The Role and How VPNs Work for Safe Torrenting

These days, it can seem like an impossible task to keep your online activities private. This is especially true when you are torrenting. ISPs and government agencies that monitor copyright infringement are not happy with torrent-style file sharing.

But what if you still want to use torrents, or if you have to? The answer is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN not only hides your traffic in a private tunnel, preventing outsiders from tracking you, but also encrypts your data for added protection.

Find out how torrenting works, whether a VPN really hides your torrenting activity, and whether using a VPN for torrenting is a good idea.

What is a torrent?

Torrents are a means of file sharing through decentralized peer-to-peer networks. Torrent files do not download the entire file directly from a single source. Instead, they are split into “packets” that are downloaded and uploaded simultaneously from multiple sources on the network. This method helps reduce network load and increase download speeds.

Torrents are a great way to share and download files efficiently. However, this decentralization has its drawbacks. Torrents are often used to share pirated content, which puts ISPs at risk and can consume a lot of bandwidth on their networks, which is why they are banned.

Additionally, downloading and sharing files from multiple sources via torrents can expose you to greater risks of malware and viruses. When using torrents, it is important to use a good VPN as well as a strong antivirus software to help mitigate these risks.

Some top services, like NordVPN, which I consider the best VPN for torrenting, offer all the privacy features you need for torrenting, as well as threat protection to prevent you from accidentally downloading malicious files. However, these are only basic protections and should not be considered a replacement for your antivirus software.

How a VPN Hides Your Torrenting Activity

First of all, I absolutely do not condone the act of sharing pirated content via torrents. Torrents should be used as a convenient way to distribute large files such as open source software packages. However, a VPN is the best way to keep your torrenting activities private. Here’s how to hide it:

In a typical home internet connection, your ISP can see all your online activities. As mentioned earlier, ISPs don’t like torrenting, regardless of the content you download, and frequent torrenting can slow down your internet speed. If you download content that you shouldn’t download and share, your ISP can see it and report your activity to the government, which can result in a copyright infringement notice and a hefty fine.

When you use a VPN, all your traffic is routed through the VPN’s private servers, not your ISP, so your ISP cannot access your activities while you’re connected. VPNs use encryption to create a private tunnel for your data. Most VPNs use military-grade AES-256 encryption protocol or similar for all data passing through their servers. This makes them unreadable to outsiders, which adds an extra layer of security, especially when downloading torrent files.

Finally, your traffic goes through a VPN server, so the IP address assigned to your computer by your ISP is changed to the VPN server address, making it impossible to track your activity.

Also, if a VPN adheres to a no-logs policy, no records of your activity are collected or stored, so no one can see them later. This is important, as requests for information on copyright infringements are the most common type of data sharing requests that VPN providers receive from law enforcement agencies.

Is a VPN necessary when using torrents?

Of course you should use it. Without a VPN, all your internet browsing and activities will be completely exposed to your ISP and other monitoring agencies.

If you don’t want your online activities to be unnecessarily monitored, it’s essential to protect yourself. A VPN is the best way to keep your online activities private and hidden from outsiders. Along with downloading torrent files from reputable sources and always using a reliable antivirus, a VPN is an essential tool to ensure safe and anonymous torrenting.
editor@itworld.co.kr