I’m posting here because I assume a lot of you use vpns and this sub seems to have the most users to ask.
I was thinking about getting a VPN but was wondering about port forwarding.
I’m a Linux head so I would be downloading distros via torrent. If the VPN does not support port forwarding is it still possible to use for Linux torrents? I’m not going to be “seeding” media and extreme amounts of data, but the device would always be on and torrenting. In this case does port forwarding matter?
I guess I don’t really understand dynamic and static port forwarding.
For my use case would mullvad or protonvon work even though they both use dynamic port forwarding? Or do I have to find one with static ports…?
This VPN would be used on a server with docker…
The other one I was looking at was airvpn, which is static, but I also read it might become more popular for people that use it for… Whatever… since mullvad stopped static ports.
Are there work around for dynamic ports? In case I ever want to host a website in the future?
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Some vpns support usually a single port forward but it can be restricted to certain servers and potentially tricky to set up. Others can answer better on individual providers.
But just to correct a common misconception, port forwarding has nothing to do with seeding vs leeching. Port forwarding is so that you are connectable (others can connect to you). Two peers that are not connectable cannot connect to each other, but as long as one is connectable then a connection can be made and data can be uploaded/downloaded between the two.
So not being connectable will reduce the number of peers you can connect to, which will only really be an issue on torrents with few peers
This idea of ports and connectability is something I don’t understand. I guess I don’t know what ports really do.
As I dig into VPN setup I realize how little I understand about networking. I search for answers and find I don’t even understand the answers and have a hard time finding search terms that lead me to that basic level to build up my understanding.
In simpler times, everyone that connected to the internet had an IP address. It’s 4 bytes, which means 4 digits between 0 and 255, so your IP might be 127.6.99.0. In these simpler times everyone could connect to everyone else, but if you want to run different services on your ip like a web server, email, etc, you had to do it on different ports. So if I connect to you on port 80, by convention that was web traffic. On port 21 was for file transfer. But that’s just convention. Any service can be on any port as long as you know which ip and which port to connect to. BitTorrent is no different. It listens on a port for connections from others.
It then got more complicated because people had multiple devices on their home internet connection and there aren’t enough ip addresses to give every device one. So then there was port forwarding (nat). All the devices share one IP address, and the router has rules for which port for incoming connections to forward to which internal device. Two devices can’t use the same port because there would be no way to know where to send the connection.
VPN is the same concept. You’re sharing an IP with that other people on one VPN server and if you want other people to connect to you you need a port forwarded just to you, like you would do on your router.
Very high level. I’ll try to answer if you have more specific questions
Behold! I have the answer, at least if you’re willing to use Qbittorrent and the PIA app: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivateInternetAccess/comments/81n70q/help_with_port_forwarding_on_qbittorrent/jr2mptg/
This is an AutoHotKey script that runs at boot. It basically babysits the Qbittorrent port for you, making sure it matches your randomly assigned PIA forwarded port. I’m guessing this is also possible using a different VPN or torrent client, but you’d have to find your own script for that. Also, make sure to bind Qbittorrent to your VPN interface: https://www.reddit.com/r/VPNTorrents/comments/ssy8vv/guide_bind_vpn_network_interface_to_torrent/
P.S. I should point out that port forwarding on your VPN isn’t TOTALLY necessary…but if you don’t forward ports, your download speeds will be slower and you’ll barely be able to seed at all (this is known as a “dick move” and it will get you banned from private trackers).
P.P.S. I should ALSO point out that your forwarded port does not change very often if you keep your VPN connected! So you don’t actually NEED this little script, you could just check the port once a week and make sure that Qbittorrent matches it. For example, I’ve been on the same port in PIA for at least a month now, and I’ve definitely rebooted my PC a couple times for updates. So it seems that the PIA app often just reconnects to the same server and uses the same port, but YMMV.
Thanks for the info!
I use AirVPN with a static port. Works great, way better than other VPNs I tried, especially for seeding
Seconded AirVPN. It’s been my VPN for a few months and it’s awesome.
I’m not convinced very many people really understand how to properly setup and use port forwarding. I gave up on it. The more I read about this the more contradictions and dead ends I found. If you truly understand it try a day subscription to AirVPN and see how it goes, otherwise good luck figuring this out - it’s a real jungle out there.
Most VPNs these days don’t allow for static ports; Creeps figured out how to use them for sharing CSAM. So instead, the VPN assigns you a random port every time you connect.
For your torrent client, it’s just a matter of going to your settings and updating the port number when you reconnect. If the system has a stable connection and doesn’t sleep (like a server) then you won’t need to do this often. The port only changes when the VPN reconnects, so it’ll only be an issue if you have a blackout or your internet drops.
As for torrenting without port forwarding, results will be mixed. Some trackers will still allow it, some won’t. Some will only allow very limited speeds. So on the two extreme ends, you may be able to torrent just fine, or you may stall even when there are hundreds of available seeds.
If the VPN does not support port forwarding is it still possible to use for Linux torrents?
Yes with caveats. Torrent swarms need at least 1 connectable (port forwarded) peer for the swarm to exchange data. If all the peers are firewalled (not port forwarded) then all the swarm peers can see each other but cannot exchange torrent data so there will be no uploading/downloading in that swarm.
Generally speaking you won’t notice much difference in large torrent swarms since those swarms usually have some/many connectable peers. But in smaller torrent swarms you may have trouble since your odds are worse that you’ll find connectable peers in those swarms.
PS - Yes you are still seeding/uploading while firewalled (not port forwarded) just not very effectively. While firewalled your best connections will be with connectable peers in the torrent swarms. Not much to think about with public torrents but it’ll kill your ratio at private trackers for sure.
I don’t understand it either as all the support pages indicate that you would need port forwarding in order to torrent but I’ve found this not to be the case. For reference I’m on Linux too using Proton VPN without port forwarding.
Torrents still work, they’ll just be a little slower and you won’t be able to seed much at all. If you’re using public trackers it works fine. But if you want to use a private tracker that forces you to maintain a ratio, you’ll run into problems.
One person in the torrenting connection has to have port forwarding in order for the connection to occur. When you aren’t forwarding a port, you’re downloading from / uploading to only people who are. If someone has something you want but neither of you are port forwarding, you won’t be able to connect to them.
Same. With UPnP, muTP, and stuff, the downloads with a VPN are not slowed down in any way. Also my ports seem to be “blocked” right now but I still download.
Port forwarding does matter to increase ypur availability. It is not a requirement to be able to seed and you can also seed at pretty decent rates without port forwarding, though. I am doint it with mullvad without PF and it’s fine.
In my opinion, there are no other VPNs with a similar quality of mullvad that support PF at the price of mullvad.
