As the title says, I have my own instance of OpenVPN running in a vps (default settings). Is that “safe” enough for p2p? Any settings I should change? Anything I should watch out for? I guess it would show that the IP address of my vps will be going to these p2p sites and connecting to the IP address of whoever I’m transferring from, but how hard is it for the vps traffic to be traced back to me?
VPS VPN hides you from ISP but VPS IP still shows to peers → worst case: abuse email/suspension. Use WireGuard, not OpenVPN: faster, leaner, modern crypto. No compression, full-tunnel + DNS leak protection, firewall to block non-VPN traffic, minimal logs. If host’s fine with P2P, you’re set.
I keep hearing about WireGuard being better, but also harder to set up and configure, so I went with Openvpn. I’ll look into WireGuard, and see if I’m brave enough to set that up. For the hosting company, they didn’t point out anything against p2p traffic in their TOS. 🤷♂️
Safe from what?
my ISP mostly. Just want to avoid getting a copyright warning from them. Hasn’t been a problem, just being safe.
Then yes. The VPS provider will get it instead.
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But…why? It would probably be cheaper and easier to just run your torrent client through a basic VPN, or pay for a seedbox.
Since I already have a vps to run websites and other stuff, I just wanted to spin up my own instance of Openvpn on the same vps in a docker container, so it wasn’t any additional cost. If Openvpn doesn’t work well for me, I may just go with a basic VPN like you said. I don’t torrent enough to need a seedbox. I’m just a filthy casual when it comes to torrenting. 😛
You are risking the other services you host on that VPS if you get a copyright complaint. It’s up to you, but considering VPN’s can be obtained for around $2 per month, I would imagine that the extra cost is lower than the liability.
That’s a good point. I may just sign up for Proton VPN.
Renting a seedbox is my solution to all these issues. I imagine your VPS probably wouldn’t be happy with self-hosting a seedbox (although technically its very easily doable) perhaps you could find a VPS that allows seedboxes (or vice versa, a seedbox that lets you run other stuff on your seedbox since it’s basically just a VPS anyway)
Your VPS provider will likely just forward copyright infringement letters to you, same as your ISP would, or they’ll suspend your account.
It will hide your ISP IP from torrent peers, but the VPS provider still knows exactly who you are.
but how hard is it for the vps traffic to be traced back to me?
Very easy by the VPS provider, as the VPS has a static IP assigned to you.
no. it all depends on the vps provider. linode for example has sent me emails about detecting torrent traffic, and threatens to end my service. if a government asked them for logs, i assume they would send them right over.
