VPN

pedruid

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Joined
Jun 27, 2006
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:confused:I have seen several post suggesting using a VPN to fool ISP'd when downloading Torrents.
Anyone out there prepared to enlighten me in their usefulness?:)
 
There are two main uses for a VPN in this regard:

1. Partial anonymity. Anyone tracking your torrent activity will see the IP of the VPN and not your local computers IP. Not foolproof though as if somebody really want to find you there are plenty of trails to follow.
2. To bypass shaping. All traffic going through your VPN will not be visible to the ISP and will look like VPN traffic to them which shouldn't be shaped. Most ISPs will not like it when they see large amounts of VPN traffic though and will probably cancel your account.

Really not worth it in my opinion.
 
Recently however another good use for VPNs has been discussed extensively on the net: using one to subscribe to Netflix (or similar) in countries where it is not available.

Assuming you have a fast enough connection, a VPN can apparently be used to 'fool' Netflix (or indeed any other subscription service, including the BBC's iPlayer where TV material is only made available to UK viewers) that you are based in the US, UK etc.

As I understand it, you do need to have the cooperation of someone in the host country merely for the use of their address, but paying with an overseas credit card is not a problem.
 
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