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Free ‘BitTorrent VPN’ Grows to 300,000 Members in a Year

ItsHidden is a VPN service that was set up with torrent users in mind, allowing them to hide their identities from ‘third parties’ who choose to snoop on their activities. The service launched less than a year ago, but with the increased demand for anonymous BitTorrent it has already amassed 300,000 members.

itshiddenAs pressure from anti-piracy outfits on governments to implement strict anti-piracy laws increases, millions of file-sharers have decided to protect their privacy by going anonymous.

The most common and widely used privacy services are VPNs that allow users to connect to the Internet whilst hiding their own IP-address, making BitTorrent transfers completely anonymous.

ItsHidden is one of the rare free VPN solutions currently available. It launched July last year and TorrentFreak has learned that less than 12 months later the service already has 300,000 members with a free account.

Update: Itshidden stopped offering free accounts but TorrentPrivacy currently has a limited free trial available here.

Besides the free accounts, tens of thousands of people have signed up to the paid option. These benefit from additional features and no bandwidth restrictions, which is probably the preferred choice for heavy downloaders.

A while ago we spoke with David, one of the people behind the service, who told us that they set their VPN up with BitTorrent users in mind.

“It has been created to put some rights back in the favor of the user and that includes us,” David from ItsHidden explained to TorrentFreak. “There are so many bodies, mostly unelected, that seem to have full access to the most intimate of online details with little or no justification and more importantly, no evidence.”

The service encrypts the connection between the user and ItsHidden’s servers and prevents anyone from reading this data as it is sent or received. No data logs are kept of the user’s transfers, which makes it as private as it gets.

Of the 300,000 free users that signed up in the past year, 56,262 log in on an average day, transferring thousands of gigabytes. Due to the overwhelming interest in free accounts, ItsHidden had to disable new signups a few months ago, but they are currently allowing new members to join again.

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  • ya?

    nothing is free…keep that in mind when you use it

  • pireate

    i use the ipreditor really fast and not 2 expencive plus its the pirate bay
    arrghhh

  • Mike

    How is this company sustainable or profitable?

    Could someone explain to me how they can give away free VPN profitably?

    I would be wary of such a company without more transparancy.

  • SomeGuy

    Guys, this is obviously a honeypot scheme by the RIAA/MPAA!!!!

    OMG!!!

  • MAFIAA
  • Gwiz

    @Jul 06, 2010 at 23:10 by Mike

    The free accounts have no port forwarding and boot you after 20 minutes or so. They make money off of the paid accounts which have dedicated servers and are faster. All in all for the price (free) it’s a great deal.

    @Jul 06, 2010 at 23:11 by SomeGuy

    I don’t think it’s a honeypot – but if it is it would be BREIN’s since it’s located in the Netherlands.

  • Mike

    @Gwiz

    It just begs the question why bother with the free accounts at all?

  • Anonymous

    Wait, it kicks you off at 20 minutes?

    What the hell is the point in that then?

  • SomeGuy

    GUYS, BE CAREFUL, ITSHIDDEN MUST BE SELLING IPS FROM FREE ACCOUNTS TO MAFIAA!!!

  • Gwiz

    @Mike

    No money trail for anyone to follow for one thing.

  • anon

    @ #5 MAFIAA
    “http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/new-vpn-flaw-can-expose-users-ip-addresses-062110″

    I suggest you read a bit and understand the different types of VPN, instead of making assumptions.

  • The End

    @Jul 06, 2010 at 23:17 by MAFIAA:

    You should read your link instead of just reading the headline.

    Have you also read: disable-and-turn-off-ipv6-in-windows SOLVED.

  • Mike

    @10 Yes, that’s an advantage for the user, but I was talking about the company.

    What is the motive of giving away free VPN from the POV of the company?

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  • Anonymous

    @9: Obvious troll is obvious

  • Aerilus

    its the same scheme used by many online trial based software, avg avira, nero, and others pretty much anything that comes with a new computer. they want to get you using there service on a very limited account so you will upgrade. i have used the free version of this it does drop out a lot which means that your client switches over to your local are connection. I can’t speak to these guys integrity but it is a fairly common business model.

  • Antony Hopkins

    @Someguy: You’re an idiot.

  • mercuryR

    Do a little research into the company and how its other ventures can easily cover the costs (with paid subscriptions) of the free users.

    Those that seem to just see spies in everything, I say to you that you need to get a grip and stop this continuous scare mongouring as its helps no one but the bloody people that we spend so much time fighting.

    Look at terrorism and its all about scaring you into doing something you wouldn’t normally do or accept and thats all these media companies and affiliate companies are doing.

  • Dave

    I tried out itshidden a while ago, paid them and never got service. I tried contacting them over the period of a week and never received a reply. Paypal ended up resolving the problem and giving my money back. They never contacted paypal either.

  • Reader

    Suggest you carefully read the terms and conditions of their service before doing this.

    http://itshidden.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=67

  • noko

    It kicks you after 20m?

    That’s kind of stupid.

  • MPAA = FAIL

    @3 Mike
    They give away free accounts so you’ll consider buying the premium… Just like Mega Upload’s sustainable even though they give bandwidth for free

    @4 Someguy . Its not a setup by the MPAA and the likes, there are tons of sites like this, they just want to make money, not sue people.
    And if the MPAA did setup a VPN service for IP collecting wouldn’t that be entrapment? I don’t know for sure btw, so i’m asking, anyone know?

  • Kirkpad

    I tried it and everytime I pinged I would never receive a response. Either it’s my internet, their internet, or an overload of traffic.

    Maybe it’s because I didn’t pay them, I’ve never used a VPN before.

  • hmm ya right

    itshidden is pptp make sure you do,nt have ipv6 remove it ip leaks use ipv4 much better choice is to use a open vpn sevice more secure if you can double hop if possible

  • Anonymous

    @12 – The End

    Turning off IPv6 in Windows won’t help 99.9% of people who the issue effects. Most people connect behind a NAT’d router, so their computer IP might be in the 192.168.x.x range for example, but their actual outwards facing IP address could be either IPv4 or IPv6. You can’t turn IPv6 off if your modem requires it (ie, you’re French).

    Anyway, this article isn’t news, it’s advertisement. I hope the money raised from this Ernesto is used to make the TorrentFreak experience better, rather than go on a new car or presents for your girlfriend =P

  • Jack.ss

    I have an Itshidden account, and it always disconnect and suddenly I have my IP address exposed.

    I recommend uploaders and darksurfers to use a paid service instead.

  • Anonymous

    on a torrent that i get 1mb/s with my regular connection… using itshidden’s free vpm i only get 70-80 kb/s

  • Truther

    A very good principle.

  • Andreas

    @1 yes indeed its very rare that FULL featured services are free..

  • ubetido

    Enough already ! Just give your ten bucks to HMA Vpn all problems solved.

  • Anonymous

    THIS ARTICLE HAS ONLY BEEN PUT ON HERE SO YOU LOT REVEAL WITCH VPNS YOUR USING SO THEY NO WHERE TO LOOK
    BECAUSE THEY DONT NO THERE ARESES FAY THEIR ELBOWS

  • tman

    Please don’t shine the spotlight on vpn. Articles like this just draw unwanted attention to vpn. Anyone here I would think is familiar with vpn.

  • ghost in your machine

    I’m using Tor. But i have much to learn about it’s usage and performance since it has alot of features. It has what they call relays, change identity, bandwidth & message log at start-up menu. If they could just include anti-virus software in the package; which would be great. Just my opinion.

  • Anonymous

    @31

    Tor is annoyingly slow, I hope you’re not using it for torrenting though and slowing down the network usage for everyone else.

  • Yiggy Pow

    In this day and age, with the lawsuit happy RIAA, MPAA and other yahoos, youd be crazy NOT to use a VPN to shield your real IP address.

    anonymous-vpn.be.tc

  • Piracy? What piracy?

    That’s great news!
    Count me in.

  • Ninja

    When I used itshidden back then it was pptp, wasn’t it? Then it has that ipv6 vulnerability.

    I barely ever use it but the service is usually good enough, even for the free accounts.

    I wonder when they’ll start going after the vpns. MAFIAA @$$holes that is. It is certain they won’t provide cheaper, DRM-free and readily available content for us, that’s certain.

  • Anonymous

    WTF!!! so is this trust-able site or not? im confused from people disagreeing with one other!!!
    Is this a trap? or just limited account for free users?

  • Mr Anonymous

    Sounds Great!! But what about the real criminals, terrorists, pedophiles etc. how would authorities keep track of ‘em if they hide their IP with a VPN?

  • Anonymous

    From their Terms & Conditions:

    “We may release personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information if required to do so by law, or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with the Laws of England & Wales.

    Itshidden also reserves the right to disclose personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information that Itshidden believes, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to enforce our Terms of Service, take precautions against liability, to investigate and defend itself against any third-party claims or allegations, to assist government enforcement agencies, to protect the security or integrity of the Itshidden Website, and to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Itshidden, our users or others.”

    http://itshidden.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=67

  • BabySinclair

    PPTP again.
    but this time it´s ok because it´s free. :)

  • Hmm

    For the next article I hope TorrentFreak will recommend a Spanish VPN as pirating is 100% legal in Spain. Read for yourself

    http://torrentfreak.com/spanish-pirates-share-files-on-government-doorstep-081221/
    http://torrentfreak.com/judges-liken-p2p-to-the-ancient-practice-of-lending-books-100608/

    A swiss vpn is only useful when MAFIAA wants to illegally spy on you
    http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-company-spied-on-thousands-of-p2p-users-080317/
    But piracy is still illegal in Switzerland. So it’s not good enough but still better than nothing

  • lee

    you’re all naive if you believe these things work,they don’t

  • Brianca

    This wreaks of paid blogging advertising promotion.

    Congratulations on your attempt to rope new naive users into a complete lie. As #30 pointed out in your ‘terms and conditions’ nothing is that anonymous, and when push comes to shove you’d throw all those poor users to the RIAA/MIAA in a heartbeat if they came knocking on your door.

  • RL

    Didn’t work. Every time I tried to connect, I get “Error 800″

    “The remote connection was not made because the attempted VPN tunnels failed. The VPN server might be unreachable. If this connection is attempting to use an L2TP/IPsec tunnel, the security parameters required for IPsec negotiation might not be configured properly.”

  • Anonymous

    @19, 39
    Those are the terms of the website, not the VPN service. It says in the first sentence.

  • H.A.L.

    @44

    same here dude

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  • Anonymous

    Works fine for me, the only VPN i’ve ever used and not had a problem. Can’t complain at all for a free service. Glad it’s kept going.

  • ghost in your machine

    Great to know someone else is receiving ERROR 800 message as well.
    I am not aware of “tunnels” terminology. I would need to research the issue further. However, it is my opinion that my router my need to be reconfigured but not sure. If i reconfigure it; it may just connect directly without leaving options for other connections so i am being cautious at best.

  • on-moderation

    ItsHidden is utter crap – at least the free version. The service is usually unavailable, and even when I’ve been lucky enough to score a connection, it is very slow and only works for about 5 or 10 minutes, then there is no throughput, even though it’s still connected.

    The VPN connection will randomly disconnect at any time up to its stated 20 minute time limit, which could be after 2 minutes or 10 minutes. This makes the service –like any VPN– very dangerous for torrent users, because when a VPN server disconnects, your connection will revert to a “naked” internet connection and your real IP address will be visible to everyone.

    A socks/http proxy is much safer for P2P than a VPN because when a proxy server disconnects you, your bittorrent or other p2p applications’s connection to the internet will be blocked, and your real IP address will never be revealed.

    Another problem with using a VPN is that because it ‘proxies’ your entire connection (unlike a socks/http proxy which is application-specific) you will find yourself IP-blocked on many web sites when trying to post a comment. So it becomes necessary to close all P2P applications and disconnect the VPN before posting to a site like Wikipedia. Even on TorrentFreak, posting a comment using ItsHidden VPN seems to automatically divert the comment into the moderation(spam) dump, which greatly reduces the chance of the comment ever appearing.

  • mal

    Myself..Not totally sure about “Its Hidden”
    I have had a paid for account for months and it only manages to connect to this vpn service about 1 in every 4 attempts.
    A few days ago i renewed my account and paid $24.99.
    Now it wont connect at all and despite emailing them twice nothing is fixed.
    Gonna give them a few more days to contact me then i guess I’ll have to go to Paypal resolution to get refund?
    Like i said..Not sure about this lot.

  • CLUELESS NOOBS

    LOGS?????? Do they keep logs? Probably.

    If so… you are paying for false security. It is even worse than that. It is a nice one-stop place that RIAA etc. can tap for personal info using the law… the same way they get that info from ISPs.

    Keep fantasising that you’re anonymous…..

  • Proud Pirate….

    Here is a fantastic vpn that does not store logs at all and uses ipv4.

    hideipvpn.com

  • Teh_Expert

    I closed the holes in my portal and all my tubes so that they can’t see when I load stuff down to me. I’ve got 50 virtual megagigs of hard disk memory in my machine which is too fast for them. Most of this stuff will be above your heads I’m sure but with a little learning you can do the same as me!!

  • boe

    rofl @ virtual megagigs

  • piratepal

    nice and safe – no logs just the same as ipreditor. less than £5 a month and speeds are very good.

  • VPn
  • tester

    I’m posting with tuvpn’s free proxy. works great

  • Cujo

    when the vpn drops, windows/linux will look for the next available connection aka your isp.
    to fix the problem, just chance your isp’s network setting to match the network settings assigned to you by your vpn
    this way when the vpn drops, windows/linux will be offline ;)

    a commando firewall can do the same

    anyone know of any good proggies that do the same?

  • Cujo

    also don’t forget to bind your bittorrent client to the adrress that your vpn assigns you ;)

    https://startpage.com/ ;)

  • Cujo

    http://ca.yauba.com/

    I’m on a roll here lol

  • mrnrg

    Hardly anybody uses there free accounts because of there restriction. Account signups doesn’t mean that their service is being actively used.

  • João Brancocampo

    EFF Updates

    * EU Action Alert: Urge Your MEP to Take a Stand for the Internet
    Written Declaration 12 asks EU negotiators to ensure that ACTA
    respects European citizens’ fundamental rights to freedom of
    expression and privacy – and opposes provisions that would encourage
    Internet intermediaries to engage in surveillance or filtering of all
    Internet users’ communications for potential copyright-infringing
    material. If 369 members of the European Parliament sign this
    declaration before July 8, it will become the official opinion of the
    European Parliament and send a strong message to the EU ACTA
    negotiators. Approximagely 253 MEPs have signed so far, but 116 MEP
    signatures are still needed – particularly from MEPs in Germany,
    the U.K., Italy and Poland.
    https://www.eff.org/action/eu-action-alert-urge-your-mep-take-stand-internet-acta

  • Gwiz

    51 Jul 07, 2010 at 12:56 by CLUELESS NOOBS

    They claim on their website that they keep no logs of user activity at all.

  • Gwiz

    @58 Jul 07, 2010 at 15:33 by Cujo

    I’m using Linux and what I do is after getting my vpn connection I set my firewall (Firestarter) to block everything and turn it off. When the connection is lost the firewall automatically kicks on and blocks everything so no exposure here.

  • NdtA

    @41Hmm
    Downloading ist not illegal in switzerland it’s grey zone, only uploading is illegal (only one person to be persecuted because of that until now though). But BT without upload is just not correct …

  • mack

    The thing about this though, there are many torrent clients that “default” to only allow 1 slot per IP address….

    say this service runs their VPN on 94.75.222.180 (unlikely – since that’s the web server IP address).

    Once you got 200+ people on this VPN downloading, you’re unlikely to have any success on a torrent swarm, since I know uTorrent in particular has an option to only allow “1″ slot/connection per IP address…

    But yea, I’d much rather take a risk, display my “real” IP address, and block the bad guys with PeerBlock…..

    I can understand the concept of this VPN, sure, the MAFII/RIAA/MPAA/etc can send a “cease and desist” to “94.75.222.180″ – but if they got 5000 customers at that address, that file isn’t likely stored “at” that address :)

    BUT, just like the recent torrent site take-downs, they could go against the VPN service since htey are “facilitating” the distribution of copy protected material…

    P.S. I’m no lawyer, I just play one on the Internet :)

  • Cujo

    if they go after 94.75.222.180 or .48 or .3 well they’ll have to speak to the admin ,, P-DNA3804 ,, well I think thats his/her name ,, but I ain’t sure of too much you see lol

  • finfag

    Tested this, works when it works.

    It’s hard to make the connection, sometimes takes hours of trying, and when it did connect it disconneted after 30min, yae for the extra 10min.

    The speed was 80kb/s and for a FREE deal it’s worth it.

    I only tested because my country is in the planning of making a 3-strikes law.

    I setup VPNetMon 2011 http://vpnetmon.webs.com/ to kill/start uTorrent depending on the status of the VPN, and it worked nicely.

    My real IP never leaked out confirmed by http://checkmytorrentip.com

    When the time comes I’ll just pay to a VPN and the letters will never come.

  • elduka

    joined immiedatly after reading thanks for the info!

  • elduka

    wow i was so excited and i cant even connect with it reliably :(

    ill just take the chances untill i get a notice then ill pay for one

  • ^same guy as above^

    wow never mind i cant even reliably connect. it kinda sucks

    ill just keep downloading bare until i get a notice then ill pay

  • homie

    There, some more and much better personal VPN service: TuVPN, Strong VPN, Anonine, …

    Visit this VPN comparator website (prices and reviews): http://en.start-vpn.com/vpn-info/vpn-providers/

  • shemalecocklover

    the free its hidden is absolutely useless, it disconnects after 20 minutes every time, (that’s a feature installed by the developers), and sometimes even more than that, renedering it pretty much useless: I mean, what’s the point of fu$%ing with a condom if it keeps coming off? you may as well just take it off and enjoy the ride! The free account is really more advertising for Its hidden, if you’re serious about downloading, a pay account is the only real option

  • Me

    I have used the pay vpn from day one and I am telling you it’s great, it’s well worth the little money I pay, plus I get to watch south park episodes as they are not allowed in the uk for some gay licensing reason. Their support is excellent, they always answer my questions and communicate on a very friendly level. I have recommended this to all my friends and most are using it.

  • Screwed by RS

    RS is based in Switzerland, but owned in Germany thus it is under Euro regulation. Usenet is owned by Germans but operated in San Marino, outside of Euro laws. Hotfile is US owned, but operated from Panama. Megaupload is owned by Chinese and operated from Hong Kong. There are also Russian owned and operated sites (careful with those). It was never smart to trust RS just because they were Euro based. San Marino takes in too much money in taxes from Usenet, to care about their operations.

    Trust me: RS holds a lot of information that Interpol and the FBI would happily pay for. I would strongly advise deletion of link lists at this time. An enormous amount of data has been deleted in the last week alone. Law enforcement WILL become their biggest customer. RS does NOT challenge evidence warrants. So much for “privacy.”

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