Advice needed regarding VPN for downloading tv shows. I get 200gig data ADSL2+ internet which I share with 2 gamers in the house. I like to download tv shows and movies to watch and I'm using Vuze to download the torrents. I am afraid of getting caught and I keep reading about VPN. What should I be using? oh…I'm a mac user and non technical so it needs to be really easy ….ok idiot proof. Thanks in advance.
Advice needed re: VPN n torrents
Lbeaniecrazed2 on 27/10/2014 - 15:11
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I use SlickVPN.com, not for torrents but for other legal means like getting around geoblocking and shopping online, they have their own Mac client and it's pretty easy to use.
For best speeds, select the server closest to you. They have Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney for Australia and plenty of others around the world.
The VPN client sits in the system tray at the top right of your screen, once you have it set up with your username and password it's pretty much just a matter of pressing connect and it will take care of the rest.
I paid for 6 months up front and it has paid for itself already. I booked some hotel accommodation last weekend and by connecting to a US VPN server I was able to save about $120 off the whole booking. Charged it to my Bankwest Platinum card too, so no forex fee :)
I would just wait until you get the email of death before spending money on a VPN, my girlfriend got an email from TPG for torrenting something and basically it was just a warning that they will cut her off if she gets caught doing it again.
I'm also open to other suggestions on how I can watch current us tv shows as well. I keep hearing about netflix, chrome cast, hulu etc. Is there another way of being able to watch my shows without downloading them?
Netflix sounds exactly like what you want. Basically you stream US TV. Usually you use a VPN to 'pretend' you're in the US and you're good to go. Of course it costs, but it may be a better way for you to go if you watch a lot of TV.
A simple google search will show you how to set it up: How to watch netflix in Australia
I use Private Internet Access for my VPN. It's the cheapest I found when I was looking into it, works with Windows/Mac/Linux, heaps of locations, really easy to use. I think it costs ~$50 a year.
Thank you. I will look into this as well.
Does streaming shows use more than downloading? I have 200gig per month. Will that suffice? Is there a way of monitoring how much netflix uses?
Netflix doesn't have current seasons with the exception of there own shows like house of cards and orange is the new black.
If you want current season, hours after the U.S., your options are Hulu plus or the channel specific apps in Apple TV (and other services) or there web catch up services. Hulu plus doesn't have cbs or cable (HBO or showtime) stuff though.
Ok….netflix is out and I will look into hulu plus to see if the shows I like are on there. Can you please explain more about "channel specific apps in Apple TV (and other services) or web catch up services? I have a Apple TV 1st gen that has not been jailbroken yet.
Using Getflix (or equivalent) and switching to the US app store you get access to apps for HBO, Showtime ABC etc. While anyone can sign up for a Hulu or Netflix account, getting these channel specific Apps requires US cable tv or satellite subscription logon (like Foxtel Go in Australia). More details on the Apple TV site on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_TV#Features Probably now getting into Whirlpool territory. There is more info on Whirlpool about this type of stuff.
With your other questions of downloading vs streaming … The advantage of downloading is you know exactly how much you are downloading for a given file. With streaming, you get pumped the data. They give you an indication that based on a given quality it will use approximately x GB per hour but there are no guarantees of X. With the download, if it says it is a 1.5GB file, it will use 1.5GB of you download limit regardless of how long it takes. Upload limit is unknown but can be throttled to a point.
You need to DL or stream, no other option.
I would just download away until you get a warning. In my experience TV shows aren't monitored anywhere near as much as movies.
Might also help to say who you are with, some companies don't even bother passing on warnings.
You can try tunnelbear.
Maybe sign up with iinet. They will force copyright owners ti get a court order for your details according to AFR website today
I'd look into a private torrent site, ask/search around opentrackers.org for good ones! ;)
Why not try XBMC?
Very happy with mine:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/
I use it on both PCs and my Mac.
Reliable, inexpensive, effective.
Good luck,+1. I use PIA too. Really easy to use as well.
Have used PIA since a housemate's missus scored us 70+ notices (sent to the account in my name). No complaints, and fairly Mac friendly.
Also use them on my phone/laptop with public hotspots.
Thank you all who have recommended PIA. I will get onto that tonight.
Stop using vuze as well. It's a horrible bit of software. Use transmission if you have a Mac. It's super lightweight and does not hog resources like vuze does.
I've just changed over to transmission. It's great!!! Thank you!!
I use Vuze and it does the job fine, it may not be lean and mean, but unless your computer still uses valves you won't notice anything else running slowly.
More importantly it's one of the only torrent clients that you can lock to a VPN connection i.e. if the VPN connection goes down it stops downloading, thus preventing you from becoming visible to other p2p users, some of whom may be capturing IP addresses.
Remember, it's not paranoia if someone really is out to get you!
I know peopl who use utorrent and the free ipfilter updater - basically it's a block list for know trackers
Works perfectly and both free - probably a version for mac/Trasmission too
Been discussed at this website
http://mulligrubs.miltonulladulla.com/trouble-free-downloadi…
There's also PeerBlock and IBlockList, which is far simpler for the less tech-savvy and can run all the time.
The actual effectiveness of block lists are highly questionable; though as part of a layered solution, they are good for basically weeding out the notorious "honey-pot" IPs used by MAFIAA groups.
uTorrent is convenient and idiot-proof but has been highly suspect ever since it was bought out by BitTorrent Inc. in 2007 and became closed source (v1.6.1 was the last "non-sellout" build); BitTorrent Inc. has well-publicised and long-standing connections to the MPAA.
First of all, don't use public sites to get torrents. If you don't have access to private sites, then make an effort to gain access..
Use a seedbox/vpn to grab the legal torrent from the site.
Use a ftp client with SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) to transfer the file to your computer. It is encrypted so your IP Host can't tell what data is being downloaded to your comp.
No wonder you are world's most wanted :)
Seedbox and SFTP probably is the best way to go for torrents alone, although usually more expensive than a VPN.
If however you want a VPN anyway to take advantage of it's other benefits like circumventing geoblocking, then a seedbox is just an added expense.
Private trackers are definitely a safer option and usually faster too, but unless you have unlimited upload bandwidth (i.e. not included in your 200Gb allowance) I wouldn't be using them without a seedbox. Private trackers often enforce an upload/download ratio which if not maintained could result them slowing your downloads, or have other repercussions. Basically you can't hit and run on torrents like you can on the public tracker which don't care one way or the other.
Best you have all the facts and not just opinions so you can make an informed decision.
Private trackers are not really an option if you have what is known as a life.
Most people do have the time or inclination to meticulously keep up a strict seeding ratio (24/7 uploading via the average Australian's ADSL2+ upload speed) if their goal is fast access to copyrighted material.
Private trackers also do not generally host things that fall outside of the "mainstream"; obscure or otherwise very niche music, film, gaming or TV content is going to be next to impossible to find on private trackers.
Another halfway measure between seedboxes and a VPN on a local machine is to set up a Raspberry Pi torrent box.
I've got a setup very similar to this, whereby a tiny, screenless computer on our network is connected to a VPN. It runs the bittorent client Transmission, which we access through its web interface or via iOS/Android apps.
Including a 64gb memory card (but excluding parts I had lying around) I was able to put together a machine for a bit less than $100, plus about $50 per year in VPN costs. A huge advantage is that it uses less than $5 electicity per year and lets you leave your desktop/laptop off overnight. We also add regular and torrent downloads while we are away from home so that they are complete when we return.
The only pain is that the Pi's network interface runs of USB and is slow to get content off. Given our media server is set to automatically sync completed items a couple of times a day we really don't notice this downside that much, but it is something to consider.
Super interesting!! Where do you get your torrents from? Can you monitor the data used and turn seeding off or does it continually seed when it's done?
Housemates source most of the torrents so I can't help much on sources.
On the second point, Transmission has a feature to check the uploads/downloads & ratio for that session and the lifetime. On the command line or over ssh this is transmission-remote -st which you could feed into a script, otherwise there is a tab or button somewhere in the web interface that shows the same info.
IIRC there is a global setting to turn off seeding after a particular ratio is met.
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I would first start by not openly admitting to downloading copyright stuff from the internet.
Use a service like hidemyip.com or other vpn services if you are worried, I don't know of any specific for a mac however.