SwarmScreen - Quick Start guide

Overview

SwarmScreen works by connecting to random torrents, making it harder for eavesdroppers to identify what you mean to download. Before it can work, you have to: 0) enable it, 1) tell it where to find torrents and 2) where to store them.

Step-by-step

  1. Go to Tools > Plugins > SwarmScreen (or in the Classic view, go to Plugins > SwarmScreen). The following window will appear:
  2. Enable SwarmScreen by checking the box.
  3. Specify a directory to store the random torrent data. The data will be deleted when the torrent completes or when you close Vuze. For advanced configurations, see "Advanced directory setup" below.
  4. Add one more links to sites that list torrent files. For added security, see this "Advanced torrent site setup" below.
  5. Set your SPF level. The default value should provide you a good compromise between performance and privacy. Lower values reduce privacy and increase performance, higher values do the reverse.
  6. That's it! Sit back, relax and watch SwarmScreen do its magic.

Advanced directory setup

SwarmScreen needs to store data for the random torrents it downloads -- this allows it to upload data so that random torrent activity looks like the activity for the torrents you are keeping. Here's some things to consider:

  • Torrent data can be quite large, please make sure that the directory you choose has enough space.
  • You may want to keep this directory separate from the one for the torrents you want to keep. If Vuze crashes, it will not remove this data. Keeping a separate directory makes it easy for you to find and delete it.
  • An alternative is to use a RAM disk to store random torrent data. The advantage to this is that random data is never stored persistently. You can find out more about setting up a RAM disk here.
  • The SwarmScreen configuration page allows you to specify a maximum file size, you can use this to make sure that you don't run out of space on your drive.

Advanced torrent site setup

SwarmScreen needs to pick torrents at random, but you have to tell it where to look. For better privacy, you'll want to encrypt your Web connections by providing HTTPS sites, or you can consider using Tor for HTTP requests. You can use just about any site that has “.torrent” files linked directly from a web page. You are encouraged to use free and legal torrent sites.