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I don't have to worry about any of this because I live in Denmark! It is not possible for me to pirate stuff because it implies that I did not pay, which I did as there is a special piracy tax!
We call it 'blankmedieafgiften'.
~~we call it 'kulturarvsafgiften' and apparently you can't google it which I'm not gonna imply any conspiracies about but yknow~~
Do you know, is this another tax additional to "blankmedieafgiften" ("blank media tax" or "private copying levy"), or is it the same tax under a different name?
I live in Denmark (no Dane) and I never heard about it. Interesting to know.
Your mileage may vary. 25 years of downloading shit without a VPN and I never had a problem.
Not everyone is US based, but ofc it's an understandable assumption since it's a very populous and well Internet-connected country (plus we're discussing in English).
To save one's behind when torrenting (pirating is a bit generic), a VPN is a great tool, but falling into the privacy/security and legal nightmare of a cheap service installing malware (or getting their proprietary app hacked) and/or stealing residential connections is a big risk (like with those services where a huge budget is spent on predatory marketing on youtube); paradoxically having that unrestricted VPN app installed might mean that a lot more people are torrenting with your residential connection. This point is not a deal breaker, just a "beware", do your homework and isolate that connection within your OS or even better within your network.
Other counterpoint: within a country where they haven't started to really crack down on it, you are protected by the impossibility of fining / suing / arresting millions of people at once. More people sign up for VPNs and torrent from outside the country, the more their connationals will also need protection.
Sorry for the wall of text..
Keep in mjnd that in the US, downloading isnt the illegal part, its providing the file to others (seeding).
I know 2 Germans. They prefer Usenet over VPN. USA gives you warning. Germans don't give warning.
UseNet over SSL?
So i see this alot and i understand it but at least in my country (canada) i have been torrenting for well over 15 years with out a vpn. The worst case is a 5k fine total but not before a letter from the isp forwarded to me on behalf of the copyright holder. Which i can ignore with out any issue since they have no idea who i am.
Issues will arise if you reply to them.
So is vpn required?
it depends on where you live and your confort with your risk.
Or I2p
pirating without a vpn is like having a naked phone. sure it's great but at what cost.
Zero cost.
Amen to that!