Just because you use torrents doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a pirate. Using and downloading torrents isn’t illegal as long as you don’t get content that is copyrighted. Yes, among all the ruckus about banning torrent websites, people forget that there is even more legal use of torrents compared to illegal ones.
There are creatives who use torrents to distribute their work, big brands supporting BitTorrent’s for developers to save costs when transferring large amounts of data, and other companies permit you to download educational and historical files through torrent, too.
And what’s great about torrents is that it’s simple to use, though admittedly, it can get a bit confusing at the start. So, what are the factors to consider as you download torrents?
This guide will help you out!
Make sure you use a VPN
If you want to stay safe while using torrents, be sure that you use an excellent VPN service.
VPNs would encrypt data going in and out of your device. It also stops ISPs from tracking websites its users visit. That way, you can download torrents peacefully with complete privacy, so you have the freedom to use whatever website you want.
Furthermore, VPNs would stop websites from tracking your real IP address. Instead, the IP address of the VPN server will be detected, if someone would attempt to track you based on the torrents you download.
Select a good torrent client
When downloading torrents, you’ll need a torrent client. You can’t simply download torrents straight to your device, since files are sent in smaller parts from various locations. Torrent clients would manage those smaller parts, putting them together for you to receive the complete file after you finished downloading it.
There are many kinds of torrent clients to choose from, each having different features, functionality, navigability, and the like. It’s best to choose a torrent client that doesn’t take up too much space on your computer, has good features and is easy to use.
After installing a torrent client, you will also need to download and/or bookmark a tracker website, containing a list of torrent files to download. There are public and private tracker sites available.
Use legal torrents with many seeders
Something else to consider as you download torrents is to stick to downloading legal ones. It is very risky downloading illegal content using torrents, as copyright holders are likely to monitor and watch out for people sharing their content illegally. Fortunately, there are a lot of legal content people can download, such as older content or media that was released for free.
Besides this, it’s best to search and download your chosen torrents with a lot of seeders. This means that the torrent you will download is free from viruses and malicious threats. More seeders mean that more people have downloaded the torrent without issue or virus, sharing it with other people.
While more seeders don’t automatically mean a virus-free torrent, it can help narrow down your choices and download the right torrents.
Look at the comments
Torrent websites would allow users to leave comments, and this is a great way to see if the seeds and torrents are reputable. Seeds refer to active torrent clients that have access to the complete file and share it with peers. If those torrents are good, they would receive positive feedback from downloaders, making it easier to tell which is worth downloading.
You can find comments below the webpage of the torrent file you’re planning on downloading. Just make sure that, as you read the comments, you watch out for trolls that are either overly praising useless seeds or criticizing the legal ones.
Other than checking the comments, you can also consider joining torrent communities. You can find torrenting communities designed to preserve torrent quality. That way, you are less likely to come across torrents that carry malicious files, viruses, spam, malware, trojans, and the like.
Torrent communities will also teach you more about safe torrenting, such as the VPN services to use and security apps to install.
Install and use a good antivirus
Other than a VPN, you should also install a good antivirus program as you surf the net and download torrents. Hacker’s love hiding malware in torrent downloads, which would spread fast when other users download it.
A lot of cybercriminals are aware that the best way to victimize people is through hiding malware. Once a victim comes along, it’s easy to start exploiting the victims. Be sure to select a reputable antivirus software that offers all levels of security to keep your device and sensitive information secure.
Wrapping It Up
Downloading torrents is a very easy way to gain access to the files you want, though it can be risky if you don’t know how to do it. As long as you take the proper precautions and follow the right advice, you’ll be able to reap the advantages if offers. Just remember to use torrents only for legal purposes and avoid downloading illegal content that can get you in trouble!
Hopefully, this article showed you everything you need to know about torrenting. Be sure to keep these tips and information in mind as your torrent legal files. Good luck and enjoy!
Do you have questions or want to share your tips and experiences on downloading torrents? Share them in the comments section below, all of your thoughts will be greatly appreciated!
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