IN DEPTH Seedboxes

Nate Drake introduces you to one of the internet’s best kept secrets to turbocharge your downloads and uploads.

Seedboxes are servers specially configured for high-speed downloads and uploads.

CREDIT: Getty Images/ Bill Hinton Photography, Giga-Rapid/Nate

BitTorrent is a protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing. BitTorrent trackers can provide a list of files available for transfer, and allow the client to find peer users, known as seeds, who may transfer the files using a specialised BitTorrent client. Given how efficient it is for sharing large files, it’s hardly surprising that BitTorrent accounts for around 3% of all internet traffic.

As BitTorrent can be used to share copyrighted files, some networks and ISPs block or throttle the protocol, making downloading directly to your machine difficult.

This is where seedboxes come in. A seedbox is a remote server, designed for downloading/uploading files via BitTorrent at high speeds – usually 100Mb/s (8MB/s) to 10Gb/s (1,250MB/s). Once the files are in the seedbox, users can download them using other common protocols such as HTTP, FTP, SFTP or rsync.

Why do you need a seedbox?

It’s true that you can mask your IP to some extent by using a VPN, though not all allow BitTorrent traffic and you shouldn’t use it over Tor. This also won’t help if your ISP places caps on how much data you can download. Some seedbox providers let you install OpenVPN Server, allowing you to connect securely without paying for a separate subscription.

Aside from being designed for fast file sharing, all seedboxes come with a number of preinstalled apps. Chief among these are popular BitTorrent clients like ruTorrent, Deluge, qbittorent and Transmission.

Setting up and configuring these via the seedbox web interface works virtually identically to desktop clients, with the caveat that they can be connected 24/7. This makes it easier to maintain a good sharing ratio, which is necessary for some private trackers.

Upon registration, your seedbox offers various ways to access files you download to it. Certain providers may offer a way to do this via HTTP, such as through a server app like Filebrowser. You can also always access the seedbox via FTP, as you would with any server, but for security reasons, we recommend using a service that supports SFTP via a reliable client like FileZilla.

Naturally, copyright laws vary by jurisdiction, so laws may operate differently where you live from the area where your seedbox is based. We suggest taking legal advice before sharing or downloading any files.

Having decided that a seedbox is right for you, we encourage you to research providers to find one that fits your requirements. Popular services include Whatbox (https://whatbox.ca), Seed Host (www. seedhost.eu) and GigaRapid (https://giga-rapid.com), which we’ve used for the screenshots in this guide.

When signing up with a provider, remember that it’s less important where the seedbox service itself is based than where its servers are located. For instance, while Whatbox is based in Canada, it has servers in the Netherlands, which can considerably reduce latency for European users.

Set up your seed box

Assuming you’ve selected a particular seedbox provider, your first step should be selecting a plan that’s suitable for you. This is another great perk of using a seedbox versus a home server setup, as you can choose a low-cost, low-spec plan, then upgrade when you need better features.

Given that both seedboxes and end users have different needs and capabilities, we recommend starting out with a low-priced plan, and ideally a provider that offers a free trial. Sometimes this is easier said than done, as the lowest pricing tiers are often sold out. Your chosen plan should rest on three main criteria that we’ll cover here:

1. Location: As discussed, however fast data downloads to your seedbox, you need to access it from one of your own devices at some stage either through direct download or streaming. Make sure you check exactly where the server is hosted to reduce latency.