So with the news that our beloved government are ordering ISP’s to block certain websites, I figure it’s time for me to get a good VPN. I did use PIA (Private Internet Access) previously, and they weren’t to bad, but before I sign up again, does anyone have any recommendations? Who do you use, and how do you find them?
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I’ve got a PIA 12 month subscription and it was generally ok but more recently I’ve had intermittent issues.
I took up an IPVanish subscription and it’s been better than PIA (both faster and less flaky). I won’t be renewing my PIA subscription.
NB neither can be relied upon for overseas Netflix if that’s what you’re looking for.
Nah, not worried about overseas Netflix. This will be for, ah, other purposes.
the recent fed court judgment only relates to about 6 sites right?
Why do they bother?
See here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-16/will-blocking-the-pirate-bay-actually-work/8127262
Why the Aussie Pirate Bay ban could have massive collateral damage - Player Attack
So just use a VPN or TOR browser https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en
Think I’ve found my own workaround. I used to use Puffin Browser on my iOS devices when Flash websites were still a thing. It’s pretty much a proxy client so it should be able to bypass the site blocking regime and it also allows you to save downloads direct to DropBox.
So plan is to browse TPB on the iPad, save torrent files to DropBox and have my BT client of choice monitor Dropbox. Thought of another option as well. Virtual server/client in AWS EC2, Rackspace or a similar service (they’re pretty cheap to run these days). Have DropBox or a similar service sync completed downloads.
Don’t forget it’s access to the websites that are blocked. Once you have the torrent files, you’re sweet.
I had NordVPN for a year, it was pretty good but in the end it seemed a bit silly to be paying for something I didnt really need. I have Getflix and with every Getflix account, theres a free VPN. Not DNS over VPN, a proper full VPN. So I use that from time to time. I think probably its going to be permanent before long
Pretty sure that’s against their terms and conditions, so if they caught you at it there goes your DropBox account - might be wise to set up a secondary one on a different email.
A serious question to you all though - what are you torrenting these days? Is it content that you can’t get in Aus, or you don’t want to pay for it? These days I’m happy with Netflix etc and all my downloading is legal. I find the bit torrenting thing too much of a hassle.
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Valid point. But there is other ways of transferring.
Me personally: I torrent something once a year, if that these days, I don’t even have a torrent client installed anymore. And if I do, it’s usually content that I can’t legally purchase or watch in digital format. It’s not always the latest and greatest, Seasons 3 and 4 of Fresh Meat still aren’t available outside of Netflix.
What annoys me though is this isn’t the solution to the problem, and it won’t help curb piracy in any meaningful way. I don’t believe people are within their rights to pirate or download other’s intellectual property against the copyright owners terms, but I’m not going to judge anyone for doing so, and I believe if you’re going to do it, don’t beat around the bush and try to justify why you’re doing it, just own that you’re doing it and move on.
Marco Arment said it best: Right versus pragmatic – Marco.org
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OMG. I completely forgot I had a Getflix account… one I paid like $50 for and it lasts until 2032 or something ridiculous like that. I’ve just tried the VPN. It’s not as user friendly as PIA was but it does the job.
EDIT make that 2045. Somehow I doubt Getflix will be in business that long!
I guess what surprised me most is Telstra implementing a method so easily broken. But I guess if all they’re after is compliance, and this ticks that box then job done.
Mine is the same. I think I paid $39 US, I do get a lot of benefit from it though, theres more to life and getflix than Netflix which I have cancelled from next month for a while. I dont care if it doesnt last that long, its good value. I wont still be alive in 2045. I do not wish to live til I am 95!!!
My method with Puffin Browser works like a charm, you can browse torrent files on your iPad, download them direct to Dropbox or Google Drive and sync them back to your computer. I haven’t tested this (I don’t have a torrent client installed on my computer) but I don’t see why you should be able to set your torrent client to monitor Dropbox or Google Drive for new files and download them remotely on the go.
Can confirm, this works. Was using a method along these lines a few years back, before I switched to fully automated means 