5 Ways to Unblock a Torrent When It’s Not Working – MakeUseOf
There’s a worldwide war against torrents right now. Content-makers and copyright holders are trying their best to shut down access to torrent hosting websites. Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) are under pressure to block all torrent activity.
In a world where you don’t need to be a pirate anymore, blocking the illegal download of copyrighted works should no doubt be stopped. But blocking the act of torrenting, which can also have legitimate purposes, isn’t the right way to go about it.
Here’s how you can unblock any torrent connection.
Note: MakeUseOf doesn’t condone the illegal use of torrents. Using the following sites for illegal purposes is done entirely at your own risk. We assume no responsibility for any legal issues you may encounter.
A Simple Hack: Start on a Different Connection
The first workaround for blocked torrent connections is a simple hack. You’ll find yourself saying, “Why didn’t I think of this first? ”
A lot of ISPs and network firewalls (like those at offices or universities) apply only basic blocks. This basic block is restricting the first point of connection to a site or torrent, so you’ll need to bypass this firewall.
So, to bypass it start your torrent on a different connection, like by tethering to your phone’s internet data. Once the torrent starts downloading, switch back to the “blocked” Wi-Fi and it will continue downloading.
This method doesn’t work if the firewall is a little more advanced, but you’ll be surprised how often that’s not the case. Try it out, you might have the easiest workaround with this hack.
1. Change the DNS Server to Unblock Websites
Often, the only block that your ISP implements is at the DNS level. The DNS, or Domain Name System, translates IP address numbers into website names. By default, you are using the DNS server controlled by your ISP. If you switch that to a public DNS, you will solve your problem.
The most popular free public DNS servers are:
Google DNS: 8. 8. 8 | 8. 4. 4
OpenDNS: 208. 67. 222. 222 | 208. 220. 220
Comodo DNS: 8. 26. 56. 26 | 8. 20. 247. 20
You can change your DNS server in network settings, and you’ll soon be able to access all those blocked websites.
On Windows: Go to Network Device and right-click > Click Properties > IPv4 Properties, and then change the DNS servers and click OK.
On macOS: Go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > DNS, and add the new DNS servers, and click OK.
On Linux: Click the Network applet > Edit Connections > Edit > IPv4 Settings > Automatic (DHCP) addresses only > DNS Servers, and add each new address separated by a comma.
2. Use a Free VPN to Unblock Websites
If you aren’t comfortable messing around with network settings, an alternative method to unblock websites is to use a VPN. A VPN, or virtual private network, masks your IP address’ origin.
Basically, you are shown as accessing the internet from a different country, where that site isn’t blocked. And so you can see it.
For this, you can use a few reliable free VPN services, but they usually limit the monthly data download. There are a few other unlimited free VPNs, but they have their own hidden costs.
Remember, we are only using this VPN to access blocked sites and download torrent files or magnet links. (See apps to convert info hashes to magnet links if you’re unfamiliar with these terms. ) You shouldn’t actually download the whole torrent over such free VPNs.
I would recommend using ProtonVPN, since the company does not store any logs of what its users access, and is transparent about data-sharing requests from companies.
3. Use a Premium VPN to Download Torrents
Unblocking a website is the easy part. But some ISPs or institutional firewalls are more devious in their blocks. Your torrents simply won’t start on such networks. That’s when you need to bring out the big guns and use a paid VPN service for torrenting.
Paid VPNs have fewer restrictions and will usually encrypt your data too. They also don’t log your activity on the network. Set it up on your computer or on your router, and you can access and download torrents easily.
We recommend ExpressVPN and CyberGhost, both tried-and-tested services that are excellent for torrenting. Use this link to get three FREE months when you sign up for one year of ExpressVPN.
4. Use ZbigZ or a Premium Seedbox
Seedboxes are the new big thing in the world of torrents. A Seedbox is a virtual server that lets you upload and download torrents. You can then download or upload torrents to your seedbox from your computer. Think of it as Dropbox for torrents.
Why are seedboxes popular? Seedboxes transfer data to your computer using the same method that any website transfers data to your computer. This means a network administrator cannot block a seedbox since that would mean blocking all web access.
Seedboxes are usually paid, but there is one popular free app called ZbigZ. The free account has some restrictions, like a 150 KBps download limit, 1GB maximum file size, two files in storage at any time, and a seven-day expiry.
Paid seedboxes do away with most of these limitations, or give different limits based on your plan. The easiest torrent-oriented seedboxes are RapidSeedbox and
If you’re comfortable setting up your own virtual private server or VPS, then DediSeedbox and UltraSeedbox are the recommended options.
5. Use Port 80 (But It’s Slow)
Unfortunately, some ISPs block ports and port-forwarding used by common torrent applications. If you don’t want to pay for a seedbox, you can use the same idea for free.
Port 80 is the default port for all HTTP data transfer, so it’s never blocked by network admins. All you need to do is set up your torrent application to use port 80 only.
Go to the application’s network preferences, and uncheck “Random Ports” first. Then set Port 80 as the port, and test to make sure it works. Finally, uncheck the boxes for UPnP and NAT-PMP, and you’re good to go.
Be warned, this will slow down torrent speeds drastically. It’s the slowest of all the options here, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.
Your Choice of Torrent Client Matters
Torrents get a bad reputation because of how closely associated they are with piracy. But there are several legal uses for BitTorrent, from downloading ISOs of new operating systems to large video game updates.
But even if you are using torrents legally, you still need a good client. And no, that does not mean uTorrent.
In fact, uTorrent has had a host of problems over the past few years, including security vulnerabilities, bloatware, and serving ads. Instead, go for one of these best torrent clients to replace uTorrent.
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Mihir Patkar
(1271 Articles Published)
Mihir Patkar has been writing on technology and productivity for over 14 years at some of the top media publications across the world. He has an academic background in journalism.
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Windows defender is blocking every single torrent software I try to install …
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uTorrent Continues to be Flagged as ‘Severe Threat’ and It’s Not alone
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Popular BitTorrent client uTorrent is again being flagged as problematic by anti-virus vendors. This includes Microsoft’s Windows Defender, which simply removes the application from the operating system. According to reports, the software is categorized as ‘riskware, ‘ ‘malware, ‘ and ‘potentially unwanted software. ‘ In addition to uTorrent, rival client qBitTorrent is also facing similar problems.
Installed on dozens of millions of devices, uTorrent remains the go-to torrent client for people all around the world.
Research last year showed that roughly two-thirds of all BitTorrent users prefer it over the many available alternatives.
In 2018, the uTorrent team released a “Web” version of the software. For now, however, most users still prefer the standalone client. That is, if they manage to run it without anti-virus vendors getting in the way.
uTorrent Malicious?
Over the past few years, uTorrent has been repeatedly flagged as ‘malicious’ software. This issue flared up again recently and at the time of writing several anti-virus tools, including Windows Defender and Malwarebytes, label the torrent client as dangerous.
We ran the latest installer through a Virustotal scan which shows that uTorrent is flagged by 19 separate companies. The reasons differ from “riskware, ” through “cMine, ” to “bundled installer. ”
Microsoft, for example, categorizes uTorrent as a “Potentially Unwanted Application” (PUA). In fact, the company has had a dedicated uTorrent page in its malware database for years, labeling the software as a severe threat.
Potentially Unwanted Software
While the exact nature of the problem may vary, “potentially unwanted software” is a recurring theme. The term unwanted is broad can range from changing browser settings to installing third-party tools without permission. According to Microsoft, this is not the same as malware.
That doesn’t mean that the impact isn’t real. We have heard from several people who had uTorrent removed from their systems recently, and are unable to re-install it. Several of these complaints appear on social media as well, with people looking for advice.
qBitTorrent is Unwanted Too
Interestingly, uTorrent isn’t the only torrent client being flagged as potentially unwanted software. Earlier this month qBitTorrent was added to Microsoft’s malware database as well. While it’s not malware, but a PUA, Windows Defender actively blocks and removes the software.
This has resulted in numerous complaints on Reddit as well as the qBitTorrent GitHub page, with people sharing similar experiences.
“Windows Defender keeps silently removing the software despite being explicitly allowed on the machine, ” athelas64 writes. “After allowing the quarantined software, qBittorrent works…. until the next restart. ”
Another commenter wonders whether this is an organized action against torrent clients. This is not unlikely as many other torrent clients are being flagged as unwanted software as well. In fact, Microsoft itself suggests as much.
All Torrent Clients Are Unwanted?
In a background article on what’s considered unwanted software, torrent clients are specifically mentioned, along with advertising software and cryptominers. The article suggests that it applies to “enterprise” only, but the complaints we have seen apply to other Windows versions as well.
Microsoft’s article stresses that unwanted software isn’t the same as malware, but that isn’t mentioned in its own malware encyclopedia. Also, Windows Defender classifies PUAs as a ‘severe threat’.
When we ran uTorrent through the Virustotal scan many red flags appeared but qBitTorrent is pretty much clean. This suggests that Microsoft’s blocking could simply be due to the fact that it’s a torrent client, nothing else.
Although we do not recommend ignoring anti-virus warnings, there are ways to install uTorrent and qBitTorrent without running into trouble. One option is to disable the PUA protection in Windows, which can be done in a few clicks. Alternatively, users can simply switch to third-party anti-virus protection, which disables Windows Defender.
We have asked the uTorrent and qBitTorrent teams for a comment on our findings but, at the time of writing, they have yet to respond.
Microsoft informed TorrentFreak that torrent clients are indeed blocked as PUA’s on enterprise machines. However, there are other PUA criteria that may block the applications in other environments.
“We detect torrent applications for enterprise machines per our PUA criteria. Other criteria may trigger the detection of these applications on a consumer platform or the environment in which the detection is happening may be considered an enterprise environment, ” a Microsoft spokesperson informed us.
Frequently Asked Questions about unblock utorrent
How do I unblock uTorrent on Windows security?
I got U Torrent working again perfectly using the following:Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection.Under Virus & threat protection settings, select Manage settings, and then under Exclusions, select Add or remove exclusions.More items…
Is uTorrent blocked?
Popular BitTorrent client uTorrent is again being flagged as problematic by anti-virus vendors. This includes Microsoft’s Windows Defender, which simply removes the application from the operating system. According to reports, the software is categorized as ‘riskware,’ ‘malware,’ and ‘potentially unwanted software.Mar 18, 2021