I don't live in the US, so my ISP doesn't really seem to care what I torrent, but the megathread vehemently recommends to always use one. Since VPNs aren't cheap and I'm on a strict budget (wouldn't pirate otherwise), is it really that dangerous to torrent without one?

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[–] JasSmith@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Just an FYI: for the cost of a VPN, you can buy a Usenet subscription. Depending on your content, you'll get far better speeds, far more privacy, far more content, and far more availability.

[–] Overzeetop@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (4 children)

I used to be all over usenet. Starting about 10-12 years ago most of the indexers turned to shit; either that or takedowns have eviscerated the back catalog of content from providers. I've yet to find a good tracker that can find anything (that's more than 12-24 hours old).

[–] Parallax@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

I wish I had gotten into Usenet back in the day. I feel like I missed out on a big part of the early internet.

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[–] kavides@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Where would be a good place to go to learn more about UseNet? Are there any resources you prefer?

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[–] trent@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (4 children)

You're probably fine, but I recommend just getting a free VPN to keep your ISP at bay. I don't like Proton, but they do have a free VPN. Google around and you can find some others too, if that one is too slow

[–] jaackf@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Just remember with free things - if you're not paying for the product, you are the product!

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[–] Sterben@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago

Look, if you want peace of mind use it, but it is also true that you will most likely be fine with it.

I personally use NordVPN, and I have been always torrenting with pretty good speed. I am pretty sure there are cheaper alternatives.

Good luck to You. :⁠-⁠)

[–] BiggestBulb@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago

There are a lot of self-hostable VPN services out there which are free. There is also Mullvad as previously mentioned and I myself use Nord (I don't necessarily recommend it for privacy, but it was convenient when I got it).

[–] KingPyrox@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago (13 children)

If using qBittorrent there is an anonymous option. Not sure if works well but I haven't received an ISP email in a long time since I set it

[–] BananaTrifleViolin@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Anonymous mode is NOT enough. It is just meant to enhance protections by anonymising your traffic as much a possible. But your data still leaks and is enough for people to persue you. For example, if you live in a flat share and you and your flatmate torrent, by turning on Anonymous mode your client's unique "finger print" is not shared, so it would be difficult to determine which of you did the downloading if you both use it. But you're still leaking information on what you're downloading so it can still be traced to your flat.

You need to use either a Proxy service or a full VPN service. And if you're sharing with other people then encourage them to do the same, or secure your internet connection at the source (you can set up VPNs to work on your router so ALL internet traffic is secured)

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[–] Jezebelley@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago

Definitely should have one. Highly recommend Proton VPN personally. I love their software suite.

[–] bob@lemmy.havocperil.uk -1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

You all seem to be starting from the basis that downloading a torrent is illegal. It is not, it is only distribution/upload that's an issue. If you behave as a leech and kill it after you're done the worst you're going to get is a complaining letter from your ISP.

I torrent without a VPN and haven't had a single email from my ISP, but I presume it's because I'm a business customer.

[–] CurlyWurlies4All@slrpnk.net 0 points 2 years ago

Never had a letter from my ISP and I’ve been torrenting for 20 years.

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