{"id":558983,"date":"2023-03-02T17:00:31","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/"},"modified":"2023-03-02T17:00:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T14:00:31","slug":"torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/","title":{"rendered":"#Torrenting on a VPN? Don\u2019t Connect to US Servers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3321e3babe0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3321e3babe0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/#%E2%80%9CTorrenting_on_a_VPN_Dont_Connect_to_US_Servers%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Torrenting on a VPN? Don\u2019t Connect to US Servers&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/#What_Does_It_Matter_Which_Server_You_Choose\" >What Does It Matter Which Server You Choose?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/#What_Happens_When_Providers_Get_Sued\" >What Happens When Providers Get Sued?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/#Users_Are_at_Risk_Too\" >Users Are at Risk Too<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/#Know_What_Your_VPN_Knows_About_You\" >Know What Your VPN Knows About You<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/#Why_US_Servers_Are_a_Target\" >Why U.S. Servers Are a Target<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CTorrenting_on_a_VPN_Dont_Connect_to_US_Servers%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Torrenting on a VPN? Don\u2019t Connect to US Servers&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-866939\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Android-VPN-2.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Express VPN on Android phone\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Justin Duino \/ How-To Geek<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S.-based servers have been the target of legal action by copyright watchdogs and the movie studios they represent. Though it\u2019s not clear how likely new threats are, staying away from servers based in the United States is a smart bet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>You probably know you need a VPN for torrenting or run the risk of being fined into oblivion. However, just because you\u2019re using a VPN doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re safe, especially if you\u2019re using servers based in the United States. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Does_It_Matter_Which_Server_You_Choose\"><\/span>What Does It Matter Which Server You Choose?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Of course, you may wonder why it even matters where a VPN server is located, besides that it will make you <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear like you\u2019re in that country. It\u2019s a simple matter of jurisdiction: if a server is in a certain country, it falls under that country\u2019s laws.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in July 2021 Ukrainian authorities <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gadgets\/2021\/07\/vpn-servers-seized-by-ukrainian-authorities-werent-encrypted\/\">seized<\/a> two servers owned by Windscribe, a popular VPN provider, in the course of a criminal inquiry. Though Windscribe is based in Canada, its Ukrainian servers were still subject to lawful seizure in the Ukraine, and with it any data that was on them. Thankfully, that data was encrypted and so Windscribe\u2019s customers were safe.<\/p>\n<p>Had Ukraine tried to seize servers in Poland, say, it would have had to submit a request to the Polish authorities. For more on this, check out our article on whether it matters where your VPN is based.<\/p>\n<p>The same rules that let Ukrainian cops seize a Canadian company\u2019s servers also let U.S. courts decide what happens with servers on U.S. soil. This is where torrenting comes in: the past few years, the world of software piracy has been shaken up by some high-profile lawsuits filed by Hollywood studios or their proxies, targeting both VPNs and their customers.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Happens_When_Providers_Get_Sued\"><\/span>What Happens When Providers Get Sued?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In each case, the targets are torrenters and the VPNs that facilitate them, which is virtually all of them. The suits have taken several guises: some aim to simply make it so a provider\u2019s U.S. servers can\u2019t be used for torrenting.<\/p>\n<p>TorGuard, for example, was sued and now no longer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/vpn-provider-agrees-to-block-torrent-traffic-and-the-pirate-bay-on-u-s-servers-220117\/\">allows BitTorrent traffic on its servers<\/a>. The same goes for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vpnunlimited.com\/\">VPN Unlimited<\/a>, which also shut down torrenting on its American servers under threat of litigation, as did a small provider called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/vpn.ht\">VPN.ht<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In these cases, using U.S. servers for torrenting means your connection simply gets shut down, which is annoying, no more than that. That said, U.S. customers who found out their nearby server suddenly didn\u2019t allow torrenting were probably less than pleased when the VPN they paid money for no longer did what it promised.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Users_Are_at_Risk_Too\"><\/span>Users Are at Risk Too<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>However, there has been a second type of lawsuit, one in which the plaintiffs decided to go after the users of a VPN service. One example is when Private Internet Access was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techspot.com\/news\/87343-anonymous-vpn-users-could-uncovered-movie-company-lawsuit.html\">asked to hand over data on all its users<\/a> who had torrented the movie <i>Angel Has Fallen<\/i>. In the end, nothing came of the case, but there\u2019s a good chance it\u2019s writing on the wall.<\/p>\n<p>In the PIA case, the plaintiffs were targeting users rather than the service itself. How they were identified is unclear, but we can only assume that the company\u2019s trackers pierced the veil or that the users themselves somehow leaked information. DMCA notices were sent to 15 users, and then PIA was asked to give more information about them\u2014though the subpoena never materialized.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Know_What_Your_VPN_Knows_About_You\"><\/span>Know What Your VPN Knows About You<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s important to note that there are essentially two types of information your VPN could potentially know about you: your internet activity and who you are. If your provider is truly a no-log VPN, your activity should be secret. In the case above, the Hollywood lawyers already knew about the activity through other means\u2014how exactly isn\u2019t known, just that PIA wasn\u2019t at fault.<\/p>\n<p>However, who you are is a different issue. Since so very few VPNs allow for anonymous signup, they usually have a pretty good idea of your personal details. On account creation, you give them your name, email address, and usually payment information, too. Technically, if there\u2019s proof that you did something wrong, your VPN could be forced to hand that information over under a warrant.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_US_Servers_Are_a_Target\"><\/span>Why U.S. Servers Are a Target<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Naturally, this could be an issue in any country, but so far it\u2019s been U.S. servers and U.S.-based VPNs that have been most at risk. This is likely due to a few reasons, one of the most important being that these are U.S. lawyers hired by U.S. companies, making it a lot easier to go after U.S.-based torrenters rather than ones in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n<p>Still, though, just because you\u2019re in Europe or Asia doesn\u2019t mean you should be too quick to use U.S. servers when torrenting. Besides the practical issue of slowdowns, we doubt it\u2019s a good idea to get on copyright watchdogs\u2019 radar, especially if you can avoid that by simply not using U.S.-based servers.<\/p>\n<p>As for American torrenters, we recommend that they use servers that aren\u2019t quite as likely to be targeted by litigious copyright holders. We suggest servers in Canada, where our favorite torrenting VPN, IVPN, has a server, as does another favorite, Mullvad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/869272\/torrenting-on-a-vpn-dont-connect-to-us-servers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Torrenting on a VPN? Don\u2019t Connect to US Servers&#8221; Justin Duino \/ How-To Geek U.S.-based servers have been the target of legal action by copyright watchdogs and the movie studios they represent. Though it\u2019s not clear how likely new threats are, staying away from servers based in the United States is a smart bet. You&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":558984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Android-VPN-2.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-558983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}