Looking to setup a NAS for anonymous torrenting, looking for advice

[fireaza]

I've been thinking about staying anonymous when torrenting recently. As unlikely as I think being caught would be, I think it would still be a good idea to set something up.

I know you can simply pay for a VPN account, but I was thinking more about a NAS setup. Both because I've heard you can use a NAS to setup your own VPN for free and because I think it's kinda wasteful to leave my gaming rig on overnight just to leave my torrents going. I could probably also use it for backups too, as I'm currently just using a dock to do this.

So I was thinking about buying a basic NAS and installing it orient and VPN software on it. Can you guys advise on this idea? I know it's not quite as good as a normal VPN service as you're not connecting to a server in a foreign country, but will it still do the job?

I also have a few general questions:
1) How is the usability of running torrents on a NAS? On my desktop, I can easily do things like stop and start torrents as well as choose what files inside the torrent I don't want to download. Can that still be done?
2) is there anything I should know about when selecting a NAS?

Thanks!

 

[i7Baby]

1) NAS has no OS so can't download itself.

2)Doesn't have an OS.

 

[SBMfromLA]

1) NAS has no OS so can't download itself.

2)Doesn't have an OS.

But you can install any OS you want.. I read that Windows 8 was great as a Server Software.

 

[i7Baby]

See http://www.newegg.com/Desktop-NAS/SubCategory/ID-124

 

[SBMfromLA]

See http://www.newegg.com/Desktop-NAS/SubCategory/ID-124

You might be able to also find some good (used) deals on Craigslist.

 

[fireaza]

Yeah, I was looking at NASs on newegg too! That buffalo one at the top seems good, and buffalo is a common brand in japan, so I can probably get it here.

Regarding the OS, I can install whatever I like, right? Which one is good for the goal I'm looking to achieve?