Protecting your privacy:
The creator of this program is a libertarian. I don't believe the government, your internet provider, your
spouse, or even other people using the Bunzilla network should invade your privacy and monitor you. Just as
no one should have a right to install a camera in your house to watch you 24 x 7, the same should
be true for the internet. Who's business is it if you like to watch women dressed as chickens
sitting on eggs? Yet everyone from your ISP to the government can monitor your searching and downloading
habits with most available P2P and web surfing software. Many other P2P programs allow you to view who you
are connected to, what files they have to share, etc. Bunzilla intentionally does not offer these types of
features. You are not asked to fill out a personal profile describing yourself to other people on the
Bunzilla network. Keep in mind that respecting privacy doesn't mean
that I sanction illegal sharing of materials. This software is available to you for free, but some people
actually expect to get paid for the work they do. If you want music or other copywrited materials, for god
sakes spend a few dollars and purchase it. If you are poor, turn on the radio or go to a discount store
that sells used CDs, DVDs and games. By using this software, you agreed to the licensing terms not perform
any illegal acts such as uploading or downloading protected material.
Bunzilla does not use a centralized or distributed server that tracks users activities. It does not
track the content you search for, what you share and what you download. There is no central
database of content on the Bunzilla network.
When you make a request in Bunzilla, such as searching, your request is sent to one
or more other users (peers) that are currently connected to you. Those peers may respond themselves
based on their files, requests that have passed thru them, or they may forward your request to
people they are connected to. If they forward your request, it is sent with no information regarding
who made the original request. Responses are sent back to your computer thru the person who processed
your request.
Example: If you enter a search and it is sent to Mary
- Mary may respond based on the files she is sharing
- Mary might respond based on information regarding searches that have previously passed thru her system
- Mary may send your request on to Ted.
- Ted knows the request came from Mary, but Ted doesn't know if Mary made the request, or if someone
who is connected thru Mary requested it.
- Ted will do the same thing as Mary, so your request might now move on to Fred
- When you receive a response from Mary, you don't know if the document you are searching for came
from Mary, Ted or Fred
- So, you, Mary, Ted, and Fred don't know who looked for what file and who provided that file
There is a price to pay for privacy. Performance may be slower then other peer sharing networks. There
is no central list of files that you can quickly refer to and downloading content thru a third party adds
the overhead of additional network utilization.
One disclaimer, the above is only true when you and others are able to connect to multiple people. If you and another
individual connect to each other and neither of you are connected to anyone else, then each can conclude the
other is the source of a request or the source of a response. Someone monitoring your internet connection could
also know if you and the person you are connected to are not connected to anyone else. This software was written
to enhance your privacy. It is not warrented to garantee privacy.
Bunzilla adds an additional layer of privacy by transmitting data between peers in an encyrypted format.