After the Mullvad fiasco I decided to stop using VPNs all together, since port forwarding is always going to be a problem on all of them, if you read the reasons why Mullvad had to shut down that service.

There is a better way using i2p which conceals your IP and makes it impossible for anyone to know what or if you're downloading at all! No DMCA notices, no problem.

I wrote this small guide to another comment and figured I'd share it in its own post since I'm seeing so many people ask for VPN recommendations.

So there are 2 main implementations of i2p. First is the main Dev’s Java client here https://geti2p.net/en/download

The other is i2pd, which is C++.

I use the Java one personally but both would work. Someone posted back on reddit a guide on /r/i2p for qbittorrent, which is what I use now for this too. The guide was shared as a public torrent you can download with this info hash: 3f1d51095f9b116739172c1bced149acf2b10692

Use that hash with any of the various public trackers and you should be able to download that guide.

But if you just want a basic setup, that Java client comes with i2psnark, which is a Bittorrent client already setup.

The only other thing you want to do is go and search the biggest tracker for stuff, which is called PaTracker, Postman’s tracker. http://tracker2.postman.i2p, only accessible from i2p itself, which you’ll need to have setup and running first to view.

This tracker needs more seeders and uploaders in general, and by improving those things service for everyone is better. So the more the merrier.

Thanks! Feel free to ask any questions, there also might be other people who use i2p now for torrenting. I'm sure they'll help too.

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[–] BrotherCod@kbin.social 6 points 2 years ago

I2p is not a substitution for a proxy. I2p is an end-to-end encryption Network and unless it's changed over the past couple of years it's incredibly slow for any multimedia transfer. Coupled on top of that you have to have the knowledge to be able to set up your full system to route all traffic through it. So using it as a a security step for most people is already out of the question. It's not like a VPN where you can just plug and play. Having your entire network communicate through l2p is going to make everything substantially slower.

[–] Truestorydreams@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 years ago

I'll read up on this. It's new for me and thr first time hearing of it, but we should always consider working alternatives

[–] truckkun@lemm.ee 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

What mullvad fiasco??

[–] helpimnotdrowning@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 2 years ago

I wouldn't call it a "fiasco", but they're disabling port-forwarding for everyone on July 1st. They say it's because people are hosting "unfavorable" content and it's getting their IPs banned. Their article

[–] FloppyFlounder8@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 2 years ago

I'm skeptical of changing what works. Haven't had any issues with the VPN I use. I'll keep this in mind for sure nonetheless.

[–] Ignacio@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (2 children)

What Mullvad fiasco? I'm still using them :|

[–] makos@programming.dev 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Mullvad stopped port forwarding due to being harassed by law enforcement agencies.

[–] TechnoBabble@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

What about port forwarding opens Mullvad up to more scrutiny from law enforcement?

[–] Blodwyn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 years ago

Here is Mullvad's statement on the changes and why, which should hopefully elaborate details pertaining to your question.

[–] Taubin@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago

It's not really a fiasco at all. OP seems to be blowing it way out of proportion. For the vast majority of users it's not a big deal at all. They are disallowing port forwarding due to how many letters/threats they've gotten from their datacenters and law enforcement.

[–] Khalic@kbin.social -2 points 2 years ago

I had never heard of it! Thx for the tip