What’s The Best VPN / Proxy for BitTorrent?

Ernesto
June 18, 2011
70
proxy,
vpn
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Privacy is important on the Internet, and BitTorrent users are certainly not excluded.

Already, hundreds of thousands of BitTorrent users have decided to hide their IP-address to the public, and more are joining every day.

Some use specialized BitTorrent proxies and VPNs like BTGuard, but there are many other options.

box Unfortunately, however, not all VPNs are very BitTorrent friendly.

In fact, some explicitly prohibit the use of file-sharing software.

So my question to all anonymous TorrentFreak users is: What VPN / Proxy are you using? And is it any good?

Other suggestions, questions and comments are welcome too.

This post is from the News Bits section of TorrentFreak where we present stories from around the web in a concise summary format. Full TorrentFreak articles can be found here. If you have a tip please let us know. News Bits have their very own RSS feed

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Anon

BTGuard is the main one I use. I have also used FBVPN in the past, but it blocks uTorrent so that’s a no go. Both are paid for VPN’s and the speeds are very good.
Blackplan

I use BTGuard’s proxy, but their downtimes have been pretty bad recently. Thinking of switching to IPREDATOR’s full VPN. Anyone use that?
- Janvidar
  
  I had a paid IPREDATOR subscription that just stopped working the last month. I emailed them but got no reply – so my advice is to stay away from them…
- Guest
  
  VPN list made by Anonymous members
  
  http://pastehtml.com/view/1dzybe3.html
- Plex
  
  Tried btguard a few months back. If you like slow ass speeds and it being down frequently go for it.
  
  I have a 16mb comcast connection with btguard connected it gave a paltry 2-3mb download a sad sack 500k upload. Pathetic.
  
  I emailed there support box the website and directly asking for my money back 5-10 times over the course of 2-3 weeks.
  
  No answer of ANY kind from them. As far as I am concerned they are a scam site.
- Plex
  
  Tried btguard a few months back. If you like slow ass speeds and it being down frequently go for it.
  
  I have a 16mb comcast connection with btguard connected it gave a paltry 2-3mb download a sad sack 500k upload. Pathetic.
  
  I emailed there support box the website and directly asking for my money back 5-10 times over the course of 2-3 weeks.
  
  No answer of ANY kind from them. As far as I am concerned they are a scam site.
  - http://disqus.com/ Rob8urcakes
    
    Does anyone know for sure why some of these services are so crap or flaky for people in different areas?
    
    Some allegedly ‘customer’ reviews say BTguard and iPredator, etc are terrific, yet others report crap speeds and NO customer service feedback on complaints nor any refund.
    
    Hmmmm, I think a proper investigation into these is called for – but would TF be up to the task? If not, who else could we trust to look into it and report back accurately?
    - http://twitter.com/icanhazsake Ninja
      
      I’d guess it’s a local problem. I wouldn’t be surprised if certain isps throttle VPNs and Proxies by default. We can always guess at trolls trying to discredit such services. MAFIAA paid trolls. I’ve seen such a thing in politics, paid ppl to spam troll forums and comment sections with bad opinions about a determined party. Despicable but real ;)
http://disqus.com/ Rob8urcakes

The following are, to date, deemed torrent-friendly – but it’s a changing landscape. So ALWAYS check the terms & conditions of use/service thoroughly. And always sign up for only 1 month in case it’s crap.

VPN
http://www.hidemyass.com/vpn/
and the Malaysian,
http://www.BolehVPN.net
(is also OK with Mac OS)

SSH
torrentprivacy.com

SeedBox
https://www.seedbox.fr/

Note that ‘free’ services usually have a catch, such as “in-your-face ads” that can’t be blocked. Or some other method of making you pay without taking your cash.
Hopefully some kind TF reader will prove me wrong :)
MaxxOri

I use SwissVPN and have never hit a problem with it.
- I use swissvpn
  
  me too :)
- I use swissvpn
  
  me too :)
- sucks for VPN
  
  They keep logs…
  - I use swissvpn
    
    Yes but they won’t release them easily. The swiss observe strict laws in their country. read read read this the reason why i choose them:
    
    http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-monitors-banned-from-operating-in-home-country-100909/
    
    http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-company-spied-on-thousands-of-p2p-users-080317/
http://claimid.com/keyman30 24601

IPREDATOR is great, I use it myself. I’ve tried privateinternetaccess.com but found it slow and sometime VERY slow. But it’s bittorrent okay.

Plus when I switched to a swish IP address, I found myself with a IRAN IP address!!
Still I found no site blocked…
- vpnuser
  
  You mention privateinternetaccess.com but it don’t seem to have rating in WOT yet. Is it safe?
- http://twitter.com/icanhazsake Ninja
  
  Iran is epic win <3
Dodot

I use Psilo.fr – it’s mainly for french users, and P2P friendly
Muero

I use StrongVPN. Always works well for me.
closeencounters

you need a vpn that doesnt slow your isp speed and allows unlimited downloads/iploads eg 50gb a day, obviously it must have as close to 100% uptime as possible, ipredator is good but it does havea few days a month when it constantly looses your connection so you get nothing done , make sure you also use software that kills utorrent the second your connection to a vpn is lost otherwise your no longer safe, vpncheck does this
Anonymous

I haven’t tried it but some preliminary research has told me that Astrill.com might be the best out there with the highest speed of the the lot of VPN providers and Ive read uptime is great. Only thing is that it wont work for private trackers because it doesn’t have an IP you can set… it is randome everytime you connect.. (i think)
Jcs

IPredator was a 3 mo. nightmare for me. No software of their own, it’s generated by your OS. Speeds would slow to a crawl after 12 M NY time. Tech. support just about non-existent until I threatened to stop payment. There’s a reason you can only get 3 mo. upfront instead of 1 mo. HideMyAss has proven excellent, many options, superior tech support.
Tymaxfree

HideMyAss’s list of free public proxy’s
http://hidemyass.com/proxy-list/
Anonymous

Pirated Wifi from the neighbors…
- bble
  
  I live next door to a fat policeman (who works for ICE)
  - Anonymous
    
    Use his WiFi to pirate lots of gay pr0n (To not watch it) and he probably gets sued by Corbin Fisher. (After ofc deleting his routers access logs)
  - Anonymous
    
    Use his WiFi to pirate lots of gay pr0n (To not watch it) and he probably gets sued by Corbin Fisher. (After ofc deleting his routers access logs)
- mafyaa
  
  how can you pirate a wifi? u shill much?
  - Guest
    
    if it’s WEP than you can crack it in 5 minutes or so
    
    if it’s WPA/2 is much more difficult but there are ways to get keys by alghoritms
    - Strdan
      
      How?
    - I hate to type my name
      
      @Strdan, aircrack-ng
Floozy

IPredator has worked great for me for several months now. Very Bittorrent friendly, no logs, etc;
Fatboy

There are about 150 VPN providers listed at http://www.topvpnreviews.com and there is a category for ‘Torrent/P2P friendly’ ones. Personally I am happy with vigilantvpn.com
Biff

I recently started using BTGuard. According to checkmytorrentip.com, it’s always working, which is great. But it’s not very user-friendly to someone like me who doesn’t actually understand a lot of torrent settings. I had to switch from Vuze to uTorrent, since that was the only option for someone who doesn’t want to screw up the settings. And, although they’re happy to charge me for their service, they have no interest in helping people use it. Regardless of what you ask them, their response is to try the Advanced version if you’re using the basic version, and to try the basic version if you’re using the advanced version.
But it’s better than using PeerGuardian, which I used for the longest week ever.
Anonymous

tinyurl.com/2df4ccp
meow

iRanVPN NorthKoreaVPN… can I have one?
Guest

The answer is simple: NONE. There is not best VPN. All VPN services give away info to the authorities.

Wireless FTW?
- Guest
  
  BTW… I have heard that vpntunnel.se is good and you can pay with Ukash.
Ano

ivacy.com
great vpn never disconnects and does not keep logs.
highly recommended over ipredator and others. speeds are great.
Icomeanon Gov

cryptocloud, thanks to anons list of vpns. “https: / / http://www.cryptocloud.com/ – $ 17/month. 2048-bit key. Very reliable (a disconnection in six months). About once a week, your server output changes (transparently) so that your IP changes and it is also extra security. It’s not always easy to install OpenVPN client type. This provides a vpn setup very simple, just enter the username and password. This vpn is very committed to the freedom of the internet worldwide. He collaborates with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and opened free accounts for militants threatened in their country. If you fear a VPN keeps your logs, this one is one of the safest”
Pingback: What’s The Best VPN / Proxy for BitTorrent?
Anonymous

If you are paranoid……..

Connect your software to a proxy…… WHILE connecting your “”network”" to a VPN…All to access a seedbox..
There are more elaborate ways to string even more multiple connections together , but …..

some that offer Free VPN

VpnReactor https://www.vpnreactor.com/
limits : https://www.vpnreactor.com/freeaccounts.aspx

SecurityKISS http://www.securitykiss.com/sk/index.php?m=Packages

there are lots out there……. Great Source for free vpn etc.. http://www.megaleecher.net/search/node/vpn
http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Anonymous

Yup, as many others have said, paid VPN is the way to go. You’ll never get the best speeds or uptime with a free service. That being said, StrongVPN, HideMyAss, VyprVPN, and Astrill are typically at the top of the charts on most review sites. If you have Giganews usenet top plan, you get VyprVPN free. But just to protect your BT, I would probably look at StrongVPN, HideMyAss or Astrill.

This website: http://vpnandusenetreviews.com seems to have honest editor reviews and keeps a good comparison table.

Costs are generally low per month (HideMyAss is $11.52/mo for unlimited, Astrill is $19.96 for 3 mo unlimited, StrongVPN has about a zillion plans to choose from etc.)

Then again, if you’re worried about BT, you might consider the jump to Usenet and combine SSL Usenet with a good VPN. And then you can kiss RIAA/MPAA/etc lawsuits goodbye…The data is encrypted, and your connection is anonymous and secure.

Whatever you get, make sure its not just PPTP VPN. You need L2TP/IPSec or OpenVPN. For users behind “Great Firewalls” (UAE/China/etc.) you might also look at SSTP since it’s practically undetectable and unblockable (L2TP has been getting blocked periodically in China lately). Unfortunately SSTP only works with Windows. That same website has a good list of the types of VPN to help with understanding: http://vpnandusenetreviews.com/types-of-vpn

I would say the best part about subscribing to paid VPN is the ability to connect as if you are in another country, and shared IP’s. Will a US porn producer seek out John Doe from Romania, who also happens to be the same IP as 1,000 other John Doe’s? Plus the speeds and reliability that you get. Very few people complain about speeds off the major VPN providers like HideMyAss, StrongVPN, VyprVPN, or Astrill.

Happy downloads…
Giggaflop

I’ve started my own VPN service at boxes.pirat3.com, you get a user specific key and certificate and the CA key is available on purchase, it’s based on openvpn. currently the only plan that is up and running is the unlimited, but soon the capped ones will be working :)
Giggaflop

I’ve started my own VPN service at boxes.pirat3.com, you get a user specific key and certificate and the CA key is available on purchase, it’s based on openvpn. currently the only plan that is up and running is the unlimited, but soon the capped ones will be working :)
- Giggaflop
  
  oh i forgot to say its a Fr based box so great for spotify use too :P
Noah C.

I have no idea, but honestly, if the rest of you are complaining about speeds only around 2-3mbps, you really have nothing to complain about.

I have “technically” 1.1mbps, the standard “fast” DSL speed. I get around 50-150kbps on a regular basis, both direct download, and through BitTorrent. It sucks, yes, but I’m used to having to wait long periods of time for things.

I don’t even use a VPN. I know, stupid me, but I can’t get it right now. I plan on it within the next few months, though.

Which do YOU suggest I use? I’m leaning toward BT-Guard at the moment.
- …
  
  Dude, buy a VPN not a Proxy!
  - http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Anonymous
    
    Ain’t that the truth…buying a proxy is waste of money. That’s why HideMyAss premium is VPN service…and the proxy list is free :)
http://www.facebook.com/1lonelycat Joel Collicott

Im curious to know if anyone is in canada and has rogers as an isp and what vpn provider you use for torrenting. I am having a hard time choosing between StrongVPN, HideMyAss and Astrill.
- http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Anonymous
  
  Hey Joel, for Canadian you should probably check out Strong or HMA. Although Astrill has a ton of countries offered, the expansion is recent. StrongVPN has a huge list of servers in Canada that will keep your connection fast, so does HMA. I might vote more for HMA since the install is super easy with their software and it has nice features like load balancing and speed guide. See here for screenshots: http://vpnandusenetreviews.com/news/hidemyass-vpn-client-software It’ll cost you $11.52 to test out HMA for a month. Either way, you should try to get something that will also offer you option to connect from other countries than Canada too, so you can get access to Hulu, BBC iPlayer, etc.
Aaron

Yep. In Canada, Rogers throttles & shapes traffic worse than Bell. When I turn on my vpn – all of a sudden I get better transfer speeds for torrent/p2p. I’m using CanadianVPN.com based in Toronto btw.
http://www.facebook.com/1lonelycat Joel Collicott

Do you get full speeds?
- Mike
  
  Hi Joel, we need more testers like you from Canada, and others like you from abroad. We are new, and our servers are still under utilized. To be honest, we don’t have a lot of torrent users and this promo could really kick our ass.
  
  So, please send a note to support@canadianvpn.com with the subject line ‘TorrentFreak.com Rocks’ and I will personally hook you up with a free 1 week trial of our services.
  
  Same goes for the rest of you. This is open until Monday midnight. Will try to approve all requests Monday during the day. We use OpenVPN.
  
  Peace
  
  Admin
  
  CanadianVPN.com
Aaron

I have tried several VPNs and they are ALL slower than the connection that I use it on. Doesn’t matter if I use my ISP at home, or at my workplace downtown which has Fibre. However my results are always better when I select a VPN server closer to me geographically.
- Guest
  
  Of course…
Jcs

You might want to consider asking a potential VPN what else they protect. My understanding was that TorrentPrivacy didn’t protect P2P like eMule, and two unanswered emails after a friendly hello from them confirmed that.

hxxp://bestvpnreviews.com/
Anonymous

Hy ! You can compare VPN providers, reviews, special offers on this VPN comparison engine: http://www.best-vpn-provider.com . When you have your VPN, you can surf anonymously on the internet :)
Anonymous

AirVPN, because it has no traffic limit, allows p2p, keeps no logs, and you can forward the ports you want. https://airvpn.org
http://twitter.com/icanhazsake Ninja

I’m using put.io ;)
Not a vpn but does what I need and maxes my connection =)
Guest

StrongVPN is not torrent friendly. They deceptively claim not to log, but there are evidence that they terminate users based on DMCA notices.

Stay away from StrongVPN.
Chilly8

Preferably, you want something that keeps no logs. I have been checking out VPN services, in the event they to amend the Commercial Felony Streaming Act, later on, to include viewers as well. And there are plenty out there to chosse from

When it comes to P2P file sharing, however, some VPNs do now allow BitTorrent, or other filesharing apps. So do be careful
- http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Anonymous
  
  Good point about the logs. Astrill, HideMyAss, and VPNTunnel come to mind. Although HMA keeps logs of connect/disconnect. Still, that can’t really be used against you, it would take some serious forensics to link your connection time to anything else. This site has a good deal on all 3, and 25% off Astrill: http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Personally I go with HMA because of their OpenVPN software, has amazing features – even StrongVPN can’t touch that, and HMA is P2P friendly. (so are Astrill and VPNTunnel.se)
- http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Anonymous
  
  Good point about the logs. Astrill, HideMyAss, and VPNTunnel come to mind. Although HMA keeps logs of connect/disconnect. Still, that can’t really be used against you, it would take some serious forensics to link your connection time to anything else. This site has a good deal on all 3, and 25% off Astrill: http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Personally I go with HMA because of their OpenVPN software, has amazing features – even StrongVPN can’t touch that, and HMA is P2P friendly. (so are Astrill and VPNTunnel.se)
Anonymous

tinyurl.com/24n4nqb
Xavier

Been using privacy.io for over a year now and am quite happy with it. I live in France and since they introduced all the insane Hadopi laws, I couldn’t feel that the government is working FOR me.
Haven’t had an issue since. I use it for torrents but also everything else like browsing, email and even Skype.
It also works on my iPhone out of the box.
Can recommend them anytime.
- http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Anonymous
  
  Privacy.io only uses PPTP – that’s the least secure VPN protocol out there…many exploits available…you really want L2TP or OpenVPN…
  
  this is from 2004, and talks about how out of the box tools can crack PPTP VPN sessions…bye bye anonymity and security!
  
  http://www.zdnet.com/blog/ou/pptp-vpn-authentication-protocol-proven-very-susceptible-to-attack/21
  
  it’s been known for a long time that PPTP is the weakest of all protocols. it definitely leaks your DNS, and some say it even leaks your regular traffic (i.e. your BT downloads) i would stay the F away from a paid VPN that only offers PPTP. some comment above me has links to the different types of VPN, or you can just google.
http://www.facebook.com/gigiptuk Gigiptuk Kerelis

Try furk.net. It downloads, checks by an antivirus, unpack rars, makes screenshots, audio samples and even converts videos into mobile/flash format.
Guest

Astrille is not privacy friendly. During the sign up process they require cell phone verification.
And if you attempt to subscribe through a VPN or proxy, the system informs you that you must use another IP address.
Why should a privacy friendly service demand cell phone verification?
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