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Force Vuze to only load Torrents through VPN

Sep 08, 2018
May 12, 2023
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Vuze is a popular and one of the most powerful BitTorrent software available. Because online privacy is important while you’re torrenting, the following guide will explain how you can force Vuze to only load Torrents through a VPN.

Vuze Not Downloading with VPN For Windows and Mac [Solved]

  • There is an easy way to configure the torrent client Vuze so that it only downloads/uploads while the VPN is connected. This tutorial works for both Windows and Mac.
  • Download Vuze from this link.
  • Install it and run it. Now we need a torrent file for testing, a good idea would be Knoppix: click this link.
  • Add one of the Knoppix torrents to the download list.
  • Connect to the VPN using the VPN protocol you want to bind Vuze to.
  • Otherwise, you might not be able to see the corresponding interface in the list later.
  • Now, go to Tools, Options in the menu.
  • Under Mode, select Advanced so that Vuze shows all settings.
  • Go to Connection. Double click it or click the arrow to get into the submenu Advanced connection settings.
  • You should see something like this:
Vuze shows all settings
  • Important: Make sure the checkbox next to Enforce IP bindings even when interfaces are not available is checked;
  • Otherwise, Vuze might download without using a VPN.
  • Of course, your adapter list will be much longer, since it will show all network adapters your operating system has.
  • But for the purpose of IP binding for VPN, we only need the VPN related adapters, which are:
    1. TAP-Win32 Adapter V9
    2. WAN Miniport (PPTP)
    3. WAN Miniport (L2TP)
  • The TAP adapter is responsible for OpenVPN® connections, and the WAN Miniports for PPTP and L2TP connections.
  • OK, let’s say you want to set Vuze so it only downloads/uploads while an OpenVPN® connection is active.
  • For that, you just need to enter the interface identifier into the field next to Bind to a local IP address or interface.
Note: that the interface identifier is named different on every system, so make sure to check how exactly it is called on yours.

In this example, it is eth15 for OpenVPN®, net2 for PPTP and net1 for L2TP.

  • You’ll most likely have several similar named interfaces in the list, for example (TAP-Win32 Adapter V9 – Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport).
  • Make sure to only use the interfaces that are exactly named as in this example, without any suffix. For testing, just use one of the adapters, e.g. eth15 for OpenVPN®. Enter it into the field and click Save.
  • When you’re disconnected from the VPN at the moment, the current downloads in Vuze should immediately stop.
  • That’s a good sign – now, please connect to the VPN via OpenVPN® protocol. You should notice that the download starts again.
  • Upon disconnection, the download should stop again. Exactly as expected, so far so good.
  • That’s all if you’re only using OpenVPN®. For setting up the same for L2TP and PPTP, you can
    1. a) Replace the eth15 with net1 or net2
    2. b) Append the interface identifiers after each other, so that you would enter eth15;net1;net2 into the field.
  • When doing that, make sure to test all protocols if Vuze is working correctly. Due to firewalls and additional protocols installed on the adapters, it might not work as expected.
  • If you were unable to find the correct interface in Vuze’s list, please first connect to the VPN using your preferred protocol, and then open the options of Vuze.
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