Finding the best VPN for torrenting isn’t an easy task.
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Torrent Downloading 101 - a Guide to VPN and Torrenting. Facebook, Songza and all the other great sites you can't use away from the USA. Step 1: GET a VPN! Show All Items. Some ISP throttle your bandwidth if you download torrent files hence you need to use VPN so that your torrent traffic gets encrypted and your ISP won’t be able.
There are several factors involved when choosing a VPN solely for torrenting. Here are the most important ones:
- Jurisdiction – Preferably outside the US along with 5, 9 and 14 eyes
- Logging Policy – Preferably VPN that doesn’t collect ANY logs
- Speed – a VPN that is fast enough for downloading large files
- Torrenting Policy – a VPN that allows torrenting (Many VPNs limit and discourage torrenting).
Using a VPN, people using torrents can hide their activity from the prying eyes of their ISP, while also putting up an additional layer of security against cyber criminals who are looking to exploit them.
That’s great, right?
Except, many VPNs we’ve tested don’t allow torrenting. Companies like Hoxx VPN and Hola can penalize users and ban torrenting, limiting their internet freedom in the process.
That’s why users who are looking to torrent need to know which VPNs will serve their purposes, and which will not. We’ve reviewed 78 different VPNs to date, and here are the best VPNs for torrenting we’ve found based on actual tests.
7 Best VPNs For Private & Anonymous Torrenting
Here’s our list of the 7 best VPNs for Torrenting in 2019:
1. NordVPN.com – Most Servers For Anonymous Torrenting
NordVPN often tops most VPN wish lists. Turns out they’re just as strong at torrenting, too.
They’re one of the legitimate contenders you see constantly vying for first position in the best VPN rankings.
P2P services like torrenting are made available on NordVPN’s extensive server park of over 5,000 different servers.
And over 4,500 of their servers are optimized specifically for P2P. That’s a lot of different choices afforded to their BitTorrent-loving users.
Nord protects the torrenting activity of their users with the same OpenVPN protocols and AES-256 encryption as Surfshark & ExpressVPN. They also take things a step further, combining two servers into one connection for double protection.
Again, add a strict no-logging policy and a VPN killswitch to make this one of the safest and most anonymous torrenting VPNs on the market.
Nord gives users the ability to torrent without limits, placing no cap on their bandwidth.
Also, Nord has a price that can’t be beaten, with monthly costs under $3 for a 3-year plan.
2. Surfshark.com – Optimized Security for Torrenting/P2P
Surfshark keeps their promises on ensuring fast and safe torrenting. This easy-to-use VPN does not only allow torrenting, but does that without any limits: no bandwidth limit, no simultaneous connections limit, etc.
Torrenting is allowed on all Surfshark servers, including countries where P2P sharing is forbidden. For such countries, Surfshark takes additional measures by rerouting traffic to special torrent-friendly servers in the Netherlands or Canada (depending on user’s location).
The same action can sometimes be done by it’s automatic algorithm in order to optimize server network for all the users. This is smart.
In addition to this, the provider uses modern encryption to optimize speed and provide the best user experience. Surfshark encrypt all the traffic using AES-256-GCM, which is slightly different from a widespread AES-256-CBC.
The difference between the two is speed. AES-256-GCM has a built-in authentication which makes the encryption process notable faster, thus allowing greater speed. From the security side, it’s as secure as AES-256-CBC, but just faster.
Surfshark is located in the British Virgin Islands, which is outside the jurisdiction of 5, 9 and 14 eyes alliances. It means that Surfshark is out of the reach for major surveillance agencies who could force them to keep information on their users.
Naturally, the BVI is a safe haven for strict no-logging policies and Surfshark isn’t anything out of the ordinary. They keep no logs and that’s perfect for worry-free torrenting.
As for the torrenting policy, Surfshark has a special page for people who are looking for a VPN for torrenting. The page explains their policy on torrenting and even lists the best torrent sites and P2P services.
Besides all that, they’re the cheapest VPN on the market, only $1.99 per month (2-year plan), talk about a bargain…
3. ExpressVPN.com – Fastest Speed for Torrenting & P2P
ExpressVPN provides all round benefits, from security to restriction free torrenting. That means you can use torrents on any of their thousands of servers around the world.
I know what you’re thinking. “It can’t be that good.” I thought the same thing.
Then, we tried it out for ourselves.
First off, they’re located in the British Virgin Islands. This places them outside the jurisdiction of the major surveillance alliances which could force a VPN company to abdicate information about their users.
That, coupled with a strict no-logging policy, make ExpressVPN a trustworthy torrenting partner.
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Your private browsing stays private thanks to their OpenVPN protocols, which are backed by government-level AES-256 encryption. Nobody, anywhere, is cracking that connection anytime soon.
Not only does ExpressVPN allow torrenting, they actively encourage it to their users. In fact, there’s an entire page of their support section walking users through the use of uTorrent software coupled with ExpressVPN.
The company sums up the need for a VPN in a 2017 blog post which highlights the huge amount of data that an ISP can gather on their customers. One important section of this article talks about torrenting.
4. Mullvad.net – Best for BitTorrent Users
Mullvad is perfect for a truly anonymous experience.
Overall, they come in at number six on our list. But they’re comfortable in the top three for torrenting due to the extreme lengths it takes to protect the privacy of its users.
Mullvad is a Swedish company. They’re the only VPN that we’ve encountered that requires absolutely no information on their clients. Not even an email address.
When you sign up, you’re given a numbered account and that’s it!
They also keep no logs whatsoever, which means your torrenting experience will be completely private. And although Sweden is located within the jurisdiction of the extended 14 Eyes Surveillance Alliance, they can’t turn over information if they don’t have any of it.
All torrenting is protected with that same winning combination of OpenVPN protocols, coupled with AES-256 encryption. To put this in perspective, that’s the security system used by the FBI. If it can protect US national secrets, you can be sure that it will protect your downloads.
On top of that, they encourage anonymous forms of payment like cryptocurrencies. All Bitcoin transactions are private and confidential, adding another layer of security to Mullvad.
Mullvad also employs a VPN killswitch. A killswitch monitors for leaks in your VPN tunnel, and if leaks are detected that could potentially expose you, the killswitch activates and boots you off the service. It’s your torrenting lifeline, and something to always look for when researching VPNs.
Mullvad supports all BitTorrent software, but they heavily push the use of qBitTorrent to their users.
They don’t block BitTorrent clients like uTorrent or BitComet, but they do state that they don’t believe these services are as safe, citing the presence of harmful adware, poor privacy settings, and the lack of open sourcing.
Mullvad is one of those VPNs that doesn’t just allow torrenting, they embrace it. There’s a whole page on their official website that walks users through the process.
- For more information on Mullvad, check out their official website.
- If you want to hear our full opinions on Mullvad, both pros and cons, check out our official Mullvad review.
5. PerfectPrivacy.com – Configurable P2P Port Forwardings
Configurable port forwardings
Our number three overall ranked VPN comes in at number four on this list.
Perfect Privacy encrypts and anonymizes your data. Just like everyone else on this list. But they also offer full support to BitTorrent.
While the company encourages torrenting, they come with a few restrictions. Only certain dedicated servers are set aside for P2P because those ones are engineered to allow for anonymous connections up to 1,000 Mbps.
Another factor that bumped Perfect Privacy down our list was their connection speeds. Torrenting requires a high download speed, and our tests revealed that this VPN struggled a bit in that area.
It also comes at a high cost, with some users paying over $15 per month.
But when it comes to anonymity and privacy, Perfect Privacy lives up to its name.
Your information is sealed behind an impenetrable wall of OpenVPN tunneling protocols and AES-256 encryption. Some of the other tunneling protocols offered by Perfect Privacy are IPSec and SSH, plus SOCKS5 and PPTP proxies.
This plethora of options means that users from all walks of life will be able to find something that works perfectly for their device and connection.
Perfect Privacy does not keep any logs whatsoever. This point is also backed up by Perfect Privacy’s official privacy policy. That is something to celebrate, as many VPN companies lie about their logging policies.
To top it all off, our tests also showed that Perfect Privacy is a leak and virus-free program. The last thing that a BitTorrent user wants is to be compromised by DNS and WebRTC leaks or to have vicious Malware invade their system. That’s precisely the type of vulnerability a torrenting VPN is meant to guard against.
This is another VPN that features a built-in killswitch, so even if leaks were detected, your torrenting security would still be protected. The problem with leaks is that they often go undetected. So an oblivious user would carry on, thinking that they were safe and secure, all the while their ISP is watching every move they make. A killswitch counteracts this vulnerability.
One of Perfect Privacy’s most valuable features is unlimited simultaneous connections. That’s a huge bonus, as it means that you can connect this service to every computer in the house.
- For more information about Perfect Privacy, check out their official website.
- To see more of our thoughts on this VPN, check out our Perfect Privacy VPN review.
6. PrivateInternetAccess.com – Great for Speed and Security
Private Internet Access (PIA) offers over 3,300 servers in 32 countries to choose from.
First off, it’s under $3 per month. That’s a can’t-beat-price. The cost is just one of the reasons we ranked PIA as our number nine overall VPN.
But best of all, PIA imposes no torrenting limits, providing P2P support throughout the entirety of their massive server park.
The company never explicitly says the words “torrenting” or “BitTorrent” on their site, but the P2P support speaks for itself. That’s why PIA has a great reputation throughout the torrenting community.
PIA doesn’t let us down with weak encryption and protocol options, either. They provide the best-in-class OpenVPN tunneling protocols, along with AES-128 and AES-256 encryption standards.
While they’re not logging any of your usage information, they are keeping track of your email address and payment info. That’s not a huge deal as you can create a new email address that’s not connected to your personal information, and it allows you to pay with untraceable cryptocurrency.
- For more information on PIA, check out their official website.
- To learn more about the pros and cons of using PIA, check out our official Private Internet Access VPN review.
7. TorGuard.net
TorGuard, despite its name, has nothing to do with the popular TOR proxy browser.
The “tor” in its name actually stands for torrenting. We ranked it at number 15th on our list of overall VPNs, and its torrenting policies are a big part of the reason why it ranks so high.
Here you have another A-list VPN with some excellent torrenting-related perks. This company actually offers a bundle that includes a proxy which allows users to torrent at higher speeds than their VPN service. They literally have torrenting on the brain.
TorGuard goes out of its way to state on their official website that their servers are optimized for torrenting, and they impose no restrictions on their users.
But is your torrenting activity protected?
Absolutely.
They’re rounding out our list of torrenting VPNs that use OpenVPN and AES-256 encryption. The fact that every product on this list uses that pairing shows how effective and useful they truly are.
TorGuard offers a completely anonymous system that features no logging whatsoever – a fact that they are quick to point out in several areas of their website.
So why is this at the bottom of the list?
Its jurisdiction lies in the United States, which makes it a part of the Five Eyes Surveillance Alliance. So, if Uncle Sam came knocking on TorGuard’s door, they’d have no choice but to comply. Any information the federal government gathers on you would then be shared with the other member countries, which include the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
That’s a huge concern in our view. Especially if you plan on using torrenting activities to download content that has sketchy sources.
- To find out more about TorGuard, check out their official website.
- To learn more about our opinions on this system, check out our official TorGuard VPN review.
Comparing VPN Torrenting Policies
Finding the right VPN for your torrenting needs can be difficult, but there are a few key things to remember when deciding on an option. When torrenting, you want a VPN that allows you to torrent with as few restrictions as possible.
Additionally, it’s imperative to use a VPN provider that doesn’t log any of your personal information. That’s important in case user data is requested by government or law enforcement.
You can compare the torrenting and logging policies of all the VPN providers we reviewed in our comparison chart, below.
VPN Provider | Torrenting Policy | Logging Policy |
AirVPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
Anonymous VPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
Astrill | Allowed | Some logging |
AzireVPN | Allowed | No important logging |
BitDefender VPN | Allowed | Grey area |
BTGuard VPN | Allowed | Grey area |
Buffered VPN | Allowed | Some logging |
ExpressVPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
FastestVPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
FrootVPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
Hide ALL IP | Allowed | No important logging |
Hide My IP | Allowed | Some logging |
Hotspot Shield | Allowed | Some logging |
LiquidVPN | Allowed | Some logging |
Mullvad | Allowed | No important logging |
NordVPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
OneVPN | Allowed | No important logging |
Perfect Privacy | Allowed | Strict no logging |
PIA | Allowed | Strict no logging |
PrivateVPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
ProXPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
SecureVPN | Allowed | No important logging |
SlickVPN | Allowed | No important logging |
StrongVPN | Allowed | Strict no logging |
SurfEasy | Allowed | Some logging |
Surfshark | Allowed | Strict no logging |
TorGuard | Allowed | Strict no logging |
Trust.zone | Allowed | Strict no logging |
TunnelBear | Allowed | Strict no logging |
VPN.ht | Allowed | No important logging |
VPNTunnel | Allowed | Grey area |
ZoogVPN | Allowed | Some logging |
Ace VPN | Allowed on limited servers | Some logging |
AVG Secure VPN | Allowed on limited servers | Some logging |
Avast SecureLine | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
BlackVPN | Allowed on limited servers | No important log files |
CactusVP | Allowed on limited servers | No important log files |
Celo VPN | Allowed on limited servers | No important log files |
GooseVPN | Allowed on limited servers | No important log files |
Hide.Me | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
Ivacy | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
iVPN | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
ProtonVPN | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
PureVPN | Allowed on limited servers | Some logging |
RA4W VPN | Allowed on limited servers | No important log files |
SaferVPN | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
Speedify | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
TigerVPN | Allowed on limited servers | Some logging |
Turbo VPN | Allowed on limited servers | Some logging |
VPN.ac | Allowed on limited servers | No important log files |
VPNArea | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
VPNSecure.me | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
Windscribe | Allowed on limited servers | Strict no logging |
Anonymizer | Copyrighted material forbidden | Full logging |
Betternet | Copyrighted material forbidden | Some logging |
BolehVPN | Copyrighted material forbidden | Full logging |
CyberGhost | Copyrighted material forbidden | Strict no logging |
F-Secure Freedome | Copyrighted material forbidden | Some logging |
HideMyAss VPN | Copyrighted material forbidden | Some logging |
ibVPN | Copyrighted material forbidden | No important log files |
IPVanish | Copyrighted material forbidden | Strict no logging |
Private Tunnel | Copyrighted material forbidden | Grey area |
VPN Unlimited | Copyrighted material forbidden | Some logging |
VyprVPN | Copyrighted material forbidden | Some logging |
DotVPN | Not allowed | Grey area |
Encrypt.me | Not allowed | Some logging |
Hola VPN | Not allowed | Full logging |
Hoxx VPN | Not allowed | Some logging |
Kaspersky Secure Connection | Not allowed | Some logging |
Norton Wi-Fi Privacy VPN | Not allowed | Some logging |
PersonalVPN | Not allowed | Strict no logging |
Zenmate | Not allowed | Strict no logging |
Cant Download Torrent File With Annony Vpn Software
BitTorrent isn’t the quiet haven it once was. These days, everyone’s looking to throttle your connection, spy on what you’re downloading, or even send you an ominous letter. If you use BitTorrent, you absolutely need to take precautions to hide your identity. Here’s how to do that with a simple proxy.
This post originally detailed the setup of a proxy called BTGuard. Since its original publication in 2011, we’ve changed our recommendation to Private Internet Access due to BTGuard’s slow speeds, bad customer service, and other difficulties. If you’re still interested in using BTGuard, you can find instructions on their web site.
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You have a few different options when it comes to hiding your BitTorrent activity, but we’ve found that a proxy is the most convenient and easiest to set up, so that’s what we’re going to cover here. We’ve talked about proxies a few times before, most notably with our original guide on how to set up BTGuard our guide to safe torrenting post-Demonoid. Unfortunately, BTGuard has never been a great service—it was just the most convenient. Thankfully, Private Internet Access—one of our favorite VPN providers—now provides a proxy very similar to BTGuard, but with faster speeds and better customer service. So we recommend using it instead, using the instructions below. If you don’t want to use a proxy, check out the end of the article for a few alternative suggestions.
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Read more ReadHow a BitTorrent Proxy Works
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When you download or seed a torrent, you’re connecting to a bunch of other people, called a swarm. All of those people can see your computer’s IP address—they have to in order to connect. That’s all very handy when you’re sharing files with other netizens, but file sharers such as yourself aren’t necessarily the only people paying attention. Piracy monitoring groups (often paid for by the entertainment industry either before or after they find violators) also join BitTorrent swarms, but instead of sharing files, they’re logging the IP addresses of other people in the swarm—including you—so that they can notify your ISP of your doings.
A proxy (like Private Internet Access) funnels traffic—in this case, just your BitTorrent traffic—through another server, so that the BitTorrent swarm will show an IP address from them instead of you. In this case, Private Internet Access’ proxy server is in the Netherlands. That way, those anti-piracy groups can’t contact your ISP, and your ISP has no cause to send you a harrowing letter.
But wait, can’t the piracy groups then go to the anonymizer service and requisition their logs to figure out what you’re downloading? Theoretically, yes, but if you’re using a truly good anonymizer, they don’t keep logs, so there’s no paper trail of activity leading back to you. All the piracy monitors see is a proxy service sharing a file, and all your ISP sees is you connecting to a proxy service. If you encrypt your BitTorrent traffic (which we recommend), your ISP won’t even be able to see that you’re using BitTorrent.
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Read more ReadSounds too good to be true, right? Well, there are a few downsides. Most notably:
- Anonymity isn’t free. Well, at least the ones worth using aren’t. Private Internet Access costs $6.95 a month or $39.95 a year. That isn’t very expensive, though, and it’s well worth it for the privacy you get.
- You’ll get slower download speeds. Running your connection through another server inevitably slows you down, though how much depends on what torrent you’re downloading, who from, and a lot of other factors. In my experience, more popular torrents stayed at their top speed of 3.4 MB/s (my bandwidth cap) with a proxy, while other less popular torrents slowed down from 1 MB/s to about 500-600 kB/s. Your mileage may vary. I lost significantly less speed with Private Internet Access than I did with BTGuard, though.
- Not every BitTorrent client supports proxies. uTorrent for Windows works great, but Mac and Linux favorite Transmission sadly does not support proxies. You’ll have to use something like Deluge instead (or try one of the alternatives listed at the end of this article).
- Nothing is foolproof. Using a proxy may bring you increased anonymity, but nothing is guaranteed unless you avoid BitTorrent entirely.
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Ready to get started? Here’s what you need to do.
How to Set Up the Private Internet Access Proxy
Setting up a proxy is actually very simple, and just involves signing up for a service and checking a few boxes in your BitTorrent client. We’ll be using Private Internet Access and uTorrent for Windows for this guide, but you can tweak things to fit your own setup pretty easily.
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Step One: Sign Up for Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access is primarily a VPN provider. We’ll talk a bit more about VPNs later in this post, but what we really want is the SOCKS5 proxy that comes with their VPN service. So, head to Private Internet Access’ web site and sign up for their VPN service. We recommend starting out with a monthly plan to see if you like it before buying a whole year’s subscription.
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Once you’ve signed up, Private Internet Access will email you your username and password. Log into the system with those credentials, and change your password from the client control panel.
Step Two: Generate a Proxy Password
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Your account credentials are only to manage your account—we’ll need a new set of credentials for the Proxy service. In the client control panel, click the “Generate Password” button under “PPTP/L2TP/SOCKS Password.” This is what we’ll be using to configure our BitTorrent client. Write down the username and password that appears here (it’s different than your regular account credentials) and move on to step two.
Step Three: Configure Your BitTorrent Client
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Next, open up uTorrent and head to Options > Preferences > Connection. Under Proxy Server, choose Socks5 under “Type” and enter the following information:
- Proxy Type: Socks5
- Proxy Host:
proxy-nl.privateinternetaccess.com
- Proxy Port: 1080
- Username: Your Private Internet Access Proxy username (from step two)
- Password: Your Private Internet Access Proxy password (from step two)
Check all of the other boxes under “Proxy” and “Proxy Privacy.” Your Connection preferences should look exactly like the image above.
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Step Four: See If It’s Working
To ensure that it’s working, head over to Torguard’s IP Checker. This site can tell you what your IP address is, and compare it to the IP address of your torrent client, which will let you know whether your proxy is working correctly. To test it, hit the “Generate Torrent” button, and open the resulting torrent in uTorrent. Then, go back to your browser and hit the Refresh button under the “Check IP” tab. If it’s the same as your browser IP—which you’ll see next to the Refresh button—then your proxy isn’t working, and you’ll want to double-check all of the above settings. If it shows a different IP address (which should be in the Netherlands), then Private Internet Access is successfully tunneling all your traffic for you.
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Other Ways to Anonymize Your BitTorrent Traffic
A proxy like Private Internet Access is the most convenient way to anonymize your traffic, but it isn’t the only way. If you want to try something else, here are a few other tricks we recommend.
Use a VPN
A virtual private network (or VPN) is very similar to a proxy, but instead of rerouting just your BitTorrent traffic, it reroutes all your internet traffic. For some people, that’s a good thing—it gives you privacy all over the web. However, it can also be inconvenient, navigating you to different web pages for that VPN’s country or causing issues with streaming services. If you have a NAS, you can set up your VPN on it to route only your NAS traffic, which is a perfect option for downloading anonymously. VPNs are about the same price as most proxies, and I personally have found that I get better speeds with most VPNs than I do with a proxy.
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Read more ReadSo which VPN should you use? Check out TorrentFreak’s list of the best VPNs for BitTorrent, as well as our Hive Five on the subject to find a provider that works for you.
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Rent a Seedbox
Unlike proxies and VPNs, seedboxes don’t route your BitTorrent traffic through another country. Instead, you actually rent a dedicated server that resides in that country, and do all your torrenting through that machine. They usually have insanely fast speeds, and if you’re on a private tracker, they’ll seed 24/7, giving you a great ratio. Once you download a torrent on your seedbox, you can just connect to it via FTP and download the file as fast as your home connection allows. Note that seedboxes also require a bit of extra setup, and some may require a little command line work to get running.
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Seedboxes are more expensive than proxies and VPNs, ranging from entry-level boxes at $10 or $20 a month to fast boxes with more storage at $50 or even $100 a month. But, it offers a lot of advantages over proxies and VPNs—if you have the money to spare and want super fast speeds and a good ratio, we highly recommend getting a seedbox. Providers like Whatbox, Feral, and Bytesized come highly recommended, but a bit of searching can provide you with a ton of options. Shop around and see which one’s best for you.
Ditch BitTorrent Altogether
Your last alternative is to try a new file sharing service entirely, like Usenet. It offers encrypted connections and doesn’t connect to peers, so others can’t track what you’re doing. It doesn’t always have the selection that BitTorrent has (depending on what you’re downloading), but it offers a ton of other advantages, most notably higher speeds and better privacy. Check out our guide to getting started with Usenet to see if it’s right for you.
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ReadDownload Torrent Movies
Images remixed from Simon and lynea (Shutterstock).