12 Best Torrent Sites for October 2021 That Are Safe and …
Finding a torrent site on Google is more dangerous than you might think. A Google search will usually hide torrent websites and display fake ones that contain dodgy links and irritating ads. There are still a few good sites out there, but finding them will take you ages.
To make your life easier, I tested over 50 torrent sites and shortlisted the top 12. These sites have good reputations, have been online for a long time, and verify most of their torrents for safety. However, even using these sites can put your online safety at risk. That’s why I strongly recommend using a powerful VPN with them to protect yourself.
A VPN will hide your IP address and come with military-grade encryption to keep you safe and anonymous. My favorite is ExpressVPN because of its robust security features and fast speeds for torrenting. It’s also backed by a money-back guarantee so you can test it out yourself completely risk-free. If you’re not impressed, then you have 30 days to claim a full refund.
Important! Torrenting itself is not illegal in most countries, but the file you torrent MAY be if it is still under copyright. My team and I don’t condone illegal torrenting, so be sure to check the rules and regulations in your country before you download anything that might be protected under copyright.
Access Torrent Sites Safely
Short on Time? Here Are the 5 Best Torrent Sites in October 2021
The Pirate Bay — Most well-established torrent download site with plenty of seeders and verified uploaders.
RARBG — Verifies all torrents and has a personalized user experience, but plenty of ads.
1337x — Massive torrent library and simple interface, but has a few fake links.
YTS — The best torrent site for high-quality movies and has small files, but lots of ads.
Torrentz2 — A torrent search engine that’s excellent for music but contains fake links.
7 more torrent sites you can trust | Best VPNs for accessing torrent sites safely
The Best Torrent Sites That Still Work in October 2021
1. The Pirate Bay — The Most Well-Established Torrent Site
Year founded: 2003
Mirror sites/alternate URLs:,,,,,,,,,,
Alexa ranking: 224
Banned locations: United Kingdom, Spain, Singapore, Argentina, Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Austria, Norway, Finland, Sweden, China, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Kuwait, Russia, Sri Lanka, Germany, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Belgium
Instant download support: Yes
The Pirate Bay is one of the best-known torrent sites globally, with up to 60 million visitors a month. It is available in 35 different languages, and has held the title for the world’s best torrent site since 2018. Even though it was temporarily shut down in early 2020, it’s still thriving and has avoided numerous takedown attempts over the years. The exact number of torrenting files on the site is estimated to be in the millions.
What I liked most about The Pirate Bay was the site’s focus on safety. It verifies uploaders and indicates whether torrents are trustworthy or not. While you can’t guarantee protection from malware and spyware, this verification reduces the likelihood of infection. I also liked its filtering system, too, where I could specify torrents by file format, quality, and console. This saved me a lot of time when searching for Sita Sings the Blues.
Another benefit is that most torrents have at least a few seeders for faster downloads due to the large community (including even old and obscure torrents). In addition, The Pirate Bay has a simple, easy-to-navigate interface. When I searched for a torrent, I could filter my searches by file format, quality, and gaming console (for games), which meant that I didn’t need to assess each torrent individually to find the right one.
A minor con of The Pirate Bay is that it displays a few ads on the site. But you can always use a trusted ad blocker, or even better, protect yourself while downloading torrents with a VPN that comes with an ad blocker built in.
Check out The Pirate Bay
2. RARBG — Verifies All Torrents to Ensure High Quality
Year founded: 2008
Mirror sites/alternate URLs: 185. 37. 100. 122,,,,,,,,,
Alexa ranking: 7, 542
Banned locations: The UK, Bulgaria, Portugal, Denmark, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Ireland
RARBG is known for high-quality torrents, thanks to its group of moderators and active community. The site verifies each torrent that gets uploaded to weed out all the bad ones effectively. But this also means that its library is smaller than other sites, even though it gets updated regularly.
Thanks to its personalized user experience, I found it easy to find and assess torrents. Once I found a torrent, I could hover over the file to see some screenshots, album art, and posters that popped up. I could also filter torrents by size, date added, or the number of seeders and leechers by clicking on the respective icons in each category. Although it does have an unnecessary amount of pop-up ads, so it’s a good idea to use an ad blocker. The easiest solution is to use a VPN with ad blockers built-in to protect your downloads and block all the ads at once.
The site also displays the top ten rankings for each category, and users can add reviews to torrents, too — so you know the files are legitimate. It also lets you use the site as a guest or as a registered member, which makes it a hybrid between a private and a public torrent site.
But since the site verifies all torrents, it has caught the attention of many authorities, which have tried to shut it down. Luckily, no attempts have succeeded.
Check out RARBG
3. 1337x — Huge Torrent Library With Great Variety
Year founded: 2007
Mirror sites/alternate URLs:,,,,,
Alexa ranking: 257
Banned locations: Australia, the UK, Austria, and Ireland
1337x is a well-known torrent website with over 53 million monthly visitors and a vast selection of high-quality torrents. Most of its torrents are movies, TV shows, and music, although it has several games as well. It has been around for a long time and its community is very active, meaning that its torrents are regularly updated every few hours.
I found its user interface is simple and informative, as it includes the technical details of each torrent and other useful information. For example, it’ll display whether a show or movie has been nominated for an award or not, and the number of times it’s been downloaded (this can tell you whether it’s a good quality torrent or not). This is a massive improvement compared to a few years ago when the user interface was slow and clunky.
Another benefit of 1337x is that it has very few ads compared to other sites. In addition, it only makes money through Bitcoin donations, which further shows that it values its users’ privacy.
Even though its community is active, it might still host the occasional bad torrent with spyware or malware, so I’d recommend using an ad and malware blocker to protect yourself just in case.
Check out 1337x
4. YTS — Best Torrent Site for High-Quality Movies
Year founded: 2011
Mirror sites/alternate URLs:,,,,,,,
Alexa ranking: 696
Banned locations: Ireland
YTS (sometimes known as YIFY) is arguably the best torrent website for high-quality movies, with over 75 million users worldwide. The site contains almost 30, 000 titles, many of which come with subtitles and are available in 1080p. Its files are small and don’t compromise quality, so it’s excellent for all bandwidth levels.
It also has a clear and simple interface that reminds me of Netflix. When I searched for the film Carnival of Souls, it provided the tech specs, synopsis, and IMBD ratings of the film, along with a list of similar films and film pictures. But the site has been the target of several copyright infringement lawsuits recently, which raises concerns.
Since YTS specializes in movies, it lacks other types of content, so you’ll need to go elsewhere for music, games, or software. Also, it has annoying pop-up ads, which can jeopardize your privacy. However, the amount of ads has reduced over the years. If you would like to avoid ads altogether, I suggest using a reliable ad blocker. I use a VPN that comes with a built-in ad and malware blocker (CyberGhost). That way I don’t have to endure the ads and I’m anonymous while downloading torrents at the same time.
Check out YTS/YIFY
5. Torrentz2 — Optimized Torrent Search Engine With a Focus on Music
Year founded: 2016
Alexa ranking: 21, 682
Banned locations: None
Instant download support: No
Torrentz2 (formerly known as Torrentz) is a torrent search engine that uses your search query to index torrents from over 90 torrent download sites. From your search results, you can go to one of the sites to download your torrent by clicking on the magnet link. If your favorite torrent site doesn’t have the file that you’re looking for, then Torrentz2 is a great alternative.
Even though you can download all kinds of torrents on Torrentz2, it’s mainly used for music. It gives you access to an extensive music library with an impressive choice of genres but isn’t great for other media types. When I tested it, I had to spend a few minutes looking for the file I was after because the site lacks filtering options. However, you can filter torrents to see if they’re verified or not, which is convenient.
Pop-up ads are also common on the site, as well as fake and misleading links. But a recent update has fixed a lot of bugs, making the site a lot safer.
Check out Torrentz2
6. EZTV — Great Torrent Site for TV Shows
Year founded: 2015
Mirror sites/Alternate URLs:,,,,,,,,,,
Alexa ranking: 3, 163
Banned locations: The UK, Ireland, and Australia
EZTV is known for its selection of TV shows, which are in HD or 1080p. It may not have an extensive library like The Pirate Bay or 1337x, but that’s what happens when you specialize in a particular type of content. It has a convenient “live countdown” list for new releases and a large collection of TV shows, with more old shows than new ones.
Just be aware that new releases tend to be under copyright, so downloading them is illegal and can land you in serious trouble. I strongly advise against it. EZTV also copies content from other torrent sites, which could get you in trouble unknowingly.
That being said, EZTV has a handy drop-down search box — no matter what I searched, I always got results. However, its interface is pretty old and unappealing, and the large number of ads were intrusive. Also, I found it pretty annoying that you can’t download full seasons in one go — you need to download each episode separately, which is pretty time-consuming.
Check out EZTV
7. Limetorrents — Huge Torrent Library With Tons of Variety
Year founded: 2009
Alexa ranking: 3, 001
Banned locations: France, Australia, and the UK
Limetorrents boasts a massive torrent library with over 10 million torrents across all media types, and attracts more than 20 million users every month. Searches on the site always yield plenty of results so you won’t be disappointed. Its library is even larger than The Pirate Bay’s library, which is very impressive.
You can download torrents of movies, games, music, apps, and TV shows, and the site shows the top 100 torrents available for each category. This top 100 list focuses on newer releases — which means most of them are under copyright and illegal to download — so be careful when using this list to make sure you’re not breaking any laws.
Otherwise, Limetorrents has tons of other files which are in the public domain that you can download safely. I also found its interface to be sleek and visually pleasing and liked being able to filter torrents by their health or verification status.
But having millions of torrents has its drawbacks, as quite a lot of them are fake. Also, irritating ads are pretty common on the site.
Check out Limetorrents
8. Torlock — Good Site for Safe Torrent Downloads
Year founded: 2010
Mirror sites/alternate URLs:,
Alexa ranking: 21, 900
Banned locations: The UK, India, and Australia
If you’re concerned about downloading unsafe torrents, then consider using Torlock. The site pays its users $1 for every fake torrent reported, which shows its commitment to your safety. It’s also one of the few torrent sites that still uses domain name, which means it’s well established. In particular, it has a lot of music, eBooks, and anime series in its library.
Its homepage displays the most recent and popular torrents for each category. However, new releases are usually under copyright, which means downloading them is illegal — so beware. I liked that the site also displays all the file specifications for each torrent, including the file size, upload date, seeders, and health. When you search for a torrent, the site will also display torrents containing all of your search terms.
Check out Torlock
9. Zooqle — User-Friendly Interface and an Extensive Torrent Library
Year founded: 2013
Alexa ranking: 2, 086
Zooqle is a new torrent website that’s becoming popular. It has an extensive library that’s particularly good for games, as well as movies, software, TV shows, and eBooks. To diversify its torrent library, it uses links from other torrent sites like Torrenthound and Katcr.
Keep in mind that because games are a relatively new media, most of them are under copyright protection and therefore are illegal to download. My team and I don’t condone illegal torrenting, so be sure to check the rules and regulations in your country.
I found its interface simple and visually pleasing, and its search bar pretty useful. Simply search for any torrent you’re after, and you’ll be given a comprehensive list of related torrents. You can also filter by seeder to leecher ratio and by the quality of each torrent. All torrents contain file specifications as well as comments and reviews from other users. This made it easier to select a good quality version of Kansas City Confidential when I searched for it.
Check out Zooqle
10. IPTorrents — Private Torrent Site That’s Safe
Year founded: Unknown
Mirror sites/alternate URLs:,,,
Alexa ranking: 4, 731
Banned locations: Not available
Unlike the other sites on this list, IPTorrents is a private torrent download site with over 7 million monthly visits. This means you can only use it if you get invited and make a donation. But once you’re in, you’ll get access to a big library and an active community — without any pop-up ads. It’s also safer because it’s much harder for people to spread spyware or malware since not just anyone can use it.
Another benefit of IPTorrents is that its download speeds tend to be faster because members need to comply with seeding quotas. Its only downside is that you’ll need to pay a donation of $20 to get in, which is quite high. Without this donation, you won’t be accepted.
Check out IPTorrents
11. Demonoid — Well-Established Torrent Site With Many Media Types
Alexa ranking: 160, 289
Demonoid is one of the original torrent sites that’s still active today. The site once struggled due to increased political pressure to get it taken down but now has over 10 million users and 1 million torrents. You can find a great variety of media types on Demonoid, including movies, TV shows, music, games, and more. Movies and TV shows are especially popular on the site.
In the past, you needed to create an account to use the site, and registration was only open to those who received the invite. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. I was able to download Night of the Living Dead without signing up.
Check out Demonoid
12. — Specialized Site for Asian Content
Year founded: 2005
Alexa ranking: 895
Banned locations: The UK, US, Japan, South Korea, and Australia
is a specialist site for Asian content, particularly from Japan, China, and South Korea. Its main focus is on anime series, but I also found music and software. The site is a resurrection of the anime torrent site NYAA.
What I liked about is its simplistic interface, which makes it easy to access the files you’re after. Just keep in mind that it’s quite intrusive with its pop-up ads, so you might want to use an ad blocker, or a VPN that comes with an ad blocker built-in.
Check out
Tips on How to Choose the Best Torrenting Sites
Torrent sites can be dangerous places: a lot of the sites aren’t regulated, so they can contain fake links with viruses, tracking software, or malware.
Therefore, choosing a trusted torrent site is crucial in minimizing the risks involved. But to be fully protected, I recommend that you use a trusted VPN (my favorite is ExpressVPN) while browsing any torrent site. It will keep your data safe and can protect you from malicious links.
When choosing a torrent website, I strongly suggest making sure the site you use has some (if not all) the following:
Security features — Choose a site that has been around for at least 5 years, doesn’t have many ads, and verifies its torrent files. But keep in mind that no torrent site is 100% safe because they can leave your data and activity exposed to third parties. To increase your safety when torrenting, I recommend using a VPN.
Lots of variety — Make sure your site’s library has a wide mix of different content types. If you’re after a particular type of content, such as movies, then consider specialist sites too.
Well established — The established year of the torrent site indicates its reliability. If the site has been around for 5-10 years or more and has never been shut down, then that’s a good sign.
High popularity — Choose a website that has a high number of engaged users. Specifically, look for a site with a lot of comments. Comments from past users on torrent files are very useful because they can help you find out whether a file is fake or not.
High seeder/leecher ratio — A high ratio of seeders to leechers indicates a high level of sharing and results in faster downloads.
As few ads as possible — Intrusive pop-up ads are an inevitable feature of many torrent sites. Avoid sites that bombard you with ads or use a VPN with an ad blocker instead.
High Alexa ranking — The Alexa ranking shows how popular the site is in relation to internet users worldwide. A high ranking indicates an active community.
Availability in your region — Some regions block torrent sites more than others, so make sure you can access the site in your area.
How to Stay Safe and Avoid Fake Torrent Sites
Once you’ve chosen a torrent site, there are extra measures you can take to increase your safety. I highly recommend using a quality VPN like ExpressVPN while using torrent websites and downloading torrent files. Using P2P file-sharing software exposes your personal data to every other person seeding or leeching the same file as you — a VPN masks your IP address so no one can see your real info. In addition, if you use a VPN with built-in ad and malware blockers, it can protect you in case you end up on a shady, fake torrent site.
These additional steps will also help you stay safe:
Inspect every torrent — Unverified torrents are often filled with malware. Make sure any torrent you download has been verified, and check its seeder to leecher ratio, user comments, and the uploader’s history.
Use a private search engine — Mainstream search engines like Google hide the URLs of many torrent sites due to the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and display dangerous fork sites instead. A private search engine like DuckDuckGo won’t hide URLs and will keep your searches private.
Use a safe torrent client — A good torrent website on its own isn’t enough to stay safe and protected. Using a reliable torrent client like uTorrent or qBittorrent will add further protection against viruses, malware, and spyware.
Check files for malware — Check files like RAR, TAR, and ZIP for malware. Pay close attention to EXE files and stay away from WMA, WMV, and password-protected files because they’re outdated and can be dangerous.
Look out for copycat sites — Strange-looking URLs, numerous pop-up windows, and registration demands are all signs of dangerous copycat sites that can expose you to malware and hackers.
Beware of These Fake Torrenting Sites
Some torrenting sites might be popular but could expose your activity and infect you with malware. Here are a few torrent sites that I recommend avoiding:
KickAssTorrents — KickAssTorrents (KAT) was once the most popular torrent site globally, only to be taken down for good. Its founder, Artem Vaulin, has been on the run from US authorities due to numerous charges of copyright infringement. Several copycat sites look similar but require you to install browser extensions to use them, which is a huge red flag.
SUMOtorrent — This site always asks you to download its torrent client to access its library. It’s usually best to stay away from sites that request this because it’s not common and therefore suspicious.
PassThePopcorn — This site is an invite-only site that requires a login and password to use. There’s nothing wrong with invite-only sites, but since you can’t register properly, it’s best to avoid it.
Torrent Galaxy — Torrent Galaxy is a fake version of 1337x and attracts over 8 million users each month. However, it bombards you with ads to no end, so it warrants a mention.
TorrentFunk — A site that was once decent is now full of unwanted ads that are highly intrusive. Its library is pretty small too.
Quick Guide: How to Use Torrent Sites Safely in 3 Easy Steps
Get a VPN. I recommend ExpressVPN because its strong security features keep you safe while torrenting.
Install a safe torrent client. You’ll need to use a torrent client like uTorrent to extract your downloaded torrent files.
Start torrenting safely! Go to a reliable torrent site, find the torrent you want, and click the magnet link to begin downloading.
Try ExpressVPN Now!
Why Do I Need a VPN for Accessing Torrent Sites?
Most torrent websites explicitly warn you to use a VPN before downloading anything – and there’s a good reason for that. Even the most reputable torrent sites and clients come with inherent dangers. It’s easy for cybercriminals to steal your IP address, monitor your connection, and even upload malware-infected torrents.
It’s very easy for other people to see your torrenting activity
A reliable VPN keeps you safe while you’re browsing a torrent website. It masks your original IP address, which means no one will be able to see what you’re downloading, or where you’re downloading it from. This means no one will be able to see what you’re downloading, or where you’re downloading it from. VPN encryption makes your traffic and data unreadable, even to hackers.
Another benefit of using a VPN is that it prevents your ISP from throttling your connection, which it might do if it notices excessive downloading activity on your end. When you use a VPN, your ISP can’t see what you’re doing online, which means you could get faster torrenting speeds.
Best VPNs for Accessing Torrent Sites Safely
1. ExpressVPN — Ultra-Fast Speeds for Downloading Torrents
3, 000+ servers in 90+ countries that are all P2P optimized
Lightning-fast speeds for downloading torrents
Military-grade encryption, automatic kill-switch, and DNS leak protection keep you safe
Strict no-logs policy to keep you anonymous when torrenting
5 simultaneous device connections
30-day money-back guarantee
Compatible with: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, routers, Apple TV, and more
ExpressVPN’s superfast speeds are ideal when downloading torrents from torrent sites. During my tests, I downloaded the film Carnival of Souls from YTS and my download speed reached 45. 6 Mbps. Another factor that contributed to my fast speed was that my activity was hidden from my ISP, which meant that it couldn’t throttle my bandwidth. Wherever you are, you can quickly download torrents with ExpressVPN.
Its robust security features keep you well protected when torrenting. AES-256 bit encryption is the strongest encryption level available and ensures that hackers can’t intercept your traffic. Meanwhile, its kill switch — called “Network Lock” — cuts off your connection if it unexpectedly drops, so your data can’t be exposed accidentally. In short, your data won’t fall into unwanted hands while using torrent sites.
ExpressVPN’s kill switch is great for torrenting
If you only want to encrypt part of your traffic, you can do that with ExpressVPN’s split tunneling feature. Split tunneling allows you to choose which apps will be routed through your VPN and which ones will be routed through your ISP. This means you can conserve your bandwidth, as only a part of your internet traffic will go through the VPN. For example, you could use split tunneling to encrypt your torrenting activity while using your banking app with no encryption.
A minor downside of ExpressVPN is that it doesn’t block ads when browsing torrent sites, which are often riddled with annoying pop-ups. However, it’s highly compatible with numerous ad blockers and recommends a few on its site. If you go to the site right now, then you can also get 49% off your subscription.
You can also try ExpressVPN completely risk-free, as it’s backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don’t like it, you can easily get a full refund. I was eager to test this policy, so I canceled my subscription on day 30 by contacting customer support through 24/7 live chat. They asked me a couple of questions for their records before proceeding with my refund, which I received after 3 business days.
2. IPVanish — Unlimited P2P Connections When Torrenting
Unlimited P2P connections mean no restrictions when torrenting
Military-grade encryption and advanced protocols keep you safe on torrent sites
Strict no-logs policy keeps you anonymous when torrenting
Split tunneling to choose which traffic to encrypt
Unlimited simultaneous device connections
IPVanish’s servers are all P2P optimized, which means you can torrent without any limitations. This includes no limits on bandwidth, the number of servers you can access, the number of times you can connect to a server, or the type of content you can download. When I tested its US and UK servers, I was able to download several torrents from RARBG and 1337x without any issues.
It encrypts your data with military-grade encryption and offers several advanced protocols to keep you safe on torrent sites. These protocols include OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, and IKEv2/IPSec. I recommend using OpenVPN because it’s one of the fastest encryption protocols in the market, so it offers a good balance between security and speed. IPVanish also offers an automatic kill switch, which is quite handy too since it stops your data from being exposed accidentally.
IPVanish comes with some robust security features
To keep you anonymous on torrent sites, IPVanish adheres to a strict no-logs policy. This means that it won’t record any of your online activity when browsing or downloading torrents on sites like The Pirate Bay and RARBG. This can help protect you from hackers who might be lurking around the torrent site you’re using.
What is inconvenient about IPVanish is that it doesn’t accept any cryptocurrency payments, which isn’t ideal for privacy enthusiasts. However, it accepts other payment methods like credit cards and PayPal, and even has a sale right now that lets you get 66% off your total subscription.
You can try IPVanish for free with its 30-day money-back guarantee, and if you find that it’s not for you, you can always get a refund. To get a refund, I simply navigated to my account’s dashboard, clicked on the Subscription tab, then on “I wish to cancel my subscription”. I didn’t even have to give a reason for canceling. Even though my confirmation email said I’d get my money back in 7 days, I had all my money back in just 2 days.
Try IPVanish Now!
3. CyberGhost — Robust Ad and Malware Blocker for Extra Protection
Ad blocker for Windows and Android that block ads on torrent sites
7, 260 servers in 90 countries, including optimized servers for P2P sharing
AES 256-bit encryption and multiple security protocols to secure your connection
Split tunneling to conserve bandwidth when torrenting
7 simultaneous device connections
45-day money-back guarantee
Compatible with Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, Roku, gaming consoles, and more
CyberGhost’s ad blocker makes it a great choice when using torrent websites. When I turned it on, it significantly reduced the number of pop-ads on sites like YTS, RARBG, and 1337x and blocked several banner ads. This is great for privacy, too, because third parties won’t be able to target you with ads based on your browsing activity.
CyberGhost has its own ad blocker for Windows and Android
It also has over 7, 260 servers in 90 countries, including specialized servers for torrenting. These servers are designed to keep you safe when torrenting and increase your download speeds by not throttling your bandwidth. When I tried a couple of its torrenting servers, I noticed a significant increase in speeds when downloading torrents.
By using its AES 256-bit encryption and advanced protocols, you’ll keep yourself well protected on torrent sites. The world’s leading security agencies use AES-256 bit encryption to protect sensitive data. I liked being able to choose between so many different protocols, like OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2. WireGuard is my favorite because it keeps you well protected without affecting download speeds.
The main downside with CyberGhost is that its short term plans are expensive. However, longer term plans are super-affordable. If you go to its website right now, you can take advantage of its current deal and save 83%.
Also, you can test it for free with a 45-day money-back guarantee and receive a refund at the end of the period. I was curious to see if this policy was legitimate, so I asked customer support to cancel my subscription on the final day. They asked 1 question and then proceeded with my request. After 5 business days, I was fully refunded.
Try CyberGhost Now!
Tips on Choosing the Best VPN for Torrent Sites and Torrenting
Always make sure to look for the following features when choosing a VPN for torrenting:
Military-grade encryption — This level of encryption is impossible to penetrate, which means that third parties can’t intercept your connection and exploit your data. It’s used by leading security agencies and takes several lifetimes to decrypt.
Strict no-logs policy — Some VPNs are known to sell your data to third parties, which is far from ideal when torrenting. Therefore, it’s best to use a VPN that has a proven track record of not keeping logs and has been independently audited.
P2P optimized servers — Choose a VPN that has either specialized servers for torrenting or enables P2P sharing on all its servers. This ensures that you can download torrents without any limitations.
Automatic kill switch — This acts as your last line of defense if your VPN connection suddenly drops. This means your private information is protected while torrenting, even if your VPN stops working momentarily.
Advanced protocols — Choosing the right protocol for torrenting is essential for both safety and speed. I recommend OpenVPN, as it offers excellent protection while hardly affecting your speeds. WireGuard is also a good choice due to its high-speed encryption. In fact, it can even boost your speeds while torrenting. However, keep in mind that it’s a new protocol, so it’s still undergoing testing.
Visit Torrent Sites Safely Today!
Quick Comparison Table: Best VPNs for Accessing Torrent Sites Safely
ExpressVPN
IPVanish
CyberGhost
Military-grade encryption
Yes
Ad and malware blocker
No
IP/DNS leak protection
OpenVPN protocol
Kill switch
Split tunneling
Only for Android and Amazon FireStick
Number of simultaneous devices
5
Unlimited
7
Unlimited bandwidth
Money-back guarantee
30 days
45 days
FAQs on The Best Torrent Sites
What are some of the best torrenting sites?
Some of the best torrent sites include The Pirate Bay, RARBG, 1337x, and YTS. All of these torrent download sites are well-established and have a vast torrent library with various types of content. Some of them, like The Pirate Bay and RARBG, also verify torrents to make sure they’re trustworthy.
If you’re looking for the best torrent sites for a particular form of content, then refer to the below:
Movies — YTS. It has a wide range of high-quality movies. The files are also small without compromising picture quality, so you can download them quickly.
TV Shows — EZTV. Extensive collection of TV shows in either HD or 1080p. It
How to Unblock Torrent Sites (Pirate Bay & More) – CyberWaters
If you can’t access torrent websites, you have options to get around these blocks. While many countries and internet service providers (ISPs) across the globe engage in a variety of torrent blocking tactics, unblocking these pages isn’t difficult. From VPNs to seedboxes, many services not only allow you to unblock torrenting sites but can also keep you safe when downloading. There are also free methods that enable you to unblock popular torrenting sites without much effort. So if you live in India, are sick of torrent blocking at your university, or your ISP doesn’t let you visit The Pirate Bay, use one of the below methods and start downloading today! How Are Torrent Sites Blocked? Why Are Torrent Sites Blocked? The Best Methods For Unblocking Torrenting Sites:Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)Proxy ServerChange DNS ServerSeedboxesTOR BrowserWhat Are the Best Active Torrent Sites? The Best Way to Unblock Torrenting SitesHow Are Torrent Sites Blocked? There are a few different techniques used by ISPs to block access to torrenting sites. Depending on the method being employed, the route you’ll need to take to unblock the site could vary. That being said, the most efficient way to unblock torrenting sites is by using a VPN as it’s able to bypass any imary torrent blocking methods used by ISPs:DNS Blocking: When you try to visit the URL of a torrent site, your ISP’s DNS server will either redirect you to an incorrect IP address or ignore the Blocking: IP addresses that originate from specific geographic locations can be blocked from accessing certain websites by an Packet Inspection (DPI): ISPs use DPI to analyze data packets coming from your network. By doing this, it’s able to see the websites you’re attempting to access and block you from using rewall: Your ISP can block all outbound and inbound connections to torrenting sites using a firewall. This is often the method used for torrent blocking at BitTorrent Ports: Traditionally, BitTorrent uses TCP ports 6881 to 6889 for file transfers. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for ISPs to throttle or block these ports. Fortunately, simply changing the port used by your torrent client can quickly get around Are Torrent Sites Blocked? The reason many countries, universities, and ISPs block access to torrenting sites is due to the common practice of sharing copyright-protected content on these web pages. While not all torrents are illegal to download, pages such as The Pirate Bay, RARBG, and 1337x host loads of illegal files. Many times, these sites are blocked due to pressure from the copyright owners of this pirated material. Movie and music industries across the globe lose billions of dollars annually due to the sharing of pirated material, so it’s no surprise that they would advocate for torrent blocking. In some cases, whole countries have been compelled to block torrent sites. Such is the case in India, where Twentieth Century Fox and UTV Communications pressured courts to ban all major torrenting sites that hosted pirated material. Fortunately, a VPN can easily bypass these Best Methods For Unblocking Torrenting Sites:Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)The most effective way to unblock Pirate Bay, RARBG, LimeTorrents, and other popular websites is by using a VPN. A quality VPN can unblock torrenting sites no matter what method is being used to restrict access. However, in the case of DPI, not all VPNs are advanced enough to get around this blocking is the method used by China in order to block restricted content. A lot of VPNs fall short when it comes to unblocking sites when DPI is used. However, VPN services with obfuscation can bypass DPI blocks and can even get around the Great Firewall of China, the name used for the country’s advanced online top of allowing you to unblock torrenting sites, VPN also protects you from the potential fines and penalties that come with downloading copyrighted material. By encrypting your traffic, it effectively hides your online activities from governments, law enforcement, corporations, and your ISP. This is essential if you want to download torrents vantages of using a VPN for torrenting:Can unblock torrenting sitesCan unblock any other geo-restricted contentHides torrenting from ISPCan bypass throttlingVery secureResistant to IP blocking due access to thousands of serversAllows private browsingDisadvantages of using a VPN for torrenting:Good and secure services cost moneyNot all VPNs support P2P trafficDownload and Upload Speeds might be slightly affectedProxy ServerSimilar to a VPN, a proxy server can hide your IP address and connect you to a site that’s being blocked. When you use a proxy, your traffic is sent through an intermediary server which then directs you to the blocked content. However, there are a few problems with this one, it may not be enough to access torrenting sites when advanced blocking techniques such as DPI are being utilized. Additionally, your traffic either won’t be encrypted or the encryption that is used will generally be ineffective at anonymizing your activities. Proxies are only good for accessing blocked torrent sites but do nothing to hide the files you’re downloading. This lack of anonymity leaves you vulnerable to fines and prosecution when downloading copyrighted you’d like to go this route, you can use a free web proxy service such as 4everproxy. Simply paste the address of the website you’d like to unblock into a text box, hit enter, and you should be able to access it through the service’s web vantages of using a Proxy for torrenting:Can unblock torrenting websitesCan unblock any geo-restricted contentFree most of the timeDisadvantages of using a Proxy for torrenting:Can not be used to hide torrenting activitiesBrowsing is not privateCan not bypass more sophisticated blocking like DPISometimes can be very unsafeChange DNS ServerThis method is only effective if the reason you can’t access torrent websites is due to DNS blocking. Additionally, this will only unblock torrenting sites and will not hide your traffic. Therefore, it’s useless if you want to download copyright-protected material safely. Google Public DNS is a good option when changing your DNS change your DNS server settings to Google Public DNS on Windows 10, take the following steps:Go to Network and Internet and click on Change Adapter SettingsRight-click on the connection you would like to configure and choose PropertiesUnder the Networking tab, choose Internet Protocol Version Version 4 (IPv4) and go to its PropertiesClick Use the following DNS server addresses and enter 8. 8. 8 or 8. 4. 4 If you’re using macOS, you’ll want to use the same DNS server addresses under the DNS tab located at Apple menu > System Preferences > edboxesSeedboxes are a good option if you tend to download tons of torrents, use private trackers that require a high share ratio, or would like your torrents to download fast. Essentially, a seedbox is a private network that you can download your torrents to extremely quickly (anywhere from 100Mbps to 10Gbps). You can then download the file to your personal computer from the like a VPN, a seedbox can gain you access to torrenting sites, mask your IP address, and hide your online activities. However, unlike a VPN, a seedbox’s primary purpose is for downloading and seeding ditionally, VPNs allow you to change your IP and location whenever you’d like, with a seedbox, you’re stuck using its network’s address. That means if your seedboxes IP ends up blocked, you’ll need to get a new BrowserThe Tor browser hides your IP address by moving your traffic across its global network of servers. This makes tracking your online activities much more difficult and can effectively unblock torrenting sites. It’s a great way to access otherwise blocked sites and quickly download the torrent files you need, but it won’t hide your traffic when actually downloading the file. To hide the fact you’re downloading a torrent itself, you’ll still want to use a VPN. TOR also slows your internet speeds down quite a access torrent sites using TOR, you’ll need to use its onion domain name rather than the traditional URL. The onion domain for a couple of popular torrenting sites are:Unblock The Pirate Bay with Tor: Torrentz2 with Tor: Are the Best Active Torrent Sites? While there are a ton of torrent sites available, these pages are notorious for going down regularly, hosting malicious ads, and having unreliable or unsafe content. Therefore, if you want to download torrents, stick to the list below:RARBG — One of the most popular torrenting sites around. Great for new movies, television shows, and Pirate Bay — The largest and oldest torrent page that’s still commonly used. You can find new and classic movies, including Bollywood hits, tons of music, software, ebooks, and much more. 1337x — Another popular site with a large library of music, movies, games, anime, and — A safe place to download HD quality movies compressed into small file meTorrents — Excellent website for international movies, such as Bollywood, Chinese, and Japanese films. With over 10 million torrents, you can find just about everything Best Way to Unblock Torrenting SitesWithout question, the best all-around method for unblocking torrenting sites and downloading safely is to use a VPN. Good PVN services allow you to download as many torrents as you’d like, from wherever you’d like, and all while keeping your traffic 100% private. They also protect you while surfing the web and have uses far beyond simply unblocking next best choice would be a seedbox. Seedboxes allow you to download torrents quickly and anonymously regardless of ISP blocks. The other options also work to get around torrent blocking, but they lack the anonymity that’s essential when downloading copyright-protected material.
Is Torrenting Illegal? – All You Need To Know About Torrenting! | Techjury
Is Torrenting Illegal?
Torrenting is often associated with internet piracy and copyright infringement. The open access to high volumes of free music, movies and games just raises a red flag, doesn’t it?
Is torrenting illegal? How exactly does this tech work? And should you use it to download content from the web for free?
The answers to these questions aren’t as straightforward as you’d imagine.
So, we’ll begin with the basics and cover everything from what torrenting is to how to use it safely.
And once we answer it all, you may view this technology beyond its general reputation.
Now, let’s start!
What Is Torrenting?
Torrenting is the act of downloading and uploading files through the BitTorrent network. This is a communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing, which enables data exchange in a decentralized manner.
Now, in layman’s terms:
Basically, torrenting is like other forms of downloading, but the way you get files isn’t as clear-cut as it usually is. And also, you have more freedom when it comes to sharing your own data.
When fetching data from an HTTP protocol, it comes from an advanced server designed to handle traffic from large numbers of people at the same time.
With torrent applications, things work a bit differently.
Rather than being stored in one place, files you download come from hundreds of servers or even more. What’s even more unusual is that they’re almost exclusively personal computers. This means advanced hardware takes no part in this type of data exchange.
How did it all start?
The beginning was 20 years ago when a programmer, Bram Cohen, came up with a new way to transfer large files. It was a response to the incredibly slow internet at the time, which couldn’t facilitate large data moves.
Now that you know what torrenting is, it’s time to come up with an answer to the question – how does torrenting work?
How Does Torrenting Work?
Downloading files via peer exchange may sound confusing. In reality, the entire concept isn’t that difficult to grasp.
So, what’s the first thing you’re supposed to do when downloading something this way?
Well, first, you need either a torrent file or a magnet link to click on.
The former is a file on your computer that uses the. torrent filename extension and starts the download process upon a double click. The latter is a link that contains all the information your client needs to start scraping the file right away.
This sends out a request for the file you want, and your program tries to locate it on other computers running their file-sharing software.
Therefore, you can access data from more than just one place. So, when you download torrent films, for example, each file comes in bits and pieces from different users.
When you start downloading something, your torrent will choose from which servers to gather data. It’ll do so based on where it can find the file parts you need.
The transfer load is distributed between computers exchanging files to ensure no one’s bandwidth gets overloaded.
Let’s look at an example.
We’ll imagine you decided to share a 500MB file from your computer in a traditional manner. In case 1, 000 people try to get it from you, all at the same time, it would exhaust your upload bandwidth entirely. The result — everyone’s torrent app will have to spend hours trying to download it.
Torrents eliminate issues like this with a simple solution. They let users scrape pieces of data from multiple places with that specific file (a. k. a. the swar) until they get the full version. The absence of a central server means no one’s internet will suffer an enormous decrease in speed. And the users downloading the file will still get it at the end of the process.
Even if the original sharer stops distributing it, other users can still do it once they complete the download. That’s because of the peer-to-peer foundation of BitTorrent.
So, unless you change the preferences in the program you use, you’ll automatically share the computer file you’ve downloaded with users online.
This completes the cycle and ensures the original file remains available to everyone.
How quickly does one obtain something this way often depends on the seeders vs leechers ratio.
Wondering what these two concepts are?
We’ll explain that as well.
Seeding
With most torrent programs, when you download a file, you automatically become a seeder. This means other users can scrape it from you whenever you’re online.
Of course, you can stop seeding whenever you want to.
Just keep in mind that zero seeds mean it’s impossible to download the file.
Leeching
In the world of torrenting, people who download data from servers without seeding it are called leechers.
Some scrape more than they upload, while others upload absolutely nothing once they get the file they want.
Is Torrenting Safe and How to Torrent Safely?
BitTorrent is best known as a place for pirate movies, games, music, and other types of content.
This is something ISPs are aware of, which is why you may often hear the question “is torrenting safe? ”
It’s just that there’s so much copyrighted content floating online, and it’s so easy to get access to it. Quite often, ISPs send warning letters and links to anti-piracy educational resources when they identify BitTorrent users.
While the practice should be approached with caution, it’s not as unsafe as it may seem.
Depending on where you’re based, the worst thing that can happen is your provider reducing your bandwidth or suspending your account.
If you don’t want that to happen, you’re probably wondering how to torrent safely.
The good news is that protecting your privacy when downloading files isn’t difficult. You can do it even if you don’t have any special computer skills.
Also, you can choose between two common tools for doing so — VPN and Proxy.
VPN
If you don’t want anyone to know that you’re downloading content using BitTorrent, you can change your virtual location.
And how do you do that?
The answer is — using a VPN.
This little tool can make it appear as if you were browsing the internet from a different city, state, or country.
In addition, it can encrypt all the traffic passing through the tunnel, ensuring you stay safe when downloading.
That’s why VPN and torrenting go hand in hand.
We have a list of the best VPN services for torrenting, including some big names like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, PIA, Surfshark, and more.
Proxy
Proxy also ensures you stay safe when torrenting It also changes your IP address, but it substitutes it with its own.
That way, your privacy remains intact, and you don’t even have to show your actual IP.
If you opt to download data this way, you can check out our list of the best proxy server services for this year.
Now’s time to answer the big question – Is torrenting illegal?
When you think about it, it will make sense that this type of file transfer isn’t allowed. After all, it’s most commonly used to share copyrighted content with other internet users.
However, the tech behind BitTorrent hasn’t been designed specifically for this use. Therefore, there’s nothing illegal in torrenting itself.
But if you download unsanctioned copyrighted material, you break the law.
This also isn’t as clear as you’d imagine. There’s a lot of a gray area about what’s legal to torrent and what isn’t.
Still, even if you download something that obviously isn’t allowed, there’s a big chance you won’t be held responsible. This depends on your location, though.
For example, some countries have fines for all types, including movies, TV shows, and music torrenting.
These countries are:
Germany
France
Great Britain
Finland
Japan
UAE
If you plan to download something while in one of these countries, using a VPN is an absolute must.
But there’s more…
Some countries have a different policy against torrenting. Here’s a list of those that have a history of shutting down these types of sites:
US
Italy
Portugal
Russia
Latvia
China
Malaysia
Australia
South Africa
Many internet users aren’t aware of how it all works. That’s why we’ll check out another example.
For instance, is torrenting illegal in the USA?
Using this type of file transfer isn’t illegal in the USA. You can safely share data this way and not worry about breaking the law.
However, the moment you upload or download something copyrighted, your actions become subject to a fine.
And is torrenting illegal in other places around the world?
In many other countries, the answer is yes. However, depending on where you are, the fines are rarely imposed, meaning that in most of them you can freely download/share any type of content.
Even in that case, using a VPN or Proxy is a good idea.
Do’s and Don’ts of Torrenting Use
So, what should you and shouldn’t do when torrenting?
Let’s take a look!
Do Use a VPN or Proxy
Earlier, we talked about what both of these are. Therefore, you already know how they can shield your privacy when downloading.
Even if you don’t plan on picking up anything copyrighted, ensuring torrent anonymity is a good idea. When using a VPN or Proxy, you know no one has a clue that it was you who downloaded something.
Plus, many of these services have extra security features that can come in handy.
Do Choose Torrent Sites Carefully
Torrenting is way more popular than it may seem. There are plenty of websites where you can go to and start downloading content.
Unless you want to risk downloading infringing files, you should be very careful about what site you use.
The best thing you can do is find one that adheres to all laws and get your data from there. Vuze, Inc., for example, has a zero-tolerance policy for copyrighted content.
Do Be Careful When Seeding
Another important part of how to torrent safely is to be careful when seeding.
Whether you’re just seeding or want to share data, you have to know what you’re doing. The last thing you want to do is click on that “upload file” button and break some sort of law.
Don’t Use PirateBay
PirateBay has a bulk of content that’s just waiting to be downloaded.
However, it’s one of the places that expose you to an abundance of torrents monitored closely for infringement.
Unless you have plenty of experience with this tech, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere for content that’s not copyrighted.
Don’t Upload Your Own CD Rips
This might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many people engage in movie torrenting by uploading their own CD rips. Whatever type of computer file formats you have on original CDs or DVDs, sharing it this way can get you in trouble.
Even if you live in one of the countries where torrenting is legal, you don’t want to get copyrighted material out there.
What Happens if You’re Caught Pirating?
While torrenting is legal, downloading and sharing content someone else has protected isn’t. Digital piracy does come with consequences that vary depending on where you live.
We already mentioned earlier that ISPs pay attention to what type of data you’re transferring using torrent. When they detect that you’re engaging in illegal activities, they can send you a warning or even reduce your bandwidth.
But that’s not the only reason why torrenting without VPN or Proxy isn’t recommended.
In some countries, you can earn a fine just for downloading a movie from using this tech.
For example, in Germany, this penalty can go all the way up to €1, 000.
In the US, copying data and sharing it with programs like µTorrent can even lead to imprisonment and/or a $250, 000 fine.
That’s why you have to be extremely careful what kind of data you’re working with when using this tech. Also, you should only engage in torrenting with VPN or Proxy.
Is Torrenting Illegal? – Conclusion
So, the act of torrenting itself is 100% legal. All you do is transfer data differently than you do with a standard HTTP protocol. You can use torrent programs to download and share files with other users.
However, the moment you start transferring copyrighted data, you’re breaking the law. Based on your location, fines for that can be extremely high and even involve jail time.
This only shows how careful you have to be when downloading with torrents.
Some countries don’t impose any rules against piracy, but knowing what kind of content you’re handling is always a good idea.
We highly recommend VPN or Proxy set up just in case.
Frequently Asked Questions about blocked torrenting sites
Can you go to jail for Torrenting?
Can You Go To Jail for Torrenting? As long as you only transfer data that isn’t copyrighted, you can’t go to jail nor pay a fine for sharing data this way. … If torrenting is illegal in your country and you get caught downloading copyrighted content, you may be charged with a fine or even a prison sentence.Oct 4, 2021
Is Torrenting still safe 2020?
Downloading torrents can be a dangerous business — every time you download a torrent using an unprotected internet connection, you’re taking a big risk. Without proper protection, you could infect your device with malware, spyware, and viruses.Oct 7, 2021
What is the best Torrenting site?
Best torrent sitesThe Pirate Bay – Best overall torrent site.RARBG – Great torrent site with an active community.1337X – Awesome torrent site for movies, tv-series and music.Torrentz2 – The best choice for music torrents.YTS – Our recommended torrent website to download HD movies.More items…