submitted 2 months ago by Pandoras_box@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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Hello, i wanted to know to what extent do the ISPs or police pursue torrenting. In the 90's it was acceptable and fairly wide-spread. I am unsure how it looks now.

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[-] rikudou@lemmings.world 15 points 2 months ago

Always use a VPN. With torrents you actively share the file which is illegal pretty much anywhere.

Even if no one cares today, someone might tomorrow.

[+] black0ut@pawb.social -24 points 2 months ago

VPNs are a barrier for torrenting. Some people don't want to pay (or can't even pay), and other people may find setting a VPN up difficult. This is not good advice.

Force encryption for bittorrent and you're already future proof.

[-] jatone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

wat, there is no encryption in bittorrent that will protect you except for a vpn.

no one follow this individuals advice for your own sake.

[-] black0ut@pawb.social 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

There is encryption that will save you unless ISPs use shadow peers, which they can't use retroactively.

Edit, cuz I think the scope of my original comment has been misunderstood, my bad:

Of course, ISPs can still know you're torrenting, and if they don't like that, you will get letters. But they can't know what you torrented.

If you're gonna torrent, get informed about the laws in your country and how ISPs enforce anti-piracy measures, and if you can freely torrent in your country, there's no need to use a VPN. Encryption will save you from ISPs retroactively snooping on what you torrented.

[-] jatone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

the peers approach is the problem, not the ISPs. ISPs can tell your torrenting just from the shape of the traffic.

edit: generally, the claim that the builtin encryption protects the user is essentially misinformation and anyone who follows it is potentially in for a world of hurt.

[-] rikudou@lemmings.world 1 points 2 months ago

Are there any countries where torrenting is legal? AFAIK, all countries ban sharing of copyrighted content. For example where I live it's legal to download stuff, but not sharing it with others. You can't really avoid sharing with torrents.

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 4 points 2 months ago

It's illegal everywhere, but not every place will actively hunt out civilians that torrent. Brazil is one such example, since pirating for self use, without trying to profit off the work, gets you fully ignored by the police, they only ever go after sites (PirateBay is still blocked here). I expect other parts of Latin America are similar.

[-] black0ut@pawb.social 2 points 2 months ago

This. Actually most countries leave you alone if you're not trying to profit from torrents. I can say the same about Spain, I've never heard of anyone getting any warning for torrenting and half the people I know torrent everyday without a VPN.

[-] rikudou@lemmings.world 1 points 2 months ago

Well, as I said in my first comment, that no one cares today doesn't mean no one will care tomorrow. If it's illegal, you should take precautions.

[-] black0ut@pawb.social 1 points 2 months ago

That is exactly my point. If you use encryption, they will not be able to retroactively see what you torrented, and they can't punish you just for having torrent traffic because it could be legal torrents.