Downloading a vpn for torrenting

And payment by Bitcoin is supported, too. In terms of security, ExpressVPN ticks all the right boxes with strong encryption, its own secure server DNS and a range of VPN protocols, while the privacy policy clearly states that they keep no activity logs and no connection logs.

We're glad to see effective kill switches for desktop and Android phones, although iOS doesn't have one specifically - you'll have to settle for an auto-reconnect option if you do most of your torrenting on iPhone or iPad. That leaves all other online activities, such as web browsing or online gaming, unaffected by the VPN. So too its independently audited no-logging policy. Price-wise, ExpressVPN costs more than other providers - although its now packing in the value with a whole year of Backblaze cloud backup thrown in with all annual subs.

Ultimately, it's certainly worth it for those who want the very best experience when torrenting via VPN. And the good news is that you TechRadar readers can get a little perk, too.

ExpressVPN has agreed to give readers three months extra free when you sign up. And don't forget about the no quibble day money back guarantee, too. In recent times particularly, Hotspot Shield has built its reputation on its market-leading speeds. Its brilliantly named Catapult Hydra protocol means that it can ramp up the connection speeds to a much faster Mbps than the mere OpenVPN can manage. So you know that having Hotspot running in the background won't reduce your torrents down to a sluggish download speed.

But honestly, barely any of the torrenting VPNs on this list will either. Luckily, Hotspot Shield has plenty more strings to its bow. We reckon that if you're a big torrenter, then you probably like the idea of streaming safely - and more expansively - as well. Hotspot Shield is the ideal streaming VPN , being able to pretty much get around all geo-restricted content that we threw its way. We found the ready availability of online support guides on how to safely torrent with Hotspot Shield somewhat lacking.

To climb higher in this countdown, we'd really like the service to begin auditing the no-logging policy to give us a bit more confidence in its privacy credentials. Indeed, Hotspot actually admits that there is some logging of sessions. Nothing potentially harmful to you - we're talking about session duration, devices and IP addresses.

Again, nothing that we'd really consider a red flag, but it does mean that we prefer the above torrenting VPNs in this list. Furthermore, Onion over VPN is supported for extra privacy. But Nord has gone the extra step by inviting external auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers to verify the security of its apps. And a bug bounty program gives an incentive for anyone to uncover and report security problems with the service. P2P is not supported on all servers, but Nord won't leave you trying to find a needle in a haystack.

It implements a really easy one-click 'P2P' option from its main interface, to ensure that you're directed straight to an appropriate server when you're preparing to torrent. It also offers ample server coverage, an automatic kill switch for Windows, Mac and iOS with an easy-to-activate equivalent on Android , DNS leak blocking, a good client and great performance levels with above-average download speeds.

It makes it a great option for countries with tight internet restrictions like China. There is also a split tunneling feature called SplitBear on its Android app. For more information, read our TunnelBear review. Speedify is one of the fastest free VPN for torrenting offering an innovative feature called channel bonding.

It combines your Wi-Fi connection with cellular data to maximize your speeds for torrenting. It also splits your online activity between these connections so you get maximum performance. Due to this feature, Speedify is one of the fastest free VPNs out there offering reliable speeds for downloading torrent files. These features make sure that your identity remains hidden and your privacy stays protected during torrent sessions. Speedify does keep minimal logs of your timestamps, and the server you connect to.

It does not store IP addresses. So, it is safe to use for torrenting and P2P activities. For more information, check out this detailed Speedify Review. These VPNs have been tested on the criteria mentioned below. As bandwidth and data are crucial for torrenting, we have only selected the free VPNs that offer sufficient data and bandwidth for torrenting.

A great majority of free providers do not support torrenting at all. So, using such a VPN service to mask your torrenting traffic would prove entirely ineffectual. All the free VPNs mentioned in this guide offer bit encryption for secure torrenting.

They are also equipped with a kill switch to make sure your IP address remains secure at all times. Pay extra attention to the business model of the provider. If the service is entirely free of cost with no obvious and publicly declared source of profits and revenue, then this is a huge red flag as they might be selling your information and bandwidth to agencies.

Similarly, make sure it follows a strict no-logs policy. Policies against torrenting activities differ everywhere in the world. Some countries are more lenient about torrenting than others. P2P file-sharing requires reliable speeds. Since free VPNs come with a data limit and average speeds, we tried to list the ones that do not offer poor speeds to you.

You should give a wide berth to the following services if you want to perform torrenting safely:. Hola used a network of users that could dedicate their own computers as mini-servers for other users to utilize without their knowledge. It was then used for launching DDoS attacks, distributing pirated content, and more. This way, the Hola community of users could allow others to share their resources to receive the same reciprocal benefit.

For these reasons, Hola is riddled with problems and should be avoided at all costs. Learn more in our Hola VPN review. Betternet is a free virtual private network that is actually pretty bad for several reasons. As a result, Betternet is better suited as a tool guaranteed to destroy your privacy, far from protecting it.

As such, Betternet is another VPN you should avoid. We mentioned uTorrent just above as that's the most popular option right now. However, it's not the only option, as you can download torrents with a VPN using various clients. So, check out the best torrent clients overall and here are our picks for macOS only. To connect to a server, you need to launch your VPN app.

Therefore, your data should now travel through a secure tunnel. Your VPN app doesn't really integrate with your torrent client, which means that those two applications work independently. With that said, make sure first to launch your VPN and connect to a server before you open your torrent client. You've set everything up correctly, which means that you can now start to download torrents without any fear of your P2P-related data leaking on the Web.

In case you need any recommendations, here are the best torrent sites overall and even more importantly, here are the best torrent search engines.

Using the provided links, you'll find dozens of recommendations, letting you reach millions of files across many P2P networks. So, that would be all on how to download torrents with a VPN. If you have any doubts or questions, share them with us via the comments section below.

Torrent anonymously with TunnelBear. I was surprised to find hide. Its military-grade AES bit encryption, bit RSA keys, and leak protection are always active when connected, creating a secure tunnel for torrent activity.

I ran multiple leak tests and found my data was private and secure. Since hide. I configured hide. I was happy to see that hide. Impressively, hide. As hide. This is because the physical distance increases the time it takes for data to be sent and received, slowing your speed. The only downside is that hide. The subscription lasts for 30 days at a time, but you can renew as many times as you want, so hide. Torrent anonymously with hide. Here is a list of the criteria I used to test over 50 free VPNs and rank them based on how well they performed:.

Based on extensive testing, ExpressVPN is the top choice for anonymous torrenting overall. It has no data caps or server restrictions, plus its entire global network supports P2P file-sharing, so you can torrent anonymously wherever you are.

These are safe, reliable free VPNs that are actually limited versions of high-quality premium providers. Freemium VPNs are like trial versions of the paid products , supported by paying customers to try and entice you to upgrade. These have the same high-level security as their premium counterparts but come with limitations, usually to speed and data.

Fully free VPNs rely on third-party advertisers for revenue , which means they could be logging your data and online activity to sell for profit. Worse still, some shady free services are loaded with malware designed to steal your information, so you could experience identity theft or fraud. Using a completely free VPN poses a risk to your privacy and device security.

Data logging and poor encryption mean you could be targeted by ads, attacked by malware, or even found liable for torrenting copyrighted content. During my research and testing, I found these 3 services that you should avoid at all costs:.

The free VPNs listed above have guaranteed security and privacy, so you can torrent anonymously. Note: None of the free VPNs on this list support port-forwarding. This means that you cannot seed or upload torrents while connected to these VPNs, as this would assign you a port and make you easily identifiable — stopping you from torrenting anonymously. Not all free VPNs are ready to start torrenting anonymously as soon as you download them to your device. Here are a few key settings and configurations you should use to ensure you get maximum security and anonymity while P2P file-sharing.

A kill switch is a feature that blocks your access to the internet if the VPN server connection is lost or interrupted. Make sure your kill switch is turned on before connecting to the VPN and starting your downloads.

A VPN connection drop is easy for the kill switch to manage, but other kinds of crashes might not activate the feature. Binding your torrent client to a P2P VPN server means you can only download files when connected to that specific server. This setting limits your ability to download unless you are connected to the VPN — if the connection is interrupted, your downloads halt without interfering with any other apps or services running.

Not all torrent clients offer this service, so check yours before you connect to see if it does. Using a reputable antivirus program like Norton protects your devices from all kinds of malware , including the latest threats. This will automatically scan all downloads and block files that contain malware. While using apps like Kodi and Popcorn Time is legal, quite often the content available on those apps is not.

Live-streaming events or on-demand video content are usually copyright-controlled, so accessing this material without permission can be a prosecutable offense. This process leaves your IP address and other data exposed to hackers, your ISP, and potential civil or criminal liability.

This is extremely risky as this could result in you being prosecuted for sharing copyrighted materials without realizing it. A service like ExpressVPN provides top-tier encryption and security that keeps your online activity anonymous , protecting you from exposing your data to hackers or your ISP.

A VPN is an essential tool for torrenting as it protects your data privacy and keeps your online activity anonymous. However, when you torrent a file, the peers can see data like your IP address and device information. This puts you at risk of identity theft. Torrenting without a VPN also gives copyright enforcers a way to track down users who download copyrighted content.