BitTorrent is a network and protocol used to share files, so BitTorrent itself cannot install adware on your computer.\nHowever, the programs used to connect to the BitTorrent network and download files, called torrent managers or torrent clients, can and often do come with adware. The files you download can also contain malware and adware.\nStick to reputable torrent managers and, if prompted, refuse any offers to install additional software alongside them. These additional programs are often adware.\nLikewise, be sure to only download and upload torrents you trust.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/"}},"@type":"Question","name":"Is downloading a shared torrent from Google drive illegal?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"If you're downloading something from Google Drive, then it's not a torrent. It's just a download. The file might have originally been downloaded through BitTorrent, then uploaded to Google Drive where others can download it.\nSemantics aside, if the content of the file is protected by copyright, then yes, it is illegal to download pirated files from Google Drive.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"Can I just download a torrent from a public place?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"Most torrenters use public trackers to find and download files through BitTorrent. So in that sense, yes, you can download a torrent from a public place provided you have a torrent client installed on your device.\nThe files themselves are downloaded from other BitTorrent users who have downloaded the file and are now uploading it to fellow users.\nPrivate trackers are also available and are often safer, but typically require an invitation from an existing member.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"Can I go to jail for torrenting?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"It depends on the circumstances, but no, it\u2019s highly doubtful you would go to jail for torrenting. Most lawsuits regarding torrenting are civil suits, not criminal ones, so if a penalty is levied, it\u2019s usually a fine or some other monetary compensation.\nThat being said, it also depends on what country you\u2019re in, what you torrent, and whether you also seeded the file so it could be downloaded by other users. Check your local laws and regulations.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"What are the risks of torrenting music?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"The music recording industry has, on occasion, aggressively targeted torrenters who engaged in music piracy. These days, litigation is mostly done by copyright trolls who target torrenters on behalf of recording studios. They\u2019ll send out settlement letters demanding hundreds or even thousands of dollars to torrenters whom they can identify. They usually go through internet service providers to contact torrenters. Your ISP could throw you under the bus, and that\u2019s not a gamble we recommend taking. By using a VPN, you can greatly reduce the risk of being identified by a copyright troll.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"What legal use cases can I use torrents for?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"There are plenty of free ways to use BitTorrent. Here are a few examples:\n\nOpen-source software, such as Linux distros, are often available for download via BitTorrent. This saves the organization maintaining the distro from having to host the files themselves.\nPublic domain media, like old movies, books, and music for which the copyrights have expired, can be found and legally downloaded through BitTorrent\nIndependent artists making movies, games, books, and music often post their content for free on BitTorrent.\u00a0\nBitTorrent is a convenient way to access fair use materials from various media\n","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"Where do people get torrents from?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"Torrents are usually found on BitTorrent trackers, which are essentially searchable websites that index torrents uploaded by users. Users can download the small torrent file, which your torrent client uses to find other users uploading and downloading the same content.\nTrackers can be public or private. Some torrents are linked to directly.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"What are Seeders and Leechers?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"A seed is a user who uploads files to the BitTorrent network for other users to download.\nA leech is a user who downloads files from the BitTorrent network from other users.\nA typical user starts as a leech by downloading a file. Once the file is finished downloading (or even before), the user transitions to being a seed and starts uploading the file to other users.\nA common courtesy among torrenters is to seed as much data as you leech. So if you download a 1 GB file, you should seed that file until you\u2019ve uploaded at least an equivalent amount of data. However, this guideline is in no way enforced.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"Why a file or torrent does not start downloading?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"The most common reasons for a torrent not starting downloading are:\n1) You're not connected to the internet.2) The torrent file is broken or corrupt.3) The tracker is offline.4) Your firewall is blocking the connection.5) Your ISP is throttling or blocking BitTorrent traffic.6) There's a problem with your BitTorrent client.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"Do torrents contain viruses?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"The short answer is no. Torrents themselves do not contain viruses. However, like any other file-sharing network, there is a chance that some of the files being shared are infected with malicious software. Therefore, it's important to take precautions when downloading and opening files from peer-to-peer networks such as torrents. Before downloading any file, scan it for viruses or malware using a reliable anti-virus program.\nAdditionally, be wary of downloading files from unknown sources and always read the comments before downloading a file to ensure it is safe. These preventive measures can help ensure your computer stays safe while using torrents.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/","@type":"Question","name":"Can my ISP see what torrents I am downloading?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"No, your ISP can\u2019t see what torrents you\u2019re downloading. What your ISP can see is the website you\u2019re downloading from as well as the size of the file in question. As such, your ISP likely knows you\u2019re torrenting, particularly when it looks at the bandwidth being consumed.\u00a0\nIf you don\u2019t want anyone (not just your ISP) seeing what torrents you\u2019re downloading, you should use a VPN to change your IP address and encrypt your data. Doing so with a quality paid VPN means you\u2019ll also be able to torrent without having to suffer bandwidth throttling.","author":"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Bischoff","description":"Paul is Comparitech\u2019s editor and a regular commentator on cyber security and privacy topics in national and international media including New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Guardian and many others. He's been writing about the tech industry since 2012 for publications like Tech in Asia, Mashable, and various startup blogs. \nPaul has an in-depth knowledge of VPNs, having been an early adopter while looking to access the open internet during this time in China.\nHe previously worked in Beijing as an editor for Tech in Asia, and has been writing and reporting on technology for the last decade. He has also volunteered as a teacher for older adults learning basic tech literacy and cyber awareness. You can find him on Twitter at @pabischoff.\n","url":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/author\/paul-bischoff\/"]} "@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":["@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/","@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/blog\/","@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"VPN & Privacy","item":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/blog\/vpn-privacy\/","@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"What is Torrenting and is it Safe","item":"https:\/\/www.comparitech.com\/blog\/vpn-privacy\/is-torrenting-safe-illegal-will-you-be-caught\/"]BlogVPN & PrivacyWhat is Torrenting and is it Safe We are funded by our readers and may receive a commission when you buy using links on our site. What is Torrenting? Is it Safe? Is it illegal? Are you likely to be caught? Looking to find out more about torrenting? We explain exactly what torrenting is, how to torrent safely, and what to do if you get caught. Paul Bischoff TECH WRITER, PRIVACY ADVOCATE AND VPN EXPERT @pabischoff UPDATED: January 11, 2023 body.single .section.main-content.sidebar-active .col.grid-item.sidebar.span_1_of_3 float: right; body.single .section.main-content.sidebar-active .col.grid-item.content.span_2_of_3 margin-left: 0;
Warning Movie Download In A Torrent
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