAQ].
* Please read the [https://wiki.themixingbowl.org/Uploading_Guidelines Uploading Guidelines].
* Make sure you've searched the TMB thoroughly and that what you are going to upload isn't already on the site.
* Make use of the ID3 system and tag your files.
* Place your files in a folder of their own and name it appropriately.
* Obtain your unique announce URL from your [https://themixingbowl.org/torrent/upload Upload page].

===Create your torrent===

Once installed you can use <code>transmission-cli</code> to create torrents.

* Download the TMB <code>www.themixingbowl.org.nfo</code> file from [http://themixingbowl.org/static/www.themixingbowl.org.nfo here] (Right-click and 'Save As') and place it in the directory that contains your files.
* Open a terminal and <code>cd</code> to the directory that contains the directory you wish to create a torrent of (i.e. one directory level up).
* Create your torrent using the following command, you '''must''' replace the <code>--tracker</code> with [https://themixingbowl.org/torrent/upload ''your''] URL

transmission-create -p -t http://tracker.themixingbowl.org/thisisnotgoingtoworkasitsjustanexample/announce -o "a sensible name for your torrent.torrent" "my new torrent directory"

===Upload your torrent===

Now you can upload the torrent you just created by going to your [https://themixingbowl.org/torrent/upload Upload page], filling in the details following the guidelines described in the [https://wiki.themixingbowl.org/Uploading_Guidelines Uploading Guidelines] and selecting the torrent file you just created. You should say a little something about what you are uploading too, as you would when posting on the Forum.

==External Links==

*[https://transmissionbt.com/ Transmission BitTorrent Client]
*[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neogb.rtac&hl=en_GB Remote Transmission Android Client]

[[Category:Bittorrent Client Guide]]

Transmission

2017-11-27T15:35:32Z

Slackline: Created, I'm going to be upping some torrents in the coming weeks so thought I'd read how to do so, Transmission not documented so here it is!

'''Transmission''' is a fully featured fast, easy and free BitTorrent. Its a bit different from other (Windows orientated) clients in that it runs as a [ daemon] process in the background and connections are then made from [https://forum.transmissionbt.com/viewforum.php?f=8 a Web browser], [ Command Line] [https://forum.transmissionbt.com/viewforum.php?f=9 dedicated client] or [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neogb.rtac&hl=en_GB Android application]. Transmission also has the ability to create torrents using a dedicated programme.

==Installation==

This will depend on the GNU/Linux (or OSX) that you are using, but Transmission is available in most distributions package repository.

'''Gentoo'''

emerge -av transmission

'''Arch'''

pacman -Syu transmission

'''Debian''' (includes Ubuntu)

[sudo] apt-get install transmission

==Creating Torrents with Transmission==

===Pre-requisites===

Before starting...

* You must have Uploader privileges in order to upload torrents. If you don't already have them please read the [https://wiki.themixingbowl.org/FAQ#Why_can.27t_I_upload_torrents.3F FAQ].
* Please read the [https://wiki.themixingbowl.org/Uploading_Guidelines Uploading Guidelines].
* Make sure you've searched the TMB thoroughly and that what you are going to upload isn't already on the site.
* Make use of the ID3 system and tag your files.
* Place your files in a folder of their own and name it appropriately.
* Obtain your unique announce URL from your [https://themixingbowl.org/torrent/upload Upload page].

===Create your torrent===

Once installed you can use <code>transmission-cli</code> to create torrents.

* Download the TMB <code>www.themixingbowl.org.nfo</code> file from [http://themixingbowl.org/static/www.themixingbowl.org.nfo here] (Right-click and 'Save As') and place it in the directory that contains your files.
* Open a terminal and <code>cd</code> to the directory that contains the directory you wish to create a torrent of (i.e. one directory level up).
* Create your torrent using the following command, you '''must''' replace the <code>--tracker</code> with [https://themixingbowl.org/torrent/upload ''your''] URL

transmission-create -p -t http://tracker.themixingbowl.org/thisisnotgoingtoworkasitsjustanexample/announce -o "a sensible name for your torrent.torrent" "my new torrent directory"

===Upload your torrent===

Now you can upload the torrent you just created by going to your [https://themixingbowl.org/torrent/upload Upload page], filling in the details following the guidelines described in the [https://wiki.themixingbowl.org/Uploading_Guidelines Uploading Guidelines] and selecting the torrent file you just created. You should say a little something about what you are uploading too, as you would when posting on the Forum.

==External Links==

*[https://transmissionbt.com/ Transmission BitTorrent Client]
*[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neogb.rtac&hl=en_GB Remote Transmission Android Client]

[[Category:Bittorrent Client Guide]]

Protecting your Privacy

2016-12-06T07:44:44Z

Slackline:

= Internet Security =

Its a big deal these days, whether its companies tracking your browsing habits to serve up adverts or the government trying to snoop on your activity under the bullshit pretense that it protects you from 'terrorists', when in reality its an infringement on [http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a12 Article 12 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights] which states…

''"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks"''

… and many countries already ban freedom of speech by censoring the websites you can access (e.g. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall The Great Firewall of China]). There are any number of reasons you might wish to improve the security and way in which you use the Internet. Its a big topic, so I've made these notes as I fumble my way through the process in the hope they are useful to others.

== Overview and Definitions ==

A lot of new terms…

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_certificate Certificates] documents issued by VPN providers to users allowing them to connect securely to their network.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie (HTTP) Cookies] small text files that reside on your computer and detail your preferences on a website and what you have looked at there.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software Free Open Source Software (FOSS)] software that anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change in any way and for which the source code is available.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications) Gateway]] a server through which you connect from one network to another.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPsec Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)]] is a protocol suite for secure Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and encrypting each communication session.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_provider Internet Service Provider (ISP)] is who you pay for an internet connection. Sometimes this will be whoever you have your mobile phone with.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVPN OpenVPN] Free Open Source Software (FOSS) implementing Virtual Private Network (VPN).
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-Point_Tunneling_Protocol Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)] is a method for implementing virtual private networks.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network) TOR] is a network that anonymoises your browsing by routing it through a network of public servers.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Virtual Private Network (VPN)] is a private network that you can connect to over the internet. Traffic then passes between you and the private network without anyone in between being able to see what is passing between you. This in essence means you appear to be located wherever the VPN server is physically located.

'''BEFORE PROCEEDING'''

There are two very good resources that it is recommended you use as references, much of the information below is based on these...

* [https://prism-break.org/en/ Prism Break]
* [https://www.privacytools.io/ Privacytools.io]

== Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ==

This should be your first step in improving your internet security. Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides. The [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill Investigatory Powers Bill] came into force in late 2016 in the UK and forces ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news) and make them available to a [http://telegra.ph/Who-your-internet-browsing-history-is-viewable-by-under-the-Investigatory-Powers-Act-11-25 huge swathe of Government bodies]. By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN since data between you and the VPN you are connected to is encrypted.

=== Protocols ===

There are three main protocols you might encounter when using VPN

^ Protocol ^ Encryption ^ Description ^
| PPTP | MPEE 128 BIT | Oldest and most widely used, built into a lot of software making it simple to use. |
| IPSec | 128 BIT | Designed for OSX/iOS its heavy on you CPU but is built into the OS and therefore simple. |
| OpenVPN | 256-bit | The strongest encryption and very widely used. **Recommended** |

=== Choosing a VPN service ===

There are lots to choose from, I'm no expert, so read this [https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/ detailed article] ([https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/ 2014 version]) on TorrentFreak who asked a whole host of VPN services to describe their approach to anonymity. A few shortlisted ones to check out are...

* [https://nordvpn.com/ NordVPN]
* [http://www.slickvpn.com/ SlickVPN]
* [https://privatevpn.com/ PrivateVPN]

...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.

== Configuration ==

There are a plethora of options when it comes to connecting to VPNs, the most accurate resource for information will be from the VPN service you choose to use so please read their documentation carefully and contact their customer support if you have problems. What follows is a very broad overview.

=== Router Configuration ===

If you configure your router/modem to use the VPN then any device connected to your home network automatically will have everything routed through the VPN. This has Pros and Cons, on the up side it means you don't have to mess around enabling the VPN connection on each device and starting/stopping it. On the downside it might mean you can't view certain geographically restricted services such as BBC iPlayer if the VPN gateway you use is outside the UK, but on the flipside this might be an advantage if for example you wanted to view films that are only available on US Netflix and not on UK Netflix.

There is a lot of variation in router hardware, most people use those provided by their ISP and are quite likely to find that the supplied router does not support establishing VPN connections (e.g. VirginMedia's SuperHub). You'll most likely need to buy a new router and relegate the ISP one to modem (although choose wisely and you can replace the ISPs router completely). Even then the firmware on the router might not support VPN connections, but all is not lost since FOSS alternatives are available in the form of [https://openwrt.org/ OpenWRT] and [https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/ DD-WRT] that you can flash your router with. If either of these supports a router you have lying around your in business, follow their installation instructions for the model of router you have. If not and you are buying a new router you might want to consider whether it is supported by either of these distributions.

Both distributions have a lot of information on VPN written by people who know far more about networking than this author. You will want to read sections on setting up the router as a client rather than a server since you are unlikely to want to setup your own VPN (unless of course you wish to establish a secure and private connection to your home network whilst away from home).

* [http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/vpn.overview OpenWRT Wiki : VPN Overview]
* [https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/OpenVPN DD-WRT Wiki : OpenVPN]
ToDo At present the modem/router I use is pretty crap and doesn't allow you to do this configuration so I am not covering how to do this at present.

=== GNU/Linux Configuration - NetworkManager ===

ToDo

=== Android ===

=== M$-Windows ===

== TOR ==

ToDo

== Web Browsing ==

You've gone to all this bother of setting up and using a VPN so that your ISP can't see what you are browsing and/or the sites you are viewing think you are in a different location than you are, but there is a key step in staying anonymous on the web that most overlook and can be strongly argued gives away more information about you than anything else....the web browser.

Web browsers are the interface to the vast majority of peoples uses of the internet and as such the way in which they are used has a huge impact on your security and privacy. All browsers have some default security built-in, but they almost all allow the use of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie cookies] which websites/services use to not just enhance your browsing, but also keep track of what you do. Thankfully there are innumerable add-ons/plugins that can be used to improve your security and some suggestions are listed below, but they are by no-means exhaustive.

ToDo - Insert table

=== Synchronising ===

If you use a web-browser that syncrhonises your passwords, bookmarks and browsing history to the internet then this means to a large extent that your attempts to mask your browsing from your ISP are redundant since the details are held in the synchronised account. There are obvious advantages to using such services, but an informed choice of whether to do so is something only you can make. If you're bothered about Governments snooping on your activity then it would be logical to think that you would have similar problems with sharing such information with companies who very often see their users as a commodity and may, or may not, take your privacy seriously.

=== Adverts and Tracking ===

My view on advertising and tracking of browsing habits to “improve” this experience is that I pay for my internet connection so I should choose what passes over it. I appreciate many sites rely on advertising for revenue, but I've never really paid attention to adverts anywhere and the internet is no different, so why should my browsing experience be hampered by having to wait whilst a load of mostly irrelevant adverts that I wouldn't be interested in load. Thus I use the plugins listed above and in addition I have a Raspberry Pi set up and running as a [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block requests for adverts from ever leaving my local network, further reducing unnecessary bandwidth usage.

For some time there have been browser add-ons that block adverts, recently however some of these have become something of an oxymoron because things like [https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads Adblock Plus allow "acceptable ads"] as a means of generating revenue for themselves. Quite how someone else can decide what I consider to be an “acceptable ad” I've no idea, that would require input from me rather than payment from the advertiser to the supposed ad-blocker. Thankfully for now [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/ uBlock Origin] (NOT ublock.org) blocks all adverts and uses less memory resources in doing so, thus it gets my recommendation if you're not going to setup [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block adverts for you.

= User Setups =

Detailed below are some TMB Members setups, they're not necessarily exhaustive in protecting privacy but are provided to hopefully reassure that its not overwhelming to make a few changes gradually to protect your privacy.

== Windows ==

== GNU/Linux ==

== Android ==

== Router ==

Protecting your Privacy

2016-12-06T07:42:21Z

Slackline:

Protecting your Privacy

2015-11-14T00:17:51Z

Slackline: /* Overview and Definitions */

= Internet Security =

Its a big deal these days, whether its companies tracking your browsing habits to serve up adverts or the government trying to snoop on your activity under the bullshit pretense that it protects you from 'terrorists', when in reality its an infringement on [http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a12 Article 12 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights] which states…

''"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks"''

… and many countries already ban freedom of speech by censoring the websites you can access (e.g. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall The Great Firewall of China]). There are any number of reasons you might wish to improve the security and way in which you use the Internet. Its a big topic, so I've made these notes as I fumble my way through the process in the hope they are useful to others.

== Overview and Definitions ==

A lot of new terms…

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_certificate Certificates] documents issued by VPN providers to users allowing them to connect securely to their network.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie (HTTP) Cookies] small text files that reside on your computer and detail your preferences on a website and what you have looked at there.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software Free Open Source Software (FOSS)] software that anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change in any way and for which the source code is available.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications) Gateway]] a server through which you connect from one network to another.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPsec Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)]] is a protocol suite for secure Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and encrypting each communication session.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_provider Internet Service Provider (ISP)] is who you pay for an internet connection. Sometimes this will be whoever you have your mobile phone with.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVPN OpenVPN] Free Open Source Software (FOSS) implementing Virtual Private Network (VPN).
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-Point_Tunneling_Protocol Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)] is a method for implementing virtual private networks.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network) TOR] is a network that anonymoises your browsing by routing it through a network of public servers.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Virtual Private Network (VPN)] is a private network that you can connect to over the internet. Traffic then passes between you and the private network without anyone in between being able to see what is passing between you. This in essence means you appear to be located wherever the VPN server is physically located.

== Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ==

This should be your first step in improving your internet security. Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides. As of writing there are [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill proposals in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill] by the UK Government to force ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news). By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN.

=== Protocols ===

There are three main protocols you might encounter when using VPN

^ Protocol ^ Encryption ^ Description ^
| PPTP | MPEE 128 BIT | Oldest and most widely used, built into a lot of software making it simple to use. |
| IPSec | 128 BIT | Designed for OSX/iOS its heavy on you CPU but is built into the OS and therefore simple. |
| OpenVPN | 256-bit | The strongest encryption and very widely used. **Recommended** |

=== Choosing a VPN service ===

There are lots to choose from, I'm no expert, so read this [https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/ detailed article] ([https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/ 2014 version]) on TorrentFreak who asked a whole host of VPN services to describe their approach to anonymity. A few shortlisted ones to check out are...

* [https://nordvpn.com/ NordVPN]
* [http://www.slickvpn.com/ SlickVPN]
* [https://privatevpn.com/ PrivateVPN]

...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.

== Configuration ==

There are a plethora of options when it comes to connecting to VPNs, the most accurate resource for information will be from the VPN service you choose to use so please read their documentation carefully and contact their customer support if you have problems. What follows is a very broad overview.

=== Router Configuration ===

If you configure your router/modem to use the VPN then any device connected to your home network automatically will have everything routed through the VPN. This has Pros and Cons, on the up side it means you don't have to mess around enabling the VPN connection on each device and starting/stopping it. On the downside it might mean you can't view certain geographically restricted services such as BBC iPlayer if the VPN gateway you use is outside the UK, but on the flipside this might be an advantage if for example you wanted to view films that are only available on US Netflix and not on UK Netflix.

There is a lot of variation in router hardware, most people use those provided by their ISP and are quite likely to find that the supplied router does not support establishing VPN connections (e.g. VirginMedia's SuperHub). You'll most likely need to buy a new router and relegate the ISP one to modem (although choose wisely and you can replace the ISPs router completely). Even then the firmware on the router might not support VPN connections, but all is not lost since FOSS alternatives are available in the form of [https://openwrt.org/ OpenWRT] and [https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/ DD-WRT] that you can flash your router with. If either of these supports a router you have lying around your in business, follow their installation instructions for the model of router you have. If not and you are buying a new router you might want to consider whether it is supported by either of these distributions.

Both distributions have a lot of information on VPN written by people who know far more about networking than this author. You will want to read sections on setting up the router as a client rather than a server since you are unlikely to want to setup your own VPN (unless of course you wish to establish a secure and private connection to your home network whilst away from home).

* [http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/vpn.overview OpenWRT Wiki : VPN Overview]
* [https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/OpenVPN DD-WRT Wiki : OpenVPN]
ToDo At present the modem/router I use is pretty crap and doesn't allow you to do this configuration so I am not covering how to do this at present.

=== GNU/Linux Configuration - NetworkManager ===

ToDo

=== Android ===

=== M$-Windows ===

== TOR ==

ToDo

== Web Browsing ==

You've gone to all this bother of setting up and using a VPN so that your ISP can't see what you are browsing and/or the sites you are viewing think you are in a different location than you are, but there is a key step in staying anonymous on the web that most overlook and can be strongly argued gives away more information about you than anything else....the web browser.

Web browsers are the interface to the vast majority of peoples uses of the internet and as such the way in which they are used has a huge impact on your security and privacy. All browsers have some default security built-in, but they almost all allow the use of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie cookies] which websites/services use to not just enhance your browsing, but also keep track of what you do. Thankfully there are innumerable add-ons/plugins that can be used to improve your security and some suggestions are listed below, but they are by no-means exhaustive.

ToDo - Insert table

=== Synchronising ===

If you use a web-browser that syncrhonises your passwords, bookmarks and browsing history to the internet then this means to a large extent that your attempts to mask your browsing from your ISP are redundant since the details are held in the synchronised account. There are obvious advantages to using such services, but an informed choice of whether to do so is something only you can make. If you're bothered about Governments snooping on your activity then it would be logical to think that you would have similar problems with sharing such information with companies who very often see their users as a commodity and may, or may not, take your privacy seriously.

=== Adverts and Tracking ===

My view on advertising and tracking of browsing habits to “improve” this experience is that I pay for my internet connection so I should choose what passes over it. I appreciate many sites rely on advertising for revenue, but I've never really paid attention to adverts anywhere and the internet is no different, so why should my browsing experience be hampered by having to wait whilst a load of mostly irrelevant adverts that I wouldn't be interested in load. Thus I use the plugins listed above and in addition I have a Raspberry Pi set up and running as a [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block requests for adverts from ever leaving my local network, further reducing unnecessary bandwidth usage.

For some time there have been browser add-ons that block adverts, recently however some of these have become something of an oxymoron because things like [https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads Adblock Plus allow "acceptable ads"] as a means of generating revenue for themselves. Quite how someone else can decide what I consider to be an “acceptable ad” I've no idea, that would require input from me rather than payment from the advertiser to the supposed ad-blocker. Thankfully for now [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/ uBlock Origin] (NOT ublock.org) blocks all adverts and uses less memory resources in doing so, thus it gets my recommendation if you're not going to setup [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block adverts for you.

Protecting your Privacy

2015-11-14T00:16:21Z

Slackline: /* Web Browsing */

= Internet Security =

Its a big deal these days, whether its companies tracking your browsing habits to serve up adverts or the government trying to snoop on your activity under the bullshit pretense that it protects you from 'terrorists', when in reality its an infringement on [http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a12 Article 12 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights] which states…

''"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks"''

… and many countries already ban freedom of speech by censoring the websites you can access (e.g. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall The Great Firewall of China]). There are any number of reasons you might wish to improve the security and way in which you use the Internet. Its a big topic, so I've made these notes as I fumble my way through the process in the hope they are useful to others.

== Overview and Definitions ==

A lot of new terms…

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_certificate Certificates] documents issued by VPN providers to users allowing them to connect securely to their network.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software Free Open Source Software (FOSS)] software that anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change in any way and for which the source code is available.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications) Gateway]] a server through which you connect from one network to another.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPsec Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)]] is a protocol suite for secure Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and encrypting each communication session.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_provider Internet Service Provider (ISP)] is who you pay for an internet connection. Sometimes this will be whoever you have your mobile phone with.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVPN OpenVPN] Free Open Source Software (FOSS) implementing Virtual Private Network (VPN).
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-Point_Tunneling_Protocol Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)] is a method for implementing virtual private networks.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network) TOR] is a network that anonymoises your browsing by routing it through a network of public servers.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Virtual Private Network (VPN)] is a private network that you can connect to over the internet. Traffic then passes between you and the private network without anyone in between being able to see what is passing between you. This in essence means you appear to be located wherever the VPN server is physically located.

== Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ==

This should be your first step in improving your internet security. Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides. As of writing there are [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill proposals in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill] by the UK Government to force ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news). By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN.

=== Protocols ===

There are three main protocols you might encounter when using VPN

^ Protocol ^ Encryption ^ Description ^
| PPTP | MPEE 128 BIT | Oldest and most widely used, built into a lot of software making it simple to use. |
| IPSec | 128 BIT | Designed for OSX/iOS its heavy on you CPU but is built into the OS and therefore simple. |
| OpenVPN | 256-bit | The strongest encryption and very widely used. **Recommended** |

=== Choosing a VPN service ===

There are lots to choose from, I'm no expert, so read this [https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/ detailed article] ([https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/ 2014 version]) on TorrentFreak who asked a whole host of VPN services to describe their approach to anonymity. A few shortlisted ones to check out are...

* [https://nordvpn.com/ NordVPN]
* [http://www.slickvpn.com/ SlickVPN]
* [https://privatevpn.com/ PrivateVPN]

...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.

== Configuration ==

There are a plethora of options when it comes to connecting to VPNs, the most accurate resource for information will be from the VPN service you choose to use so please read their documentation carefully and contact their customer support if you have problems. What follows is a very broad overview.

=== Router Configuration ===

If you configure your router/modem to use the VPN then any device connected to your home network automatically will have everything routed through the VPN. This has Pros and Cons, on the up side it means you don't have to mess around enabling the VPN connection on each device and starting/stopping it. On the downside it might mean you can't view certain geographically restricted services such as BBC iPlayer if the VPN gateway you use is outside the UK, but on the flipside this might be an advantage if for example you wanted to view films that are only available on US Netflix and not on UK Netflix.

There is a lot of variation in router hardware, most people use those provided by their ISP and are quite likely to find that the supplied router does not support establishing VPN connections (e.g. VirginMedia's SuperHub). You'll most likely need to buy a new router and relegate the ISP one to modem (although choose wisely and you can replace the ISPs router completely). Even then the firmware on the router might not support VPN connections, but all is not lost since FOSS alternatives are available in the form of [https://openwrt.org/ OpenWRT] and [https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/ DD-WRT] that you can flash your router with. If either of these supports a router you have lying around your in business, follow their installation instructions for the model of router you have. If not and you are buying a new router you might want to consider whether it is supported by either of these distributions.

Both distributions have a lot of information on VPN written by people who know far more about networking than this author. You will want to read sections on setting up the router as a client rather than a server since you are unlikely to want to setup your own VPN (unless of course you wish to establish a secure and private connection to your home network whilst away from home).

* [http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/vpn.overview OpenWRT Wiki : VPN Overview]
* [https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/OpenVPN DD-WRT Wiki : OpenVPN]
ToDo At present the modem/router I use is pretty crap and doesn't allow you to do this configuration so I am not covering how to do this at present.

=== GNU/Linux Configuration - NetworkManager ===

ToDo

=== Android ===

=== M$-Windows ===

== TOR ==

ToDo

== Web Browsing ==

You've gone to all this bother of setting up and using a VPN so that your ISP can't see what you are browsing and/or the sites you are viewing think you are in a different location than you are, but there is a key step in staying anonymous on the web that most overlook and can be strongly argued gives away more information about you than anything else....the web browser.

Web browsers are the interface to the vast majority of peoples uses of the internet and as such the way in which they are used has a huge impact on your security and privacy. All browsers have some default security built-in, but they almost all allow the use of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie cookies] which websites/services use to not just enhance your browsing, but also keep track of what you do. Thankfully there are innumerable add-ons/plugins that can be used to improve your security and some suggestions are listed below, but they are by no-means exhaustive.

ToDo - Insert table

=== Synchronising ===

If you use a web-browser that syncrhonises your passwords, bookmarks and browsing history to the internet then this means to a large extent that your attempts to mask your browsing from your ISP are redundant since the details are held in the synchronised account. There are obvious advantages to using such services, but an informed choice of whether to do so is something only you can make. If you're bothered about Governments snooping on your activity then it would be logical to think that you would have similar problems with sharing such information with companies who very often see their users as a commodity and may, or may not, take your privacy seriously.

=== Adverts and Tracking ===

My view on advertising and tracking of browsing habits to “improve” this experience is that I pay for my internet connection so I should choose what passes over it. I appreciate many sites rely on advertising for revenue, but I've never really paid attention to adverts anywhere and the internet is no different, so why should my browsing experience be hampered by having to wait whilst a load of mostly irrelevant adverts that I wouldn't be interested in load. Thus I use the plugins listed above and in addition I have a Raspberry Pi set up and running as a [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block requests for adverts from ever leaving my local network, further reducing unnecessary bandwidth usage.

For some time there have been browser add-ons that block adverts, recently however some of these have become something of an oxymoron because things like [https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads Adblock Plus allow "acceptable ads"] as a means of generating revenue for themselves. Quite how someone else can decide what I consider to be an “acceptable ad” I've no idea, that would require input from me rather than payment from the advertiser to the supposed ad-blocker. Thankfully for now [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/ uBlock Origin] (NOT ublock.org) blocks all adverts and uses less memory resources in doing so, thus it gets my recommendation if you're not going to setup [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block adverts for you.

Protecting your Privacy

2015-11-13T17:08:12Z

Slackline: /* Internet Security */

= Internet Security =

Its a big deal these days, whether its companies tracking your browsing habits to serve up adverts or the government trying to snoop on your activity under the bullshit pretense that it protects you from 'terrorists', when in reality its an infringement on [http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a12 Article 12 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights] which states…

''"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks"''

… and many countries already ban freedom of speech by censoring the websites you can access (e.g. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall The Great Firewall of China]). There are any number of reasons you might wish to improve the security and way in which you use the Internet. Its a big topic, so I've made these notes as I fumble my way through the process in the hope they are useful to others.

== Overview and Definitions ==

A lot of new terms…

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_certificate Certificates] documents issued by VPN providers to users allowing them to connect securely to their network.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software Free Open Source Software (FOSS)] software that anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change in any way and for which the source code is available.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications) Gateway]] a server through which you connect from one network to another.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPsec Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)]] is a protocol suite for secure Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and encrypting each communication session.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_provider Internet Service Provider (ISP)] is who you pay for an internet connection. Sometimes this will be whoever you have your mobile phone with.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVPN OpenVPN] Free Open Source Software (FOSS) implementing Virtual Private Network (VPN).
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-Point_Tunneling_Protocol Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)] is a method for implementing virtual private networks.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network) TOR] is a network that anonymoises your browsing by routing it through a network of public servers.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Virtual Private Network (VPN)] is a private network that you can connect to over the internet. Traffic then passes between you and the private network without anyone in between being able to see what is passing between you. This in essence means you appear to be located wherever the VPN server is physically located.

== Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ==

This should be your first step in improving your internet security. Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides. As of writing there are [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill proposals in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill] by the UK Government to force ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news). By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN.

=== Protocols ===

There are three main protocols you might encounter when using VPN

^ Protocol ^ Encryption ^ Description ^
| PPTP | MPEE 128 BIT | Oldest and most widely used, built into a lot of software making it simple to use. |
| IPSec | 128 BIT | Designed for OSX/iOS its heavy on you CPU but is built into the OS and therefore simple. |
| OpenVPN | 256-bit | The strongest encryption and very widely used. **Recommended** |

=== Choosing a VPN service ===

There are lots to choose from, I'm no expert, so read this [https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/ detailed article] ([https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/ 2014 version]) on TorrentFreak who asked a whole host of VPN services to describe their approach to anonymity. A few shortlisted ones to check out are...

* [https://nordvpn.com/ NordVPN]
* [http://www.slickvpn.com/ SlickVPN]
* [https://privatevpn.com/ PrivateVPN]

...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.

== Configuration ==

There are a plethora of options when it comes to connecting to VPNs, the most accurate resource for information will be from the VPN service you choose to use so please read their documentation carefully and contact their customer support if you have problems. What follows is a very broad overview.

=== Router Configuration ===

If you configure your router/modem to use the VPN then any device connected to your home network automatically will have everything routed through the VPN. This has Pros and Cons, on the up side it means you don't have to mess around enabling the VPN connection on each device and starting/stopping it. On the downside it might mean you can't view certain geographically restricted services such as BBC iPlayer if the VPN gateway you use is outside the UK, but on the flipside this might be an advantage if for example you wanted to view films that are only available on US Netflix and not on UK Netflix.

There is a lot of variation in router hardware, most people use those provided by their ISP and are quite likely to find that the supplied router does not support establishing VPN connections (e.g. VirginMedia's SuperHub). You'll most likely need to buy a new router and relegate the ISP one to modem (although choose wisely and you can replace the ISPs router completely). Even then the firmware on the router might not support VPN connections, but all is not lost since FOSS alternatives are available in the form of [https://openwrt.org/ OpenWRT] and [https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/ DD-WRT] that you can flash your router with. If either of these supports a router you have lying around your in business, follow their installation instructions for the model of router you have. If not and you are buying a new router you might want to consider whether it is supported by either of these distributions.

Both distributions have a lot of information on VPN written by people who know far more about networking than this author. You will want to read sections on setting up the router as a client rather than a server since you are unlikely to want to setup your own VPN (unless of course you wish to establish a secure and private connection to your home network whilst away from home).

* [http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/vpn.overview OpenWRT Wiki : VPN Overview]
* [https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/OpenVPN DD-WRT Wiki : OpenVPN]
ToDo At present the modem/router I use is pretty crap and doesn't allow you to do this configuration so I am not covering how to do this at present.

=== GNU/Linux Configuration - NetworkManager ===

ToDo

=== Android ===

=== M$-Windows ===

== TOR ==

ToDo

== Web Browsing ==

You've gone to all this bother of setting up and using a VPN so that your ISP can't see what you are browsing and/or the sites you are viewing think you are in a different location than you are, but there is a key step in staying anonymous on the web that most overlook and can be strongly argued gives away more information about you than anything else....the web browser.

Web browsers are the interface to the vast majority of peoples uses of the internet and as such the way in which they are used has a huge impact on your security. All browsers have some default security built-in, but they almost all allow the use of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie cookies] which websites/services to not just enhance your browsing, but also keep track of what you do. Thankfully there are innumerable add-ons/plugins that can be used to improve your security and some suggestions are listed below, but they are by no-means exhaustive.

ToDo - Insert table

=== Synchronising ===

If you use a web-browser that syncrhonises your passwords, bookmarks and browsing history to the internet then this means to a large extent that your attempts to mask your browsing from your ISP are redundant since the details are held in the synchronised account. There are obvious advantages to using such services, but an informed choice of whether to do so is something only you can make. If you're bothered about Governments snooping on your activity then it would be logical to think that you would have similar problems with sharing such information with companies who very often see their users as a commodity and may, or may not, take your privacy seriously.

=== Adverts and Tracking ===

My view on advertising and tracking of browsing habits to “improve” this experience is that I pay for my internet connection so I should choose what passes over it. I appreciate many sites rely on advertising for revenue, but I've never really paid attention to adverts anywhere and the internet is no different, so why should my browsing experience be hampered by having to wait whilst a load of mostly irrelevant adverts that I wouldn't be interested in load. Thus I use the plugins listed above and in addition I have a Raspberry Pi set up and running as a [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block requests for adverts from ever leaving my local network, further reducing unnecessary bandwidth usage.

For some time there have been browser add-ons that block adverts, recently however some of these have become something of an oxymoron because things like [https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads Adblock Plus allow "acceptable ads"] as a means of generating revenue for themselves. Quite how someone else can decide what I consider to be an “acceptable ad” I've no idea, that would require input from me rather than payment from the advertiser to the supposed ad-blocker. Thankfully for now [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/ uBlock Origin] (NOT ublock.org) blocks all adverts and uses less memory resources in doing so, thus it gets my recommendation if you're not going to setup [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block adverts for you.

Protecting your Privacy

2015-11-13T15:36:57Z

Slackline: Added sub-sections and ToDo notes as well as web browsers section

= Internet Security =

Its a big deal these days, whether its companies tracking your browsing habits to serve up adverts or the government trying to snoop on your activity under the bullshit pretense that it protects you from 'terrorists', when in reality its an infringement on [http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a12 Article 12 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights] which states…

''"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks"''

…there are any number of reasons you might wish to improve the security and way in which you use the Internet. Its a big topic, so I've made these notes as I fumble my way through the process in the hope they are useful to others.

== Overview and Definitions ==

A lot of new terms…

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_certificate Certificates] documents issued by VPN providers to users allowing them to connect securely to their network.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software Free Open Source Software (FOSS)] software that anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change in any way and for which the source code is available.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications) Gateway]] a server through which you connect from one network to another.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPsec Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)]] is a protocol suite for secure Internet Protocol (IP) communications by authenticating and encrypting each communication session.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_provider Internet Service Provider (ISP)] is who you pay for an internet connection. Sometimes this will be whoever you have your mobile phone with.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVPN OpenVPN] Free Open Source Software (FOSS) implementing Virtual Private Network (VPN).
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-Point_Tunneling_Protocol Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)] is a method for implementing virtual private networks.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network) TOR] is a network that anonymoises your browsing by routing it through a network of public servers.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Virtual Private Network (VPN)] is a private network that you can connect to over the internet. Traffic then passes between you and the private network without anyone in between being able to see what is passing between you. This in essence means you appear to be located wherever the VPN server is physically located.

== Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ==

This should be your first step in improving your internet security. Your ISP is capable of logging all of the internet traffic that passes in/out of your house, whether you are browsing the web, torrenting sites, making SSH connections to remote servers, it all passes through your modem and the connection your ISP provides. As of writing there are [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-investigatory-powers-bill proposals in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill] by the UK Government to force ISPs to log a years worth of customers browsing habits at the level of the domain you visit (i.e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ but not http://www.bbc.co.uk/news). By using a VPN your ISP only sees you making a connection to the VPN and not what you then subsequently browse whilst connected to the VPN.

=== Protocols ===

There are three main protocols you might encounter when using VPN

^ Protocol ^ Encryption ^ Description ^
| PPTP | MPEE 128 BIT | Oldest and most widely used, built into a lot of software making it simple to use. |
| IPSec | 128 BIT | Designed for OSX/iOS its heavy on you CPU but is built into the OS and therefore simple. |
| OpenVPN | 256-bit | The strongest encryption and very widely used. **Recommended** |

=== Choosing a VPN service ===

There are lots to choose from, I'm no expert, so read this [https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/ detailed article] ([https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/ 2014 version]) on TorrentFreak who asked a whole host of VPN services to describe their approach to anonymity. A few shortlisted ones to check out are...

* [https://nordvpn.com/ NordVPN]
* [http://www.slickvpn.com/ SlickVPN]
* [https://privatevpn.com/ PrivateVPN]

...but read the TorrentFreak article and the current policies on the providers website and decide for yourself, as prices and policies can vary over time.

== Configuration ==

There are a plethora of options when it comes to connecting to VPNs, the most accurate resource for information will be from the VPN service you choose to use so please read their documentation carefully and contact their customer support if you have problems. What follows is a very broad overview.

=== Router Configuration ===

If you configure your router/modem to use the VPN then any device connected to your home network automatically will have everything routed through the VPN. This has Pros and Cons, on the up side it means you don't have to mess around enabling the VPN connection on each device and starting/stopping it. On the downside it might mean you can't view certain geographically restricted services such as BBC iPlayer if the VPN gateway you use is outside the UK, but on the flipside this might be an advantage if for example you wanted to view films that are only available on US Netflix and not on UK Netflix.

There is a lot of variation in router hardware, most people use those provided by their ISP and are quite likely to find that the supplied router does not support establishing VPN connections (e.g. VirginMedia's SuperHub). You'll most likely need to buy a new router and relegate the ISP one to modem (although choose wisely and you can replace the ISPs router completely). Even then the firmware on the router might not support VPN connections, but all is not lost since FOSS alternatives are available in the form of [https://openwrt.org/ OpenWRT] and [https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/ DD-WRT] that you can flash your router with. If either of these supports a router you have lying around your in business, follow their installation instructions for the model of router you have. If not and you are buying a new router you might want to consider whether it is supported by either of these distributions.

Both distributions have a lot of information on VPN written by people who know far more about networking than this author. You will want to read sections on setting up the router as a client rather than a server since you are unlikely to want to setup your own VPN (unless of course you wish to establish a secure and private connection to your home network whilst away from home).

* [http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/vpn.overview OpenWRT Wiki : VPN Overview]
* [https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/OpenVPN DD-WRT Wiki : OpenVPN]
ToDo At present the modem/router I use is pretty crap and doesn't allow you to do this configuration so I am not covering how to do this at present.

=== GNU/Linux Configuration - NetworkManager ===

ToDo

=== Android ===

=== M$-Windows ===

== TOR ==

ToDo

== Web Browsing ==

You've gone to all this bother of setting up and using a VPN so that your ISP can't see what you are browsing and/or the sites you are viewing think you are in a different location than you are, but there is a key step in staying anonymous on the web that most overlook and can be strongly argued gives away more information about you than anything else....the web browser.

Web browsers are the interface to the vast majority of peoples uses of the internet and as such the way in which they are used has a huge impact on your security. All browsers have some default security built-in, but they almost all allow the use of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie cookies] which websites/services to not just enhance your browsing, but also keep track of what you do. Thankfully there are innumerable add-ons/plugins that can be used to improve your security and some suggestions are listed below, but they are by no-means exhaustive.

ToDo - Insert table

=== Synchronising ===

If you use a web-browser that syncrhonises your passwords, bookmarks and browsing history to the internet then this means to a large extent that your attempts to mask your browsing from your ISP are redundant since the details are held in the synchronised account. There are obvious advantages to using such services, but an informed choice of whether to do so is something only you can make. If you're bothered about Governments snooping on your activity then it would be logical to think that you would have similar problems with sharing such information with companies who very often see their users as a commodity and may, or may not, take your privacy seriously.

=== Adverts and Tracking ===

My view on advertising and tracking of browsing habits to “improve” this experience is that I pay for my internet connection so I should choose what passes over it. I appreciate many sites rely on advertising for revenue, but I've never really paid attention to adverts anywhere and the internet is no different, so why should my browsing experience be hampered by having to wait whilst a load of mostly irrelevant adverts that I wouldn't be interested in load. Thus I use the plugins listed above and in addition I have a Raspberry Pi set up and running as a [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block requests for adverts from ever leaving my local network, further reducing unnecessary bandwidth usage.

For some time there have been browser add-ons that block adverts, recently however some of these have become something of an oxymoron because things like [https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads Adblock Plus allow "acceptable ads"] as a means of generating revenue for themselves. Quite how someone else can decide what I consider to be an “acceptable ad” I've no idea, that would require input from me rather than payment from the advertiser to the supposed ad-blocker. Thankfully for now [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/ uBlock Origin] (NOT ublock.org) blocks all adverts and uses less memory resources in doing so, thus it gets my recommendation if you're not going to setup [http://pi-hole.net/ Pi-Hole] to block adverts for you.

Protecting your Privacy

2015-11-12T07:42:22Z

Slackline: /* Choosing a VPN service */ added section on protocols

Protecting your Privacy

2015-11-12T06:29:40Z

Slackline: More on router configuration

Protecting your Privacy

2015-11-11T22:56:50Z

Slackline: /* Overview and Definitions */

Protecting your Privacy

2015-11-11T22:51:21Z

Slackline: Created - will write more in due course

Main Page

2015-11-11T22:35:55Z

Slackline: /* TMB Social Life & Special Member Contributions */ Added link to 'Protecting your Privacy' will start writing soon

__NOTOC__
==[http://themixingbowl.org themixingbowl.org]==
'''We intend to be the 1st stop for torrents for: The [[Essential Mix]], The [[Breezeblock]], [[Kiss FM]], [[XFM]], [[Gilles Peterson Worldwide|Worldwide]], [[BTTB]], [[One World]], [[Blue Room]], [[The Milk Run]], [[Solid Steel]], [[Annie On One]] and much more...'''

'''If you like dance music, nightclubbing or anything related to: House, Trance, IDM, Breaks, Hard House, Techno, Drum & Bass, Hip-Hop, Big Beat, Trip-Hop, Turntablism or whatever spastic genre name is flavour of the month and haven't already [http://themixingbowl.org/signup.php signed up] then what are you waiting for?'''

This Wiki is the best place to find information on anything TMB-related including [[bittorrent|how bittorrent works]], [[Digitising_cassette_tapes|ripping old tapes to mp3]] or [[:Category:Uploading Own Recordings|how to upload your own mixes and recordings]]. We have listings for many [[:Category:Radio Stations|international dance music radio stations]] amongst many other things. Please scroll down the page for more information. If you have a specific query, use the search box on the left of the page or check out the [[FAQ]] first.

If you want to add or modify wiki topics please feel free to do so. Any TMB-related contribution is '''very welcome'''!

==Audio Resources / Information==

*[[:Category:Audio Formats|Audio Formats]]: Information about many audio formats including [[MP3]], [[FLAC]], [[MP2]] and [[Ogg_Vorbis|Ogg Vorbis]].
*[[:Category:Audio Tools|Audio Tools]]: Lots of useful tools to create your own mixes, edit and tune audio files (with guides).
*[[Cue sheet]]: Everything about cue sheets (making them, using them, where to find them).
*[[:Category:Media Players|Media Players]]: Media players for your OS of choice.
*[[:Category:Music Genres|Music Genres]]: Need to find out about [[wrong music]] or [[DnB]]? You've come to the right place!
*[[:Category:Radio Shows|Radio Shows]]: Radio Shows with lots of details (time, broadcasting format,...)
*[[:Category:Radio Stations|Radio Stations]]: Want to listen to Dance radios worldwide? Want to record them? We have info on frequencies, bitrates, direct links to broadcasting schedules and internet streams...

==Special TMB Guides==

*[[One Stop Ratio Shop]]: Guide to maintaining a healthy ratio.
*[[:Category:Bittorrent Client Guide|Bittorrent Client Guides]]: HOWTO's for many different Bittorrent clients, their usage and specific optimization for TMB.
*[[Reseeding Torrents]]: How to reseed files already on your computer
*[[:Category:Uploading Own Recordings|Recording Shows From Radio]]: Guides on recording from radios and editing and digitising analogue sources.
*[[Preparing releases from internet-based broadcasts|Ripping Internet Streams]]: What you need to do to make the perfect internet radio stream rip.
*[[Internet Radios|Is the upload of Stream Rips allowed?]]: Here you will find rules about allowed and forbidden uploads from Internet broadcasts.
*[[Get_iplayer]]: Guide on how to capture BBC content

==TMB Social Life & Special Member Contributions==

*[[TMBisms]]: The essential guide to TMB slang.
*[[:Category:TMB Town and City Guides|TMB Town and City Guides]]: Going somewhere? Meeting other TMB members? TMB-member guides for town and cities around the world.
*[[TMB Wallpaper]]: TMB User Artwork
*[[:Category:Live Events|Live Events]]: Dance music events around the world - [[Glade]], [[Global Gathering]], [[Love Parade]], [[Antiworld]], [[Springseven_Graz]], [[The Big Chill]]...
*[[TMB Gamers]]: TMB Gamers Section, Gamertags, Usernames, Teams, Clans, Etc
*[[TMB Tunes]]: Waffle-age and opinions on all things musical
*[[Customise TMB]]: User scripts and styles to customise the appearance of TMB in Firefox, Chrome and Opera
*[[Protecting your Privacy]] : A guide to VPNs and anonymity.

Category:Radio Stations

2007-09-21T15:50:37Z

Slackline: Added Scratch Radio station, Canadian mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub ~~~~

If you know of very interesting radio stations broadcasting DJ sets or live band appearances that are not in the list, do not hesitate to add it.

'''Click on the provided links to check the shows or to start the radio stream'''. For feature explanations of the following listing, look at the bottom of the table!

{| class="wikitable" align="center"
|+ Dance Radio Stations broadcasting radio shows, original DJ sets and live-sets of bands around the World
! Status !! Flag !! Lang !! Radio Station !! Main show / Schedule / Calendar !! Analogue !! Digital ([[MP2]]) !!Internet
|-
| || [[Image:Germany.gif]] || --- || [[1LIVE]] ||[http://www.einslive.de/sendungen/rocker/ Rocker (EDM)] & [http://www.einslive.de/sendungen/fiehe/ Fiehe (german 'John Peel')] || FM, cable || style="background:#B9FFC5;" | 320k DVB-S || [http://metafiles.gl-systemhaus.de/wdr/channel_einslive.m3u 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Ireland.gif]] || engl. || [[2FM]] ||[http://www.rte.ie/2fm/dancesessions/ 2FM Dance Sessions] || FM || 192k DVB-S || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.rte.ie/smiltest/2fm_new.smil 20-64k RA]
|-
| || [[Image:Israel.gif]] || --- || [[99ESC]] || [http://www.99esc.co.il/99esc/broadcastschedule.asp '''Schedule'''] || FM, cable || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://switch5.castup.net/_custom/radiobu99fm/audio.asx 32-48k WMA]
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[Afterhours.fm]] || [http://afterhours.fm 30+ EDM Shows - '''Calendar'''] || --- || --- || [http://stats.ah.fm/dynamicplaylist.m3u?quality=192 192k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:UKflag.gif]] || engl. || [[Radio1|bbc Radio1]] || [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/dance/index.shtml The Essential Mix, Worldwide, etc.] || FM || 192k Freeview || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/realaudio/media/r1live.ram 20-48k RA]
|-
| || [[Image:UKflag.gif]] ||engl. || [[1Xtra|bbc 1Xtra]] || [http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/shows/ New Black Music - '''Schedule'''] || --- || 160k Freeview || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://stream.servstream.com/ViewWeb/BBCRadio_music/Event/BBC1Xtra_hi.asx 20k WMA]
|-
| || [[Image:UKflag.gif]] || engl. || [[6Music|bbc 6music]] || [http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/6mix/ 6 Mix] || --- || 160k Freeview || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://stream.servstream.com/ViewWeb/BBCRadio_music/Event/BBCRadio6.asx 10k WMA] (mono)
|-
| || [[Image:Jamaica.gif|34x22px]] || engl. || [[BigUpRadio]] || [http://www.bigupradio.com/stations.jsp '''Reggae''' (Roots,Dancehall,Dub,Ska,...)] || --- || --- || [http://www.bigupradio.com/stations.jsp 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Holland.gif]] || engl. || [[BNN.fm]] / 3fm || [http://www.bnn.nl/view/542/1209/8411284 BNN Los!] || FM ''(3FM)'' || --- || [http://shoutcast.omroep.nl:8012/listen.pls 192k MP3] ''(BNN.fm)''
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[Breaks.fm]] || [http://breaks.fm/php/today.php 40+ Breaks Shows - '''Schedule'''] || --- || --- || [http://stream.breaks.fm:9000/listen.pls 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[CBA.fm]] || [http://cbafm.com/documents/23.html 30+ EDM Shows - '''Calendar'''] || --- || --- || [http://cbafm.com:8002/listen.pls 64k PRO] [http://www.mp3prozone.com/download_winamp.htm (plugin)]
|-
| || [[Image:France.gif]] || --- || [[Contact.fm]] || [http://www.contactmusic.fr/Clubbing/djs.php5 Clubbing] || FM || 128k DVB-S || [http://www.contactmusic.fr/VIP/ecoute-128k.php5 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Germany.gif]] || --- || [[Das Ding]] || [http://www.dasding.de/plattenleger/ Plattenleger (EDM)] || FM, cable || style="background:#B9FFC5;" | 320k DVB-S || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://lsd.newmedia.tiscali-business.com/bb/redirect.lsc?stream=dasding/livestream.wma&content=live&media=ms 48k WMA]
|-
| || [[Image:Holland.gif]] || engl. || [[Deep.fm]] || [http://www.deep.fm/weekoverzicht.php 10+ House Shows - Defected - '''Schedule'''] || cable || --- || [http://www.deep.fm/play/128K.pls 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[DI.fm]] || [http://di.fm/calendar/calendar.php 30+ EDM Shows - '''Calendar'''] || --- || --- || [http://di.fm 192k MP3] ('''$$$''')
|-
| || [[Image:Turkey.gif]] || engl. || [[Dinamo.fm]] || [http://www.dinamo.fm/djler.asp?djId=33 30+ EDM DJs '''Overview'''] || FM || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.dinamo.fm/dinamo_aacplus.pls 32k AAC+]
|-
| || [[Image:France.gif]] || --- || [[DJ Radio FG]] || [http://www.radiofg.com/grille/ Club FG (EDM)] || FM || 192k DVB-S || [http://fg.elliptic.fr:8000/listen.pls 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Germany.gif]] || --- || [[EBM Radio]] || [http://www.ebm-radio.de/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=54 EBM / Industrial / Electro - '''Shows'''] || --- || --- || [http://ebmradio.de:13000/ebm.ogg 128k Ogg]
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[ETN.fm]] || [http://etn.fm 50+ EDM Shows - '''Calendar'''] || --- || --- || [http://etn.fm 128k AAC+]
|-
| || [[Image:Austria.gif]] || engl. || [[fm4]] || [http://fm4.orf.at/static/html/schema.html LaBoum (EDM)] [http://fm4.orf.at/static/html/schema.html Unlimited (MashUp)] || FM || 192k DVB-S || style="background:#B9FFC5;" | [http://fm4.amd.co.at/m3us/listen-high.m3u 160k Ogg]
|-
| || [[Image:Australia.gif]] || engl. || [[Fresh FM]] || [http://www.freshfm.com.au/index.php?PID=641 24/7 all EDM genres - '''Schedule'''] || FM || --- || [http://streamhq.adam.com.au:8000/FreshFM.m3u 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Holland.gif]] || engl. || [[Fresh.fm]] || [http://fresh.fm/programmas.asp Club Fresh (ASOT, In Session, Grooves)] || FM || --- || [http://www.fresh.fm/media/audio/ListenHigh.pls 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[Frisky Radio]] || [http://friskyradio.com/shows/ 40+ EDM shows - '''Calendar'''] || --- || --- || [http://www.friskyradio.com/frisky_aac.m3u 128k AAC+]
|-
| || [[Image:Germany.gif]] || ---|| [[Fritz]] || [http://www.fritz.de/_/programm/soundgarden/abend/index_jsp.html Soundgarden, Rave Satellite (EDM)] || FM, cable || style="background:#B9FFC5;" | 320k DVB-S || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.fritz.de/_/fritz_sure.smi 20-64k RA]
|-
| || [[Image:England.gif]] || engl. || [[Galaxy]] || [http://www.galaxy105.co.uk/sectional.asp?ID=5110 Hed Kandi, Tidy Boys, ...] || FM || 160k SkyDigital || style="background:#FECBCB;" | WMA (UK only)
|-
| || [[Image:Germany.gif]] || --- || [[Globalbeats.fm]] || [http://globalbeats.fm 10+ EDM shows - '''Calendar'''] || --- || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.globalbeats.fm/winamp.m3u 96k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:UKflag.gif]] || engl. || [[Kiss100]] || [http://www.kiss100.com/nav?page=kiss.schedule John Digweed, Tall Paul - '''Schedule'''] || FM || 128k SkyDigital || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.emapdigitalradio.com/emapdigitalradio/metafiles/kiss.asx WMA] (UK only)
|-
| || [[Image:USA.gif]] || engl. || [[KTU New York]] || [http://ktu.com/pages/res_djs.html KTU Riddler - '''Schedule'''] || FM || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://a319.l1997343786.c19973.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/319/19973/v0001/reflector:43786 32k WMA]
|-
| || [[Image:London.gif|32x20px]] || engl. || [[London Pirates]] || [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pir8radio/ All live pirate stations - '''Music & Listings'''] || --- || --- || (see Listings)
|-
| || [[Image:Spain.gif]] || --- || [[Maxima.FM]] || [http://www.maxima.fm/maxima/programas/in_session.html In Sessions] || FM || 160k DVB-S || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.los40.com/nuevo_player/maxima.asx 16-32k RA] (mono)
|-
| || [[Image:Argentina.gif]] || engl. || [[Metro 95.1]] || [http://www.metro951.com/metrodance.aspx Metrodance - '''Schedule'''] || FM || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | WMA (ARG only)
|-
| || [[Image:UKflag.gif]] || engl. || [[MinistryOfSound|MoS]] || [http://www.ministryofsound.com/radio/schedule/ many DJs - '''Schedule'''] || --- || 128k SkyDigital || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://origin-community.ministryofsound.com/asx/radio/mosradio.asx 32k WMA] ('''$''': 96k)
|-
| || [[Image:Germany.gif]] || --- || [[N-Joy]] || [http://www.n-joy.de/njoy_pages_std/0,3044,SPM2162,00.html N-Joy Soundfiles (HipHop / EDM)] || FM, cable || style="background:#B9FFC5;" | 320k DVB-S || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://lsd.newmedia.tiscali-business.com/bb/redirect.lsc?content=live&media=ms&stream=ndr/live/n-joy.wma 20-64k WMA]
|-
| || [[Image:London.gif|32x20px]] || engl. || [[Origin FM 95.2 | Origin FM]] || [http://www.originfm952.com/ D&B/Jungle/Old Skool/etc - '''Schedule'''] || FM || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.originfm952.com/origin.m3u 64k MP3] (mono)
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[Party107]] || [http://www.party107.com/forum/calendar.php 30+ EDM shows - '''Calendar'''] || --- || --- || [http://www.party107.com/Party107_High.m3u 160k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Austria.gif]] || engl. || [[Play.FM]] || [http://www.play.fm/index.php Audio Database (Radio / On Demand)] || --- || --- || [http://play.fm/playfm_schedule.php?mode=radio 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[Proton Radio]] || [http://protonradio.com/show.php 20+ EDM shows - '''Calendar'''] || --- || --- || [http://www.protonradio.com 192k MP3] ('''$$$''')
|-
| || [[Image:Holland.gif]] || engl. || [[Radio 538]] || [http://www.radio538.nl/538/programmas/dancedepartment/lineup.jsp Dance Department (EDM)] || FM || 192k DVB-S || [http://www.garnierstreamingmedia.com/asx/radio538.asp 96k WMA]
|-
| || [[Image:Sweden.gif]] || --- || [[RadioSeven]] || [http://www.radioseven.se/default.asp?page=tabla ICAM Sessions] || --- || --- || [http://www.radioseven.se/radioseven.pls 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:UKflag.gif]] || engl. || [[Re:freshed]] || [http://www.refresh.shedradio.com Dedicated House & Trance] || --- || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://www.shedradio.com/trance/links/listen.pls 96k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:London.gif|32x20px]] || engl. || [[Resonance]] || [http://www.resonancefm.com Artistic (experimental) - '''Schedule'''] || FM || --- || [http://live1.radiovague.com:8000/resonancefm128k.ogg.m3u 128k Ogg]
|-
| || [[Image:London.gif|32x20px]] || engl. || [[Rinse FM 100.4 | Rinse FM]] || [http://www.rinse.fm Grime/Dubstep/House/Garage - '''Forums'''] || FM || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://typhoon.exequo.org:8000/rinseradio/ 64k MP3] (mono)
|-
| || [[Image:Swiss.gif|32x20px]] || engl. || [[Rouge Platine]] || [http://www.rougeplatine.com/grille.php Electro/Dance/House '''Schedule'''] || FM || --- || [http://www.rougeplatine.com/player_files.php?type=high&format=winamp& 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:London.gif|32x20px]] || engl. || [[Rude FM 88.2 | Rude FM]] || [http://www.rudefm882.co.uk/ Drum & Bass - '''Forums/Schedule'''] || FM || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://rude882.servemp3.com/ 80k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Japan.gif]] || engl. || [[Samurai FM]] || [http://www.samurai.fm/home/ '''Schedule''' (Live Radio / On Demand)] || --- || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://itunes.samurai.fm/listen.pls 96k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Southafrica.gif|32x20px]] || engl. || [[SAR fm]] || [http://www.sarfmradio.com/djschedule.html AfroJazz/Kwaito/Urban '''Schedule'''] || --- || --- || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://stream.netro.ca/sarfmradio 20k WMA]
|-
| || [[Image:Canada.gif|32x20px]] || engl. || [[Scratch]] || [http://www.azevedo.ca/scratch/ mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae & dub] || --- || --- || [http://www.azevedo.ca/scratch/scratch.m3u 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[Sol. Steel Radio| Sol.SteelRadio]] || [http://ninjatune.net/solidsteel/playlist.php Solid Steel] || FM || --- || [http://ninjatune.net/solidsteel/playlist.php?play=1 128k WMA]
|-
| || [[Image:Earth.jpg|34x22px]] || engl. || [[Soma FM]] || [http://somafm.com/recent/?groovesalad '''Groove Salad''' (ambient grooves)] || --- || --- || [http://somafm.com/groovesalad.pls 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Belgium.gif]] || --- || [[Studio Brussel]] || [http://www.stubru.be/stubru_master/programmas/laurent_garnier/home/index.html It Is What It Is], [http://www.stubru.be/stubru_master/programmas/switch/home/index.html Switch], [http://www.stubru.be/stubru_master/programmas/worldwide/home/index.html Worldwide] || FM || 192k DVB-S || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://internetradio.vrt.be/dab/hoeluisteren/pc/help/gebruiksvoorwaarden/stream_41.m3U 96k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:Germany.gif]] || --- || [[sunshine-live]] || [http://www.sunshine-live.de/index.php?id=89 Mellomania De Luxe], [http://www.sunshine-live.de/index.php?id=92 SSL Technoclub] || FM, cable || 192k DVB-S || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://lsd.newmedia.tiscali-business.com/bb/redirect.lsc?adid=13335&content=live&media=rm&stream=sunshinelive/livestream.rm 16-64k RA]
|-
| || [[Image:Australia.gif]] || engl. || [[Triple J|Triple J (JJJ)]] || [http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/mixup/default.htm JJJ MixUp] || FM || --- || [http://abc.net.au/streaming/triplej/triplej.m3u 128k MP3]
|-
| || [[Image:UKflag.gif]] || engl. || [[XFM]] || [http://www.xfm.co.uk/Article.asp?id=5285 The Rinse] & [http://www.xfm.co.uk/article.asp?id=5282 The Remix] [http://www.xfm.co.uk/schedule.asp?b=none&t=schedule '''Schedule'''] || FM, cable || 192k SkyDigital || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://ms2.capitalinteractive.co.uk/xfm_high 32k WMA] (UK only)
|-
| || [[Image:Germany.gif]] || --- || [[YouFM]] || [http://www.hr-online.de/website/radio/you_fm/index.jsp?rubrik=12424 You.fm Clubnight (EDM)] || FM, cable || style="background:#B9FFC5;" | 320k DVB-S || style="background:#FECBCB;" | [http://cms.streamfarm.net/cms/_v/channel/youfm/club.pls 96k MP3]
|-
|}

The list contains the radio stations, links to the main radio show or the schedule and some info about the availability of ''english'' explanations on-site. [[Image:New2.gif]] and [[Image:Update.gif]] indicate new entries, updates and changes within the last four weeks.

For available terrestrial and satellite digital broadcasts (all possible [[MP2]]-based DVB/DAB varieties) and internet streams ([[MP3]], [[AAC|AAC+]] and others), only the sources with the highest freely accessible bitrates are given - DVB is here typically slightly better than DAB broadcasts at the same bitrate. Some entries are in part color-coded. Cells with a green background color indicate broadcasts in exceptionally high quality - use this source if you want to record shows! Cells with a red background color should be avoided - low quality!!

Minimum acceptable bitrates for decent quality for the [[MP3]] and [[MP2]] formats (DAB, DVB-S (SkyDigital), DVB-T (Freeview), Internet broadcasts) are 128kbit/s, for [[AAC|AAC+]] and [[Ogg Vorbis|OGG]] consider at least 64kbit/s. Be careful with 128kbit/s MP2/MP3 broadcasts, the quality might be quite bad at times.

''Note, that UK internet broadcasts are in general restricted to UK residents - your degree of success in getting the streams will vary - sometimes it works, sometimes it does not!!''

'''If you are looking for possibilities to access radios not listed by the table:'''
* For '''''analogue''''' FM and cable broadcasts: simply check your radio or look for the stations your cable provider is offering.
* For '''''terrestrial digital audio broadcasts''''', check [http://www.wohnort.demon.co.uk/DAB/ DAB frequencies and available bitrates here]. The list is updated daily! Another list is available from the [http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/digital_radio_bit_rates.htm Digital Radio Tech] website.
* For '''''satellite digital audio broadcasts''''', check available beams, frequencies and coordinates here:[http://www.lyngsat.com/freeradio/ Worldwide Satellite Radio Stations Info]. For Europe, the fleet of [http://www.lyngsat.com/astra19.html Astra satellites] is especially important. The definite source for [http://www.edi-hof.de/transponder/sat-index.html bitrates of satellite digital audio broadcasts] is quite new and updated daily!
* For '''''digital internet audio broadcasts''''', just check the direct links provided together with the list of radio stations above. Given are always the streams with the highest quality. For satellite radios additionally offering internet broadcasts you will find a [http://www.lyngsat.com/netradio/ huge list with direct links to net broadcasts] at Lyngsat as well. You can also check lists at [http://www.tuner2.com Tuner2.com (AAC+)] and at [http://www.shoutcast.com Shoutcast.com (MP3)] for lots of internet radios. A more exotic list of internet radios can be found at [http://dir.xiph.org/ Xiph.org (Ogg Vorbis)].

[[Category:Top Level]]