Torrent Safely Over a VPN With This Simple One-Click Guide

Summary

In this video, Jim demonstrates how to deploy a VPN container using Docker, focusing on NordVPN and the powerful WireGuard protocol. He explains how to set up a torrent stack with qBittorrent, Sonarr, and Jackett, routing them through a VPN for enhanced privacy. The tutorial covers configuring Docker Compose files, setting network modes, and verifying the setup. Jim's guide is perfect for anyone looking to securely run containers with VPN protection, including instructions for other major VPN providers and potential use cases like bypassing ISP port blocking.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video is a tutorial on how to root a container through a VPN using Docker.
• 🔒 It demonstrates deploying a VPN container compatible with major VPN providers, including support for WireGuard, a lightweight and fast VPN protocol.
• 🌐 The tutorial covers setting up a Docker container stack for torrent services, including Qubit Torrent, Prowler, and optionally Jacket.
• 📝 Docker Compose is used to define the network configuration, allowing traffic routing through the VPN with a simple network command.
• 🔄 The principle shown for deploying a container through a VPN can be applied to any container on the network.
• 🚀 Some VPN providers allow port forwarding, which can help bypass ISP blocking and hide service locations.
• 📦 The 'gluton' container is highlighted as a key component for providing VPN services to other containers in the Docker network.
• 🛠️ Special network permissions and device passes are required for the 'gluton' container to set up and share the VPN connection.
• 🗂️ Volume mounts are used to store server lists and VPN details, specific to the chosen VPN provider.
• 🌐 Environment variables in the 'gluton' container allow selection of the VPN provider and protocol, as well as inputting account credentials.
• 🔑 The video offers guidance on obtaining WireGuard credentials for NordVPN, which may not be straightforward due to their proprietary implementation, NordLinks.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is how to root a container through a VPN, specifically using Docker to deploy a VPN container that can connect to various VPN suppliers.

Why is WireGuard mentioned as a preferred VPN protocol in the video?

WireGuard is highlighted for its lightweight, fast, and modern cryptographic benefits, as well as being integrated into the kernel, making it the de facto standard for VPNs.

What does the term 'R stack' refer to in the context of the video?

The 'R stack' refers to a torrent stack, which commonly includes Qubit Torrent, Prowler, Sonar, and Jacket, and is deployed through Docker with VPN support.

How does Docker networking play a role in deploying containers through a VPN?

Docker networking allows for the creation of a Docker network where all containers can communicate with each other and are accessible locally, with the VPN container acting as the network access point.

What is the purpose of the 'gluten' container mentioned in the video?

The 'gluten' container is used to provide a VPN connection for other containers, allowing them to be rooted through the VPN by specifying 'gluten' as the network mode in the Docker compose file.

What special network permissions does the 'gluten' container require?

The 'gluten' container requires 'net admin' capability to set up and share the VPN connection with other containers on the Docker network.

How can port forwarding be utilized with VPNs as mentioned in the video?

Port forwarding with VPNs can expose services through a VPN, which is useful for hiding location and bypassing ISP restrictions on port forwarding.

What is the process for setting up the VPN container?

null

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introduction to VPN Containers

Jim's Garage community frequently asks how to route a container through a VPN. This video demonstrates deploying a VPN container compatible with major VPN providers, including NordVPN, with support for WireGuard. The tutorial also includes setting up a torrent stack using Docker Compose, showcasing a simple network command for routing traffic through the VPN container. Additionally, it highlights the potential of using port forwarding to bypass ISP restrictions and securely expose services.

05:02

🔧 Setting Up Torrent Clients with Docker and VPN

This segment details configuring various torrent clients like qBittorrent to work through a VPN using Docker. The key setup involves specifying network modes and mapping directories for configurations and downloads. The example uses NordVPN and WireGuard, showing how to adjust settings for different environments. The tutorial explains creating necessary folder structures and deploying the Docker Compose file to initiate the VPN and torrent clients, ensuring they run securely and efficiently.

Keywords

💡Container

A container is a lightweight, standalone, and executable package that includes everything needed to run a piece of software, such as code, runtime, system tools, libraries, and settings. In the context of the video, containers are used to deploy applications in a consistent environment, allowing Jim to route them through a VPN. Examples include deploying VPN and torrent services in Docker containers.

💡VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A VPN is a service that creates a secure, encrypted connection over a less secure network, such as the internet. In Jim's video, he explains how to deploy a VPN container to secure traffic for various applications, highlighting the use of NordVPN and the support for protocols like WireGuard, UDP, and TCP.

💡WireGuard

WireGuard is a modern, high-performance VPN protocol known for its simplicity and efficiency. It uses state-of-the-art cryptography and is integrated into the Linux kernel. Jim mentions WireGuard as a preferred option for setting up a secure VPN connection due to its speed and lightweight nature compared to traditional protocols.

💡Docker Compose

Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications. In the video, Jim uses Docker Compose to simplify the deployment of multiple services, including the VPN and various torrent-related applications, by defining them in a single configuration file.

💡Qbittorrent

Qbittorrent is a popular open-source BitTorrent client that allows users to download and manage torrent files. Jim uses it as an example of a torrent client that can be routed through a VPN container using Docker Compose, ensuring secure and private torrenting.

💡Gluton

Gluton is a Docker container that acts as a VPN gateway for other containers, routing their network traffic through a specified VPN provider. Jim highlights its compatibility with major VPN providers and explains how it can be used to securely route traffic for applications like Qbittorrent, Sonarr, and Jacket.

💡Docker Network

Docker Network refers to the capability of Docker to create isolated networks for containers, allowing them to communicate securely. Jim uses this concept to explain how containers, like Gluton and Qbittorrent, can interact over a Docker network while maintaining secure VPN connectivity.

💡Port Forwarding

Port forwarding is a technique used to allow external devices to access services on a local network by forwarding requests from a public IP address to a private IP address and port. Jim discusses how some VPN providers support port forwarding, enabling users to expose services securely through the VPN.

💡Docker Compose File

A Docker Compose file is a YAML configuration file used to define services, networks, and volumes for a multi-container Docker application. Jim provides a detailed walkthrough of creating and configuring a Docker Compose file to deploy and manage a stack of containers through a VPN.

💡Sonarr

Sonarr is an open-source PVR (Personal Video Recorder) for TV shows that can download and manage episodes from various sources. In the video, Jim explains how Sonarr can be integrated into a Docker container setup routed through a VPN, similar to other services like Qbittorrent.

💡Jacket

Jacket is an application that acts as an API for interacting with various torrent trackers. Jim mentions Jacket in the context of setting up a secure torrenting environment with Docker, allowing it to communicate through the VPN container for enhanced privacy.

💡Network Mode

Network mode in Docker determines how a container's network stack is configured. Jim discusses using the 'service' network mode to route other containers' traffic through the Gluton container, ensuring all traffic is encrypted and secure through the VPN.

Highlights

Introduction to deploying a VPN container for various VPN providers, including support for WireGuard.

Demonstration of deploying a torrent stack (R stack) with Qubit Torrent, Prowler, Sonar, and Jacket through Docker.

Explanation of using a simple Network command in the Docker compose file to route traffic through a VPN.

Discussion on the possibility of exposing services through a VPN for hiding location and bypassing ISP port blocking.

Introduction of the 'gluton' container that works with most main VPN providers and its role in the setup.

Details on Docker networking and how it allows containers to communicate and be accessible locally on the same network.

Configuration of the 'gluton' container, including network permissions and environment settings for VPN providers.

How to set up WireGuard credentials for NordVPN, which is not straightforward due to their proprietary implementation, NordLinks.

Configuration details for Qubit Torrent, including network mode and volume mounts for config and downloads.

Instructions for setting up Jacket, focusing on config and black hole folder locations.

Deployment of Sonar with simple volume mounts tailored to the user's setup.

Step-by-step guide on creating the Docker compose file and necessary folders for deploying the container stack.

Verification of successful deployment through Portainer and Docker commands.

Checking the 'gluton' logs to ensure the VPN connection is active and the public IP address has changed.

Accessing Qubit Torrent through a web browser to confirm the VPN setup is working as expected.

Recommendation to change default credentials for security purposes.

Conclusion and encouragement to subscribe and like the video for more content.

Transcripts

hey guys and welcome back to Jim's

Garage

one of the questions that my community

are continuously asking me is how do I

root a container through a VPN well in

this video I'm going to show you how to

deploy a VPN container that will connect

to pretty much any of the big VPN

suppliers and if it doesn't support it

out of the box it is supported through

templating I'm going to show you how to

do this with nordvpn but there are

instructions for all of the big players

importantly on top of this

it supports wireguard so not only does

it support the more familiar UDP and TCP

based vpns but also wireguard which as I

showed in my last video has pretty much

become the de facto standard for vpns

it's lightweight it's fast it's baked

into the kernel and it has all the

benefits of modern cryptography so in

this video I'm going to show you how to

deploy a torrent stack more commonly

known as an R stack this will include

qubit torrent Prowler sonar and I've

included a jacket if you're still using

jacket

the beauty of this approach is that

we're simply defining how to root this

traffic

with a simple Network command in the

docker compose file and that'll give you

a clue as to how we're going to deploy

this but the key thing here is that the

principle for deploying a container

through a VPN is the same so if you

don't want to do this for a torrent you

could do this for any container you are

running on your network moreover some of

your VPN providers might actually allow

port forwarding so that opens up the

interesting possibility that you could

expose your services through a VPN which

is great not only for hiding your

location but equally maybe your ISP is

blocking port forwarding and this could

allow you to get around that so you

might be thinking how can we do this

simply in virtually one click well

that's where our good old friend Docker

comes to the rescue again and we can

actually spin up multiple services

within one Docker compose file

so let's have a look the primary thing

here we're going to use is a container

called gluton I recommend you go and

check that out give it a star it's a

great container that works with pretty

much all of the main VPN providers now

you might be asking how does this work

well again that's where the magic of

Docker networking comes in what we're

doing here is effectively spinning up

four containers one of those is that

glue ton the one that provides a VPN and

the other ones sonar and jacket they are

rooted through that container simply by

specifying the gluton as the network

access point in this case the network

mode service gluton so with this setup

all of those containers are on the same

Docker Network and can communicate with

one another and are still accessible

locally sounds like a pretty good

solution so let's run through each of

the containers quickly to make sure that

we understand the configuration

so the first one is gluton and there's

not really much to go through here we

need to add net admin for the capability

ad it needs special Network permissions

to be able to set up and share this VPN

we need to pass through the device

Network turn we need to specify some

ports now as you can see I've added

comments here for each of the ports and

which service they relate to you could

obviously add to this Docker compose

file for any other container you want to

run through a VPN simply add the ports

to this container and then redeploy it

you can then access it through the IP of

the docker VM and that port number or

you could run it through traffic like we

have done before and take advantage of a

friendly easy to remember URL the volume

mounts for this container are pretty

straightforward this is where it's going

to store the server list for your chosen

VPN I.E I'm using nordvpn for this

example and this is where it will store

all all the details for all of the

nordvpn servers the most important bit

in this container is the environments

section

so in the environment section you can

choose which VPN provider you want to

use which type of VPN I.E wireguard UDP

TCP

Etc

and then some credentials to allow you

to access it with your account I've got

this configured for wireguard but don't

worry if your provider doesn't give you

wireguard credentials you can choose one

of the other protocols or I'll show you

in a minute how to get wireguard

credentials for nordvpn because it's not

straightforward they want to force you

to use Nord links which is basically

their proprietary implementation of

wireguard the next container is qubit

torrent now you could change this for

any torrent client you want to use

Deluge transmission just change this the

key thing here remember we want to

specify the network mode as service

gluten as long as you've got that and as

long as you're mapping the port's okay

you should be fine so cubic torrent is

pretty straightforward we basically just

need to specify where we want the config

to live for qubit torrent and where we

want our downloads to reside now now

I've just mapped these locally but if

you remember in a previous video I

showed you how to map a network drive

from trunas now it might be a good idea

to save all of that to your true nuts

because it likely has larger storage or

maybe you want to keep it locally

because you don't want your Nas getting

hit by torrents which are usually pretty

read write heavy the next container

we're using here is jacket and that's

pretty straightforward nothing special

about this we just need to specify where

we want the config and the black hole

folder to be located so just map those

to the right location for your setup and

lastly is sonar again really simple to

deploy just change those volume mounts

to wherever you need them to be so let's

head over to our Docker VM now let's

create that compose file and the folders

that are necessary to deploy this

container stack so I've created in my

Docker compose folder the docker compose

which you can find on my GitHub

inside here I've tweaked this to match

my setup using nordvpn and wireguard and

I've mapped all of the home directories

to my user as I said you can add as many

containers in here as you want and you

can root those all through the VPN so

once you've created your Docker compose

file you're going to want to make sure

that those folder structures exist for

when you start the container and you can

see that I have these folders created

already so let's go ahead and start this

and see what happens

so if we log into our host let's

navigate to our Docker compose location

and then we simply want to deploy this

using the sudo Docker compose op Dash D

so that's going to go ahead pull down

all of those containers

and hopefully you should now be up and

running let's go and have a quick look

in portena to make sure that those all

deployed successfully we could also

Docker PS and just make sure in the

command line so those all look like

they're running

and we can see here if we focus on the

stack column that our rstack is up and

running and is in a healthy State

excellent

so if we want to just double check

let's head into the gluton logs and just

make sure that everything looks right

because if we don't have that VPN

connection then none of this is going to

work

so as you can see everything is up and

running we've got the you are running on

the bleeding edge of latest and your

public IP address is I'm coming out

somewhere in Poland so that looks great

I'm not in Poland let's check the other

containers

everything looks fine in there

jacket looks good it's listening on the

port that we told it to

and lastly our torrent client is also

running as well

so let's go and verify that in the

browser just to make sure so I've kept

this simple without a traffic reverse

proxy so I'm going to be connecting with

the IP address and the port so my Docker

machine and the ports we specified

but this is just as simple to add the

traffic labels and run it through

traffic with a friendly URL if you want

so according to our Docker compose file

and the port that we can see that gluton

has assigned to it we should be able to

access qubit torrent on port

8085 or whatever URL you've given it

with traffic let's check that out

and there we go blinded by the lack of

dark mode but we've got the qubit

torrent web UI excellent and if we log

in with the default username of admin

and the password of admin admin yep goes

without saying I recommend you change

those we have the familiar qubit torrent

UI

perfect yeah it's running through a

browser that's pretty cool

so now that you're able to access qbit

torrent it should be the same process

for all of the other services that

you're running so simply head to things

like Prowler or sonar and then connect

the apps together using the local

hostname and the port everything should

behave and act as if you're running the

own specific dedicated applications so

thanks for watching this video if you

liked it please subscribe and give it a

thumbs up and I'll see you on the next

video take care

foreign

[Music]