Beginners guide for safer and faster Torrenting using VPN

Torrent Clients

VPN Unlimited – Best VPN for Torrenting

Even though downloading torrents is illegal in some countries, in present-day reality it remains popular. Torrenting is a widely-used type of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing technology. VPN Unlimited provides three P2P-optimized servers that are designed specifically to facilitate secure and fast torrenting. You can find an up-to-date list of these servers in the Torrent tab on Android, Windows, and Linux devices.

The server list for macOS and iOS is a similar one, except that P2P servers aren’t marked. So for your convenience, we provide the list of torrent-friendly servers below:

  • Canada-Ontario (Ontario, Toronto)
  • Romania (Bucharest)
  • France (Paris)

Choose one of these servers (we recommend you to pick the server that is located closer to you), connect to it, and explore safe and anonymous torrenting with VPN Unlimited!

Note: VPN Unlimited is also available as a part of the MonoDefense® security bundle.

Why do you need to use VPN for torrenting

In a nutshell, torrenting is a widely-used type of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing technology. Thanks to this technology users all other the world can share various files on the internet and download them via torrent for absolutely free. Unfortunately, in some countries torrenting is strongly associated with copyright laws violation and piracy. That’s why using a VPN solution for torrenting is a must.

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Beginners guide for safer and faster Torrenting using VPN

Thought it would be great to share a short guide on torrenting using a VPN for those who have just started or are thinking of using a VPN for that purpose. It will cover some basics as well as include some additional tips found online and within this community.

If you have found this guide, you probably already understand the reason why it’s important to have some protection while downloading or sharing files through torrent (but if there are still some questions, here’s a great article to check out ).

VPN vs Proxy

Both are great privacy tools for torrenting, as both will mask your IP, however, there are some main differences – Proxy offers a set-and-forget setup (it might be more complicated to setup for beginners, but it’s a one-time thing), while VPN offers strong built-in encryption (some proxies don’t offer any). VPN protects the traffic of the whole device, while Proxy covers the app/client only. As for speed – proxies tend to be a little faster, though the speed difference compared to VPN isn’t that significant in most cases. It’s up to you which one to use, but overall VPN is a recommended option due to the stronger encryption (if you still want to try Proxy (Socks5), here are the guides for uTorrent , Deluge , qBitTorrent ), thus, this guide will be focused on using a VPN.

Torrent Clients

There are lots of options, however, it’s best to stick with the open-source ones, such as qBittorrent , Deluge , Transmission . Be aware, that uTorrent is considered untrustworthy, but is still used by many.

Setup guide:

  1. Run NordVPN or other VPN client. Tutorials on how to set up NordVPN client on different OS’s can be found here .
  2. Connect to a P2P (Peer-to-peer) server from the Specialty servers list (although most NordVPN servers support P2P, it’s better to be safe than sorry). Location of the server doesn’t matter security-wise, but for a faster connection choosing the one closest to your location is better (clicking on P2P will choose the best/closest P2P server automatically).
  3. Enable the Kill-switch – it is a feature that stops your IP from being exposed if your VPN connection drops by either closing the apps you select (App Kill-switch) or by disabling the internet access until the VPN connection is reestablished (Internet Kill-switch). Windows has both options and they can be enabled through NordVPN app settings menu > Kill-Switch. macOS (IKE version from App Store) has a system-wide Internet Kill-switch enabled by default and does not have to be enabled, while the OpenVPN version (from the website) has an App Kill-switch option in the settings menu.
  4. Optional, but recommended – check if you’re connected properly. This can be done by simply visiting such websites, as ipleak.net . If you see the VPN IP address – you’re connected properly. Otherwise, check if there are any interfering active apps or extensions on your browser, if not, you can contact support for assistance. Additionally, once you launch the torrent, you can also use the Torrent Address Detection there – once clicked Activate – it will start a dummy torrent file download which then shows the detectable IP address on the website (more useful for Proxy setups).
  5. Additionally, you can bind your Torrent client to the VPN interface, which will act as a client-only kill-switch preventing it from downloading (and uploading) torrents unless the VPN connection is active. Not all clients support this, but in qBittorrent, navigate to Tools -> Preferences -> Advanced. Next to Network Interface select the name of your VPN adapter (depends on the VPN protocol you’re using – NordLynx is set by default). Nordlynx will usually be labeled as NordLynx and if you’re using OpenVPN, the VPN adapter could be labeled TAP or TUN, or Ethernet 2 (can be checked under VPN adapter options).
  6. Now make sure you’re launching the VPN before the Torrent client to avoid any inconveniences (you can also setup Auto-connect in the VPN client’s settings menu, so it launches and connects automatically) and you’re good to go!

Some tips for faster and secure torrenting:

u/50nathan has shared some awesome tips on the overall setup and provided a great explanation on why you should use each listed setting in comments of one of the posts here . Definitely worth checking out (don’t forget to upvote the comment for some well-deserved karma)!

In addition to that, here are some other tips:

  • Experiment with VPN protocols and servers – these can make a huge impact on your overall VPN connection speed (make sure to change the Network Interface in the Torrent client (Step 5) if you decide to switch the VPN protocols).
  • qBittorent comes with in-built encryption, however, it’s pretty weak when compared to VPN’s encryption and significantly lowers the number of available connected peers. If you’re already using the setup above, it is recommend to disable the qBittorrent Encryption mode. To do so, go to Tools > Options > BitTorrent > Encryption Mode and select Allow Encryption (if you wouldn’t be using a VPN, the recommended setting would be to Forced/Require Encryption).
  • You can also enable DHT and Peer Exchange (PeX) to allow the client to discover more peers globally. Go to Tools > Options > BitTorrent and check “Enable DHT” and “Enable Peer Exchange”. If the speeds are still slow, you can apply rate limits on both peers on LAN peers and µTP protocols (Tools > Options>Speed > Rate Limit Settings and ticking both peers on LAN and µTP protocols.). qBittorent will then drop off the leeches without stopping sharing.

If you have any other recommendations or questions, drop a comment – would be really useful for everyone in the community!

The best VPN for torrenting

With Proton VPN you can quickly and safely download torrents over our optimized P2P VPN servers.

How to torrent with Proton VPN in three steps

Why choose Proton VPN for torrenting?

Your ISP can see when you share or download files via a P2P sharing network, and can sometimes even throttle BitTorrent downloads. By using a VPN for torrenting, your ISP cannot see your online activity, nor hand it over to third parties. Proton VPN’s dedicated P2P servers encrypt your torrenting activity, keeping it secure while providing fast download speeds.

Optimized P2P servers

Our global network of servers includes over 140 specialty servers which are optimized for P2P file sharing (denoted by a two-arrow icon). These servers allow anyone with a Proton VPN Plus plan to download and share files via BitTorrent quickly and securely.

Fast download speeds

Downloading torrents via VPN doesn’t mean compromising on speed, with P2P servers delivering up to 10 Gbps connectivity. Proton VPN ensures that sharing and downloading large files via BitTorrent is both fast and secure.

Unlimited bandwidth and data

We don’t impose data or bandwidth restrictions on any Proton VPN plan, meaning you can use torrenting clients to share and download files of any size without interruptions from data limits or throttling.

Secure high-speed torrenting over VPN

Kill switch

Our kill switch feature will immediately block your network traffic if your VPN connection is lost, preventing leaks which would otherwise reveal your torrenting activity to your ISP. Using the kill switch function also protects your true IP address from being revealed to others on the same P2P sharing network.

Split tunneling

By using split tunneling on Proton VPN, you can route your P2P traffic through the encrypted VPN tunnel while excluding other traffic. This helps you to ensure your torrenting activity is always secure while leaving you able to use the open network when you need to.

VPN Accelerator

Using our VPN Accelerator, you can share and download large files faster than ever — even if you’re connected to a P2P server that is far away. The VPN Accelerator utilizes our large network capacity to increase speeds by up to 400%.

Torrent securely with Proton VPN

  • Keep your IP address private
  • Protect your torrenting activity from your ISP
  • Fast upload and download speeds
  • Optimized servers for P2P sharing
  • No artificial data or bandwidth limits

Frequently Asked Questions

Is torrenting legal?

Yes, the BitTorrent file sharing protocol is completely legal for sharing and downloading files. However, sharing copyrighted material without permission is not legal. We do not endorse or condone the use of BitTorrent to illegally share copyrighted material, and our support of P2P protocols is intended only for downloading and sharing legal content.

What is P2P?

P2P stands for Peer-to-Peer, which is a network protocol that allows people to search for and download content. The unique structure of the network means downloading large files is very efficient.

On a P2P network, the software locates copies of a file that you are searching for within that network, and allows your computer to create multiple connections with several sources that have all or part of the requested file. As parts of the file are downloaded, they are also uploaded to the other people who are requesting the same file.

Can I torrent via VPN?

You can — and should — torrent via VPN. Using a VPN that supports P2P sharing allows you to share files via BitTorrent just as you would across the open network. By using a secure VPN to torrent, you keep your IP address hidden from others in the network and also hide your torrenting activity from your ISP.

If you do not want to route all of your traffic through the encrypted VPN tunnel, you can use split tunneling to only route your torrenting activity via VPN.

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