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Question
Title. I bought a cheap laptop who will be dedicated for 1 task : Torrents.
Do I need something else outside Windows Defender? Iam going to share a folder on my local network between the laptop and my main PC.
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i have set up my old i5 4th gen laptop with lubuntu on it and qbittorrent for torrenting and enabled samba share.
since i live in India, i do not need vpn for torrenting.
if your soul purpose is that then don't use windows os.
windows OS is overkill for this and automated updates can mess with settings.
If you’re in the US 100% use a quality vpn. As for windows defender, depends on your download sources.
Iam from Canada :)
Same in Canada - most western countries you'll need a VPN otherwise you'll get letters from your ISP and attorneys
i will install AirVPN, i've read its good for torrent
If you are ONLY using it for that - install Ubuntu, get a good VPN based on your laws (I use Mullvad, no more port forwarding but is still awesome), set up Docker and create a container for qBittorrent+VPN.
Still awesome if OP isnt behind CGNAT, which seems to be fairly common nowadays
But mull is indeed great, I sadly had to switch when they removed port forwarding
Which vpn are you using now?
AirVPN, it was the cheapest port-forwarding capable VPN I saw recommended on reddit (by people that actually care about torrenting, not random bot accounts), and It is indeed great
The software it uses is very janky, windows 7 era, but you can use it with wireguard or open vpn
And I almost max out my 1gb fiber speeds, so it's fast. Price-wise, the best option in my opinion is trying out the VPN three days (2€), and then if you like it getting the yearly plan (49€ year), or longer.
It supports monero payment, which is a + for me, but I doubt almost anyone cares about this
Okay I see. What do you think about PIA?
No, you're fine.
Probably not. Definitely use this ipfilter updater to download a list of "bad" ip addresses so you won't connect to them. Also set the operating system or your torrent client to use DNS-over-HTTPS by switching to DoH-compatible servers. OpenDNS is a good option: 208.67.222.220 + 208.67.222.222.
Lastly, if you install GoodbyeDPI and then (optionally) add this GUI then your ISP won't even be able to tell that you're torrenting.
I can't guarantee that you won't need a vpn, but everything I've listed here is free and it'll protect you enough that I'd say it's worth not using a vpn for awhile just to see if you get a warning letter or whatever.
If the only purpose of that laptop is torrenting then consider using Linux on it. Since far less people use Linux, far less malware is developed for it therefore it’s “more secure” in a sense. A out of the box Ubuntu desktop or something simple like that isn’t too far from windows in terms of user friendliness.
As for VPN, it depends on you ISP. Check forums and posts about other peoples experiences with them.
If you have bought another laptop just for torrentimg I would suggest you to install linux on it .It will be more efficient and secure than windows .