The Pirate Bay is a torrenting site that allows unrestricted access to copyrighted content. Through this platform, people can find a wide array of files, from movies to music to applications, games, PDFs, and many more. It is based on peer to peer file sharing protocol and allows people to download and upload files they want to share with others.

The data on TPB (as The Pirate Bay is famously called) is arranged in neat categories making it easy for users to look for any type of file. There are sections like Applications, porn, Games, Videos, TV shows, movies, etc. which are further divided into subcategories for better ease of use. In 2012, TPB made available 3D-printable items that can be accessed in the “Physibles” category.

You cannot download content directly from this platform but need a 3rd party client like BitTorrent or BitLoad. Till 2012 it allowed users to share torrents, but now it only accepts magnetic links. Magnet links are used to reference resources that are available on the internet for download.

 

Since TPB gives access to content which are protected by copyright, it has landed into many legal wars in its 17 years of existence. From its inception in 2003 by 3 Swedish developers, Gottfried Svartholm, Peter Sunde and Fredrik Neij TPB has seen lots of downtimes as many countries started blocking this site. 

Torrenting is not a safe activity as well since any people might push malware through torrent files. The files shared on this site are saved on personal computers of users who share it; hence it is totally unregulated. 

Due to this, every time you download something from such sites, you are taking a huge risk. A good quality VPN service can help you big time in this respect. The virtual private network can mask your IP, which makes your internet activities completely anonymous. It also enables you to protect your devices from unwanted viruses and malware that torrenting may subject you to.

 

1. Get a torrent-friendly VPN – Torrent websites have zero built-in security hence very prone to cyber-attacks. When you download, any BitTorrent can easily see your IP address, which lets trolls and spies discover your location and monitor your internet activities. They might also be able to attack your device. A VPN makes your data secure by passing it through an encrypted tunnel. You can choose a VPN provider that gives you access to banned sites like TPB and hides your identity on the net. Only a reputable provider that has unique features for safe and anonymous torrenting must be chosen.

2. VPN settings should be for best privacy with Kill Switch enabled– You can easily change the settings of your VPN to the best privacy so that it allows you total anonymity. You can do this with your VPN by opening the app and enabling the "Kill switch" option. A Kill switch option stops all internet traffic to your device as soon as a drop in VPN connection is detected. This option makes sure you are always anonymous during your browsing activities.

3. No-logs policy – Choose a VPN service that has a strict no-log policy. It makes sure that your VPPN provider will not monitor or log your real IP address anywhere. 

4. Leak Protection ON – This makes sure all your DNS queries are traveling on an encrypted tunnel and resolving the same server that your VPN is connected to. This ensures there is no leakage of your confidential information or any scope of 3rd party spying.

5. VPN encryption and protocol – Some VPNs will allow you to choose the encryption level and VPN protocol. The recommended encryption level is AES 256-encryption and a VPN protocol like OpenVPN or IKEv2. Do not choose PPTP as it is an old protocol and not well equipped with protection from online risky activities like torrenting.

6. Avoid ad banners – Even if you find some banners very attractive, never click them. If you do click on any one of them by mistake never make the mistake of installing or downloading any software or plugins they offer. Employing an ad blocker is a good idea to get rid of the issues that are caused by ad banners.

7. Use Anomos – It is a torrent client that uses end to end encryption. Anomos use the BitTorrent peer/tracker logic with an added layer of onion routing anonymization. The onion layer is one more encryption on top of the existing encryption. Anomos can be used along with the VPN service.  Anomos are easy to use and are built using python. It has a clean and simple user interface.

8. Use a Seedbox – Peer to peer protocol users are familiar with this term “Seedbox”. Seedbox is a remote server that uses the BitTorrent protocol for downloading or uploading files from any torrenting site. They are either physical servers or virtual private servers (VPSs) from data centers. It offers a high download speed and a decent bandwidth. It hides your IP address as ISP can only see your connection to the Seedbox and not any torrenting site. It betters the security by using HTTPs encryption while data is being downloaded by you. The HTTPs encryption stops your ISP and others from snooping into your internet traffic.

9. Use Antivirus/Antimalware protection – Torrenting sites are an easy target for malicious users to infect your system with many viruses. Despite all the protection and anonymity you use, if any of the downloaded files are malware then it will control and corrupt your system easily. This will compromise your security and anonymity. A cybercriminal can easily get hold of your confidential data and use it in frauds, scams, or sell it on the deep web. A VPN is not enough to help you protect against such malware; you would need to install reliable antivirus software as well.

If you want to stay away from hackers and still enjoy torrenting then follow the tips explained in this article. A torrent-friendly VPN service along with a trustworthy antivirus is necessary to keep your safety and anonymity intact on torrenting sites.