Torrents are a common way to download files that are difficult to find online. They have a large user base that shares content regularly.
About 30 million people share around 5 million torrent files every day. This is because torrents are easy to use and have no restrictions. Any file size can be shared without issues.
Torrents use a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network to share files between computers. When you download a torrent, you connect to another computer to get the file.
If many computers have the file, the download will be faster. But if only a few have it, the download will be slower since the file is harder to access.
While it may sound like torrents are the solution to all your problems, there are many drawbacks related to them which is why using safe torrent sites along with a trusted VPN is highly recommended.
1. There are a lot of fake websites and spam content out there:
Unless you are careful about your sources and the content you download, you can end up with a lot of viruses and worms on your computer.
2. Your computer can be attacked/hacked:
Your computer is open to the world, basically since you are on a P2P network your computer is easily accessible and this makes your computer vulnerable to attacks.
3. Torrents are a legal grey line:
In some countries torrents are illegal and users may be liable to fines and other legal repercussions.
4. Finding Torrents is Difficult:
There isn’t an official site or directory for torrents. You need to search for them yourself using different search engines. New and popular files are easy to find, but older ones are much harder to locate. Most people use torrents to download movies and TV shows, and despite the risks, they often choose this method because they don’t have a better option.
Safe torrenting sites that you can use for downloading:
Here’s a list of countries along with their stance on torrenting:
| Legal Status Of Torrents | Countries |
|---|---|
| Torrenting is under surveillance, while several sites are banned | Romania, Greece, Brazil, Uruguay, Egypt, Denmark, Czech Republic, Mexico, Philippines, Israel, Argentina, Canada, Netherlands, India, Singapore, Columbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Iran |
| Torrenting is 100% banned | Portugal, the US, Russia, Malaysia, Latvia, South Africa, China, Italy, Australia |
| Torrenting can be used for downloading content | The UK, Germany, France, Japan, Finland, and the UAE |
| Torrenting can be used for downloading content for personal use | Spain & Switzerland |
