How To Torrent Software Safely (For Dummies) - eviltoast

I wrote this post for a friend, I’m sharing it here for anybody it might help. I got asked multiple times how I download cracked music software so I figured it’d be easier to write it down once. It’s meant for people with very low technical skills who just want to start torrenting software without major risks, and it includes a bunch of safety tips that are already known in this community.

If you have feedback, let me know and I’ll update the post.

  • eoddc5@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Would you like to offer alternative suggestions to the vpn selection?

    FWIW: I have a paid torguard and poaching my works license for NordLayer.

    Both have their pros and cons. They’re generally good with anonymity and security and speeds.

    • Deletecat@lemmy.fmhy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I don’t know of any free vpns for torrenting, though I believe ProtonVPN (paid), Windscribe (paid) and AirVPN (paid) offer port forwarding at the moment. PIA can be used to port forward, though they are owned by kape which is kinda sketchy to me.

      You can use windscribe free for torrenting, but you will quickly hit the data cap they have in place

    • gaylord_fartmaster@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I can confirm PIA fully works as long as you’re connected to one of the endpoints that supports port forwarding, and it works over wireguard which I prefer. My torrent client runs in a docker container that runs all traffic through it.

      Whether or not you trust their claim of not saving any logs (especially after getting bought out a few years ago) is up to you, but there hasn’t been any evidence to suggest they are, and they’ve had reputable audits to suggest they don’t.

      • ninjakitty7@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Does PIA have a free plan that works? Since the only free option was immediately debunked in these comments.

          • andscape@feddit.itOP
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            1 year ago

            I already have a paid one, but I wrote this for people who don’t care enough to pay for one. Basically the alternative is either a free one or none. If I’m talking to a friend I’d rather they use a shady free VPN than none at all.

              • andscape@feddit.itOP
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                1 year ago

                Yeah I’ve updated the post to have Windscribe as the recommended free one, with a warning about free VPNs