Downloading on the internet is an interesting topic. There are those that call it piracy, copyright infringement, and just plain stealing. There are just as many that avidly support it, saying that it helps artists – not hurts them, that media corporations are already over charging and those that download movies and music from torrents and over P2P wouldn’t go out an buy the stuff anyway.
They also say that there’s no way to control it, and laws trying to stop such activity are going to “break the internet”, killing sites like YouTube and Facebook, and other sites promoting creativity. Perhaps most users don’t think about it too much, and just download online hoping that no one’s watching.
Whatever your take on it is, many countries are starting to crack down on downloading sites, especially P2P and torrent sites. The US, The UK, New Zealand, and Australia are slowly passing more and more law protecting the copyrights of the media you download, and finding more ways to catch and prosecute the offenders. This is why anonymous downloading is gaining popularity. VPNs are one of the best way to download anonymously online.
Before you sign up for a virtual private network service however, there are two things you should know.
1. Not all VPN services support P2P and Torrents
2. Using a VPN will not protect you if you’re downloading illegally
Here are some VPN services to get you started. You should always check the Terms of Service the VPN provider you want to sign up for, and if you’re still not sure, just send an email to support – tell them where you are, and ask if they have servers that will allow you to download anonymously without any problems. You’ll be subject to local laws of the VPN server you sign in to, so if you’re in The UK, even though downloading online could get you in trouble, if you’re signed into a Russian server, you won’t have any problems.
Hide My Ass
HMA has lots of forum discussions about downloading torrents through their service, and I contacted their support team. Downloading torrents is OK! But they’re very clear about not supporting illegal activity. Hide My Ass is has almost 40 different country IP addresses, including Easter European, South American, and Asian countries where copyright laws haven’t developed yet, and you won’t have any problems. Also, the support staff member informed me that if they receive any complaints, you’ll be informed first, so at least you get a warning in case you unintentionally step on any toes.
If you want some free stuff, they’ve got that too. You can try you luck with open proxy server. Using open proxies is always a bit of a security risk, and HMA isn’t responsible for what happens to your private data if you use the open proxies listed on their site – they don’t own them! But they provide a fresh list, frequently updated, and you can organize them according to different criteria – speed – anonymity – and country location. There’s also a free web based proxy, but you can’t download torrents on it.
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SwitchVPN
This is another VPN service that explicitly says that you can download torrents over their network. You’ve got to use servers in The Netherlands if you go for their SwitchVPN package, and you can use the servers from The Netherlands, Latvia, and Switzerland if you get a ComboVPN package.
SwitchVPN has a great service- Unlimited bandwidth, free server switching, live/email support, NAT firewall options, and a 5 day money back guarantee. $6 dollars a month for a standard package (one server choice), and $10 dollars a month for ComboVPN (multiple VPN servers).
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UPDATE APRIL 2012:
PureVPN also allows torrents on Russian, Netherlands, and a few other server locations, and offers some very cost efficient plans, including a lite plan, and dedicated IP addresses. In addition to this, the offer SSTP VPN for Windows 7 and Vista. Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux can use one of their PPTP or L2TP plans. Servers in 11 different countries.
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