I’m checking out the free version of Proton VPN now after paying for PIN for a while. Haven’t used it to torrent or anything yet. Just trying to run most the time now for increased security in this new era. Are unpaid versions less secure? I’m not so much worried about the price. Just checking out something different.
I just searched it a bit, and I think you’re right. I was thinking the paid tier only let you use port forwarding and access their servers optimized for P2P traffic, but it sounds like they actually block P2P traffic on the free tier.
As a general rule, if you’re getting a service for free, you’re the product.
I don’t know much about the downsides of free in the context of VPNs, as I didn’t really get in to the technical ins and outs. But when we’re talking security and privacy I think the cost of supporting something good and sustainable is well worth it.
I’ve heard port forwarding is helpful for speed, and that might be a paid only thing, but to be honest I’m consistently surprised by how fast things go for me just using mullvad.
Another thing you may wish to consider: the Proton CEO has praised Trump which is a huge red flag to me in the privacy space.
At least Proton isn’t a scammy company compared to most other free VPNs. And they still allow port forwarding on paid plans, so they are quite a good choice for torrenting. I think Proton and Mullvad are probably the most recommended options around here.
Yes. I hadn’t looked at any of this stuff in a long time. Mullvad is something I’m definitely going to check out as I’m seeing it recommended in a lot of comments. Thank you.
Start by checking the Megathread and other resources in the sidebar.
These resources are really all you need, but they’re all individually quite focused so for a new person it can be hard to see the forest.
An overview:
For movies, streaming sites are fine.
To start torrenting safely:
I thought Mullvad didn’t port forward any more so torrents didn’t work with it?
It works for me… I think it’s something like it goes faster with port forwarding but to be honest I don’t know the details.
I’m checking out the free version of Proton VPN now after paying for PIN for a while. Haven’t used it to torrent or anything yet. Just trying to run most the time now for increased security in this new era. Are unpaid versions less secure? I’m not so much worried about the price. Just checking out something different.
The free version of proton VPN does not allow torrenting
Technically you can torrent with it, but the free tier does not include port forwarding, so you will not be able to seed very effectively.
Edit: disregard, I was remembering incorrectly.
i thought it doesn’t allow peer to peer connections?
I just searched it a bit, and I think you’re right. I was thinking the paid tier only let you use port forwarding and access their servers optimized for P2P traffic, but it sounds like they actually block P2P traffic on the free tier.
My bad!
haha, I guess I don’t have wonder about crossing that bridge. Thanks.
As a general rule, if you’re getting a service for free, you’re the product.
I don’t know much about the downsides of free in the context of VPNs, as I didn’t really get in to the technical ins and outs. But when we’re talking security and privacy I think the cost of supporting something good and sustainable is well worth it.
I’ve heard port forwarding is helpful for speed, and that might be a paid only thing, but to be honest I’m consistently surprised by how fast things go for me just using mullvad.
Another thing you may wish to consider: the Proton CEO has praised Trump which is a huge red flag to me in the privacy space.
All good points. Thank you.
At least Proton isn’t a scammy company compared to most other free VPNs. And they still allow port forwarding on paid plans, so they are quite a good choice for torrenting. I think Proton and Mullvad are probably the most recommended options around here.
Yes. I hadn’t looked at any of this stuff in a long time. Mullvad is something I’m definitely going to check out as I’m seeing it recommended in a lot of comments. Thank you.
There are very few altruistic services, it’s generally good to asume that when something is free, you are the product in some way.
True. Seems to be their approach is to get folks hooked and then try to sell them stuff. Not all the features are available for free, of course.