ExpressVPN Torrenting Guide: Tested and Reviewed
Is ExpressVPN Good for Torrenting?
With P2P filesharing coming under increased scrutiny by ISPs and copyright holders, many users have been wondering if ExpressVPN is still the magic bullet for safe torrenting it once was. Today, we’ll explore this topic in depth, with a close look at ExpressVPN’s features and review how they interact with torrent technology.
Torrenting used to be one of the most popular ways to download content online. However, in the last five to ten years there have been major crackdowns on the use of torrents from both ISPs and copyright holders. Although the use of torrents is not in itself illegal, torrents are often used to download copyrighted content while making them prime pickings for copyright trolls and law enforcement. There is still tons of great content available on torrents, but if you’re going to use torrents then it’s vital that you protect yourself from legal issues.
The best way to keep yourself safe and secure when using torrents is to get a VPN. VPNs will encrypt all of the data that your device sends over the internet – including data about your torrent use – so that no one can see what sites you are visiting or whether you have been downloading torrents. Even your ISP won’t be able to track your internet activity or see when you’ve been using torrents.
One popular VPN for torrents users is ExpressVPN. In this article we’ll talk about how ExpressVPN torrenting works and walk you through some of its features. We’ll explain why we think that ExpressVPN is a great VPN for torrent users.
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If you’ve looked for a VPN to use for your torrents, you might have noticed that not all VPNs will be suitable for your needs. Many VPNs do not allow P2P traffic like torrents on their network, especially free VPNs. Other issues include security limitations that mean you may not feel comfortable using torrents over a VPN. One VPN that is often recommended to torrent users is ExpressVPN, so below we’re going to look at the features that torrent users need in a VPN and see whether ExpressVPN meets these needs.
Is Torrent Traffic Allowed with ExpressVPN?
The most important issue for torrent users to consider when looking at ExpressVPN is whether the VPN service allows the use of torrents and other P2P downloads. The answer is yes, ExpressVPN does allow P2P and torrent traffic over its network. This means that you can use the ExpressVPN service to preserve your anonymity and to hide your IP address when you use torrents. There are no specific servers in the ExpressVPN network for P2P downloads – instead, you can connect to any ExpressVPN server and use it to route your torrent traffic.
Zero Bandwidth Caps For ExpressVPN Torrenting
Another important consideration for torrent users searching for a VPN is bandwidth caps. Lots of VPNs, especially free VPNs, have limits on the amount of bandwidth that you can use in a month. This might not be a problem if you just do internet browsing and maybe some light streaming, but if you are a torrent user and you download a lot then you will very quickly hit a bandwidth cap. Then, you would have to pay for access to more bandwidth from your free VPN. But this isn’t a problem for ExpressVPN users, as there are no bandwidth caps for ExpressVPN. With ExpressVPN torrenting you can download as much as you like, whenever you like, so you’ll never have to worry about hitting a bandwidth cap.
Excellent Security Features For ExpressVPN Torrenting
If you’re a torrent user, especially if you use torrents for content which is not fully legal, then you know how important security is. Many torrent users have been found to be torrenting by their ISPs and have received letters threatening to kick them off the ISP network, or even worse, have been contacted by copyright trolls demanding huge sums of money because of their downloading. If you use torrents, it’s vital to have a VPN active, and it’s vital that the VPN you use has strong security.
ExpressVPN has excellent security features, such as the use of strong 256-bit encryption to keep all of the data that you send over the internet safe. When you connect to ExpressVPN, your IP address will be hidden from other torrent users and anyone else on the internet, so there is no link between your actual IP address and the torrent downloading activity. This means that your internet activity can’t be traced back to you personally. Additionally, ExpressVPN uses shared IP addresses, meaning that you and many other users will be working under the same IP address. This makes it even harder for activity from that shared IP address to be traced to any particular individual user.
Further security features in ExpressVPN include IPV6 leak protection and the option to use ExpressVPN’s DNS servers to prevent any information about your connection from leaking out.
No User Logs Guaranteed With ExpressVPN
Torrent users need to consider their needs in terms of privacy as well as security. One big concern in terms of privacy is VPN providers keeping logs of their users’ activities. The problem is that if logs are kept and a user is suspected of illegal activity, local police or government can legally force a VPN provider to hand over their logs of that user’s activities. This is a massive compromise of the privacy that a VPN should be protecting. In order to avoid this problem, ExpressVPN keeps no logs whatsoever of its users’ activities. This means that even if ExpressVPN were compelled to hand over the information they have about a particular users’ activities, there is no information to be handed over. A no logging policy is thus an essential way for VPN users to preserve their privacy online.
LEARN MORE: VPN user logs explained in depth
ExpressVPN Offers Lightning Fast Connections For Torrent Downloads from uTorrent, BitTorrent, and more
A big advantage of using torrents as opposed to other download methods is that you can download large files very quickly. Because you are downloading chunks of a file from multiple other users, the overall download can proceed much more quickly than it would if you were downloading from just one source. As long as your internet connection is fast and there are enough hosters of the file you want, you should be able to download files very quickly, even if the files are tens or even hundreds of gigabytes in size.
But there can be an issue with speed of downloads when using a VPN to keep you safe. If the connection speeds offered by your VPN are slower than your internet connection, then your download speed will be limited and it will take much longer for you to download large files. Fortunately, ExpressVPN has some of the fastest connection speeds of any VPN provider, so your torrent downloads can run at full speed and you can get your downloaded files sooner rather than later.
Another factor that affects the speed of downloading torrents is the physical distance between you and the server you are connected to. If you are based in the UK, for example, and you connect to a server in the US, your downloads will run much slower as the data has to travel a great distance to get from you to the server. For the best torrenting download speeds, you should connect to a server nearby to you – preferably a server within your own country or in a neighbouring country. With ExpressVPN, there are over 3,000 servers available in 94 different countries, so wherever you live you’ll be able to find a server nearby to connect to. This will help you to achieve the best possible download speeds when torrenting.
Is There VPN Torrenting Support For Multiple Devices And OSes?
To use a VPN, you typically install specific software from your VPN provider onto your device. You can theoretically install VPN software onto any device you use to download torrents, whether that device is a desktop, laptop, phone, tablet, or even a different sort of device like a Raspberry Pi, a games console, or a Smart TV. However, in order to do this, your VPN provider needs to offer software that is compatible with the platform that you are using for your torrents.
ExpressVPN has some of the broadest support for platforms of any VPN provider. You can install the ExpressVPN software on devices running on both newer and older versions of Windows, or those running Mac OS or Linux. In terms of mobile, you can install the ExpressVPN app on devices running Android, iOS, and Blackberry. For games consoles, you can run ExpressVPN on your Playstation 4 or Xbox One, and for Smart TVs, you can run the software on AppleTV and Amazon FireTV devices.
Alternatively, there is an option to install ExpressVPN directly onto compatible routers, which means that every device connected to your home network will be automatically protected with a VPN – this is a great option if you have frequent visitors to your house who want to use the internet securely while they visit. Finally, for ease of use, there are also browser extensions available that you can use to connect to ExpressVPN while you browse the internet. You can install the extension to the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari browsers.
Whatever device you use to download your torrents, you’ll be able to install ExpressVPN onto the device in order to keep you safe while you download.
ExpressVPN Is Dead Simple To Use For Torrenting
If you are new to using a VPN, you may be wondering how exactly you use the ExpressVPN software when downloading torrents. If you happen to use the popular uTorrent software, then there are instructions on the ExpressVPN website for configuring it to work best with ExpressVPN. However, uTorrent is not as popular with torrents users as it once was, due to its inclusion of large amounts of unwanted bloatware in the installer. Instead, many torrent users are using alternatives to uTorrent like BitTorrent, Transmission, Deluge, or Tixati. If you use one of these torrent clients or another torrent client other than uTorrent, we’ll explain how to configure the client to work with ExpressVPN.
The first thing to remember is to open up the ExpressVPN software and connect to a server before opening your torrent client. This ensures that you won’t accidentally send torrent data over an unsecure connection before you connect to your VPN. With ExpressVPN, you can connect to any server and use it for P2P downloads, though we recommend choosing a server which is near to your physical location for the best download speeds. You can do this by using the Choose Location button on the software home screen. Once you are connected to a VPN server, your IP address will be hidden from the other torrent users and the data that you send over the internet will be encrypted so that no one can see what you are downloading.
It’s also important to enable the kill switch in ExpressVPN. This means that if you are disconnected from the VPN for any reason, your internet connection will be blocked so that you don’t accidentally send data over an unsecured connection. This is particularly important when you are using torrents, as any data from torrent downloads that travels over an unsecured connection could potentially be used against you and cause legal problems. To enable the kill switch, click on the three grey lines in the top left of the ExpressVPN software. Then click on Options which will open up the options panel. Look in the General tab for the Network Lock section. Now, check the box that says Enable Network Lock (internet kill switch) to enable the kill switch. You will need to change this setting before connecting to a server. Once you have done this, you’ll be protected from accidentally using an unsecured connection.
Double Check If Your ExpressVPN Connection Is Secure And Check IP Address Before Torrenting
Before you open up your torrent client and start torrenting, you may want to reassure yourself that the VPN is on and is protecting you. When you connect to the VPN, the large round button in the software home page will get a green background shaped like a shield around it. But if you want more information about your VPN connection, you can use ExpressVPN’s IP address checker function to make sure you are secure before you start torrenting.
To use the IP address checker, click the three grey lines in the top left of the ExpressVPN software to open up the menu, then click on Help, then IP Address Checker. This will open your web browser to a page on the ExpressVPN website which will check your IP address. On this page you’ll see a green tick symbol and text saying ExpressVPN Connected if everything is working ok. You can also see your visible IP address underneath this – this IP address should be different from your actual IP address, as the visible IP address is the one that will be seen by other torrent users. You can also consult the map on the right to see the location that you are connected to.
If everything looks good, you can go ahead and start up your torrent software, knowing that your IP address is hidden and that you’ll be safe to use your torrents for downloading.
Special Offer – ExpressVPN
As you can see, ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs for torrent users. ExpressVPN does allow P2P downloads including torrents on any of its servers, with no bandwidth cap to limit your download speeds or total amount. 256-bit AES encryption with an elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman key exchange protect your data from outside observers, which is as powerful as what the NSA uses on top-secret files. There are also extra security features which are important for torrent users like a kill switch, the use of shared IP addresses, IPV6 leak protection, and the option to use their DNS servers. In order to preserve your privacy and prevent any copyright issues when using torrents, there is a no logging policy which means that records of your internet use will never be kept.
The connection speeds offered by ExpressVPN are extremely fast, so you’ll be able to download large files quickly. And to help with download speeds, the large network of servers includes over 3,000 different servers in 160 locations throughout 94 countries, so you’ll always be able to find a server near you for the best speeds. The software can be installed on a variety of different platforms and is very easy to use, with simple check boxes to turn on features like the kill switch and an IP address checker so that you can double check that your IP address is hidden before starting up your torrent software.
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Is ExpressVPN One Of The Best VPNs That Work For Torrenting? Our Conclusion
With torrent traffic being watched more closely than ever, a VPN is an absolute essential for all torrent users, and we highly recommend that you get a VPN to protect yourself from legal issues or from problems with your ISP. One of the best VPNs that we recommend for torrent users is ExpressVPN. This is a great choice of VPN for torrent users, as it allows P2P traffic on all of its servers and has the combination of speed, security, and features that torrent users will want. The software is easy to set up and to configure, so even if you’re new to VPNs you’ll be able to protect yourself in minutes.
Have you tried out using ExpressVPN with torrents? What was your experience with this combination like? Let us know about it in the comments below.
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