Getting Free Media - All Without Torrents!
by B4tm@n
Disclaimer: All of the information in this article is for educational use only. If you use this and get sued, don't blame me.
Everyone loves media, and I'm guessing a good amount of people love getting it for free. Now, many people love using torrents to get their fill. However, with talk of ISPs subpoenaed by the RIAA or MPAA for P2P traffic, some people are getting turned off of torrents. But how can you get what you want for free without using torrents? Fear not, pirates! The torrent ship may have sunk, but there are plenty more, ready for boarding!
Method 1: Use Google to Search Indexes
I have gotten countless albums and movies using nothing but Google, and a little know how.
This method is extremely simple, and works most, if not all of the time. So, pull up Google and get ready to search!
First, have either a band name or album title in mind. As an example, I'll be using The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails. To search indexes for this album, type in something like this:
Or:
To find a movie or a book this way, simply search something like:
Or:
Now, look through the search results to find the best index for you.
Before you download anything, make sure to run the site through something like Web Of Trust.
Avoid any sketchy sites!
The Hunger Games or the song Closer is not worth giving your computer herpes.
If the site passes the test, download away!
However, some people might be against downloading from an unknown index, and that's perfectly understandable. So, this next method is for you people.
Method 2: Leeching from Legitimate Sites
Now, this way is for people who want something higher quality than a YouTube rip, and want it more easily than recording Spotify through Audacity.
All you need is a single program, GrooveDown.
GrooveDown is a program that can download anything from Grooveshark, a free music streaming site. GrooveDown can be downloaded for free from groovedown.me. After downloading and installing, all GrooveDown needs is for the user to input whatever band or song they like. The best part of GrooveDown is that you can download virtually any song. I have found songs on there that I had searched for via torrents and indexes for hours to no avail. It also has a "popular songs" list so that the user can easily get what they just heard on the radio. Sadly, I haven't found an equivalent way to do this with movies, though, so this method is somewhat limiting.
Method 3: VPN
Okay, I may have said that this article would give you what you want without torrents, and that was a lie. I apologize for that, but this method is very easy, and yet not enough people use it. This is a last resort method if you are wary about torrents. The first thing you need to do is sign up for a VPN, a virtual network that you can tunnel your traffic through so that you can torrent anonymously. Probably the best VPN of this type is BTGuard, as it is made specifically for torrenting, and doesn't keep user logs of your activity.
Wrap-up and Warning
Now, I hope that some of this information helps you. But remember to exercise caution. Don't download on a governmental network or a network you know is being watched. Make sure that there isn't a spy looking over your shoulder when you click a link. Don't download from a site that has pop ups advertising "cheep viagrra nao."
And always, always scan anything that you download for viruses. So, as long as you are careful, and be damn sure you are, you should be fine.
Happy downloading!