Study: Cox blocking BitTorrent traffic, too

Cox is the latest Internet service provider to have been found blocking peer-to-peer traffic on its network.

The Max Planck Institute for Software Systems released a survey Thursday showing that 54 percent of Cox subscribers reported having their connections blocked when they tried to share files over the Internet. Comcast has been castigated for a similar practice, but apparently it wasn't the only company engaging in such action, according to the Associated Press.

The blocked connections occurred when Cox subscribers used BitTorrent to download or upload files, according to the results of the survey. Cox has acknowledged a practice called "protocol filtering," but says that's not the equivalent of creating different standards for handling content traveling across its networks.

The survey results will provide another log for the fire started by Net neutrality activists pushing for rules that would prohibit ISPs from enacting different standards for different types of content. The AP said the Federal Communications Commission would look into the matter "expeditiously."

[m_drunk]

Unless you have a business account, Cox blocks almost all lower range ports and protocols. No incoming anything. No running of web servers, FTP servers, or even email servers on the standard low ports. This has nothing to do with BitTorrent specifically. Maybe the customer should read their terms of service before "blowing the whistle".

[m_drunk]

Cox blocks MOST incoming traffic. ALL incoming traffic on standard low ports. Read your terms of service people.

[Punchinello325]

Many of these ISPs have terms in their TOS that allow for traffic control. So why are we shocked when they do it? Also, does anyone else see the humor in Cox Blocking?

[Funkyzen]

Use a random high port and turn on RC4 encryption in your BT client.
Cox does slow down unencrypted BT traffic, but whatever they're using can't block encrypted traffic.