Why does everybody else use a VPN when torrenting?

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Many people, including me, have encountered numerous VPN ads while downloading something from a torrent website. The ads usually mention that the user’s privacy is at risk. Usually, I ignored these ads as I did not believe in them and assumed them as a marketing strategy.

But after some research, I discovered that our online torrent history is open to everyone. Anyone can search it up on google and quickly get access to it. Since then, it changed my mind about using the best torrenting VPNs, especially when downloading torrents.

Still, confused why? Let’s understand what Torrents really are:

All You Need To Know About Torrents

Torrents are files that are hosted on other people’s computers or servers. Since this is a P2P data transfer, no central server is required. Therefore, this activity can be tracked by almost anyone who downloads or follows the file’s downloaders.

When downloading torrents, there are seeders and leechers. Seeders are people who download the torrent and leave the torrent link, which allows quicker download speed for other downloaders, while leechers are people who download but close the link, which slows down the download speed.

Torrenting is an entirely legal activity, although torrenting copyrighted things like pirated games or software is illegal. In any way, we do not promote piracy or plagiarism.

Usually, torrenting is associated with piracy; that’s why this activity is strictly monitored by copyright holders who inform your ISP (Internet Service Provider) in case of any illegal activity. These authorities track you through your IP address.

To sum up, when you download a torrent, you can be tracked through your IP address. I believe that this might be an invasion of privacy. Imagine your whole torrent history open in front of the entire internet. I fear that thought; that’s why I prefer using a VPN.

How does a VPN protect you?

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is an encrypted connection over the internet that allows you to browse online without worrying about your privacy and security. Since it encrypts the data transmitted between the device and the network, the data is completely safe. 

This means that even your ISP cannot gain access to your data, as the server which transmits your data is in a different country. Hence your IP address changes. Although your ISP knows you are using a VPN, it will never know the transmitted online data.

Furthermore, there are free and paid VPNs. You might be thinking, what does a paid VPN do that a free VPN doesn’t? In reality, free VPNs are the worst for almost anything, and I am not exaggerating; they are definitely not safe. Let me tell you why.

Free VPNs collect and sell your data. Some of them even have malware in them. Moreover, they limit your download bandwidth; hence they are extremely slow, especially for torrents.

On the other hand, paid VPNs are entirely different. They value your privacy by ensuring robust encryption protocols and giving you more bandwidth, allowing faster downloads. Although some paid VPNs might sell your data, most of them don’t.

How Do I Choose a VPN?

Choosing a VPN is a tough decision. Many VPNs are just as good and popular, but you must determine what is best for you. However, there are some basic principles for choosing a VPN.

First and foremost, a VPN should have a good reputation and reviews. It must respect privacy and not keep any of your data from your online activity. Secondly, choose a VPN that will provide you with the highest bandwidth, allowing you faster download speeds.

A VPN should also have a kill switch. If the VPN connection drops for whatever reason, your internet connection will turn off rather than connecting with the network with your actual IP address. This feature offers maximum protection even in unlikely circumstances.

I think these might be enough guidelines for choosing a VPN suitable for you. Now, if you have chosen your VPN, then congratulations. You are good to go for downloading files online.

Hopefully, now you know why people use VPNs and why you should too. Before I did my research, I used to download torrents without a VPN, and until now, I had no idea that my online torrent activity would be somewhere on the internet, seen by god knows how many people.

On the contrary, there are other ways to secure your data, like using a proxy server or a seedbox. Still, those methods have too many hassles, which is why VPN is the most feasible and easiest way to download torrents securely. 

Not just that, a VPN also helps bypass geo-restricted torrent files that may be unavailable in your region. This also includes streaming services Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more. 

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