What is Peer Guardian?
Peer Guardian is perhaps the most popular IP blocking software tool on the web. Peer Guardian is primarily used by the Peer2Peer sharing community to block the RIAA, MPAA and other organizations from tracking a sharer's IP address and online activity. In addition to blocking IP addresses, Peer Guardian also can block adware, spyware, government IP's and educational IP's. Peer Guardian is open source and originally developed by Phoenix Labs. The latest version is Peer Guardian 3, however since Peer Guardian 3 is only supported on MS Windows Vista, Peer Guardian 2 continues to be the most popular version.
How Does Peer Guardian Work
Peer Guardian works by blocking IP addresses. Peer Guardian keeps updated lists and uses these lists to halt access to specific IP addresses while you share files and conduct other web activities.
Peer Guardian is extremely to easy use, you first download the software which is less than 2 MB and install it. Once installed, Peer Guardian will update all IP lists and request that you set up your personal preferences. Some of the preferences available for the user are:
- The ability to block spyware, adware and ads
- The ability to block educational and government IP ranges
- The ability to block IP's specifically used by the RIAA, MPAA and other organizations to track you during P2P file sharing or other web activities
Once all lists have been selected, downloaded and updated, you can set Peer Guardian to launch either at startup or at your request. Peer Guardian works mainly in the background and most users won't even notice it.
Considerations
Peer Guardian 2 is able to block all ports and protocols when used with Windows XP; however earlier operating systems such as Windows ME and 98 will only block TCP. Peer Guardian 2 is extremely safe to use and for the most part doesn't require lots of memory or processing power to run. Unfortunately, the original version was considered by many to be a memory and power hog, however since Peer Guardian has gone open source, the new code is written in C and is much more efficient.
It is also important to note that Peer Guardian updates its lists quite often. You can choose to update your list at each launch, every couple of days or once a week. While Peer Guardian is an excellent tool to block others from tracking your IP address, it is not a foolproof tool, due to the fact that a new IP that is not on the list is not blocked by Peer Guardian and thus can be tracking you. However, for most users, Peer Guardian does substantially reduce the risk of being tracked. It is also important to note that while Peer Guardian does include the ability to block spyware and other forms of malware, it is not a substitution for a firewall. Finally, the downside to using Peer Guardian is that in some cases the software is known to interfere with Stream connectivity and Battlefield 2, causing disruptions.
Peer Guardian downloads are open source and available for free at its official website at the following link: Phoenix Labs
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