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As an Aussie I find this pretty funny. Since they passed the law to make ISPs store your data ( which was a warning shot to piraters from my POV ) not many peop

As an Aussie I find this pretty funny. Since they passed the law to make ISPs store your data ( which was a warning shot to piraters from my POV ) not many people's behaviours changed. Ie people still pirated. The difference between simply logging traffic and blocking certain sites means instead of being able to watch what I do, I'll be sign up to a VPN and they won't see any of my traffic. If anything blocking these sites is great as it will force lazy people to use VPNs. Good work to these guys making it easier to get started.

Insanity 10y ago
We have a similar situation here in Belgium in terms of blocking the pirating websites. I can not just access tpb as I get a warning that the site is "illegal" and I should not use it. The thing is that they do not block every domain from which people can torrent and there are plenty of mirrors to choose from. I agree that it will get more people to use a VPN. But that is, more _tech savvy_ people. I know quite a few people who torrent who do not fall in that category. These people will just look for other websites and will not switch to a VPN unless someone explains them the "point" of it and how to do it.
- sspiff 10y ago
  Doesn't using a VPN make you liable in two jurisdictions instead of just one? (The exit point of the tunnel, and the location where you are actually connecting to the VPN) I understand that it is technically more challenging to detect and prove the user is participating in privacy or whatever it is that they're using a VPN for, but really it's just a matter of applying pressure to the VPN provider to cough up any details they have, or in some cases to install tracking functionality in their virtual network.
  - dndln 10y ago
    Sure, that's why the choice of VPN provider is important. You need to choose a provider which doesn't keep logs, and has the character to shut down their business before being legally compelled to reveal users, like lavabit did. You can read this thread for an example: https://airvpn.org/topic/15396-does-airvpn-log-its-users-ip-addresses/ https://airvpn.org/topic/15396-does-airvpn-log-its-users-ip-... For additional protection, you can also run Tor over VPN.
    - _coldfire 10y ago
      Please don't use Tor for torrents. https://blog.torproject.org/blog/bittorrent-over-tor-isnt-good-idea https://blog.torproject.org/blog/bittorrent-over-tor-isnt-go...
  - redblacktree 10y ago
    > participating in privacy Ironic typo.
TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
I'll be sign up to a VPN and they won't see any of my traffic Don't even need to go to that much effort because this is DNS level blocking. Using openDNS[1] or Google's DNS 8.8.8.8 will work. 1. https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/ https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  Tin-foil hat level speculation: those in power, the media corps for example, want you to use a VPN or fixed DNS so that the logs of your activity are all in one place. The alternative is trying to track which cafés you used, etc., just to get your full sites-visited log. /tin-foil-hat
mmjaa 10y ago
As an Aussie, I find your lack of distrust over this issue, disturbing. We Australians have a long history of letting government get away with heinous actions; as long as the "she'll be right mate" meme still holds our brains under the tap, we'll never get the right kind of mad required to break the chains of the colony. Honestly, this isn't something to laugh about.
- lsh 10y ago
  agreed - there is a kind of socially enforced apathy here as well as a separation of 'us' and 'them' when it comes to politicians and government - we let them get away with murder and never hold them accountable because raising a ruckus and making a big deal out of a thorny problem that requires a nuanced solution is seen as a sort of intellectualism. and your average Australian fucking hates an upstart know-it-all wanker.

Insanity 10y ago

We have a similar situation here in Belgium in terms of blocking the pirating websites. I can not just access tpb as I get a warning that the site is "illegal" and I should not use it. The thing is that they do not block every domain from which people can torrent and there are plenty of mirrors to choose from. I agree that it will get more people to use a VPN. But that is, more _tech savvy_ people. I know quite a few people who torrent who do not fall in that category. These people will just look for other websites and will not switch to a VPN unless someone explains them the "point" of it and how to do it.

sspiff 10y ago
Doesn't using a VPN make you liable in two jurisdictions instead of just one? (The exit point of the tunnel, and the location where you are actually connecting to the VPN) I understand that it is technically more challenging to detect and prove the user is participating in privacy or whatever it is that they're using a VPN for, but really it's just a matter of applying pressure to the VPN provider to cough up any details they have, or in some cases to install tracking functionality in their virtual network.
- dndln 10y ago
  Sure, that's why the choice of VPN provider is important. You need to choose a provider which doesn't keep logs, and has the character to shut down their business before being legally compelled to reveal users, like lavabit did. You can read this thread for an example: https://airvpn.org/topic/15396-does-airvpn-log-its-users-ip-addresses/ https://airvpn.org/topic/15396-does-airvpn-log-its-users-ip-... For additional protection, you can also run Tor over VPN.
  - _coldfire 10y ago
    Please don't use Tor for torrents. https://blog.torproject.org/blog/bittorrent-over-tor-isnt-good-idea https://blog.torproject.org/blog/bittorrent-over-tor-isnt-go...
- redblacktree 10y ago
  > participating in privacy Ironic typo.

TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago

I'll be sign up to a VPN and they won't see any of my traffic Don't even need to go to that much effort because this is DNS level blocking. Using openDNS[1] or Google's DNS 8.8.8.8 will work. 1. https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/ https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/

pbhjpbhj 10y ago
Tin-foil hat level speculation: those in power, the media corps for example, want you to use a VPN or fixed DNS so that the logs of your activity are all in one place. The alternative is trying to track which cafés you used, etc., just to get your full sites-visited log. /tin-foil-hat

mmjaa 10y ago

As an Aussie, I find your lack of distrust over this issue, disturbing. We Australians have a long history of letting government get away with heinous actions; as long as the "she'll be right mate" meme still holds our brains under the tap, we'll never get the right kind of mad required to break the chains of the colony. Honestly, this isn't something to laugh about.

lsh 10y ago
agreed - there is a kind of socially enforced apathy here as well as a separation of 'us' and 'them' when it comes to politicians and government - we let them get away with murder and never hold them accountable because raising a ruckus and making a big deal out of a thorny problem that requires a nuanced solution is seen as a sort of intellectualism. and your average Australian fucking hates an upstart know-it-all wanker.