Do you know what is torrent? How does torrent works? Is it legal to download torrent and share your content through torrent? What type of files you can download through torrent?
There are many offer similar question which you may have in your mind if you are downloading files through torrent and not sure about your online security where if you are a new person who did not download a file through torrent then you should concern these questions before you actually start downloading content through torrent free of cost.
The following article will cover all of your torrent-related questions including, we will share with you top tips which help you to download and upload torrent files without worrying about any law and legal issues. Your online security and privacy related to torrenting will be also covered in this section.
What is Torrenting?
Torrenting is not a software, website, or platform but it is a method through which you can download a file or upload a file to the world with the help of a torrent client like BitTorrent. The idea behind torrenting is to make online file sharing easy and most fast. When you download a torrent file, you are not actually downloading it from a specific server or torrent website but you are directly downloading it through someone else's operating system.
So if you simply ignore the technical definition and explanation of torrenting, then torrenting means to share and get (download) content with other users who have it with their permission. This content could be anything like movies, games, videos, music, audio files, books, software, and applications, etc. Anything digital things can be download through torrent.
What is BitTorrent?
BitTorrent is a popular torrent client, which means that it is software which helps you to download a torrent file and also helps you to create a torrent file.
BitTorrent does not itself has any of the hosted but it allows users to download and upload the file on a peer-to-peer file-sharing system and this has been done with the help of BitTorrent protocols. In other words, BitTorrent helps you to download a file from another user who has it in their operating system.
What Are Seeder and Leecher in Torrenting?
Seeder and leecher is advanced terminology of downloader and uploader which is used in torrenting. Basically, a person who is uploading the file on torrent so that other users can download it called seeder where the person who is downloading the file through torrent is called leecher.
The number of seeders are important in torrenting because they affect the downloading speed. You will get the most downloading speed if there would be more seeders with decent seeding speed.
What Kind of Files You Can Download Through Torrent?
You can download any type of file through torrent. Any types mean any type as long as it is available in the digital file type. The most common torrent files include movies, audio, videos, songs, music, eBooks, video games, applications, software, and other digital files, etc.
Is it Safe to Download Torrent?
This is a complicated question to answer because every country has its own rules and regulations regarding torrent.
Torrenting itself is not illegal in any part of the world but sharing and downloading illegal content or content without the permission of the real owner of the content is considered illegal in some countries like United States of America, Canada, Australia, and United Kingdom, etc. When I say illegal, it does not mean the content is banned by the government.
Illegal content basically means piracy in the torrent world. For example, if you are downloading a new release movie or an audio song, then you are actually downloading illegal content because this content should not suppose to be distributed for free and the same rule apply to other files like video games, eBooks and software, etc.
On the other hand, torrent is legal if you are downloading or distributing content through torrent which is own by you or freely available. Many people also use torrent to share large files with their friends and family to avoid any third-party cloud hosting services.
Is it Safe to Use BitTorrent?
You cannot download and upload a torrent file without sharing your IP address because your computer’s IP address provides a protocol to torrent client which allows you to download and upload torrent file because torrent is not uploaded on some online server but other users are downloading it directly through your computer.
The torrent itself is not dangerous regarding your online privacy and online security but the IP address which can be accessed by hackers through torrent can be dangerous.
Hackers use your IP address to get illegal access of your operating systems through which they can hack your computer and steal your private content as well. So, using BitTorrent without hiding your IP address is not safe for you especially if you are concern about your online privacy and security.
Read more, Is BitTorrent safe?
How to Download Torrent Safely?
There are two things which make you download torrent safely. Number one if to protect yourself from hackers where the second things are the law of country if it does not allow you to download torrent files. Although some countries where there is legal to download torrent, still has a restriction on torrent download.
Telecom companies who provide internet services usually blocked torrent networks and limit their users' monthly bandwidth due to which the downloading speed of torrent decreases and also users not able to download torrent files anymore. So, it is very necessary to find out ways which allow you to download torrent safely.
There are different ways through which you can download a torrent file safely, these different ways include proxies, VPNs and torrent guards. But none of them comes for free and have their own benefits and drawbacks.
VPN vs. Proxy vs. Torrent Guards
VPN stands for the virtual private network which allows you to surf the internet through a private server. By using VPN not only your IP address get changed but you able to access blocked content easily. Proxy works in the same way as VPN but it comes up with limited features where you need to put proxy details separately in BitTorrent to download torrent files anonymously.
Torrent Guard is a plug-in designed and developed by BitTorrent. The aim behind this plug-in is to protect your online privacy while you are downloading torrent file where this does not help you if you are browsing or doing any other activity other than torrenting.
These three come up with a different range of prices but if you compare them on the basis of features then you will found that VPN is more affordable where its work beyond just torrenting. VPN allows you to download torrent files safely because it changes your IP address through which it’s become impossible for hackers to track you.
Although there is no sacrifice with internet speed, in case if you got low downloading speed on a specific server then you can switch to other VPN servers. This option does not available in proxy and you have to sacrifice downloading speed, where torrent guards only work with the specific torrent client while you cannot bypass your online identity if you are doing other online activities.
Although other than just bypassing your IP address and downloading speed, the most important thing you need to consider about data logging when you are choosing among VPN, proxy and any other solution.
Read more, Running a Private Proxy and VPN Simultaneously.
Best VPN for Torrenting?
Sadly, there are very limited VPN companies that allow their users to download torrent files because torrenting affect the internet speed for other users who are not downloading torrent or only using VPN for web surfing.
So, finding a high-quality VPN which allow torrent downloading is necessary to enhance the torrenting experience. We have tested some of the top VPNs who allow you to download torrent files but we found that ExpressVPN is leading among all on the bases of their cheap prices, ultra-fast internet speed and other high quality features which does not only provides you a safe solution to download torrents but also allow you to do other online activities safely which includes web surfing, video call, voice call, and file sharing, etc.
Why ExpressVPN is the Best VPN for Torrenting?
ExpressVPN is among those VPN companies that allow their customers to download torrent files. But this is not the only thing that makes ExpressVPN unique from its competitors because data logging policy is what makes Express popular.
The company has a very clear data logs policy according to which they did not save any record of their customer’s online activities including data logs related to torrenting. Due to such a flexible and zero logs policy, ExpressVPN is leading in the market for torrent downloading.
Although, ExpressVPN works with all operating systems and devices including mobiles, laptops, and computers, etc. which means that you can download torrent files anywhere, anytime with ExpressVPN and their fast VPN servers.