We have seen many people often asking this type of question: Is Torrenting Safe, Is It Illegal to Download Torrent, Will I Get Caught for Torrenting and What Will Happen If You Get Caught? And more.
So we have planned to pick and answer those questions to help the new Torrent user to understand basic about torrenting, legal and illegal activity in torrenting and the consequences of it. Also, we have written a post about “How to Torrent Safely and Anonymously.”
Is Torrenting Safe? Is It Legal or Illegal?
Some user has asked this question without mention the purpose they are using. So we are going to answer whether it is safe or not based on how you use the BitTorrent protocol.
BitTorrent protocol is used for transferring large files to thousands of user in a short period.
Private use: If you are using to transfer file that own by you then it is 100% safe and legal. Since you own it, nobody will question you for it. Even some big companies like Facebook use BitTorrent protocol to move files to they server.
Downloading from Publish Torrent Sites: If you are downloading any copyright material like music or movie available in the public torrent sites like The Pirate Bay, Kickass or any other. Then it is not safe and illegal.
You will be tracked by the copyright holders and end up in court or be paying the hefty fine for downloading copyrighted material, or you will be warned from your ISP if your internet connections are used to download pirated content.
How Can I Get Caught?
They can trap users by creating a fake torrent or by monitoring public torrent tracker. Once the copyright holder collects the IP address of those pirate users, they will contact the ISP with streaming.
These copyright holders have teamed up with ISPs like Comcast and Verizon for the “Copyright Alert System” to send notices to they customers who are downloading copyrighted material online.
Now using the IP address, Your ISP will match the account holder and they will send a corresponding copyright alert to their customers.
What Happens If I Get Caught?
In the beginning, you will get “educational letters” from your ISP like what is legal to take from the web & what isn’t. If you stop downloading it after it, you’re good.
But if you keep repeating the action after you receive five or six warnings. You can ISPs will take like bandwidth throttling or temporary Internet disconnections. Also, you can be taken to court by the copyright holders and ordered to pay thousands of dollars in compensation if you don’t pay “Speculative invoice.”
Speculative invoicing is when copyright owners demanding a user to pay for downloading content own by them without permission.
How to Download Torrent Without Getting Caught
If you are using Torrent VPN, then you won’t get caught. Since VPN encrypt all your data and it will hide your real IP and shows your VPN server IP to every website or application that visit.
Since your real IP is hidden copyright holders can not track even if you are using publish torrent tracker.
Also, VPN can help you to escape from bandwidth throttling. Throttling can occur only if your ISP spot if your using torrent or streaming video on Netflix etc. VPN Encrypt your internet traffic so your ISP can not inspect the data packets and find what service you’re using.
Final word: Using VPN while torrenting is one of the safest ways to use and download Torrent anonymously. By using a VPN, you can:
- Stop ISPs from Monitoring your data
- Unblock blocked torrent sites
- Avoid DMCA Notices
- Overcome Speed Throttling & Bandwidth Limitation
We have also listed some of the recommended VPN for Torrenting.
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