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submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by GrumpyCat@leminal.space to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

I know this is a dumb question... But i cant really aford a vpn like at all, is it possible to torrent without using a vpn in the USA or will i get in some trouble and go to jail if i torrent without a vpn?

The reason i cant get a vpn is because im just broke and im young enough to live with family so i cant really get a job.

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[-] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 4 days ago

im young enough to live with family

Tell your parents that they'll lose their internet if they don't give you $20 per year for VPN.

[-] gravitywell@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 days ago

If you use only private trackers you can skip the VPN. If you use public ones, your ISP might take issue

[-] Binette@lemmy.ml 8 points 4 days ago

yes it's important. take it from someone who is also young, but learned their lesson quickly

depending on what you you plan on downloading you can probably use direct downloads instead, and you won't need a VPN if I'm not mistaken. no idea if and how available things are, though

[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 6 points 4 days ago

OK, so what is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network is a virtual network that lives on top of a physical network. In the case of the Internet, basically what happens is that your network traffic goes into the VPN on one side and comes out of the VPN provider's network somewhere else, rather than out of your ISP's network. All this really does is move any privacy concerns from your ISP to your VPN, which may or may not protect you from any legal inquiries.

For a more thorough explanation look here: https://www.howtogeek.com/133680/htg-explains-what-is-a-vpn/

Is it possible to use torrent without a VPN?

Certainly, however your torrent traffic will be visible to and inspectable by your ISP. If a copyright holder chooses to, they may sue your ISP for the personal information of the person whose IP address matches the illegal traffic that they found. After they have your personal information they can prosecute you directly. A VPN might shield against this by changing the apparent IP address associated with your torrent traffic, but then you are at the mercy of the VPN provider and the government of whichever country they operate in.

It should be noted that if you are not paying the bill for the Internet, and you use it for illegal activity, then the person you are putting at risk is the person who pays the bill. It's their name attached to the ISP records.

If you are caught, or if they just don't like torrent traffic on their network, the ISP may decide that you are simply too much trouble and it's not worth keeping you as a customer, and just cut off your service (for your whole house).

[-] Liberal_Ghost@lemmy.zip 3 points 4 days ago

Just use ProtonVPN. They have a free tier. No credit card required. Its slightly slower speeds, but it will keep you from getting in trouble while sailing the high seas 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

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[-] Ioughttamow@fedia.io 5 points 4 days ago

Yes, I ignored it for a while but then got walled off by charter until I acknowledged I’d fix the torrenting issue with my account. Got a von and never had a problem again

[-] TachyonTele@piefed.social 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I've never used a vpn while torrenting in the US. Unless utorrent has one built in. Been doing it for 25 years and never had a problem.

People probably won't like that answer, but whatever. It's true.

[-] EpicFailGuy@fedia.io 8 points 4 days ago

Same ... except I recently got my first strike from xfinity ... for downloading minecraft for a friend .... turns out my blacklists don't catch all the honeypots fast enough

Ever since I paid for a years worth of PIA and set up a media box to share with my friends and family cause .... FUCK EM! If buying isn't owning, then piracy isn't theft.

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[-] johnwicksdog@aussie.zone 3 points 4 days ago

Like most things, it depends on your jurisdiction and the policies of your ISP. But as a general rule, yes, you should take steps to hide your IP.

Probably a good case example is to look at how many people in your area were sued for torrenting. For example, the rights holders to Dallas Buyer’s Club famously went nuclear on torrenters, so maybe start by searching that. Of course none of this is legal advice.

PIA is pretty reliable in my experience and their three year plan is quite affordable.

[-] nesc@lemmy.cafe 4 points 4 days ago

You can get a vps for $5/month or less. Installing vpn software with one of the automagical scripts takes 30 minutes at worst.

[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 10 points 4 days ago

Umm, but then your VPN leads to a server rented from a web host which you are paying with (presumably) a credit card, and if they're reputable at all then you had to register with a government ID. The ones that don't check ID are the ones that host ransomware gangs and CSAM distributors.

A VPN provides no privacy at all if it's linked to an IP address or domain name and hardware that is registered to you.

[-] hisao@ani.social 9 points 4 days ago

I guess you're right partially, but if you're renting a VPS in a country that doesn't respect those copyright laws, your VPS provider can't be asked to bother you.

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this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
131 points (93.4% liked)

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