Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the biggest (if not the ultimate) Virtual private network (VPN) service provider in the world. It's the first choice of torrent users who want to stay anonymous. Simply put, PIA is affordable, built with torrent downloading in mind, and most of all, secure.
PIA offers an optional SOCKS5 proxy service with all accounts. The use of a SOCKS5 proxy is a technique favored by users of BitTorrent to disguise their use of BitTorrent to their ISP and others. Unfortunately SOCKS5 is unencrypted while a VPN is, so there seems to be little advantage in anonymity by using it from within a VPN. The PIA SOCKS5 proxy is not good. I switched to just using them as a VPN and enabled split-tunnel so that I could have qbittorrent on the VPN but not anything. I enjoyed using PIA on Ubuntu and now, I think, it's my favorite VPN for this system. Private Internet Access for Chrome. Private Internet Access for Chrome is one of the most functional and efficient extensions that allow accessing websites privately. PIA offers the same software for Firefox and Opera, too. Torrenting with PIA can be made faster using SOCKS5 proxy. SOCKS5 is a protocol that is quite popular among torrent users since it offers faster speeds than VPNs as a consequence of the fact that it lacks encryption, which has a retardation effect on speeds.
Unlike other VPN services, PIA offers both VPN and non-logging SOCKS proxy service. Not to mention, the potential of using a proxy while downloading torrents will enhance your security to no limit.
Private Internet Access: Quick Overview:
Private Internet Access is the most popular VPN service amongst torrent users, for strong reasons. It makes an excellent beginner's VPN because of its simplicity, among other things that we'll cover in the next lines.
No VPN Traffic Logs: Based in the USA, VPN services like PIA are not required to keep VPN logs. Thus, PIA doesn't keep records that can be hacked and trace back to the user. Moreover, they don't store metadata/connection logs, which differentiate them from most of the other VPN services out there.
Built with Torrenting in Mind: One of the strongest VPN services because it has 3000+ servers around the world. Best of all, there are zero restrictions on torrenting. And their unique technology allows rerouting of connection for maximum speed possible.
Secure Technology: PIA's use military-grade 256-bit encryption to encrypt and decrypt data. It's brute-force proof with options to configure your security level.
Using PIA's VPN/Proxy to Download Torrents
All PIA members enjoy VPN service AND anonymous SOCKS proxy service. And that allows more options when it comes to anonymous torrenting.
Wanna know the best part? Users can use both the VPN and proxy at the same time. But the benefits of both technologies should be made clear:
Using Proxy Alone
Normally, faster than using VPN alone, but it's less secure since users need to configure their torrent client's built-in encryption options. This thing may conflict with the Internet Service Provider's (ISP) rules and guidelines regarding torrenting.
Yet, it's the best way to change the torrent IP and keep the browser's IP unchanged.
Using VPN Alone
A VPN is impossible to break with military-grade encryption. The ISP isn't able to find out what's going on. It helps users appear to be browsing from a different country altogether. And with many servers, PIA allows users to 'travel the world.'
The downloading speed might get slow. And the torrent IP address is the same as the browsing IP address.
Using Both VPN and Proxy
It gets better! When combining VPN and Proxy users can get strong encryption, more anonymity (with two different IPs), on top of that, users browse and download torrents anonymously.
In a perfect world, users should use a VPN service from a different company than the anonymous SOCKS proxy service for better security. But many users sign up with PIA to save $$$. If you think that PIA isn't for you, you can use cloud torrenting services, which forsake the need for VPN and proxy altogether.
But first, let's see how PIA works with torrent clients such as uTorrent.
PIA Proxy for uTorrent
Open proxy settings in uTorrent by going to:
Options > Preferences > Connection or Ctrl-P from the main user interface.
Under 'Proxy Server' tab enter the following information:
Type: Socks5
Proxy: proxy-nl.privateinternetaccess.com
Port: 1080
Username: given to you by PIA
Password: given to you by PIA
Ensure that you check all the six boxes to avoid leaking your personal information via uTorrent.
The next step is encryption. If you're using proxy alone, this step will bypass ISP restrictions but may disconnect you from a large number of peers.
Encryption Settings for uTorrent
Go to Menu > Options > Preferences > BitTorrent, under Protocol Encryption choose 'Forced,' and uncheck 'Allow incoming legacy connections.'
While it's not bulletproof, uTorrent's built-in encryption is good enough because it can help speed up downloading if your ISP is throttling or slowing torrenting.
What to Do When PIA Fails?
Using a VPN is all fine and dandy, but what if it doesn't work? Remember when we mentioned cloud torrenting earlier? It's the rightful alternative when it comes to torrenting without VPN.
Socks5 Pia
You probably already use the cloud in one form or another, Google Drive comes to mind. So why not use it for torrenting. Certainly, the future is for the cloud.
Imagine having a dedicated Google Drive to download torrent to, saving yourself storage space and bandwidth. You wouldn't need to worry about blocking torrent websites anymore.
It offers the same benefits of VPN and proxy and more. Private, secure, and fast, cloud torrenting allows accessibility as well.
Why Choose Cloud Torrent Services
Torrent from anywhere and don't worry about setting up VPN nor DNS leakage. That's because your torrenting is as simple as copy and paste. Though, it helps to use a VPN service when you download content directly to your hard drive.
Don't worry about seeding, because cloud torrents, including Bitport.io, are pre-configured to seed files to the 1:1 ratio. If you want more, contact them, and they'll configure it to the rate you want.
Cloud torrenting runs on servers built and dedicated to torrenting alone. Everything is optimized for torrenting, and so it's like owning a torrenting machine with maximum capabilities. Downloaded files are also made available on many devices, including Android, iOS, and Smart TVs.
How to Get Started
Starting with cloud torrenting requires only a browser. It's a child play. All you need is a device with an internet connection, and an account on one of the services such as Bitport, Nody, or Megabox. Register a free account, and you're good to go.
Socks5 Proxy
These services offer a free account so you can try the services with some limitations on size and number of downloads.
Pia Socks5 Ip
If you want the best provider, stick to Bitport. It's easy to join private trackers and improve your rank with dedicated cloud torrenting service. If you love simplicity, Bitport is a wise choice for you. It lets you download and stream torrents at any time and from anywhere.
