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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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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[-] Ioughttamow@fedia.io 5 points 1 week 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

[-] nesc@lemmy.cafe 4 points 1 week 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.

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[-] TachyonTele@piefed.social 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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.

[-] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 2 points 1 week ago

Who is your ISP? Or do you just use your neighbor's connection?

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[-] johnwicksdog@aussie.zone 3 points 1 week 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.

[-] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

If you convert a magnet link to a .torrent file (there are many sites that can do that) and then upload the .torrent file to archive.org, they'll download the files to their servers as part of their archival process, then you can just download the files via standard https, you ISP will only know you downloaded from archive.org.

But archive.org isn't really meant to be used this way, so this is probably unethical. But I think section 230 protect them (for now), so its not like they'll get shutdown or anything (correct me if I'm wrong).

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[-] msmc101@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 week ago

well with tormenting no but torrenting? yes

[-] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

im young enough to live with family so i cant really get a job.

This doesn't really track, or it's just worded weird. You can start working part-time at age 14 in most states in the US. Now, you could be a student who's too busy with school/sports to get a job, but if you have time to pirate I doubt that's a liting factor.

Now, I don't personally care what your actual case is. I'm just pointing out that your claims don't add up.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 week ago

This is a joke, right?

The US is currently economically collapsing, nearly every company/corp is firing and laying people off, an entry level job requires 3 to 5 years of experience, and something like 60% of companies freely admit to posting ghost jobs, fake online job listings that never actually result in a hire, or are just done to pretend an internal promotion is actually being competetively sourced to the whole job market.

It is extremely difficult for young people to find a job right now, one that ends up paying more than they'd lose in the costs of buying a car and gas and insurance to get to said job.

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this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
133 points (93.5% liked)

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