Im honestly scared to get into pirating but some things are just way too overpriced. i know theres the piract bay and such sites but it requires torrecting and a vpn but i cant afford a vpn so is there like a direct downloads version of the pirete bay or a safer alternative? im looking to get a few peices of media by the way.

also how do you all store so much media without issues or getting into trouble? also am i aksing the wrong place by chance?

i know there is internet archive but i find it hard to find what you are looking for and kinda clunky.

  • nullishcat@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Closest thing would be the Usenet, which is paid. (Decently cheap, but still.)

    Seedboxes and DMCA ignore VPS’s exist, which is how a lot of DDLs and streaming sites live. You can also encrypt it before uploading (although you’ll have to decrypt it afterwards.) For archiving, Telegram has 2GB file limits but is free and unlimited total storage.

  • CorrodedCranium@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    1 year ago

    It depends what you are looking for. NES Roms? You can use Internet Archive and a download manager. Some romance playlist you made on Spotify and now want to burn on a CD? You can use a converter that will fetch MP3 files from YouTube.

    The megathread is the place to look.

    You may want to look into Usenet. There is a price involved but it’s not significantly more than a VPN.

    To store stuff I use large hard drives. Most of my data is on one other device so those drives act as a back up in a way. It’s unlikely both devices fail at the same time

    • ShySpark@lemmy.fmhy.mlOP
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      1 year ago

      thank you for the info also i plan to do manly books and movies/shows, also could you link me the megathread if i might ask or if you dont mind… also i will probrably use tor but idk if that is enough.

      • CorrodedCranium@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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        1 year ago

        If you are using direct downloads you probably don’t even need Tor. You should avoid torrenting through Tor. It puts unnecessary strain a volunteer network

      • MadBabs@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Try Libby for books. It’s not downloading them but you can use your library card for free ebooks and audiobooks

        • bazongabazooka@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Hoopla is also great for books, especially audiobooks. Also legit, free and through your public library system (USA only)

  • TootSweet@latte.isnot.coffee
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    1 year ago

    Closest thing I’ve found was /r/OpenDirectories on the site that shall not be named. Which is to say, no there’s not really any such thing as “Pirate Bay but for direct downloads.” At least not that I’ve found.

    Pirate Bay but for direct downloads does seem like something that might be able to thrive on the dark web, though, doesn’t it? I wonder why something like that hasn’t become a thing and gotten big.

    I suppose some site that just acts like a searchable directory of links to IPFS could be used in combination with IPFS web adapter sites. But I haven’t found anything like that.

    • nullishcat@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      1 year ago

      I wonder why something like that hasn’t become a thing and gotten big.

      Not only is tor not used by the majority of pirates, it also limits speeds by a lot. Not to mention you can’t index onion links in search engines. But I mean, you wouldn’t need a VPN with it, so…