BitTorrent has an unsavory reputation, one that is both unfair and yet also well deserved. At its best, BitTorrent addresses the bottleneck created when too many people try to download the same files from a single source at onceâbe they bootlegged tv shows, hot music tracks, DRM-free books, or photos of cats. BitTorrent turns a file's popularity into a benefit, instead of a bottleneck, by having each of the downloaders distribute pieces of the file to every other downloader. Furthermore, it's decentralized, with no main server to choke under the burden of traffic. There's no disputing that torrenting is a clever idea. While it can be used for legitimate purposes, its decentralized nature also makes it perfect for illegally sharing copyrighted content online, too.
What Is BitTorrent, Anyway?
BitTorrent's dubious distinction as the pirate's tool of choice has led to indiscriminate crackdowns from ISPs on the use of BitTorrent. With a virtual private network, or VPN, your traffic is encrypted and secured to ensure that no one can see what you're up toâeven when you're torrenting. The catch is, not every VPN service allows BitTorrent on its servers.
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What Is a VPN?
When you surf the web, your internet traffic isn't necessarily secure. Someone could be lurking on the same network as you, monitoring your activities. That's especially true when you're using a public Wi-Fi network. Clever attackers can even create bogus Wi-Fi networks that impersonate legit ones, tricking you into connecting and exposing your personal information.
Your ISP also has remarkable insight into what you do online, and has even been given the green light to sell anonymized user metadata. Thanks, Congress! But with a VPN, they won't be able to see what you're up to. That will come in handy when we get back to talking about torrenting.
VPNs work by routing your web traffic through an encrypted tunnel between your computer and a server operated by the VPN company. Anyone snooping on your activities, even if they are the ones running the network, won't be able to see what you're up to. Even the ISPs will be blind. Advertisers and others on the web will have a harder time tracking your movements because your true IP address is hidden behind that of the VPN server and your traffic is mixed in with everyone else on that server.
Using a VPN goes a long way to improving your personal security, but it's not a bulletproof, magical solution. When it comes to security, we often say that it's better to think of tools like VPNs as raising the effort required to successfully attack you. If someone is willing to invest the time and money in targeting you specifically, they will eventually get what they're after. A VPN needs to be part of a layered approach to security and can't take the place of critical tools, such as good antivirus software.
Everything Is Free Now
We often receive emails asking about the interplay between VPNs and BitTorrent. Some of them have included admissions of piracy, and even justifications for it. One reader bemoaned the difficulty in finding legal avenues for material that is out of print or just hard to obtain or not available for sale in a given locale. We sympathize. The state of the public domain has been woefully neglected, and market forces and regional distribution deals often keep worthy art and materials out of the hands of those who want it, even if they are willing to pay for it. But no matter how just the reasoning, the law (however problematic) is the law. ISPs and, yes, other web companies, are often compelled to answer when rights holders come with a list of offenses carried out on their data infrastructure.
If you are going to use BitTorrent for whatever reason, good luck to you. If you are going to use a VPN, more power to you. But be sure that you take the time to read the VPN's terms of service before you start. And be aware of the local laws and possible penalties before you start, whatever your willingness to obey them. 'I didn't know the law,' or 'I don't agree with the law,' won't hold up as defenses in a court, so make sure you can live with any potential punishments should you choose to do something legally dubious.
Will a VPN Hide My Torrenting From My ISP or the Police?
The short answer is that, yes, a VPN can shield your online activities from your ISP. And that's a good thing, not only if you have legally iffy torrenting habits, but also because it protects your privacy in general. An online survey of 1,000 conducted by PCMag found that 25 percent of respondents named ISPs as the biggest threat to their online privacy. That's entirely correct.
As we said, however: no security tool is bulletproof. On paper, a VPN should prevent your ISP from seeing your traffic as it flows across the web. It should also make it much, much harder for someone on the outside to identify particular traffic as yours.
That said, there are always exceptions. https://skieymoves.weebly.com/download-torrent-windows-7-iso-kickass.html. Time and time again, user error and efforts by law enforcement have undermined the protection offered by services like Tor or VPNs. Timing attacks, for example, can correlate packet traffic at a VPN server with activity on your own network.
In some cases, the problem may be the VPN itself. If the VPN company keeps copious logs about user activity (specifically, the identity of the user, which server they connected to, when) that information could potentially be obtained by law enforcement.
Can I Use BitTorrent on My VPN?
Most VPN services are completely fine with you using BitTorrent or P2P services while using their products. All of our top-rated VPN services do not prohibit file sharing.
Even the services that do allow torrenting often have restrictions. Some, for example, may require that you only use BitTorrent when connected to specific VPN servers. NordVPN labels the servers where torrenting is acceptable. TorGuard VPN, on the other hand, does not make any distinction about user traffic, so you can torrent to your heart's content. Note that pretty much every VPN service that allows torrenting also explicitly forbids breaking copyright law, or otherwise abusing the service.
Some VPNs have tools that are particularly useful for torrenting. NordVPN is one of several companies that offer static IP addresses for purchase, which can desirable in some circumstances. TorGuard VPN has built its entire reputation around protecting torrenters. In addition to the usual VPN protection, TorGuard also offers static IP addresses and access to special high-bandwidth connections, for an additional fee.
See How We Test VPNs
What About Speeds?
When you use a VPN, your web traffic is usually traveling through more fiber and more machines. The practical upshot is that your connection speeds are affected by all that extra distance. For large torrents, this can mean a longer wait before you get the completed file.
A quick note about VPN testing: networks are finnicky things, and we don't claim our work to be the be-all and end-all of VPN speed testing. Instead, this is a snapshot of how a particular service performed on a specific day. We also don't think that speeds should be the only metric used to evaluate a VPN, but it's clearly of concern to BitTorrent users.
In my latest round of testing, I compared speed test results with and without a VPN running. I used the Ookla speed test tool, and present the results below. Note that these are in order of score, with the top score in each category marked with italicized red text.
Right now, we consider HideIPVPN the fastest VPN among those we've tested. That said, speed shouldn't been the primary consideration when purchasing a VPNâeven if you're planning on using your VPN exclusively for Torrenting.
VPN Reliability and Accessibility Issues
The extra stops and processes for your data and the distance introduced by VPNs can make a normal browsing experience somewhat hiccup-y. Suddenly losing connectivity while the VPN resets is mildly annoying in day-to-day life, but we could see how such interruptions could really slow down a large BitTorrent download.
If you plan on using a VPN while torrenting, consider the ramifications of the Kill Switch. This feature, found in most VPN services, prevents apps from sending data via the internet when the VPN is disconnected. The idea is that it prevents any information from being transmitted in the clear. The avid BitTorrent downloader needs to decide if they want total and complete protection, or would rather not have their download interrupted.
Location, Location, Location
While VPN services have servers all over the world, each company's headquarters do have to be based somewhere on the planet. And that somewhere might have data retention laws that require the VPN company to either collect and maintain user data for a set period of time.
Understanding what kind of information a VPN service collects, and how long it is maintained, can be hard to figure out. To get the answer, you may have to wade through unending FAQ pages and opaque terms of service written in arcane legalese. If the VPN company you're considering can't clearly explain what information it gathers and how long it will be kept, it's probably not a great service.
When we review VPNs, we make a point to ask service representatives about what efforts they take to secure customers' privacy. You can read through our full reviews to see their answers. So far, the majority of services have shown that they take protecting user privacy very seriously.
Note that national and international law as it relates to data storage and whether that data can be turned over to law enforcement is complicated and constantly changing. A good service today might choose or be compelled to alter its policies tomorrow, so pay attention to any updates to the terms of service.
Encrypt Your Torrent Traffic
Perhaps you'll decide that all this effort isn't worth it just to secure your BitTorrent downloads. But even so, you should keep in mind that a VPN is still the best way to keep your internet traffic private and secure. Whether you decide to spring for a premium account, you're looking for a cheap VPN, or you want to dip your toe in with a free VPN, it's about time you started living the encrypted lifestyle.
Editors' Note: IPVanish is owned by j2 Global, the parent company of PCMag's publisher, Ziff Davis.
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Short Bytes: BitTorrent is an easy method of sharing and downloading the content of our choice. But, the increase in illegal downloads has forced law enforcement to keep a close eye on happenings in the BitTorrent. So, the use of services like VPN and proxy servers is heavily recommended for torrent downloading. In the recent times, apart from legal services like Netflix and Hulu, many illegal movie and TV streaming sites are also becoming popular. That also makes downloading content anonymously even more important.
BitTorrent is one of the most common protocols for transferring large files like videos, movies, games etc. Various surveys keep telling us from time to time that BitTorrent is responsible for about 50% of all the internet traffic. However, the increasing use of BitTorrent networks for downloading and sharing illegal content has forced the law enforcement to keep a close eye on BitTorrent usersâ activities.
The direct impact of the law enforcementâs actions can also be seen on the shutdown of many popular torrent websites. Many sites like KickassTorrents and Extratorrents have been forced to shut down their doors but other sites continue to florish and serve the needs of pirates. If youâre a torrent user, you might be familiarised with some of these developments that Iâm mentioning here. It has also prompted the rise of many new torrent sites and services.
Thereâs no denying the fact that torrent downloads arenât safe like before. Even if when youâre downloading legal content like open source Linux operating systems, in some countries, government agencies are continuously watching you. Why i cant download torrent. Many offices and schools also block torrent sites and torrenting traffic. This becomes even more frustrating when youâre trying to grab some legal stuff with the help of this P2P file sharing medium.
So, what to do? Iâve written a couple of articles in the past around this issue. For example, Iâve recommended the best VPN services that you can use for hiding your IP. But, here, Iâll be directly answering this question. There are some more popular ways to go invisible and anonymize your torrent downloads. Using appropriate tools and services like, you can continue downloading torrents without any worry.
Using VPN and proxy services for anonymous download
Just in case you donât know how a Virtual Private Network (VPNs) works, you can read our detailed article on the same. A VPN lets you bypass different geographical and ISP restrictions. As it encrypts all your web traffic and gives you a new IP address, itâs impossible for anyone to sniff your web traffic. This way law enforcement canât track you.
When you use a VPN, the encryption process takes place before your data is transmitted to your ISP. But, why isnât VPN so popular? Why isnât VPN services being used by everyone around us? The actual reason could be peopleâs unawareness that doesnât make privacy a chief concern. There are some more myths hovering the VPN services that must be busted.
Private Internet Access, ExpressVPN, IPVanish are some of the good VPN services that you can try out. There are other options too.
It must be noted that apart from your BitTorrent client, a VPN service tunnels your entire traffic and clocks it. It can also let you watch location restricted content on services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, etc.
There are some good proxy services too, like BTGuard or HideMyAss, which allow you to hide your IP address from the public. It works with all major BitTorrent clients. Please note that if youâre going ahead with a proxy software, you wonât get the benefit of encryption. Also, a proxy simply anonymises the traffic of a single application. You can read about the differences in detail in another article.
After setting up your VPN or proxy, you can visit sites like DNSLeak to test if your DNS is leaking. By visiting sites like iPleak.net, you can further confirm your privacy.
If youâre looking for recommendations, Iâll advise you to go with Private Internet Accessor ExpressVPN. These are paid services, but itâs wise to afford few dollars to shield your digital life. In the coming days, Iâll be writing a detailed article on how to choose a VPN service to help you out.
Another method thatâs regularly shared online for secure torrenting and hiding your IP is using Tor web browser. But, very often people try to configure their BitTorrent applications like uTorrent or Vuze to proxy their traffic via Tor and end up inviting trouble. Many clients ignore your manual proxy settings as they use UDP for talking to the servers but Tor socks proxy only supports TCP.
There are other reasons as well using which a peer might learn your real IP address. Moreover, if your BitTorrent communication isnât encrypted, the Tor exit relay can observer your traffic as well. Even Tor Project advises against using Tor for bittorenting due to these security concerns.
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