Got reminded of this while reading about ProtonMail. The reason I haven’t gotten into proper #piracy is that I don’t have a VPN for torrenting, and the reason I don’t have a VPN is that I don’t #torrent. So it would be nice if I got a good VPN while #degoogling myself.
Will ProtonVPN rat me out to Comcast? I know some VPNs don’t hide what you’re downloading from your ISP, for reasons I don’t fully understand.
Proton is very well known to be the best vpn privacy whise. They went to swiss federal court against the state to not keep network logs for their vpn, i‘d say it‘s very trustworthy
They have servers specifically for port forwarding and P2P traffic
Sadly with Mullvad closing port forwarding, they are one of the only ones you can torrent with. In all honesty, if it’s torrenting setting up a seedbox is really the way to go.
Yeah, but PIA also has the issue of being owned by a company known for hiding malware in their programs. Seriously, go google Kape (the parent company for PIA) and you may reconsider using it. Their CEO prior to the buyout had also formerly been convicted for some sort of financial crimes. Off the top of my head, I think it may have been some sort of fraud or embezzlement?
I know this was all a big deal when PIA was taken over, and everybody was afraid PIA would be ruined. But none of that happened. Maybe it’s just a matter of time, who knows.
I think the point they were making was that a shitty person, as evidenced by his list of crimes, will run a company, shittily. The point of a VPN is anonymity. What good is that promise coming from a shitty, shady person?
I know, and I fully understand if you stay far away from PIA for those reasons. But like I said, PIA has proven (in court) that they actually provide anonymity.
I’m not the smartest bowl in the… bowl drawer, but wouldn’t removing port forwarding just affect speed? Or would it stop torentting with Mullvad entirely? I just topped my account off lol
Air vpn too. I had a bit of back and forth swapping between proton and air vpn after Mullvad closing port forwarding. Protons spilt tunnelling is far better than air vpn, but their speeds were appalling so eventually I stuck with air vpn with a script to divert only the torrent traffic through the vpn. Man do I miss Mullvad!
@starlord2014 wish Mullvad had an email service lol. I have looked into them previously and they do seem like the most trustworthy overall.
But then i get to the checkout and have a moment where I think “why am I doing this? I don’t torrent!” And then I never go through with it, which means I don’t get into torrenting, etc. And the cycle goes on
There are reasons to use a VPN other than torrenting. It prevents your local ISP from selling your traffic data to advertisement companies. It prevents companies from giving you different prices based on your geographic location. It prevents search engines from keeping a log of everything you search for, as long as you don’t log in. It allows your ephemeral internet usage to really be ephemeral. It prevents local ISP, and country censorship. It prevents geoblocking for voice services.
I’ve been torrenting with Proton VPN for years. No problems. Well, one problem when using Linux because the app didn’t support port forwarding but I think they fixed that. Anyway, no issues on Windows.
The new app only officially supports limited distributions (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora). The CLI isn’t updated to v4 yet. You can still connect to the VPN by downloading the config files (OpenVPN or Wireguard) and connecting through, e.g., wg-quick
https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-vpn-setup/
It’s weird, because despite not having port forwarding on Linux I’ve never had any problems torrenting.
@stifle867 interesting. I would prefer to have port-forwarding to cover my ass, though. I personally use Zorin OS, which is based on Debian, so maybe it might work?
Port forwarding is not a cover your ass privacy feature, it’s a compatibility feature.
I just did a quick search and yes, Zorin OS is based on Ubuntu so it will be able to work with all the regular Ubuntu packages such as those provided by Proton VPN.
And in case anyone wonders, it works fine in BSD as well. I have a jail with rTorrent which is locked to the VPN connection and uses a cronjob to keep port forwarding active 🙂.
No, try this safing.io, unless you want VPN for mobile which ProtonVPN should be okay, but the Portmaster app has more control over what app is leaking requests.
I don’t know if this just got initially deleted or whatever, but I use wireguard with a “custom” plan on windscribe, and it’s like $1/month. IPs are shared among hundreds of users and they keep no identifying logs.
I use a split tunnel on the vanilla wireguard client, so I’m not using anything from windscribe software-wise; and I set my torrent client to only use the ethernet device for the tunnel. So no need to worry about kill switches or leaking shit when the VPN drops.
Also – I’ve tested the Wireguard connection on Windscribe and it easily handles 1gb upload/download.
@thantik yeah that was me. I prefer to keep my Mastodon stuff and Lemmy stuff separate. What happened was that I initially posted this from Lemmy, realized I would rather post this from Mastodon, and deleted the first one so there wouldn’t be duplicates. I wasn’t trying to gaslight you and you didn’t do anything wrong.
I don’t really pirate anymore, but have been using ProtonMail, Proton Calendar and ProtonVPN for a few years on pure privacy grounds, and generally really like it. Their apps have gotten more stable over time and their bona fides are solid (actually fighting against subpoenas, etc).
They are actively improving things like calendar invites and integration in their suite of apps. Between that and ente for photo storage I’ve mostly degoogled myself over the last couple years.
If you’re getting protonmail anyway the bundle is worth it. You can use their client software or native wireguard. I personally use AirVPN, run by an activist group. Their website isn’t shiny, but the VPN works great and has port forwarding which is really good for torrent connectivity.
I don’t think with the Swiss privacy laws governing Proton you don’t have to worry about them ratting to Comcast
ProtonVPN, NordVPN and Private Internet Access (pia) will pass pretty much every privacy requirement, but if you have a specific requirement there are plenty of comparison charts.
Private Internet Access is capped at 10mbps but it’s the best client and user experience.
ProtonVPN: cancelling was a terrible experience, their client was okay but regularly kill switched. Proton also offers a bundle with email that could be worthwhile
NordVPN: I can not remotely recommend then. In my first 3 months I leaked my IP twice because their VPN client will auto disconnect itself if Internet is disconnected and retrying fails. So if there is an outage, when you reconnect are not protected. You do not want that, because their virtual NIC is insanely unstable and disconnected on 2 separate devices twice a day. In order to cancel you have to talk to support who has a 3 day turn around for tickets and will try to do anything to extend your service past the 30 days they offer a refund. Their entire ToS is fuck you, we don’t refund, guarantee uptime, or security.
You can always bind your torrent client to the tunnel, so there will be no leak without a connection. Also, nordvpn has a Killswitch, which can terminate any program you want, if the VPN is disconnected.
How long back did you use Nord? Their Lynx protocol works very well and never had issues. I’m planning to switch to Proton mainly due to cost saving. Cancelled my subscription to Nord and it’s just a button on the website. Feels the Nord hate is overblown. Would I recommend it to someone doing serious stuff where a leaked ip could mean literal death? No way. But would I trust any VPN out there with my life? Not a chance.
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
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Give BTGuard a try.
Works great and supports port forwarding. VPNs don’t rat you out to comcast, they’d lose all their customers.
I’ve been using it for torrenting and it works well. I have no complaints. I think it’s less if you buy by the year rather than monthly.
Proton is very well known to be the best vpn privacy whise. They went to swiss federal court against the state to not keep network logs for their vpn, i‘d say it‘s very trustworthy
I am pretty happy with them so far.
ProtonVPN is a no log VPN according to their privacy policy: https://protonvpn.com/privacy-policy
They have servers specifically for port forwarding and P2P traffic. I use them and I haven’t gotten a DMCA request yet so 🤷🏻♂️
Sadly with Mullvad closing port forwarding, they are one of the only ones you can torrent with. In all honesty, if it’s torrenting setting up a seedbox is really the way to go.
PIA has port forwarding and have proven not to log user data too.
Yeah, but PIA also has the issue of being owned by a company known for hiding malware in their programs. Seriously, go google Kape (the parent company for PIA) and you may reconsider using it. Their CEO prior to the buyout had also formerly been convicted for some sort of financial crimes. Off the top of my head, I think it may have been some sort of fraud or embezzlement?
I know this was all a big deal when PIA was taken over, and everybody was afraid PIA would be ruined. But none of that happened. Maybe it’s just a matter of time, who knows.
I think the point they were making was that a shitty person, as evidenced by his list of crimes, will run a company, shittily. The point of a VPN is anonymity. What good is that promise coming from a shitty, shady person?
I know, and I fully understand if you stay far away from PIA for those reasons. But like I said, PIA has proven (in court) that they actually provide anonymity.
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I’m not the smartest bowl in the… bowl drawer, but wouldn’t removing port forwarding just affect speed? Or would it stop torentting with Mullvad entirely? I just topped my account off lol
Air vpn too. I had a bit of back and forth swapping between proton and air vpn after Mullvad closing port forwarding. Protons spilt tunnelling is far better than air vpn, but their speeds were appalling so eventually I stuck with air vpn with a script to divert only the torrent traffic through the vpn. Man do I miss Mullvad!
I’ve been enjoying the fact that airvpn let’s you open 5 ports, haven’t had any issues with them after my first few months.
I’ve had ipvanish, proton, and now on expressvpn. Express is my favorite so far but it is expensive. You should look into mullvad vpn.
@starlord2014 wish Mullvad had an email service lol. I have looked into them previously and they do seem like the most trustworthy overall.
But then i get to the checkout and have a moment where I think “why am I doing this? I don’t torrent!” And then I never go through with it, which means I don’t get into torrenting, etc. And the cycle goes on
There are reasons to use a VPN other than torrenting. It prevents your local ISP from selling your traffic data to advertisement companies. It prevents companies from giving you different prices based on your geographic location. It prevents search engines from keeping a log of everything you search for, as long as you don’t log in. It allows your ephemeral internet usage to really be ephemeral. It prevents local ISP, and country censorship. It prevents geoblocking for voice services.
It’s good data hygiene.
Be aware if you are trying to torrent you will want to use a service with port forwarding
++ mullvad VPN privacy is a human right. They’re non-profit they accept crypto.
I’ve been torrenting with Proton VPN for years. No problems. Well, one problem when using Linux because the app didn’t support port forwarding but I think they fixed that. Anyway, no issues on Windows.
@akilou good to know about the Linux, I am a Linux user
The new app only officially supports limited distributions (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora). The CLI isn’t updated to v4 yet. You can still connect to the VPN by downloading the config files (OpenVPN or Wireguard) and connecting through, e.g., wg-quick https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-vpn-setup/
It’s weird, because despite not having port forwarding on Linux I’ve never had any problems torrenting.
@stifle867 interesting. I would prefer to have port-forwarding to cover my ass, though. I personally use Zorin OS, which is based on Debian, so maybe it might work?
Port forwarding is not a cover your ass privacy feature, it’s a compatibility feature.
I just did a quick search and yes, Zorin OS is based on Ubuntu so it will be able to work with all the regular Ubuntu packages such as those provided by Proton VPN.
Last I checked the Flatpak is an old version of Proton VPN. Look up how to get the beta release for your distro to get the latest features.
This is lemmy. That’s a given at this point lol.
Op is actually on mastadon. Still the fediverse, so the Linux rule still applies imo.
And in case anyone wonders, it works fine in BSD as well. I have a jail with rTorrent which is locked to the VPN connection and uses a cronjob to keep port forwarding active 🙂.
Try OpenVPN?
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No, try this safing.io, unless you want VPN for mobile which ProtonVPN should be okay, but the Portmaster app has more control over what app is leaking requests.
I feel sillyhearing about safing.io for the first time. Sounds very interesting, thanks
I don’t know if this just got initially deleted or whatever, but I use wireguard with a “custom” plan on windscribe, and it’s like $1/month. IPs are shared among hundreds of users and they keep no identifying logs.
I use a split tunnel on the vanilla wireguard client, so I’m not using anything from windscribe software-wise; and I set my torrent client to only use the ethernet device for the tunnel. So no need to worry about kill switches or leaking shit when the VPN drops.
Also – I’ve tested the Wireguard connection on Windscribe and it easily handles 1gb upload/download.
@thantik yeah that was me. I prefer to keep my Mastodon stuff and Lemmy stuff separate. What happened was that I initially posted this from Lemmy, realized I would rather post this from Mastodon, and deleted the first one so there wouldn’t be duplicates. I wasn’t trying to gaslight you and you didn’t do anything wrong.
I don’t really pirate anymore, but have been using ProtonMail, Proton Calendar and ProtonVPN for a few years on pure privacy grounds, and generally really like it. Their apps have gotten more stable over time and their bona fides are solid (actually fighting against subpoenas, etc).
They are actively improving things like calendar invites and integration in their suite of apps. Between that and ente for photo storage I’ve mostly degoogled myself over the last couple years.
Just putting out there that AirVPN has been perfect for me for several years now. No issues.
If you’re getting protonmail anyway the bundle is worth it. You can use their client software or native wireguard. I personally use AirVPN, run by an activist group. Their website isn’t shiny, but the VPN works great and has port forwarding which is really good for torrent connectivity.
I don’t think with the Swiss privacy laws governing Proton you don’t have to worry about them ratting to Comcast
ProtonVPN, NordVPN and Private Internet Access (pia) will pass pretty much every privacy requirement, but if you have a specific requirement there are plenty of comparison charts.
Private Internet Access is capped at 10mbps but it’s the best client and user experience.
ProtonVPN: cancelling was a terrible experience, their client was okay but regularly kill switched. Proton also offers a bundle with email that could be worthwhile
NordVPN: I can not remotely recommend then. In my first 3 months I leaked my IP twice because their VPN client will auto disconnect itself if Internet is disconnected and retrying fails. So if there is an outage, when you reconnect are not protected. You do not want that, because their virtual NIC is insanely unstable and disconnected on 2 separate devices twice a day. In order to cancel you have to talk to support who has a 3 day turn around for tickets and will try to do anything to extend your service past the 30 days they offer a refund. Their entire ToS is fuck you, we don’t refund, guarantee uptime, or security.
PIA were taken over by a very dodgy company a couple of years ago, I don’t recommend people use them.
“Who knows what a company that had hidden malware in their software in the past is capable of today”
https://www.vpnranks.com/blog/kape-acquires-private-internet-access/
You can always bind your torrent client to the tunnel, so there will be no leak without a connection. Also, nordvpn has a Killswitch, which can terminate any program you want, if the VPN is disconnected.
How long back did you use Nord? Their Lynx protocol works very well and never had issues. I’m planning to switch to Proton mainly due to cost saving. Cancelled my subscription to Nord and it’s just a button on the website. Feels the Nord hate is overblown. Would I recommend it to someone doing serious stuff where a leaked ip could mean literal death? No way. But would I trust any VPN out there with my life? Not a chance.
If you use OpenVPN, their client doesn’t matter