If you are torrenting without protection then your security and privacy are at risk. Anyone on the peer-to-peer network can see and track your IP address and your activities.
The solution to this is using a VPN. If you are not using a VPN, you might get charged with legal and financial penalties for downloading copyright material.
All the VPNs are not fully suitable for torrenting. Some VPN services prohibit P2P traffic by throttling speeds. Others lack the privacy and security measures required to download torrents anonymously and safely.
We have concluded after testing numerous VPN services that ExpressVPN is the best VPN for torrenting. It is easy to set up on all kinds of devices, delivers excellent speed and security, and allows P2P traffic on all of its servers.
How to torrent with ExpressVPN?
ExpressVPN requires no special skills for torrenting as it is a basic and easy procedure. You have to establish a connection with any VPN server in the huge global network and safely download torrents from the desired client.
The most important thing to remember is that your VPN must be active and running before you start torrenting. Follow the steps below to safely download torrents using the ExpressVPN:
Choose a client for torrent
You need to select a reliable client before you start torrenting because your computer cannot use torrent files independently. You can choose a client from the dozens of available options.
Some famous clients include qBittorrent, BitTorrent, Vuze, and µTorrent. Make sure that you download the chosen client from its original and official website, as other websites may contain malware.
Open ExpressVPN account
You should not start torrenting until your VPN is active and running. Go to ExpressVPN.com, and choose the ‘Get ExpressVPN’ button on your homepage. Select the preferred subscription plan and choose a payment method. After you have signed up, you will receive a code for activation via registered email.
Set up ExpressVPN
After you have entered your activation code in the ExpressVPN app. Before you connect to a VPN server, go to the hamburger menu in the ExpressVPN app and choose ‘Preferences’. Select TCP or UDP from the ‘Protocol’ tab. Now, look for the ‘Network Lock’ option under the ‘General’ tab and ensure that both checkboxes are authorized.
Finally, make sure that IPv6 leak protection and DNS are enabled in the ‘Advanced tab. All these settings are turned on by default but it is always a better idea to check again for a safe and secure passage for torrenting.
Choose a server for connection
Although ExpressVPN allows its users to perform unrestricted torrenting on all of its servers you need to choose a suitable server before you start torrenting.
ExpressVPN offers the ‘Smart Location’ feature that offers the most efficient and easiest way to connect with a server. This feature selects a server concerning your physical location and load for torrenting.
Confirm your IP address
You should always check as a final precaution that you are connected to the VPN by inspecting that your IP address is being masked successfully. There are tools available to ensure that your IP address or DNS information is not being leaked.
Any leakage can expose your identity and the main purpose of ExpressVPN is to avoid such a situation. You can download torrents securely and safely if there are no leaks and your VPN is working correctly.
ExpressVPN’s strong encryption
ExpressVPN utilizes the leading OpenVPN protocol and highly secure AES-256 encryption cipher for the protection of your data and information. You can be sure that you are in safe hands because the US Defense Department uses the same encryption technology to protect sensitive data and information.
The encryption technology has around 1077 available combinations. It is almost impossible to break through this level of security. Most of the torrent clients such as µTorrent and BitTorrent use their encryption schemes to prevent throttling, protect user privacy, and blocking from ISPs.
Despite all these security measures, third parties can still find out what you are downloading because the actual data files of the torrent are not encrypted.
This is where ExpressVPN comes into play as it provides ultra-safe encryption for downloading torrents. ExpressVPN will keep your activities completely hidden from stalkers and you will be able to download torrents anonymously.
Additional security features of ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN provides secure encryption for your data and effectively hides your IP. Moreover, it offers amazing security features that let you browse online privately and safely. Following are some of the most useful features for torrenting:
VPN split tunneling
This feature allows you to have control over the traffic that you want to route through the VPN server. This option is greatly helpful while torrenting because it protects your privacy and you have open access to local network devices.
Network lock
ExpressVPN comes with a network lock that acts as a kill switch. This switch automatically blocks all the network traffic if the VPN connection gets disrupted.
This tool is crucial while torrenting as it avoids your IP address from getting leaked in case of a connection issue of your VPN. One bad news is that this network kill switch is not compatible with iOS.
Leak protection
If your VPN leaks DNS or IP address information, then it is useless for torrenting. ExpressVPN keeps your DNS queries secure even in scenarios where these queries might leak. This feature protects your privacy as it prevents onlookers from seeing the websites that you are visiting.
Torrenting speed of ExpressVPN
A fast network connection is essential for effective torrenting and ExpressVPN offers one of the fastest torrenting services among the tested VPNs.
VPNs reduce the performance to some extent as the data experiences a longer round-trip to reach the user as it’s being routed via a remote VPN server. However, the right VPN will reduce the difference to an unnoticeable extent.
Based on our observations, ExpressVPN has only an 11% average speed reduction when it is connected to a local server. According to these values, if your internet connection has a speed of 100Mbps, you can extract a speed of 89Mbps while torrenting on a VPN-based connection.
These qualities make ExpressVPN one of the fastest available VPNs in the market. ExpressVPN has performed consistently as one of the best torrenting VPNs on our speed test tool for local and country-level connections.
OS and devices compatible with ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is supported on Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, and Mac. It also has dedicated apps to run on the router that can protect the complete home network.
ExpressVPN is compatible with other devices as well such as game consoles and smart TVs. Furthermore, there are ExpressVPN extensions available for browsers like Firefox and Chrome.
Conclusion
A VPN allows you to hide your torrenting activities from copyright trolls, ISPs, and other torrents in the platform by masking your IP address and encrypting your data.
Torrent sites offering P2P connections are being monitored more closely with the advancement in network technology. Therefore, we recommend using a VPN service whenever torrenting to avoid malware attacks and loss of sensitive information.
ExpressVPN is the best option for torrenting based on our tests and observations. ExpressVPN is fast, secure, and offers friendly P2P connections.
