Let’s not turn this into what the Reddit subreddit of Piracy has turned into and that’s an endless sea of questions that are all the same - “Do I need a VPN?”.
And the loud and vocal answer to such a question is - yes. Yes you do need a VPN for pirating. Nobody gets a VPN for casual use and I’m under the impression that VPN services know a lot of people are going to be going to them for pirating and not just accessing content out of their country. And it’s for that reason, is why I’m skeptical on entrusting my activity with the bigger VPN names available.
I use ProtonVPN myself, by the way.
Pirating under your raw IP address, only will set you up to get pegged by your ISP whether it’s in a short time or a long time. I’ve only ever gotten one single ISP letter in my entire 26 years of pirating and it was simply because I downloaded without a VPN. Well I was also downloading off of someone else’s network to take the fall, but I was confronted about it either way.
And I’ve gotten away with so much pirating because of my careful cautiousness when it comes to pirating. That and this applies to the United States, but the statue of limitations is 3 years when it comes to copyright infringement. So, good fucking luck to any ISP or so that wishes to try and nail me for something I downloaded 10 years ago, but I digress.
But a large part of me avoiding so much does contribute to having a VPN. So, yes, VPN is required. Please don’t ask anybody in the pirating community 100 questions that are all just ways to ask whether or not you need a VPN. You do.
My torrenting level is very casual and (sry) I only leech. Also my ISP is a small one in the UK. Our Government seems to only force the big ISP to tattle on its users and block pirating sites. At least that’s how it has been for the last 10 years.
I have qbittorrent and Plex on my server. It is tempting to setup a VPN just for qbittorrent just to be sure.
That’s what I do. I’m in a place that really doesn’t give a shit about Piracy (the worst they’ll do is send a letter, one of my friends got one and called up his ISP to complain about it and they told him to stop seeding so much lol) but I still run a VPN 24/7 anyway just to be safe. It costs peanuts and doesn’t slow down the internet hugely so I figure why not.
You don’t need a VPN if you use I2P!
Summation of arguments below: if you know a lot, then you know if you know if you need a VPN or not.
If you don’t know if you need one, just get one.
I’m just lazy.
I can’t be bothered to wonder whether or not your specific flavor of piracy is tracking me or not, and I don’t really care to know.
VPN and just don’t worry about it.
If I hear my provider turned to shit, I move providers. Mullvad rn.
Mullvad isn’t good for torrenting anymore since they don’t have port forwarding but that probably doesn’t apply if you’re using Usenet, streaming, or some other form.
…I never used port forwarding with them and it just kinda works?
I pirate almost exclusively over Qbittorrent.
there’s just gotta be a leak somewhere, that ain’t normal…
If Mullvad is off, and I download a Pixar film, I will get a letter. I have.
If it isn’t, I won’t. I don’t.
shrug port forward or no port forward, the data still flows and my ISP can’t see it.
Without it, you won’t be able to connect to other peers unless they have port forwarding active. If enough people torrent without port forwarding, the whole system breaks down.
Mine works just fine with torrenting…
I think this comment should be pinned honestly.
I think you are giving an overly simplistic answer, to the point of being misleading.
Stating that you need a VPN for pirating is blatantly false. It’s perfectly possible to pirate without one. You can assume that people are asking if they should have one, but it is helpful to draw the distinction- including the why you believe they should use one. What does a VPN do, how is it helpful, what could happen if they don’t, etc.
Teach people, don’t just give them blind rules.
Yep. I am not a strong media consumer. For my purposes, something that I think is called scene release page with links to new episodes or movies that just came out posted on one click hoster pages, as well as streaming sites where I find ways to download the video instead of just streaming, is enough. For neither I use a VPN and probably never will.
Ahh, American ey?
Whether you really need a VPN depends on where you live. When in doubt, use one
I don’t need one, and you definetly dont need it for everything, maybe torrenting at the very minimum.
Buy an ad.
I don’t use one. Never had.
Rants about not going to a big vpn because of privacy concerns, yet brings up one of the largest vpns still that their uses. Btw a vpn is only subjective to what you are doing, torrenting or any p2p activity you will need a vpn. Direct downIoads from datanodes, 1cloudfile or streaming from a site aka broflix, primeflix you dont need a vpn. Ive gone years without getting any notice from my isp with this information. Of course the websites will change over time but the info still stands true to this day.
I am not sure there is an argument of big vs small vpns. Small vpns certainly do not have the resource to fight media companies.
Not everyone lives in the so-called first world. Here the ISPs don’t care about pirating.
Hell, in Canada they don’t care at all either.
OP said not everyone lives in the first world…
Is this a vpn sales pitch
Do I need a VPN to read this post?
VPNs are not required. Instead of egressing on your ISPs network, you’re egressing on someone else’s network. It’s kinda like paying for a second ISP so you can egress your ISP to go encrypted to your other ISP. What does it accomplish other than putting you in another law jurisdiction?
Even purevpn who said “no logs” handed over data.
"In 2017, PureVPN, which advertised a no-logs policy, supplied connection logs to the FBI during a cyberstalking investigation. These logs enabled the identification of a suspect by linking activities to originating IP addresses. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PureVPN
"In 2016, IPVanish, another provider asserting a no-logs policy, furnished user data to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during a child abuse investigation. The information shared included the user’s real IP address and connection timestamps. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPVanish
You pay them, and for what? To just take their word for it? Sorry but it’s impossible to run a reliable network without some level of logging.
Not to mention that there have been documented instances Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), have been misused, leading to concerns about domestic surveillance.
This section allows the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to collect communications from non-U.S. citizens located outside the United States, even when those communications are routed through U.S.-based companies, such as cloud providers, internet service providers (ISPs), and tech companies.
At that point do you think you’ll get some form of compensation from the VPN provider?
To an extent, you are correct. You have to have a certain amount of trust in your VPN provider. Kape, which owns most of the big names, is not trustworthy. You absolutely shouldn’t use them.
Others have been audited or otherwise had their log-free claims validated. Names like Mullvad and Proton. You are correct that logs are important for reliability, but these can be very limited in scope. If the logs are useless at an individual level, or might meet both requirements. Others might only log on certain servers, or in dev/troubleshooting scenarios. You don’t necessarily need logs in all production scenarios. This is particularly true if you can still access real-time data.
But even if the VPN provider isn’t trustworthy, there is something to be said about the trust being relative. AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast have all shown that they are completely untrustworthy. I would even trust Nord over any of them, and I do not trust Nord.
VPNs are not required. Instead of egressing on your ISPs network, you’re egressing on someone else’s network. It’s kinda like paying for a second ISP so you can egress your ISP to go encrypted to your other ISP. What does it accomplish other than putting you in another law jurisdiction?
I…what?
How am I paying for another person’s ISP when I’m mooching off of their network to pirate from?
Okay, so the two examples you’ve provided about those VPN services, have nothing to do at all about piracy. One is about cyberstalking and the other was about a child abuse investigation. Those are arguably more serious than piracy in comparison.
At that point do you think you’ll get some form of compensation from the VPN provider?
The fuck are you on?
How am I paying for another person’s ISP when I’m mooching off of their network to pirate from?
I’m not defending their argument but they’re saying that a VPN is like paying for a second ISP to hide traffic from the first not that you’re paying for someone else’s ISP like the seeder of a torrent.
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I work for a VPN company. There may be many shitty VPN companies that do keep logs, but not all of them.
You just need to pick the right ones, ideally audited ones.
Also, VPNs are absolutely required in some countries if you’re using public torrents. Even if they’re not required in your country right now, you’re still advertising that you’re doing illegal stuff if you don’t use one.
you’re doing illegal stuff
Strong assumption there. It is only “illegal” because Disney said so?
If the mouse comes after your ass unfortunately yes they do kind of get to decide what is and isn’t legal. A lot of it depends on your country’s relationship with the US.
In most jurisdictions, piracy is illegal no?
Most doing heavy lifting here is my point.
Is it most tho?
I’m not sure. When in doubt, use protection right? I know at least a couple where it is illegal
I work for a VPN company.
So, you understand how things work then right? Or are you being hypothetical?
In most jurisdictions, piracy is illegal no?
No, it’s actually embraced by communities such as this sprouting up. Are you a caveman or something?
No, it’s actually embraced by communities such as this sprouting up. Are you a caveman or something?
Not the same guy, and I don’t mind piracy at all, but being embraced by a community doesn’t make something not illegal.
That’s very much decided by the law of the land you live in, and in most lands it’s classed as a form of theft or copyright infringement, which is illegal.
Also, bit rude to suggest he’s a caveman for making a perfectly valid point
in most lands
Well in that sense you’re breaking the law of your land by commenting on such a forum since we’re on the high seas here if you didn’t notice?
And no, I didn’t intend to be rude if you’re inferring that but it’s blatantly clear what this forum is for and them being employed by someone who purports to protect their privacy selling such a service but then feigning ignorance
In most jurisdictions, piracy is illegal no?
if “it’s illegal”, is telling.
Well in that sense you’re breaking the law of your land by commenting on such a forum since we’re on the high seas here if you didn’t notice?
I’m aware of where I am, as I said before I have no problem with piracy - my main point was that just because we’re fine with it, doesn’t just magically make it legal - which is what you were implying.
And no, I didn’t intend to be rude if you’re inferring that but it’s blatantly clear what this forum is for and them being employed by someone who purports to protect their privacy selling such a service but then feigning ignorance
Feigning ignorance of what? That it’s probably not the greatest idea to be flogging around your actual IP address while doing potentially illegal/unlawful activities?
From my PoV, @PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de wasn’t feigning ignorance, the question was a retort to a non-sequitur. One’s view on the validity of laws (i.e. only being illegal cause Disney said so) doesn’t change them - I’ve seen enough “Sov Cits” find that out the hard way to not make that stupid mistake.
lol, likes porn eh?
https://iknowwhatyoudownload.com/en/peer/
I love these labels and torrenting porn is so noobie it’s not even funny, and don’t most use Bing for that?
Is that for @PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de’s IP?
Cause if they’re working for a VPN company and recomennding you use a VPN, surely they must be using a VPN themselves
How is this guy seeing users IP addresses?
That’s part of why I asked, cause I’m sceptical they can see it in the first place, never mind that’s its probably not Potato’s actual IP given how much they’re advocating VPN use
It’s nothing like that :D
Once you’re in a pool like I was above, you get websites that collate this data. But the thing is is that “IP pool” was also shared with someone else hence it showing me “liking porn”, even though I never touched these mofo’s
I think there is a big misconception that the main use of a VPN is piracy when that is really only true when in a community of pirates. There are many legit uses for one as well.
For example, while VPNs are generally not a great tool for anonymity they can be a useful tool for privacy. One of the side effects of not trusting your ISP (or better put trusting your VPN over your ISP) with your data is it also makes it easier to torrent.
Its this relationship of trust that makes choosing a respected VPN (such as Mullvad, IVPN, or Proton) important over just choosing the cheapest provider with port forwarding.
Yeah I don’t really understand this post. I use a VPN pretty much 24/7 coupled with little snitch. I like controlling what information of mine is going out and who gets to come in.
