Re: [bitcoin-dev] AT&T has effectively banned Bitcoin nodes by closing port 8333 via a hidden firewall in the cable box

From: Dan Bryant <dkbryant@gmail•com>
To: odinn <odinn.cyberguerrilla@riseup•net>
Cc: bitcoin-dev@lists•linuxfoundation.org
Subject: Re: [bitcoin-dev] AT&T has effectively banned Bitcoin nodes by closing port 8333 via a hidden firewall in the cable box
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2015 09:44:44 -0500	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAAUFj11p0J9YGwAc93mw62TeqtG3j3G8GbcCg4auSMxYrK5bUw@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <55E550DF.80806@riseup.net>

Keep in mind... Legal or Not, many ISPs (Comcast for example) prohibit
offering up network services (which a full node would supply) from
your residence.

I checked AT&T's TOS and they have a carve-out on equipment that is scary

http://www.att.com/legal/terms.internetAttTermsOfService.html

>Regardless of whether the equipment used to access your Service (modem, gateway, etc.) is owned by you or AT&T, AT&T reserves the right to manage such equipment for the duration of your Service, and retains exclusive rights to data generated by the equipment. Neither you nor a third party may change, interfere with, or block access to equipment data or settings.

AT&T seams to imply they implicitly have Admin rights to all
"equipment" that connects to their network.  Clearly an overreach that
needs to be clarified, but there it is.

As for Comcast, they simply forbid network "services" that serve
anyone off-premise.

http://www.xfinity.com/Corporate/Customers/Policies/HighSpeedInternetAUP.html

> [MAY NOT] use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the Premises that provide network
content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises local
area network (“Premises
LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers.
Examples of prohibited
equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, email, web
hosting, file sharing, and proxy
services and servers

Technically, P2P is prohibited in the Comcast TOS, or at least by my
reading.  I realize that Comcast with deny this tooth and nail, but if
they ever want to exercise the prohibition, it is clearly spelled out
in their TOS

My recommendation is to file a complaint with the FCC to bring up your
issue as well as any overreach they spell out in the AUP or TOS.

As for me... I simply subscribed to a VPN.  That gives me both privacy
(to a degree) and flexibility to open or close whatever ports I want.

On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 2:16 AM, odinn via bitcoin-dev
<bitcoin-dev@lists•linuxfoundation.org> wrote:
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> Another note on this subject to add to the stuff people have already
> mentioned...
>
> If you have the AT&T landline but don't use AT&T's standard internet /
> tv (what they call Uverse) offering - that is, if you prefer to use
> some local internet provider - you are probably better off (in terms
> of avoiding not only this sort of blockage/censorship but as well,
> potentially getting a better privacy policy that isn't going to be
> like AT&T's long-term data retention).  You can check directly with
> the various local small ISPs to see what their policies are
> specifically on ports and whatnot.
>
> Ideally your ISP should let you:
>
> port forward to SOMEPORTNUMBER for tcp and udp
>
> (above may or may not be helpful for some if you are using
> decentralized markets)
>
> have port 8333 open
>
> (above is for bitcoin of course)
>
> Supposing you have FTTN because you are paying a local ISP for
> internet service, and that local ISP has contracted with AT&T to be
> able to provide service in an area where old-style DSL has been phased
> out, thus your local ISP is essentially providing you AT&T FTTN.
> (FTTN is Fiber to the Node, FTTN-BP is FTTN Bonded Pair).  Even if a
> local ISP has its own privacy policy posted which is different from
> AT&T, everything is subject to AT&T data retention because the FTTN.
> So get yourself a VPN (or set up your own) for your connection. Tor
> will run through the VPN.
>
> General observations - TWC stores your IP and other stuffs for 6
> months or longer.  Same for Comcast.  Verizon retains your stuffs for
> 18 month minimum, probably longer though. Qwest/Century, 1 year.
> Cox, 6 months.  AT&T retains for longer than a year.  This is just
> what they are telling you, the reality is it's probably longer due to
> stuff like this:
> https://www.lawfareblog.com/odni-and-doj-release-last-section-215-collec
> tion-order
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Zach G via bitcoin-dev:
>> I have been struggling to get port 8333 open all year, I gave up
>> and was using blockchain for months despite a strong desire to stay
>> on Bitcoin Core, but now the issue has reached critical mass since
>> I'm using the python Bitcoin server module. I have literally spent
>> my entire day trying to open 8333, I thoroughly made sure it was
>> open on the router and computer and it's still closed. Strangely
>> enough I got it open for 30 seconds once today but something closed
>> it immediately.
>>
>> After hours of phone calls and messaging AT&T finally told me the
>> truth of what was going on, and only because I noticed it myself
>> and demanded an answer. The internet is being routed through a
>> DVR/cable box, and they confirmed the DVR also has a firewall. To
>> make this even more absurd they refused to turn the firewall off
>> because it is their equipment. So effectively they can firewall any
>> port they want even if the customer asks them not to, in the
>> unlikely event the customer figures it out.
>>
>> Perhaps this is the driving force behind the inexplicable and
>> massive decline in Bitcoin nodes. Bitcoin is being censored by the
>> ISPs themselves, and they won't even tell you that. I had to get in
>> touch with headquarters and threaten to rip it out of the wall to
>> get a proper answer.
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________ bitcoin-dev mailing
>> list bitcoin-dev@lists•linuxfoundation.org
>> https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/bitcoin-dev
>>
>
> - --
> http://abis.io ~
> "a protocol concept to enable decentralization
> and expansion of a giving economy, and a new social good"
> https://keybase.io/odinn
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