How to Protect Your BitTorrent Client From This Potential Hack [source: lifehacker]

Still using BitTorrent to exclusively download legally acquired content like operating system images or files you want to share privately with friends? If so, you might want to double-check your security settings to protect yourself from what researchers at Google’s Project Zero are calling a “low complexity hack” affecting Transmission and other popular BitTorrent clients. The flaw could leave your computer vulnerable to control by malicious hackers, but you can protect yourself by following a few steps until official fixes are in place.

The proof of concept attack, Ars Technica explains, affects users who control their BitTorrent client through their web browser, which lets them manage their transfers remotely. Many clients with remote access enabled are left unprotected, and don’t require the user enter a password.

The flaw, explained by Project Zero researcher Tim Ormandy, takes advantage of the lax security, and lets hackers execute commands through that web interface, turning your BitTorrent client into an access point where the wrong person can run whatever code they want after gaining access to your torrent downloads.

While Project Zero only disclosed the flaw in Transmission after providing a fix, other BitTorrent clients might face similar security issues according to this tweet from Ormandy discussing the flaw present in unspecified BitTorrent clients.

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