How to download torrented files safely

Learn more There are many ways to download movies, music, books, and software for free. Torrent streams are arguably the most popular way to do it. Read this wikiHow to learn how to download torrents.

Find a torrent tracker website. Search for your desired file. Download the file. Download the magnet link, if available. Install a torrent client.

Open the torrent file. Set the download location. Monitor the download. Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Tips and Warnings.

Related Articles. Article Summary. Author Info Last Updated: May 25, Part 1. There are a variety of websites that list torrents. Some are more reliable than others. There are two main types of torrent trackers: public trackers and private trackers.

Public trackers are available to anyone. These are the sites you will find when doing a web search for torrent trackers. Because of their public nature, many torrents are tracked by copyright holders, and downloading them can result in action from your internet service provider. Private trackers require invites. These sites are not accessible until you have been invited by another member.

They often have requirements, such as sharing an equal amount of what you download. Private trackers are much less likely to result in cease and desist letters from copyright holders. Most public trackers have every new show, movie, album, and game available, as well as popular old files. Use popular shorthand for finding the file you want. Download a well-populated torrent.

The speed at which you can download a torrent file is determined by the number of seeders available. A seeder is a torrent user that has the entire file available for downloading. Most torrent sites allow you to sort search results by the number of seeders. Look for files with a large number of seeders. Not only will you download it faster, but it is less likely that the file is fake or infected with a virus. The number of leechers will affect your download speed as well.

A leecher is a user that is downloading, but is not currently seeding. A leecher becomes a seeder when the full file has been downloaded. If there are significantly more leechers than seeders, the amount of bandwidth you receive will be lower, resulting in slower downloads. Choose a torrent with a good size versus quality.

These executable files usually execute an action once they are run, and hence, they easily transmit malicious data and viruses to your machine.

However, if you must download such files, then you must ensure that you first scan them with trusted antivirus software. Ideally, the size should be the same, and anything different a noticeable difference should be a sign of the file being corrupt. However, you should be aware that the hackers are also getting smarter each day , and they know you may want to check the size of the file before you download it.

Therefore, to ensure that you always stay a step ahead of them, ensure that you install an up-to-date antivirus as noted above as well as an anti-malware program. Besides, you should ensure that your antivirus is regularly updated alongside the device operating system and other applications on it. The million-dollar question that most people keep on asking is whether torrenting is legal or illegal. The answer is simple — torrenting alone is legal, but downloading copyrighted content is illegal.

Unfortunately, it can be challenging to differentiate legal content and illegal content at a glance. Therefore, you need to be careful while torrenting ; otherwise, you may get yourself in hot soup.

The thing worth keeping in mind is, what you share through torrents is what might get you in trouble in some countries and not the torrenting method itself. Basically, those who download and host the copyrighted material on their servers are the ones deemed illegal. Therefore, streaming or downloading content is not a big concern for copyright holders , but their major focus is on individuals uploading and hosting their content. With torrenting, any file you download you become the hoster, and hence you become the primary target.

Another common question people keep asking around torrents is whether you can get caught torrenting. Because they snoop around all those sites listing IP addresses under the downloaders and uploaders lists , which can eventually compromise your address.

Therefore, once your ISP spots torrent traffic, and realize that your IP address is illegally sharing a particular file, then you better know it can be more than a disaster recipe. Torrents being a major part of that ecosystem, it seems that no matter the consequences that are at stake while torrenting, people keep diving into it. A good VPN will let you roam freely and access unlimited torrents while being assured that your tracks are covered from big brother spying that has reached scary levels.

All based on the fact that it offers a plethora of torrent-friendly servers with fast speeds as well as unbreakable security. Moreover, a VPN helps to route your traffic via their servers, meaning that your IP address will be hidden from all the third-parties. So, VPNs are not only limited to BitTorrent traffic but also conceal the sources of other traffics on the connection. Consequently, a VPN will completely mask your online identity and make it almost yes, nearly as your ISP can still trace you in some cases impossible for anyone to track your activities.

All in all, as you can better understand now, you should consider a VPN to be your best friend while torrenting. Now you must be aware when torrenting is deemed legal and illegal. Also, you know about the risks of torrenting, as well as the effective ways that can help you torrent safely and privately.

However, as much as you may use all the precautions to the dot, the chances are that you can still get in trouble. Therefore, the first thing you should practice is being responsible for everything you want to download. This article has provided you with guidelines that will ensure you download the torrents responsibly without any problems. Now, it is time for you to act responsibly and use your common sense , too. And if you are caught torrenting, you can receive huge fines or even get asked to proceed to court.

The other risks could be exposing your personal data to hackers and getting your devices infected with malicious programs that may alter its functions. The good news is that you can torrent safely following simple methods such as using a VPN, installing quality antivirus, and above all being a responsible torrentor all you need to do is use your common sense.

Another cool trick myfastfile can do it streaming torrents. Just add the torrent to the Downloaded, let myfastfile download it for you and simply stream the whole thing without downloading it and needing to wait! So, the fastest way for you to watch a popular movie torrent is simply taking the magnet link, adding it to the downloader and pressing Stream.

All of that will take you 10 seconds if the torrent is already in the cloud. Old-school torrenting methods are oftentimes not as secure as you think they are. By moving everything to the cloud you not only replace your uTorrent, BitTorrent or any other torrent client on your computer with a good looking web UI, but also hide your IP address from anyone who tries to find it without the need to use an additional VPN or proxy.

Daniel's passion is optimizing stuff, making it work better and faster. He likes tech, entrepreneurship and the outdoors. Thanks a lot. Torrenting without vpn and I mean a paid one is just not a smart move. Also make sure to pick a safe torrent downloader like BitTorrent or uTorrent. The combo between a good vpn and a safe way to torrent will keep you protected and hide your ip from anyone, not just your isp. What are you using for torrenting?

Which is the safest torrenting program? Is it good and should I use it? Or should I use something else? Ok guys. Will take your advice and from now on torrenting without vpn is out of the question.

BitTorrent is probably the safest torrenting program out there. But, no matter what program you end up using try to also use a VPN for torrenting so you can stay safe. Is streaming illegal? Why do people do it? Can you make that much money from the ads shown on such sites? Do they earn so much money to make it ok for them. Or look for the movie on torrents, and using a safe torrent downloader, download the movie with a vpn and watch it. Torrenting without vpn is not good, always use one.

What do you guys think about torrenting without vpn? Is it that dangerous? Is that really needed? I have mixed feelings about this because I have friends that have been torrenting for years and nothing bad has happened to them. So, is it worth it to invest in a vpn and which is the best vpn for torrenting? Oh, and can I maybe use a free vpn for torrenting and if yes, which one would you recommend? You can use a free vpn for anything else but torrenting. But you should know that a free option will never be as good as a paid one.

Is torrenting on android safe? I just want to download a few movies and lots of music. Thanks and see you later, guys. Just go with a cheaper option and there are plenty of them, and make sure you are safe while torrenting. Thank you for the reply. Which is the best vpn for android from these two? Or is there another one that is better? Also, is there a safe torrent downloader that I should be using with this VPN? Well, Windscribe does cost less so you should probably try that and see how it goes.

I recommend you at least give it a test and see how it compares to Windscribe and any others. If I were you I would test them both, for a month and start with Windscribe. While neither of them is the best vpn for torrenting, they are probably both good with Surfshark being better I think.

Again, test, test and test some more and see for yourself. How do I hide my IP address when torrenting for free? Can I even do this when using a free vpn? And is it a safe way to download movies and music? Or if you want something really inexpensive just go for Windscribe which is a good option at a discounted price.

Torrenting without vpn is just madness and should be avoided especially since there are so many good, cheap options available right now. Which is the best vpn for torrenting? I wonder if Nord is a better choice overall or if ExpressVPN is worth the extra dollars you pay for it. Different people have different answers for your question. So which is the best vpn for torrenting? Either of them should do fine and as for the best one, you should be the judge of that.

Both are very good vpns in their own right, and the best vpn for torrenting, if you ask me, is NordVPN. Some people say ExpressVPN is better but I disagree because Nord has much more servers and you always have a lot of good ones to connect to when torrenting. It has a certain feeling to it that I enjoy. Is downloading movies illegal for personal use? I just want to watch them at home. Does that make it illegal?