Best Free VPN for Torrenting
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Interested in torrenting and looking for information on how to stay safe while doing so? If you are reading this, you have probably visited some of the most popular torrent sites on the internet such as The Pirate Bay and Torrent Downloads. You may have noticed that most of these torrent sites all recommend the same thing – people should use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when downloading torrents – and for good reason. This notice probably made you wonder, “Can I use a free VPN for torrenting?”
In this article, we will learn about the importance of using a VPN when torrenting and a few of your best options for a free VPN service. We will cover the following:
Without a VPN, torrenting can be very risky as said activity will be visible to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and the government. If you use a torrent service to download copyrighted material online, it’s easy to see how you could get in trouble for doing so. That’s exactly what happened in 2011 when more than 23,000 Bittorrent users were sued for downloading an illegal copy of “The Expendables”. Each criminal faced a fine of up to $150,000 although most ended up with around $3,000.
If you want to avoid problems like the ones mentioned above, VPNs are a must when using any torrenting service. Unfortunately, these services can be reasonably expensive with some VPN service providers charging monthly fees as high as $12.99 per month. After all, most people resort to torrenting to save money, and it doesn’t make sense to pay for a VPN to do so. This is where using free VPN services comes in!
Characteristics of a good free VPN for torrenting
In fact, there are free VPN services that allow you to download torrents without paying any cent. However, not all of them are suitable for torrenting activities, and it is important to know what to look for when choosing a free VPN service. Consider the following qualities before choosing a free VPN for torrenting:
proven safety
Free or not, you should be able to rely on a VPN service provider to protect your online activities from prying eyes. Hence, your chosen VPN service should implement secure data encryption protocols and a host of other security features. This includes DNS leak protection, and a Kill Switch to ensure that no personally identifiable information can be traced back to your device.
No data logging policy
A premium VPN service should not keep logs of its users’ activity to prevent hacking or forcing the abandonment of said logs by interested third parties.
Internet speed and bandwidth
Torrenting can consume a large amount of data speed and bandwidth. Unfortunately, some VPN services implement restrictions such as data caps and bandwidth narrowing, which makes them unsuitable for torrenting activities.
Shared IP addresses
As an added security feature, many VPN services provide a set of IP addresses that are shared by thousands of users. This makes it impossible (if not very difficult) to track specific activity of specific users.
Best Free VPN for Torrenting
Having mentioned the risks of using a free VPN, you might be curious to know what are the best options out there. Well, if you must use a free VPN for torrenting activities, we recommend that you start your search with any of the following:
protection shield
Hotspot Shield is one of the most popular free VPN services on the market today, and for good reason. Their VPN servers are incredibly fast, even though the free users are limited to 500MB of torrenting data per day. However, it is free, and you can always resume downloads the next day.
Windscribe
Although Windscribe is not as fast as the other free VPN services mentioned in this list, it does offer more in terms of server options and bandwidth limit. Free users can connect to any of the 11 servers on their VPN and download up to 10GB of data per month. This makes it ideal for downloading large files such as videos and programs via a torrent client. It also helps that Windscribe is accessible across all major platforms like PC, Mac, Android, and iOS.
ProXPN
Like most free VPN services, ProXPN also offers a paid plan with premium features. Free users can only access one VPN server and they are limited to just 300kbps, which is painfully slow. However, if you are not too concerned with torrent speeds and want a free VPN service from a reputable company, ProXPN is as good an option as any.
hide me
If you want a free VPN service that is fast and accessible on iOS and Android, then Hide.me might be for you. While the free plan only gives you access to 3 VPN servers, you can download up to 2GB of data per month at full speed. This makes it ideal for downloading large amounts of torrent data every now and then. There are no other restrictions except for bandwidth limits and server options.
security kiss
Security Kiss is one of the few free VPN services out there that offers OpenVPN (only on PC and Mac) which is one of the most reliable VPN protocols. This makes it an excellent choice for people who are not only involved in torrenting activities but also care about the privacy of their data. However, the free users are limited to just four server locations and 300MB of torrenting data per day, which isn’t too bad for some audio tracks and some apps.
The dangers of using a free VPN for torrenting
Many would argue that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and they would be right. Using a free VPN service is not without its share of risks. After all, running VPN servers costs money which includes the wages of the support staff and cybersecurity experts who maintain those servers. It is wise to think that free VPN companies aim to win back each other by some other means.
In many cases, the reason a VPN company offers its services for free is because they hope to convince free users to upgrade to a paid plan in the future. VPN companies can also make money by selling ads. However, in some cases, the causes can be much more gruesome, highlighting the following risks:
Selling User Data
Many free VPN services collect user information and sell it to interested parties including advertisers and even the government.
Could be a trap
A free VPN service can be a front for hackers looking to steal user identity and other sensitive information.
Malware in disguise
A free VPN service may have serious security flaws or may turn into malware itself. One good example of this is the free VPN service called HolaVPN, which turned out to be malware that supports bot attacks.
If you want to consider a paid torrent VPN option, try using Avast VPN for torrenting.
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So there you have it – a look at some of your top choices for a free VPN service and why you should use one when torrenting. As you may have already realized, there is no reason to leave yourself unprotected when using a torrenting service. With the above free VPNs, you will not only be able to avoid any legal repercussions from your torrenting activity, but you will also keep your data safe from third parties.
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