A VPN encrypts your data and hides it from third parties by changing your IP address. This prevents your data from getting exposed or traced back to you. PIA (Private Internet Access) claims that it’s reliable for torrenting, but I wanted to check if that’s really true. After extensive testing, I learned that PIA is an excellent choice for torrenting. It has one of the most extensive server networks and has P2P-specific features like SOCKS5 proxy and port forwarding along with military-grade security and privacy features. You can buy PIA with confidence as it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Torrent safely with PIA
Quick Guide: How to Torrent Safely with PIA
Get PIA for secure P2P downloads
Is PIA Any Good for Torrenting? (Tested in 2023)
Yes, PIA is an excellent VPN for torrenting. It’s home to one of the biggest networks of 35,000+ servers in 84 countries, all of which support fast P2P downloads. It also has port forwarding and configurable settings that improve connection speeds while torrenting.
Excellent Speeds for Torrenting
PIA averaged speeds of 88Mbps on 20+ servers in my tests. Nearby servers were faster by about 6% as my data had to travel less than on distant locations. While this drop was greater than what I got with ExpressVPN, a 12% average dip in connections wasn’t much compared to other VPNs that reduced them by over 30%. I suggest using the auto-connect feature as it’ll choose the fastest server available from your location. For me, it was one in New York. I torrented a 5.5GB public domain file on uTorrent in just 9 minutes compared to 7 minutes on my baseline speeds without a VPN.
Extensive Suite of Configurable Security Settings
PIA uses military-grade 256-bit encryption on all its servers. That means your P2P traffic will be hidden from everyone on the network. Encrypting data can slow down your speeds, which can be a dealbreaker if you already have slow internet. PIA lets you reduce your encryption to 128-bit, which is still highly secure but improves speeds. You can also switch between multiple protocols like OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, or a SOCKS5 proxy. I don’t recommend the proxy for P2P downloads as it doesn’t encrypt your traffic but only spoofs your location. OpenVPN was the most reliable option for me, but L2TP gave me 6% faster speeds at a slight cost of security.
Security & Privacy
Besides its configuration options, PIA’s advanced security and privacy features make it excellent for torrenting. It offers:
Military-grade encryption — encrypts your internet traffic with a powerful 256-bit cipher, also used by many military agencies to protect confidential data. Kill switch — disconnects you from the internet if the VPN connection is lost unexpectedly (though all 25+ of PIA’s servers I tested were stable in my tests). MACE ad and malware blocker — effectively blocks ads and malware on websites, ensuring that you never accidentally download a virus. Built-in leak protection — protects your data from sneaking past the encrypted tunnel to prevent your IP address and browsing data from being exposed. No-logs policy — Uses RAM-only servers that aren’t capable of storing data to ensure the VPN has no record of your online activities.
Built-in Port Forwarding
PIA’s port forwarding feature increases P2P download speeds by allowing connections to more peers and seeders. When you download or upload a torrent file, the BitTorrent client needs to connect to other users sharing the same file (peers or seeders) to download or upload the data. If your router isn’t configured to allow incoming connections on the appropriate port, the BitTorrent client will have difficulty finding connections with peers and seeders. This results in slower download speeds due to fewer available sources. Port forwarding solves this problem by allowing incoming P2P connections on a specific port for faster downloads.
SOCKS5 Proxy
With SOCKS5 proxy, PIA lets you add a fake location before your VPN connection. This adds an extra layer of privacy as your internet traffic appears to originate from a different location. You can also use the SOCKS5 proxy without a VPN connection to simply spoof your location. This could help if your downloading speeds are slow to begin with, but I don’t recommend it because of its lack of encryption.
Large Server Network
PIA has one of the largest networks I’ve seen in a VPN. All its 35,000+ servers in 84 countries support torrenting. An average of 400 servers per country is quadruple that of most other VPNs. I had no issues finding the fastest available server via the auto-connect button. Alternatively, I could sort them via latency and mark them as favorites to make them accessible from the Quick Connect menu.
Value for Money
With its low prices, PIA is on the list of the top most affordable monthly VPNs. It costs less than top competitors like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost. If you want to get it at a bargain price, I recommend PIA’s 2-year + 3 months plan, which offers a 82% discount and comes at just $2.11 a month. Torrent safely with PIA Get fast P2P downloads with PIA A VPN routes your data to a remote location through an encrypted tunnel, hiding your IP address and traffic from snoopers. Torrenting is illegal in some countries like China, so make sure you’re not violating any laws. PIA had nothing to hand over when authorities requested some logs for 2 ongoing investigations in 2015 and 2017. This and the fact that a renowned brand like Deloitte has audited and verified PIA’s no-logs policy makes me feel pretty confident about the service. Therefore, it deserves a spot on every the top VPNs list. While it typically offers faster speeds than VPNs due to no encryption, a proxy is vulnerable to leaks as it has a single point of failure. In contrast, a VPN will automatically connect you to another server if one goes down. Plus, it has security features like a kill switch that prevents your IP address from getting exposed even if the VPN connection is lost. Port forwarding instructs your router to forward incoming connections to a specific port on your device, making seeding faster. However, this has security risks as it exposes you to incoming online traffic without filters. It’s best to protect yourself with a torrenting-focused VPN like PIA. Before torrenting, turn on the kill switch so that your IP address and data aren’t exposed if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly. Make sure to turn on MACE to block ads and protect from malware. You can turn on port forwarding to connect your device directly with other peers on the network for faster downloads. However, it’s not always safe to do so.
Torrent Securely With PIA Today
Torrenting without a VPN can expose you to cyber criminals. However, not all VPNs are good enough to keep you anonymous on P2P networks. PIA is an excellent VPN for torrenting as all its servers support high-bandwidth P2P traffic. The port forwarding feature offers fast speeds for seeding and leeching by allowing torrent peers to connect directly to your device. With military-grade encryption, DNS leak protection, a kill switch, and a no-logs policy, PIA protects you from malicious actors on a P2P network. You can try PIA risk-free with its 30-day money-back guarantee.
