Finding a working torrent site is not only tricky but can be dangerous. Even the most reputable ones sometimes get taken down for copyright infringement. Searching for a P2P site on Google can be risky and usually gets you nowhere. Results are often packed with fake sites containing dodgy links and disturbing ads instead of actual torrent sites. In addition, your ISP may block real torrent sites from your searches, depending on your location.
A VPN masks your real IP and encrypts your data, preventing any prying eyes from tracing your online activities. Plus, premium VPNs typically offer extra features like ad, tracker, and malware blockers, helping to protect your devices against malicious ads and hidden malware in your torrent files.
With its vast community of seeders, you get faster P2P downloads. Even old or obscure torrents usually have at least a few seeders. The only minor downside is that The Pirate Bay displays a few ads; sometimes, they can look pretty shady. But you can easily use a trusted ad blocker or VPN malicious content blocker to avoid them.
1337x is another popular torrent website with movies, TV shows, and music, but it has a good collection of games as well. What's great is that 1337x has been around for a while, and its community is active, which means its torrents are updated every few hours.
1337x has a built-in media player, so you can stream torrents rather than downloading the whole file first. It took a few attempts to get it to work since it opened some ads in other tabs on the first few clicks. After that, I could steam the copyright-free House on Haunted Hill (1959) in smooth HD quality.
YTS (formerly YIFY) is one of the best torrent websites for high-quality movies. It offers thousands of movie titles, many of which come with subtitles and are available in 1080p. The best part is that its P2P files are small, but the quality isn't compromised, so it's great for anyone, regardless of internet speed.
EZTV specializes in TV shows, attracting around 20 million visitors per month. Although it might not have as extensive a library as some of the bigger P2P sites like The Pirate Bay or 1337x, it's a great choice if you're specifically looking for TV shows. Plus, it has an extensive collection of old shows.
The P2P site shows the top 100 torrents as well as new torrents. These focus on newer releases, meaning most of them are under copyright and illegal to download. So, be careful when using this list. Otherwise, Limetorrents has tons of other public domain files that you can download safely and legally.
TorrentGalaxy is a newer but popular torrent site that hosts a wide variety of content, including but not limited to movies, TV shows, music, software, and games. The torrents offered are known for their high quality, and the interface is refreshingly modern for a torrent site.
NYAA is a specialist site that focuses on content from Asia, especially from Japan, China, and South Korea. It's perfect if you're into anime series, but I also found some music and software on there too.
The autocorrect function in the search box was pretty annoying, especially as so many Asian names appear to be misspelled when written in English. That said, once you navigate the searches, NYAA is a treasure trove of public domain content.
FitGirl Repacks is popular for providing video games with minimal bandwidth usage, making it a top choice among millions of torrent users. The site has a user-friendly design characterized by a simple layout. A search bar at the top makes it easy for users to navigate and find the games they want.
While most users online (via Reddit, Trustpilot, etc.) regard Fitgirl Repacks as one of the safer torrent sites, you should still exercise caution. Its rapidly growing popularity has resulted in tons of copycat sites, so make sure you only download copyright-free content from its official website.
Staying safe while torrenting is more than just choosing a reputable site. When you visit torrent sites, your IP address is exposed, which can reveal your location and personal data to anyone who's seeding or leeching the same file. That's why it's important to take steps to protect your privacy. Here are some of the best ways to stay safe when file sharing:
Public torrent sites are open to anyone and allow users to download and share a wide range of files. These sites are easily accessible and do not require registration or an invitation to join.
Since public torrent sites generally have a large number of active users, they often have faster download speeds due to the availability of more seeders. However, the content on public sites may not always be reliable or verified, and there is a greater risk of encountering malicious files or copyrighted material.
Private torrent sites are invite-only communities that require users to register and maintain a good sharing ratio to gain access. These sites often have stricter rules and guidelines to maintain quality and ensure community security. Private torrent sites offer several advantages, including:
Accessing private torrent sites can be challenging for newcomers, as they typically require an invitation from an existing member or an application process. They also emphasize maintaining a strong sharing ratio, which means users must upload as much as they download to maintain their membership.
Certain torrenting sites may be well-liked, but they risk exposing your data and infecting your device with malware. Unfortunately, the more popular a site becomes, the more likely it is that fake, unsafe copycats will appear. These torrenting sites are potentially unsafe fakes:
A lot of Reddit posts champion The Pirate Bay as well as many other of the listed sites above. Be wary of old posts, though, since I found many mentions of RARBG, Torrentz, Torrentz2, and other sites that are now fake, dangerous, or shut down.
Global governments typically enforce torrent site blocks due to copyright concerns, preventing unlawful sharing and downloading. As well as blocking, they can also order torrent sites to be taken down altogether, like when the US shut down KickAssTorrents.
Searching for torrent sites is difficult because search engines like Google omit them due to copyright issues. Extensions like Chrome's AdBlock further obstruct access. To safely explore torrent sites, consider using a reliable VPN. However, you should research your local regulations to determine if torrenting sites are blocked in your location.
You can download movies, TV shows, music, software, games, and ebooks. There are some torrent sites specialized for one kind of content, but most torrent sites host a wide range of downloaded files.
However, while torrents themselves are a legitimate technology, the content shared on torrent sites may host copyrighted material. Downloading or sharing copyrighted material without proper authorization is illegal in many countries. Therefore, it is crucial to use torrent sites responsibly and respect copyright laws. The vpnMentor team does not condone copyright infringement.
Using a VPN for torrent sites is advisable due to the privacy and security benefits it offers. Reputable VPNs hide your IP address from other users on torrenting sites to prevent cyber threats like hacking. They also help you avoid connection throttling by keeping your online activities private from your ISP (as well as other third parties).
The original Torrentz shut down in 2016, and various versions of Torrentz2 have come and gone since. The only versions now available are fake sites that return zero results and template sites that act as placeholders for various dormant torrent sites.
RARBG shut down in May of 2023 for numerous reasons ranging from health concerns to expenses. While RARBG was still running, it was one of our top recommended torrent sites, with a huge number of engaged users and a sound reputation. However, events such as COVID took their toll on the torrenting giant, causing it to be too costly to continue running.
Thank you for this very informative article. I learned a lot about torrent...something I previously knew nothing about. I am looking for a source to stream the entire series of the french TV show called "Pekin Express" (a sort of Amazing Race clone on steroids)produced by M6 channel in France. In order to have access to their entire show archive the public must subscribe for about 3 Euros a month. However this offer is only available to people in France. When you register they send a code on your TV screen, which you must then send back to them to conform your location. Since I am in Canada, this option is not possible for me. That is why I am now turning to torrent as a potential solution. Thank you again for doing such a remarkable job of explaining how everything works...otherwise I would be completely lost. Let me also mention that I am a senior with very limited technical knowledge. So you have been a great help! I wish you much success! Please take care of yourself!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your situation. We're thrilled to hear that the article was helpful to you, especially in navigating new technological territories. If you need further assistance or have more questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Wishing you the best in finding the shows you love, and take care!
Warez groups are teams of individuals who have participated in the organized unauthorized publication of films, music, or other media, as well as those who can reverse engineer and crack the digital rights management (DRM) measures applied to commercial software. This is a list of groups, both web-based and warez scene groups, which have attained notoriety outside of their respective communities. A plurality of warez groups operate within the so-called warez scene, though as of 2019 a large amount of software and game warez is now distributed first via the web. Leaks of releases from warez groups operating within the "scene" still constitute a large amount of warez shared globally. Between 2003 and 2009 there were 3,164 active groups within the warez scene, with the majority of these groups being active for no more than two months and with only a small fraction being active for many years.[1] The warez scene is a very competitive and volatile environment, largely a symptom of participation in its community being illegal in most countries. Groups are generally not driven by profit, but by reputation.[2]
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