this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2025
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I switched to windscribe last month because the proton CEO starting spewing politcal BS, and I wanted port forwarding that wasn't locked behind a shitty GUI.

As far as I was concerned setup was super easy, the VPN speeds were great, and port forwarding worked really nicely. The whole price for a fixed server and port forward, + unlimited data was a bit much (at $95/year) but for the ease of use and speeds I was getting, I was happy to stick with them.

My setup is a always-on server with a 1gbps connection, where yes, I fucking seed my shit, all of it. I have about 30TB of linux ISOs and counting, and it's rare that my combined upload speed is less than 1MBps, ever.

Which lead me to getting banned from windscribe with no notice or warning in the middle of last week. This lead to me having to spend tracker points to avoid HnR, and i'm also unable to grab any new ISOs until I find a new VPN provider that won't ban me for actually using the service full time.

I did shoot them an email (after talking' with their AI bot first), and they were actually helpful enough. The offered to restore support, so long as I promised to not torrent with them again (which, I honestly did promise not to. I'm not sticking with a VPN service that can't handle me actually using it for what it's advertised for) and they did unban the account. Whole email chain took about three days to get resolved.

My sticking point is that they still have instructions on setting up torrents on their own website, and that they specifically allow for unlimited data (with the plan i paid for) so long as it's just one user. I did not break those rules. After clarifying that in the support email, they still said that I was using too much data (despite the unlimited data advertisement) and that torrenting was not allowed on their service.

TL:DR: Windscribe bans you if you use a lot of data, and support says torrents aren't allowed, despite their website advertising such. Proof in the attached images.

If y'all have any other suggestions for a VPN that allow port forwarding i'd really appreciate it.

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[–] albert180@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

This is one of the top 10 dumbest statements I've ever seen on the internet and shows a total and complete lack of understanding what a VPN is, and what it does.

Well then explain me why I would need a VPN in the year 2025 with encrypted connections and HSTS being the norm

There are currently 2-3 countries where torrenting IP isn't illegal. Unless you have a VPN in one of these countries, there are no conditions where its "allowed," because it's entirely illegal. Even if it's not expressly outlined in a services TOS it's still illegal, and therefore not allowed. Even if they expressly permit it, it's still illegal, and therefore not allowed.

It's illegal, but in practice not enforceable if you hide between a VPN in another jurisdiction.
So in practice you can do it and nobody gives a shit.

[–] Xanza@lemm.ee -3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well then explain me why I would need a VPN in the year 2025 with encrypted connections and HSTS being the norm

To connect to a network, which is private and virtual. As the name suggests, this is the reason for which VPNs were invented and are still used today. Using VPNs for "privacy" is how they're popularized for anyone who doesn't actually know what they are and how they're used. Which clearly includes yourself. To believe that there's no legitimate use for VPNs outside of their layman's usage is so incredibly fucking insane.

If you're going to speak about something, do yourself a favor in the future and at least do a cursory Google search to find out what it is that you're speaking about first so you don't look like a total idiot. For fucks sake.

[–] albert180@piefed.social 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

So you're moving Goalposts again?
Nobody was talking about a VPN for accessing your private home or company network. Even you were talking about a commercial VPN Providers...

You're really insufferable

[–] Xanza@lemm.ee -3 points 1 day ago

Using a VPN for accessing your private, home or company network is the literal reason for which it was created and designed.

It's in the fucking name, virtual private network. I don't have to mention it like it's somehow tangential or some kind of secondary and unused function of the technology. It is it's literal primary focus.

I'm having a conversation with a literal child trying to explain to them the purpose of a network software that is self-evident in the fucking name of the software itself, and you have the balls to say that I'm insufferable? This community is fucking insufferable--filled to the brim with 12-year-olds that don't know their ass from their elbow and assert with absolutisms without reading or understanding anything at all. It quite literally brings bile to the recesses of my mouth.