Safety guide for using Torrents
By: Zach Watherson
Tags: Torrent, Security, Privacy, Technology, VPN

Internet security topic has become a hot topic over the years and almost everyday you can see it on the news. Threats online are increases as well as users, so it is about time to take care of privacy online and secure yourself from cyberattacks, malware, stolen data. Internet security should be especially important for those who download torrents. Torrents has become an easy platform for government, hackers, corporations, malicious interest groups to monitor torrent downloads and attack, catch, sue users.

Because of this it is important for people to know how to be secure while torrenting, how to keep anonymity and at the same time understand which files are secure and real, and which will just infect their computers and get them in trouble.

Before torrenting ensure that your connection is private and secure

The first step before torrenting the movie you like or the game you can’t wait to play, you need to ensure that your connection is anonymous and secure.

VPN will help in this case. A VPN makes users traffic encrypted and nobody could catch you for torrenting. VPN changes your IP so nobody could see your identity. You need to look for a VPN that supports P2P, keeps zero logs, has a kill-switch and is not free (free ones sell your data, so it will not make you anonymous). My choice and many sources like Cnet, VPNmentor, Techradar and others choice is Surfshark (You can get it here with a discount).

You also will need a high quality antivirus, to protect yourself from malware. There are many choices for Malware, best from my point of view and the one I use is BitDefender.

How to spot if the torrent file is reliable

Scammers use false torrent files to steal users identities, trick them to giving their money away or infect their computers with malware. Do not worry there are obvious signs that show if the torrent is a scam.

Lots of seeds but no comments. Scammers often falsify the number of seeds, but they cannot falsify user comments, so if you see torrent with lots of seeds but no user comments, it is better to go away.

Scammers often falsify the number of seeds, but they cannot falsify user comments, so if you see torrent with lots of seeds but no user comments, it is better to go away. Double check the movie release date. If the movie has been released before even the official movie release date, then it is a scam. Well it is a logical one, just many of us do not even check the date. You need to use third party sources to check the real movie release date like imdb.

If the movie has been released before even the official movie release date, then it is a scam. Well it is a logical one, just many of us do not even check the date. You need to use third party sources to check the real movie release date like imdb. Verified status. Some torrent sites have people checking torrents and verifying if they are secure. You won’t find a lot of files with verified written next to them, because there are a lot of torrents and way to less people to check, but if you find one — trust them, they are safe.

Some torrent sites have people checking torrents and verifying if they are secure. You won’t find a lot of files with verified written next to them, because there are a lot of torrents and way to less people to check, but if you find one — trust them, they are safe. Comments. Let’s get back to comments again, always read the comment section of a torrent, if you see negative comments on the file, be suspicious and better look for another one.

Let’s get back to comments again, always read the comment section of a torrent, if you see negative comments on the file, be suspicious and better look for another one. Files you can trust. You can trust such files that are in AVI or MKV format, they will be legit and secure, on the other side a great amount of files in WMA and WMV format are fake. Also be aware of RAR, TAR or ACE files, they might have fake files in them, so before downloading them see the listed file contents.

You can trust such files that are in AVI or MKV format, they will be legit and secure, on the other side a great amount of files in WMA and WMV format are fake. Also be aware of RAR, TAR or ACE files, they might have fake files in them, so before downloading them see the listed file contents. Beware of special requirements. If the torrent requires some special actions for example: “download special instructions”, “password”, “unrar instructions”, “import read me first”, then the torrent is 100% shady and might be a scam. Also if EXE file is included, then run from this file far away.

If the torrent requires some special actions for example: “download special instructions”, “password”, “unrar instructions”, “import read me first”, then the torrent is 100% shady and might be a scam. Also if EXE file is included, then run from this file far away. Media players. Use only media players that are familiar to you, if the torrent asks you to use unknown media player, the first thing to do is to google it, before starting to install it. If you do it might end up infecting your computer.

Use only media players that are familiar to you, if the torrent asks you to use unknown media player, the first thing to do is to google it, before starting to install it. If you do it might end up infecting your computer. Trackers. Look in Google for the trackers that the torrent file has. If they are known by Google it is okay, if the tracker is fake Google will show many unrelated hits (you can even find words such as “fake” if someone posted a warning about these trackers).

Also be careful what Torrent pages you use, you can find a list (which will be constantly updates) of the best torrent sites in my article here.