Before I say anything further, yes I know how much the recommended VPNs cost. I can read. Please do not interrogate me about it.

I’ve been wanting to get into torrenting for a while, particularly contributing to private trackers related to music (and to a lesser extent retro games, though I don’t have much original stuff to put there as it’s harder to find rare games than rare music). FMHY recommends RiseUp if I must get a free VPN while I’m working on my financial situation, though I’m not sure whether it’s been tested in court. What are my options, if any?

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        5·
        20 hours ago

        Ok so, I was gonna top level comment, but somebody already mentioned I2P, so:

        I2P.

        https://geti2p.net/en/docs/applications/bittorrent

        Now, with normally configured I2P, you can only torrent or file share with other I2P users/nodes/sites.

        But, you can also set up an ‘out-proxy’, to connect to the broader 'net, via I2P, essentially using it as a giant, dynamic maze of proxies, where all your traffic is arguably better encrypted than via Tor.

        Or, you could actually use Tor as the out-proxy, for… ludicrous levels of encryption maze.

        https://geti2p.net/en/about/browser-config

        Its slow though. Much slower than all but the most dogshit free vpns.

        But… that’s the tier you already appear to be at, lol.

        Uh yeah, you can use I2P to access/browse and torrent from the clearnet, not just the I2P net, you just have to properly set up I2P with an out proxy.

        I believe the youtuber Mental Outlaw has some videos that walk you through both how to do an I2P basic set up, and an out-proxy set up.

        Also, general privacy/security tip:

        configure your webbrowser to only do DNS over HTTPS, also known as DoH.

        Use Ublock, Canvas Blocker, Privacy Badger, test your web fingerprint with EFF’s tool, make sure all your shit is actually configured right before torrenting anything, use sites that try to trace route you and find your real ip, make sure you don’t have any… emergency fallback to not using your VPN or I2P or normal HTTP.