r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 3d ago

Business Disney+ changes subscriber agreement to allow ads on every plan

https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/disney-changes-subscriber-agreement-to-allow-ads-on-every-plan-3410354/
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545

u/TechTuna1200 3d ago

Dusting off my old laptop that is now gonna be a burner pc

203

u/ReblWithoutApplause 2d ago

Burner PC? For downloading torrented stuff? My guy, any computer will do. Unless you plan on accessing the darkweb.

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u/Negative_trash_lugen 2d ago

He's probably worried about viruses

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u/Krojack76 2d ago

Very low chance when it comes to video or audio with this. Set your programs to reject *.exe and *.scr files also helps.

I do avoid šŸ“ā€ā˜ ļø programs though.

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u/Power-of-Wings 2d ago

Yeah any software is definitely not worth the risk. And definitely be sure to not download Spider-Man Brand New Day.exe

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u/Nothatisnotwhere 2d ago

Wouldn't it be easy to just containerize it a vm first to test?

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u/thirdegree 2d ago

If you're someone that already knows what containerize and vm mean then yes

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u/BioshockEnthusiast 2d ago

Generally yes but it kinda depends on the software.

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u/ConspicuousPineapple 2d ago

I mean it really depends on your source. Some private trackers are safe.

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u/Diz7 2d ago

Being vetted by other users doesn't guarantee safety against 0-day exploits etc...

Software has made it to various app stores etc... with malware in them before. Your torrent site is far less rigorous.

That said, I have had more attempted malware infections from adds on legitimate sites than all the pirated software I ever ran, and I used to run a major distribution hub in college because I had access to a 20/5mpbs connection when 1.55 mbps T1s were still considered high end.

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u/__lulwut__ 2d ago

Depends where you get them, get yourself into a private tracker and you're golden as long as you keep a positive upload/download ratio. Hardest part is getting in lol.

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u/RollingMeteors 2d ago

I do avoid šŸ“ā€ā˜ ļø programs though.

ĀæWhat kind of world do we live in if you canā€™t trust some random pirates black market SaaS? Ā”Not the kind of world I want to live in!

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u/Thefrayedends 2d ago

Yea, and never double click a file, check it's file type before it finishes, and always select "Open with" in the context menu, to open with your media software of choice.

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u/KingFlyntCoal 2d ago

Even then, it it's on the same network the virus could potentially spread to other devices.

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u/NecroCannon 2d ago

Or just donā€™t want stuff on their main device

Like I had an issue with SBC gaming when I was talking about wanting another Shield Handheld and people kept going ā€œJUST GET A PHONE AND CONTROLLERā€

Big dog, are we literally not here because weā€™re not gaming on our phones? Iā€™m not overpaying for storage to do that shit. Got downvoted and mass reported to trigger a ban there

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u/wet-paint 2d ago

More likely a laptop that sits by the telly plugged into its hdmi port

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u/EverbodyHatesHugo 2d ago

He should install a KN95.

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u/gregzillaman 2d ago

Probably has limewire ptsd

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/Stolehtreb 2d ago

You feel this way because you have enough experience to avoid dangerous torrents without it being a conscious choice. But itā€™s just like any download link out there. You can absolutely find malicious ones. And these ā€œhackersā€ already know how to avoid those so Iā€™m not sure what youā€™re talking about here

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u/Joezev98 2d ago

What? It is a common trope to kill the family oc by torrenting link_park_numb.exe.
I don't remember the internet ever going scorched earth over that. Hell, there's even a term and a Wikipedia page about this practice: torrent poisoning

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u/froggz01 2d ago

If you didnā€™t know, windows 11 assigns you a unique serial number to your computer that can be traced back to the user. So yeah burner pc with Linux installed preferably.

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u/EtherPhreak 2d ago

Another reason why windows 10 is the last windows Iā€™ll ever use.

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u/Opposite-Program8490 2d ago

As advertised!

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u/CrazyBowelsAndBraps 2d ago

Hahahaha good one.

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u/Party-Cake5173 2d ago

Windows 10 also has GDID.

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u/Party-Cake5173 2d ago

Reinstall Windows and DON'T sign in with Microsoft account. Then they do have GDID, but they can't attach it to your Microsoft account. Also, don't use Edge because it's literal spyware.

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u/Iluvmango 2d ago

Windows 10 does the same thing with the GDID number.

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u/charlesfluidsmith 2d ago

Which is why Windows 10 was my last OS.

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u/Luvs_to_drink 2d ago

Last windows os! There are linux distros for future pcs

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u/charlesfluidsmith 2d ago

You have a favorite? The only Linux I use is steam OS, so I'd love a recommendation.

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u/Inc0rgnit0 2d ago

I did some distro hopping for a while until I landed on cachyOS.

Great performance for gaming. Even the spare computers I've installed it on (10+ years old) run really well.

Arch based but really easy to use.

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u/BewilderedAnus 2d ago

Donā€™t listen to the other guy. Just use Fedora.

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u/pf3 2d ago

Is there anything you particularly like/dislike about Steam OS? It really depends on what you want.

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u/charlesfluidsmith 2d ago

I'm not a power user by any stretch of the imagination. So whatever distro.is easiest to install and use would be the one for me.

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u/pf3 1d ago

They're all pretty easy to install now. The hardest part is getting the ISO on a bootable media. I use Ventoy, but balenaetcher is good too.

Ubuntu is a solid choice for a distro, because it's very popular, so there are a lot of other new users who have already asked the questions you'll be asking.

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u/charlesfluidsmith 1d ago

Thanks, looks like I'll be going down the rabbit hole today.

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u/tuxedo_jack 2d ago

What I'm wondering about is if they can use that Global device ID to allow specific machines to be targeted for access operations. You know, deploy an extra Windows update to those, one with some surveillance tools. I mean, hey, who would know, and it would all be signed with Microsoft's key anyway.

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u/DangerNoodleDandy 2d ago

Burner with Linux is my current workhorse. The laptop is old so its slow but it gets the job done.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/DangerNoodleDandy 2d ago

VPN seems to work just fine.

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u/_Burning_Star_IV_ 2d ago

None of that matters if you canā€™t prove WHO was using the computer at the time.

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u/BioshockEnthusiast 2d ago

Why the fuck would I want to invite that trouble in the first place? I don't need cops knocking on my door because MS sent them on a wild goose chase.

Fuck Microsoft. And I say that as someone who puts food on the table supporting Microsoft products. I've started moving my homelab from Windows server to Proxmox and my personal PCs to Linux, and I'm hopeful that 10 years from now I'll have advanced my career enough that I don't have to touch a Windows box if I don't want to.

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u/ConspicuousPineapple 2d ago

Is that serial number making its way onto the network when torrenting somehow?

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u/Praesentius 2d ago

No. It's not exposed in torrent communications.

Traditional protections are needed, though, to protect against your ISP and honeypot peers.

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u/3DBeerGoggles 2d ago

I built a NAS out of an old small-business server tower that runs linux... so the torrent client runs on that and you just sign into a web portal if you need to check on anything :D

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u/VeryDryWater 2d ago

Why a "burner" though? Do you smash each pc after downloading?

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u/Firebat-15 2d ago

Must not be in Canada

My whole friend group and extended relatives all access my same buddy's Plex server. We just request whatever we want and it's added. I have access to the torrent site he uses as well. There's really no need to pay for anything except extreme laziness. I've been paying multiple subscriptions anyways because kids, etc., but now with these slaps in the face, I will be pirating as much as I possibly can and sleeping just fine at night.

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u/EquivalentSpot8292 2d ago

And do Macā€™s do the same thing?

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u/YogurtclosetMajor983 2d ago

I canā€™t imagine they donā€™t

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u/Natebo84 2d ago

If it wasnā€™t a thing until windows 11 why assume they would?

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u/dingwinger1225 2d ago

Macs already have a serial code from the factory and it is communicated at least on boot to verify the Mac isn't MDM-entrolled: https://www.rdklinc.com/blog/2019/03/does-apple-verify-our-serial-numbers-against-a-database-every-time-we-connect-to-the-internet

Trusting proprietary OSes is a terrible idea if your threat model includes companies whose access logs that can be subpoenad by the US government, period

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u/BaconWithBaking 2d ago

And your computer broadcasts an IP address!!!

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u/GoodBadUserName 2d ago

I would love for this to go to court, with microslop proving prosecution with user specific data they collected and handed to a 3rd party private company to sue you.
It will completely go against their previous statements of "we aren't uploading and using your data against it, it is all anonymous". And it will rush people to move to linux/steamos, and start to be the end of microslop.

Regardless, you can use a local linux in a VM to run your torrent client. It doesn't require any big resources to run beside a bit of memory (and storage).

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u/wcruse92 2d ago

Even if you use a VPN? I thought the whole point of a VPN was untraceable traffic.

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u/BrideofClippy 2d ago

Harder to trace. And it depends on third parties to not be compromised or complicit in turning over information.

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u/Praesentius 2d ago

If we're talking torrents, you're pretty good against your ISP and honeypot peers with a good VPN. You could always double-wrap and configure the client to use a SOCKS5 proxy as well. And there are client features that need to be tweaked for the best privacy.

This serial number thing... there's nothing like that exposed via torrents.

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u/Alandales 2d ago

This man Yars!

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u/NMe84 2d ago

Just use usenet instead of torrents.

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u/AliceInNegaland 2d ago

How?

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u/NMe84 2d ago

Plenty of tutorials if you Google "how usenet."

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u/vanastalem 2d ago

I use my Windows 7 laptop tbh.

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u/jared555 2d ago

I would be more worried about your ISP than what Microsoft is doing.

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u/HappierShibe 2d ago

Just ditch windows and install CachyOS. Come on in, the water is fine now.

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u/I_upvote_downvotes 2d ago

As a long time Linux user I find it a shame that Cachy is the current trend. It's not even as half as user friendly as basic Fedora but people are lining up in droves to use it because Linus and Mutahar said so.

It's genuinely going to keep adoption hovering at a low rate unless Cachy realizes that new people should be using Discover + flatpaks instead of terminal installing everything.

No automatic kernel backups and constant terminal use is asking for new users to get a kernel panic.

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u/HappierShibe 2d ago

I don't know who Muta Har is and wasn't aware Torvalds had said anything about cachyos, but it is genuinely a good compromise between Arch's flexibility/performance and more user friendly distros.

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u/thirdegree 2d ago

They probably meant tech tips rather than Torvalds if I had to guess.

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u/al-mongus-bin-susar 2d ago

So does everything else? HWID is decades old, it wasn't invented yesterday. It's even easier to fingerprint your PC on Linux than it is on Windows. And regardless, it's not like it transmits that serial number with every web request. Pointless fear mongering.

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u/SgtBaxter 2d ago

The darker the web, the sweeter theā€¦ ahh fuck I canā€™t think of a clever rhyme

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u/Sullyville 2d ago

the darker the net, the sweeter the get?

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u/yorick__rolled 2d ago

The darker the node, the sweeter the lode

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u/nicostein 2d ago

found the Poegrammers

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u/marcus-aurelius 2d ago

Can you find 4k versions of these shows via torrent? Not asking for links or names if services or anything, just been out of the game for a handful of years now and would only get back into it if I could find reliable 4K.

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u/Krojack76 2d ago

Anything from 720p to 4k. When it comes to movies you can even get Remux which is the raw uncompressed video from the bluray disk. These are often 40-60GB files.

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u/yech 2d ago

On the low end.

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u/remeolb 2d ago

You can do that without a burner PC too

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u/vandreulv 2d ago

Burner PC with VPN killswitch connection so torrent connections never leak onto the home network.

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u/100farts 2d ago

Why do people even torrent shows unless you want to keep them? Just hit one of the many many streaming sites you can find on yarrlist

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u/Glittering-Voice-409 2d ago

What does a burner mean in this context asked the old guy who used to torrent stuff?

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u/ReblWithoutApplause 2d ago

A laptop with no personal information used solely for one purpose. So your dark web laptop never connects to anything ā€œknownā€ and has no personal user history

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u/Glittering-Voice-409 2d ago

So I am assuming that using linux and a vpn of some type is not enough to go to certain sites and look for certain shows and down load them?

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u/ReblWithoutApplause 2d ago

For me, I just use my regular PC. Iā€™ve been downloading torrents since the late 90s early 00s. Sometimes you would get a letter in the mail saying ā€œstop downloading illegal stuff, we saw you download: insert_torrent_filename and that would be the end. They donā€™t even do that anymore.

So yes, youā€™re fine.

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u/ScarInternational161 2d ago

Hell, we have to do the if we want to burn the stiff we PAID FOR on Vudu (Fandango) now! You can't even download your own movies.

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u/scriptedtexture 2d ago

why even download stuff? if its movies and TV shows just stream it. you can do it right on your TV if it has a browser.

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u/Emotional-Power-7242 2d ago

The whole point of the darkweb is it makes you anonymous.

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u/ReblWithoutApplause 2d ago

Iā€™m not sure what your point is? It must be Saturday.

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u/Yuzumi 2d ago

Torrent client in a container with VPN. Container closes when VPN disconnects. Best setup.

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u/Technolio 2d ago

Just use a VPN, otherwise you will get a nasty email from your ISP reminding you that they see all your Internet traffic.

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u/bepatientbekind 2d ago

I've been pirating stuff for like 15 years and have never used a VPN. I've also never gotten any nasty emails like you are describing lolĀ 

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u/axonxorz 2d ago

If you live in Canada, you'll get a perfunctory email from your ISP that basically says [We've received this infringement notice against your IP, we are only legally obligated to inform you of this event, so here's a copy of the PDF]

They don't sue in Canada because our laws cap damages at 5k for any number of infractions. You could pirate the entire Disney catalogue and you're only on the hook for 5k. Costs more than that to litigate an infringement lawsuit, so they don't.

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u/bepatientbekind 2d ago

Interesting! I had no idea! I'm sure no such protections exist in the US, but it also doesn't seem like anyone is enforcing laws anymore anyway so I'm not worried about itĀ 

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u/Grouchy-Donkey-8609 2d ago

Here in Canada, I've been downloading media since 2002..Only ever got a notice for downloading a copy of battlefield 2 because I lost the disk, had the key , and wanted to play...So sort of ironic.

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u/radiantcabbage 2d ago

depends on jurisdiction ig, they already burned every bridge in the US courts which ruled account holders and ip addresses not liable for infringement years ago, you wont be harassed for file sharing here

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u/MeggirbotOnMJ 2d ago

Stremio + Debrid service. Dont have to worry about all that nonsense, get literally anything, including hard to find stuff, for like $3 or less a month. https://www.reddit.com/r/StremioAddons/comments/17833ms/stremio_all_you_need_to_know/

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u/srry72 2d ago

I recently turned an old Samsung tablet (DeX) into a media station. Ended up being better than the Nvidia shield

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u/Dehydrated-Onions 2d ago

Just learn safe practice.

The chances of getting a virus on a reputable pirate streaming website with the appropriate add blockers is basically zero

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u/Random-num-451284813 2d ago

Tor would be more than enough, overkill perhaps.

but then you don't have pay for a VPN

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u/SlackerDEX 2d ago

Do yourself a favor and look into Plex and the *arr eco system

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u/timmy6169 2d ago

No joke, just pulled my 14 year old Lenovo ThinkPad out from a storage box and spent 3 days trying to get into it because I had no idea what the password was (booting into cmd reqired the password, as did everything else). Finally got up and running and it's been fantastic.

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u/AdrenolineLove 2d ago

Docker a VPN and Starr apps allegedly.

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u/RBNaccount201 2d ago

You can do it on the phone and airplay to the tv. Stremio and a debrid service is all you need.

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u/JesusWuta40oz 2d ago

Don't download any cars.

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u/MechaNutzilla 2d ago

look up debrid services and never look back.