Thread: Seedboxes? VPNs? Please Explain.

Hello, I am very new to the seedbox world and VPNs. never had any, dont really know much about them.

I know a seedbox is a dedicated server for downloads, sometimes with a gui or not. sometimes running linux or windows w/ utorrent rtorrent and others that i dont know.

not really sure what a vpn is.

I am looking for a seedbox/vpn where i can increase my ratio and download torrents quickly so i can ftp?ssh? them to my computer since i have a very slow home connection.
2mbits down and 0.20mbits up :(

Please help me understand these concepts so i can make a good decision before i put down 50+a month to help increase my ratio and be more secure when downloading.



Thank you

seedbox :

is a shared/dedicated server, which have 100mbps down and up speed .
there's different kind of seedbox,
1) there's the dedicated server : which is dedicated for you ... and you get 100 mbps .
the OS may be Linux, Windows "but windows cost more and it's not as good as Linux" and it's like any normal computer you have but connected with 100 mbps .
VNC : you get your username, password ... and by using one of the software you will have the access for the seedbox ... you can install what ever software you would like ... A.K.A. set it up all by your self "and if you don't know anything about Linux, my advise is don't try this"
GUI : the reseller setup your server and install what ever torrent client they use and give you the username and password .. and by opening specific URL you will be able to use only the torrent client "it's like having for example utorrent with 10MB/S max up and down "
the FTP : if you got the seedbox from reseller you will be able to use FTP for transferring the DATA from your server to your actual PC "your download speed from FTP will be your max speed not 100mbps"
2) shared server : most of the shared plan are only GUI ... it's like the above but the 100 mbps connection is not for you only, it may be shared by 2 or even more "depends on the reseller"

VPN : it's like you are only connecting to the server through your computer and you are using that server IP .. "it's like if you don't want anyone know your IP address or where ever you are from .. you can use it "

VPS "I think this is what you meant" : long name is Virtual Private Server ... all the hardware "I think processor and RAM" is shared by more than one person ... so it's like the dedicated server but alot slower :D

hope I answered your question and helped you out .. I apology if you didn't understand something, I will be more than happy to explain it more .

Oh wow, thank you very much.
so since i am a computer geek, but i dont know anything about linux :(
the vnc option sounds nice but that means i have to get a dedicated server.
so vps or a shared server are my best choices then?

next question, with vnc is it like ftp where i can transfer from the sever to mine or only access?
and is gui part of the dedicated/shared/vps or is that a different option ie dedicated servers, shared servers and VPS?

Thank you again :)

if you don't know anything about linux ... VNC would be difficult for you "I used only one reseller and they told me that if I want VNC there would be no setup and I have to setup everything" so if you can manage to find reseller who is trustworthy and give you setup VNC access to the seedbox go for it "I know I will"
but again dedicated server can have GUI ... so you can go with the dedi servers .. but it cost more than the VPS/Shared SB

ok thank you, so to start i think i will start with a vps or shared.

shared means a slower (still very fast for me) down/up speeds.
vps means a slower speed to load and use if i am correct?

VNC - Virtual Network Computing. Software installed on both client and host allows remote control of another desktop via a secure connection over the internet. (see "Chicken of the VNC" or "RealVNC") Useful for fixing your mother's computer without being there, or helping students, over the web.

VPN - Virtual Private Network. Software that encrypts your connection to a network or internet node. Used for remote secure access to the corporate network while on the road. Since everything is encrypted via public/private key on your own client, it's useful for secure access while using hotspots. Using a node service, the rest of the world sees only the service's ISP, not the client's.

VPS - Virtual Private Server. Maybe half, or a third, or a fourth, of a server. Your own address, but the actual server hosts several sites. "Dedicated" means the whole server. "Co-location" means you buy the equipment, and pay someone to house it and provide electricity, ac, physical connection, location, and security.

Without something like VNC or VPN that encrypts your traffic, your ISP logs everything, every site, every page, every connection, every download. They see everything HTTP and nothing on HTTPS without deep packet sniffing.

With VPN, you're stuff is hidden. To your ISP, all your traffic looks like any other high-volume secure connection. They can't see any of it.

There are a couple of kinds of VPN with different ports and different encryption. Not all VPN's are equal. There's PPTP and L2TP which are both well known. The latest is OpenVPN, an open source project. For Windoze, OpenVPN comes with a Gui front end. For linux, you can compile the source code, just like every other linux port. For Mac, there are TunnelBlick and Viscosity front ends, but both have their problems. Macports is pretty good for compiling the source code for various OS Xes.

With a VPN node service or anything else, you've still got to be able to trust the guy on the other end. There's nothing to stop an agency from running a honey pot.

The best solution for the OP would be a VPS that supports VNC. Also using linux just for a seedbox is easy to learn if you are able to use VNC as you will at most only need to know a couple of commands.

Thank you both very much, I am now confident to know what to look for in a seedbox service wise. :) and I even have no more questions! :D Thank you TheBrokenHeart, SomeoneElse and haze.