The Top 3 VPN’s for Vuze
Are you one of the millions of people who use Vuze to download torrents because of its powerful functionality and media capabilities? BitTorrent users are increasingly turning to services like Virtual Private Networks (VPN’s) in order to keep their BitTorrent use safe and private. That’s why we put together this list of the top anonymous VPN’s for vuze.
If you’re wondering so many Vuze users consider a VPN a necessity, consider this:
- Anyone participating in a BitTorrent swarm can view the IP addresses of all other seeders and leechers in the swarm.
- There are entire organizations (public and private) devoted to harvesting and logging all the IP addresses of participants in the most popular swarms.
- If you use a VPN while connected to Vuze, the IP address of the VPN server will show up in the swarm instead of your own.
- The best torrent VPN’s keep no logs, so there’s no way to link your true IP address to the IP that appears in the swarm.
- VPN technology is incredibly affordable, with great packages starting as low as $3.33/month
Because of this huge demand for anonymous VPN services for BitTorrent users, we wrote this article specifically for Vuze users (though it’s certainly applicable torrent downloaders, using any bittorrent client.
How we chose the Best VPN’s for Vuze:
When it comes to choosing the right VPN for downloading torrents, we think the VPN service should meet several criteria:
The VPN Should:
- Keep no activity or connection logs
- Allow torrents on their network (duh!)
- Accept Bitcoin anonymous payments (if users want even greater privacy)
- Have servers in multiple countries (besides the U.S.)
- Have fast speeds.
- Have consistent, reliable connections and security
- Be affordable
For more on choosing the best torrent VPN, read our previous article.
#1 – Torguard: The Best VPN for Vuze
Torguard really impresses us when it comes to security and privacy features designed specifically to match the needs of vuze users. First off, Torguard offers both proxy and VPN options so you can choose whether to anonymize just your torrents or your entire internet connection.
Of course both the VPN and Proxy options come with Torguard’s no logs guarantee. They promise never to record or log data about your VPN sessions or connections. Without logs, no internet activity can be tracked back to individual users at a later time, allowing you to be completely anonymous while downloading torrents with vuze.
Our favorite feature about Torguard and the reason they topped our list is they are the only VPN provider that has an ‘easy installer‘ that automatically sets up your favorite torrent client software (including Vuze) with the proper proxy settings for maximum privacy. Now you don’t have to worry about tweaking the settings menu or accidentally missing a setting and leaving your identity exposed in vuze, torguard’s 1-click installer will set everything up for you; worry free.
Why Torguard is perfect for torrenting with Vuze
- No Logs
- Torrents allowed (dedicated torrent servers)
- Proxy and VPN option
- Headquartered in Panama (privacy haven)
- Auto proxy configuration for Vuze (1-click setup)
- VPN Kill Switch
- DNS Leak Protection
- Good speeds
Torguard also added a number of bonus security features to their VPN software, including: DNS leak protection, and a Kill-Switch, ensuring that your true IP address never leaks on vuze without your knowledge. If you want more info, we wrote a detailed Torguard review, or just click the link below…
#2 – Private Internet Access
If you’ve read other articles on our site, you’ve probably noticed that PIA makes it near the top of most ‘best of’ lists. There’s a good reason: Private Internet Access offers the best performance/price ratio of any VPN we’ve tested. For $3.33/month you get VPN service that outperforms competitors priced 3x higher.
Like Torguard, PIA keeps no logs of your activity on their VPN network. They accept bitcoin for anonymous payments and only require an email address and a payment method to open an account. They only have servers in 11 countries, but unlike many VPN’s, they allow torrents on all servers (though they’d certainly appreciate it if you avoided U.S. and U.K. servers when torrenting).
PIA doesn’t include any Vuze specific features, but they are overall one of the most torrent-friendly VPN providers. Private Internet Access has high-grade security features including 256-bit encryption, DNS leak protection, a VPN Kill-Switch, 4096-bit authentication, and rock solid VPN software (we hardly ever experience disconnects with PIA).
As another bonus, PIA actually includes proxy service free with every purchase. Many of their subscribers don’t realize it, but PIA includes proxy access with every VPN purchase at no extra charge. The proxy server is located in the Netherlands, making it ideal setting up vuze for anonymous torrents. We found the proxy speeds to be pretty impressive in testing. You can even use the proxy and VPN service simultaneously for an added layer of protection.
Reasons PIA is perfect for Vuze
- No Logs. Period.
- Torrents allowed on all servers
- Free Netherlands proxy service included
- Rock solid security
- Fast speeds
- 256-bit Encryption
- DNS Leak Protection
- VPN Kill-Switch
- Only $3.33/month (with 1 year subscription)
- Read our full review
Get Private Internet Access for $3.33/month
#3 – Proxy.sh VPN + Free Proxy
Proxy.sh is a less well-known VPN but we think that’s going to change soon, because they’re the VPN that comes closest to matching Private Internet Access’s features at a similar price point. In fact, Proxy.sh matches PIA almost feature for feature, including 256-bit encryption, mobile VPN app, no logs policy, VPN kill-switch, and more.
Like Private Internet Access, proxy.sh gives their users free proxy service with their VPN package. You get access to 3 proxy server locations, though in order to access the servers, you actually need to be connected to their VPN, so they can’t be used separately like PIA allows.
Proxy.sh is also becoming an industry leader when it comes to transparency. They actually publish a transparency report that documents every warrant and DMCA request that is issued regarding their VPN network. The report shows the nature of the request (most common is DMCA) as well as the action taken by the proxy.sh. Because they keep no logs, it is impossible to identify individual users from their anonymous IP address (the one assigned by the VPN) so there is almost never direct action taken against the user (as you can see in the report).
Proxy.sh is still relatively new so they are experiencing some growing pains as they struggle to keep up with the demand for their service (tech support may be harder to reach) but they are constantly improving their desktop and mobile VPN software.
Get 1 Year of Proxy.sh for $40
Conclusion
The bottom line is that any VPN will technically work with Vuze, but we encourage you to choose a VPN like the ones above that doesn’t keep any logs, allowing you to get maximum anonymity and privacy from your VPN service. Whether to run Vuze through an anonymous proxy or VPN is a personal decision that should be made based on your needs.
Many users will opt for the VPN solution because it’s easy to setup (usually just requires 1 click to start a VPN connection). A proxy actually has a couple of advantages over a VPN when it comes to using Vuze anonymously.
- A dropped proxy connection does not expose your IP address
- A proxy let’s you route all other internet traffic separately from torrents
- Proxy speeds are on average faster than VPN
All 3 off the VPN providers above also have a proxy option, so you can easily make this choice for yourself. Many security-conscious vuze users like to run use a proxy server and VPN simultaneously. To do this you set up Vuze to run anonymously through a proxy server and then use the VPN connection for your all of your internet traffic. Doing this allows your Vuze traffic to be routed separately (it will originate from a different IP address than the rest of your traffic) but still benefit from your VPN encryption and an additional layer of anonymity. Think of it like a tunnel within a tunnel.
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Thanks for the walkthrough. Have not got a chance to run checkmytorrentip yet but was wondering if I should be concerned that when I start a network status test in the plugins & extras section in vuze it shows the VPN netherlands ip under public address but then my original ip is listed as a public address under NAT device found section. Should I be worried?
My guess is you’re OK, but the most accurate test I’ve found is the checkmytorrentIP fake magnet-link-style IP checking tools. They will show you exactly which IP trackers and peers see from your computer.
Where is the “easy installer” for Torguard for Vuze?
After consulting with support, it looks like they discontinued the proxy installer tool though their blog still references is: https://torguard.net/blog/how-to-install-torguard-torrent-proxy-in-windows/
You can find a recent setup guide here: https://www.vpnuniversity.com/bittorrent/torrent-proxy-guide
Just make sure to read the section on how to get your proxy login info for torguard. Then follow the picture tutorial which is for PIA, but just stick the torguard info in Vuze instead.