Whenever thepiratebay goes down, it is a disaster for me to find anything online. The megathread is next to useless, taking me to all these crazy sites that don’t have a torrent option. Instead, they have individual episode downloads of 600 episode TV series. And to access each individual episode, I have to click on a mirror that takes me elsewhere. Then, from that site, I have to click on something that takes me to another site. Then, I have to wait 10 seconds, then I have to confirm the download, then it asks me if I want to pay for premium, then it takes 30 minutes to download one episode.
I’m not actually sure what the community’s goal is here. To me, it seems like the entire idea of piracy will go down if thepiratebay ever goes permanently down because this giant “community resource” we have is an utter cluster, with so much garbage shoved in it.
Outside of thepiratebay, how do you guys effectively perform any of the tasks one would want to do on a place like this?
There is nowhere near enough quality control or moderation of what’s posted on TPB. Yeah it’s absolutely got more content and even seeders than elsewhere, but you’re really rolling the dice.
Why are you using your isp’s DNS? Change it to something like 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8, 9.9.9.9 or any number of others to bypass the Australian ISP DNS filtering
It’s blocked for me in Europe because of the sanctions against Russia, but I can easily access it using TOR browser. Might want to try that if you don’t want to use a vpn.
Only a problem if you’re running executables like cracked games, right? Bc of teh virii?
I would think if you’re sticking to books, music, and movies, it wouldn’t matter? Unless you’re looking for questionable porn I guess, in which case you may come across more than you bargained for?
It is less likely, but viruses can absolutely come in non-executable file types. A quick look at VLC media player’s changelogs show that there are a lot of updates to fix security issues. Same with PDF files and security issues in Adobe Reader (to relate to your ebook mention). Can’t speak to music, but image files are also a common choice for malware embedding. For a good while the easiest way to run homebrew on PSP was by taking advantage of an oversight with how it handled image files to get it to run unsigned code, and similar exploits exist in image reading software.
The only thing someone spreading malware needs is an opportunity. It’s not hard to imagine someone tracking torrents for things like cult classic films and then taking advantage when seeders dry up by uploading their own torrent and faking seeders (or sockpuppeting them by using botnet machines) to get their compromised torrent listed at the top of results for that search. I’ve lost track of how many times I was surprised to find something I thought was reasonably popular with only 15 seeders. It wouldn’t take much to game those numbers.
Hell, it’s probably even automatable with enough of a media library and time spent scripting. Theoretically could be a good way to build a botnet, or collect endpoints for a shady residential proxy service.
For the record, I’ve only had issues with TPB content when I was being unreasonably risky (in retrospect) and my antivirus caught things before I was truly infected.
That said my rambling point is: why take the risk when there’s plenty of safer options even just in the public tracker space?
As others have surely said by now, TPB is not safe because they don’t do any sort of moderation (or at least whatever they do is insufficient) leading to it being swarmed with infected software.
If you use it for music or videos or other stuff that can’t realistically be infected with much (and use a VPN, which you obviously want to always do when using a torrent site but especially when using the most prominent and visible torrent site in the entire world) it is technically safe but there are better options.
Although IMHO the megathread should probably mention it somewhere just in a “here’s why you shouldn’t use it” sense - I thought it did? Since it’s so high-profile that users will probably know about it already and need to be warned not to use it for anything executable at the very least.
People can and have made sites that are better than TPB. Functionally, TPB’s site is still usable (and also quite a nostalgia trip with its appearance), but in terms of the content, there are a ton of malware-laced torrents on there. I understand that you always have to be careful when torrenting regardless of where you get something from, but it’s kind of a bad sign when you’re looking for something, and most of the torrents you find are malicious.
Look for a reputable site that is specifically for what your looking for. For example if I want anime first place I check is nyaa, or for books zlibrary
If what I want is not there or not enough seeders I check general torrent sites like 1337
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
⚓ Dedicated to the discussion of digital piracy, including ethical problems and legal advancements.
There is nowhere near enough quality control or moderation of what’s posted on TPB. Yeah it’s absolutely got more content and even seeders than elsewhere, but you’re really rolling the dice.
removed by mod
I primarily use 1337x.to
The pirate bay has been unreliable for me for years.
Why are you using your isp’s DNS? Change it to something like 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8, 9.9.9.9 or any number of others to bypass the Australian ISP DNS filtering
Though ideally you should be using a VPN instead
It did that for me but I fixed it with a VPN (which you should be using anyway)
Is that some sort of ISP-level block?
Sounds like you need a VPN.
Or maybe just an IP address
That or another DNS server
It’s blocked for me in Europe because of the sanctions against Russia, but I can easily access it using TOR browser. Might want to try that if you don’t want to use a vpn.
use a vpn?
What about watchsomuch.to?
I bet it would be as simple as changing your DNS server to bypass this
Yes, all they need to do is change their DNS servers. Zero cost.
Try one of these
All you need to do is change your DNS servers. It costs you nothing.
Google it. Or simply use NEXTDNS.
Use a proxy.
Use the money you save pirating software and movies to pay for a vpn to pirate them with.
VPNs are really cheap
It’s only a DNS block in Australia, your ISP isn’t routing you to it. There are benefits to using a bigger DNS provider like Cloudflare etc.
https://i.imgur.com/2NvHUOi.png
edit https://i.imgur.com/ya099dQ.png
never had an issue tbh
Imagine not using a VPN for torrent content and using that fact as a kind of gotcha…
If I remember correctly the Pirate Bay moderation is considered to be of poor quality, they said it’s easier to run into viruses over there.
I bet only a few of us here use pirate bay these days. Atleast for media.
I suggest 1337 or torrent galaxy. They have seasons packed into a single torrent
Watchsomuch.to has been my go to lately.
IMHO the great Days of TPB are long over, there are many good alternatives, some are linked in the Megathread.
TPB used to be great once, now it is riddled with malware. There are safer alternatives like 1337x, rutracker & torrentgalaxy etc
If you can use Linux for your torrenting.
TPB has been a cesspit for years now.
Using TPB is like rawdogging a hooker.
Only a problem if you’re running executables like cracked games, right? Bc of teh virii?
I would think if you’re sticking to books, music, and movies, it wouldn’t matter? Unless you’re looking for questionable porn I guess, in which case you may come across more than you bargained for?
TPB has always treated me p well shrugs
It is less likely, but viruses can absolutely come in non-executable file types. A quick look at VLC media player’s changelogs show that there are a lot of updates to fix security issues. Same with PDF files and security issues in Adobe Reader (to relate to your ebook mention). Can’t speak to music, but image files are also a common choice for malware embedding. For a good while the easiest way to run homebrew on PSP was by taking advantage of an oversight with how it handled image files to get it to run unsigned code, and similar exploits exist in image reading software.
The only thing someone spreading malware needs is an opportunity. It’s not hard to imagine someone tracking torrents for things like cult classic films and then taking advantage when seeders dry up by uploading their own torrent and faking seeders (or sockpuppeting them by using botnet machines) to get their compromised torrent listed at the top of results for that search. I’ve lost track of how many times I was surprised to find something I thought was reasonably popular with only 15 seeders. It wouldn’t take much to game those numbers.
Hell, it’s probably even automatable with enough of a media library and time spent scripting. Theoretically could be a good way to build a botnet, or collect endpoints for a shady residential proxy service.
For the record, I’ve only had issues with TPB content when I was being unreasonably risky (in retrospect) and my antivirus caught things before I was truly infected.
That said my rambling point is: why take the risk when there’s plenty of safer options even just in the public tracker space?
Hell, you can browse a web page and get infected with a RAT that doesn’t even ping your antivirus.
Fun while it lasts, the regret comes later.
May be the most accurate description of TPB I’ve ever read.
Huh, before reading this thread I’d never known that people didnt like tpb, I use it all the time.
1337x for me. Believe me, I’ve tried to use TPB but it just sucks. It’s old and doesn’t have the content I’m looking for.
Thanks for the post. I’m a novice at pirating too and i think i was a bit lost too. This post and the megathread helps a lot.
The most sophisticated thing i did previously was to get mullvad as a vpn
This could turn out to be a bad decision. removing the support for forwarded ports Without Portforwarding you will not be able to seed properly.
As others have surely said by now, TPB is not safe because they don’t do any sort of moderation (or at least whatever they do is insufficient) leading to it being swarmed with infected software.
If you use it for music or videos or other stuff that can’t realistically be infected with much (and use a VPN, which you obviously want to always do when using a torrent site but especially when using the most prominent and visible torrent site in the entire world) it is technically safe but there are better options.
Although IMHO the megathread should probably mention it somewhere just in a “here’s why you shouldn’t use it” sense - I thought it did? Since it’s so high-profile that users will probably know about it already and need to be warned not to use it for anything executable at the very least.
TPB is not what used to be anyways
TPB is exactly what it used to be, it hasn’t been updated in nearly 2 decades.
As the site maintainers used to and still do say, if you don’t like it, make your own.
People can and have made sites that are better than TPB. Functionally, TPB’s site is still usable (and also quite a nostalgia trip with its appearance), but in terms of the content, there are a ton of malware-laced torrents on there. I understand that you always have to be careful when torrenting regardless of where you get something from, but it’s kind of a bad sign when you’re looking for something, and most of the torrents you find are malicious.
I usually go on this order
Look for a reputable site that is specifically for what your looking for. For example if I want anime first place I check is nyaa, or for books zlibrary
If what I want is not there or not enough seeders I check general torrent sites like 1337
If that fails then I check is TPB