Question Can A Vpn Be Traced And Show What You Domloaded From Where

funforall

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Hi
I had an email from my internet provider saying,
Quote Unfortunately, provider has been contacted by legal representatives of Paramount Pictures regarding the illegal downloading of copyrighted material. They have identified that a provider subscriber has illegally accessed their material on the internet and that they will consider legal proceedings against provider if this activity does not cease. Stop Quote
My question is, I always use pure VPN, so they should not be able to tell it was who connected to a torrent site? there is no way to trace me that I missed? it would only show i downloaded from pure VPN server not a torrent site? provider is my internet service provider which a community based one .
Thanks
 
Anyone else in the house?
No, this was send to everyone who they supply with the internet, about 500 people, but i just want to make sure i am secure and my facts are correct, i use pure vpm and when i check my ip it says brussel netherland or what ever iam coneccted to,when the server goes down it disconnects automaticly.
 
The VPN should be protecting you from prying eyes as per your expectations. As we have seen with the likes of Nord etc the data breaches can occur. An agency or individual with the right information and resources could potentially trace but I’d say this is far beyond the means or inclination of a studio.

Perhaps more likely scenario is the have blanketed a mail out to users in an IP range?
 
I have always downloaded TV Shows from sites and I have not had any letter from my ISP.
 
Unfortunately, provider has been contacted by legal representatives of Paramount Pictures regarding the illegal downloading of copyrighted material. They have identified that a provider subscriber has illegally accessed their material on the internet and that they will consider legal proceedings against provider if this activity does not cease.
No, this was send to everyone who they supply with the internet, about 500 people

So nothing directly identifies you then.
 
An IP address isn’t the only way by which you can be tracked. There are other methods. And DNS or VPN leaks aren’t uncommon either.

I wouldn’t solely rely on just a VPN service, especially not when engaging in activity that may not be fully legal.

But as you say this letter sounds like a scatter gun approach.
 
A friend uses a US based VPN and in the past has had a letter from one of the major film companies directed at him. This wasn't a blanket email, so this particular VPN (I forget which one) obviously keeps logs, maybe as part of US law, so you might need to check the fine print in your T&Cs.
A point about downloading, it's the sharing aspect that gets the ire of media companies. Downloading isn't that far removed from recording from a PVR, but using a torrent means you are simultaneously uploading which is a much bigger no-no. The onus tends to be more on the host, the pusher rather than the user.
 
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Can A Vpn Be Traced And Show What You Domloaded From Where.

Yes! Could be a leak somewhere such as via DNS. Or you could simply have picked a VPN provider that's keeps logs and is based in a country where they are forced to turn over these logs if asks.
 
Proton VPN don't log user activity and are based in Switzerland which would be better than a company located in the US
 
VPN can't help you if the application you're using (bittorrent client) is written badly and is leaking your your IP.

People have been using Tor with bittorrent and still got leaked: Bittorrent over Tor isn't a good idea | Tor Blog

The jist of it is that torrent clients sometimes send data through UDP instead of TCP (which is what the proxy supports), and since the VPN isn't set on the router level to send all traffic through VPN (and block all other traffic that the VPN doesn't support), it will leak your IP by bypassing the VPN.

Additionally a lot of torrent clients aren't built for privacy in mind and sometimes include your actual IP in the packets so it doesn't matter how it's routed. It's kind of a major fail if you ask me.

The best way to keep yourself protected when using torrents is seedboxes, loads of seedboxes reviewed here: Which Seedbox is best for you? most of them will give you a free VPN. I don't know how seedboxes do it, a lot of them have been in business for 10+ years and there's never been a report of them turning over their customers. They reside in jurisdictions where they can just ignore DMCA requests.
 
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VPN - no. The only thing I would question is what information is collected and sent when you watch the material, especially if you are watching it on a computer that is connected to the internet.

So detecting viewing the material not downloading it.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
You need a VPN that doesnt keep logs. Read up on it.

Having VPN set up on router also helps.
 
You need a VPN that doesnt keep logs. Read up on it.

Having VPN set up on router also helps.

Just because they say they don't keep logs, does not mean it's true. If they don't keep any logs then they are on the hook for anything you do.



2017: PureVPN helped law enforcement find and convict a stalker, PureVPNs had a no-log policy at the time
PrivateInternetAccess (a vpn company) was acquired by an Israeli software company known for producing malware, owner has links to israreli intelligence services
2018: NordVPN hacked, apparantly no data was breached or lost to the hackers.

I don't know about you, I trust my ISP more than any of the international companies..

If you are doing anything illegal, maybe use Tor because VPN won't help you.
 

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