Using uTorrent (or any torrenting site) without a VPN is risky. Not only does using uTorrent without a VPN make your torrenting habits easy to track by your ISP, but your IP address and physical location are also exposed to other uTorrent users.
Exposure also makes you vulnerable to third parties stealing your data, and you could fall victim to DoS attacks, or malware from other uTorrent users. There could also be legal consequences for downloading copyrighted material, even if this was done by accident.
But these threats can be easily neutralised thanks to a VPN. With a VPN you can torrent safely and easily with total privacy. Setting up a VPN isn’t complicated, and only takes a few minutes!
A good VPN will mask your IP address and encrypt your data, meaning your ISP and the authorities won’t have access to it. Plus, surfing the web and torrenting anonymously means you will be invisible to other uTorrent users who wish to attack you.
While it is possible to use a free VPN to keep you safe while using uTorrent, these VPNs are usually limited, and don’t always offer more ‘premium’ features like leak protection, no-logs, and P2P speciality servers.
However, if you do wish to use a free VPN, this article will help finding one a little easier! Below you will not only find some of the best premium VPNs for using uTorrent, but some of the best free ones too. We’ll also let you know what to look for in a VPN, why they are so important when using uTorrent, as well as answer some frequently asked questions.
Why do I need a VPN for uTorrent?
While we’ve already mentioned just how risky it is to use uTorrent without a VPN, we really can’t underestimate just how dangerous it can be to use uTorrent unprotected.
Sharing files via a P2P network not only exposes your device to malware, spyware, and DoS attacks, but downloading a copyrighted file - even unknowingly - could result in you facing legal action. Plus, as uTorrent shares your real IP address with other users, this makes it incredibly easy for law enforcement authorities to find you.
But you can protect your identity by connecting your device to a remote server through a high-quality VPN. A VPN will make it seem like you are online at that server’s location.
VPNs also encrypt internet traffic, making it difficult for your ISP to know what you’re doing online. Whether you’re browsing, streaming content, or using uTorrent, your device will always be protected when you’re online.
A Few More Reasons to Use a VPN for uTorrent Are:
- To bypass network firewalls and uTorrent blocks:
If you want to use uTorrent outside of home on another local network that has blocked uTorrent, a VPN will grant you access while hiding your online activity from your network administrator. Thanks to your web traffic being directed through a remote server, VPNs can bypass firewalls and unblock restricted content.
- To bypass ISP throttling:
Some ISPs will actually throttle the connection of torrent site users. But when your data is encrypted your ISP will be unaware that you’re using uTorrent. Not only does a VPN bypass ISP throttling and network congestion, but it can make your connection faster!
- To avoid legal action:
Since copyright laws are so complex, you may not know if the files you’re torrenting are copyrighted. Unfortunately, legal authorities are not exactly sympathetic to this. A reliable VPN will make sure your activity can’t be traced back to you, so you can put legal worries to the back of your mind.
- To keep your information private:
A safe, reliable VPN will hide your real location and protect your data from data-harvesting third parties, government agencies, and other uTorrent users, so you can rest assured that your data will remain with you.
However, free VPNs often have weaker security, and some may even collect and sell your data. Therefore, for higher-risk activities like torrenting, you should only trust a top-rated VPN with plenty of reviews from customers who can vouch that their data has been kept safe.
OUR TOP PICK
Windscribe is a free, secure VPN that gives you 10GB of free data per month - enough to watch around 10 hours of SD videos, but not enough to download a lot of large files. However, if you don’t provide your email address you only get 2GB of data, but you can top that up to 5 GB each month by tweeting about the VPN.
To shield your IP address and protect you if there is a security fault with your browser, Windscribe provides DNS, WebRTC and IPv6 leak protection.
Stealth mode also disguises your data as regular traffic thanks to Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) that lets you bypass censorship even in the most restrictive areas, and a strict no-logs policy makes sure your anonymity is extra protected.
Windscribe allows torrenting on most of its servers. But if you’re unsure whether a server will allow torrenting or not, a P2P icon with a slash through it will appear if a server is unsuitable for torrenting.
However, a combination of SOCKS5 and a VPN provides even more stability and higher speeds for torrenting. This is because SOCKS5 runs your torrenting activity through a third-party proxy server, adding an extra level of obfuscation and making your activity harder to trace back to you.
While you can enjoy this VPN for free, you can only access Netflix via Windscribe’s streaming-optimized servers that are only available with a paid subscription. However, it can still unblock torrenting sites like uTorrent, Deluge, qBittorrent, and Vuze.
Windscribe’s intuitive chatbot feature also answers basic questions about plans and features, and has an easy to follow and comprehensive FAQ section that answers technical questions like setting up the SOCKS5 proxy to use with uTorrent. But if you would like more information and would like to speak to a human, you can make use of Windscribe’s live chat.
Windscribe is compatible with Windows, macOS, Android, Windows Phone, iOS, Chrome and Linux.
EDITORS CHOICE
Like Windscribe, hide.me offers 10Gb of monthly data on its free plan. It protects your data from hackers and identity thieves by using 256-bit encryption, and also uses IPv6 leak protection to prevent hackers and your ISP from seeing your real IP on IPv6-enabled sites.
Split-tunneling also gives you greater control of your data, letting you decide what apps route through the VPN and which ones use your local IP address.
On hide.me’s free plan you can torrent via their Netherlands server without your speed being throttled like most free VPNs will. Hide.me also bypasses geoblocking and censorship restrictions, giving you easy access to YouTube, Netflix and Hulu.
However, hide.me’s free plan isn’t great if you want to download large files, as you will most likely run out of data quickly - maybe even in the middle of a download, which is a pain everyone wants to avoid!
You can install hide.me on 10 devices, which is rather generous but if you have more devices that you would like to protect then this may not be suitable.
As well as split-tunneling and IP leak protection, hide.me also supports SOCKS5 web proxy and has an automatic kill switch, so if the connection to the VPN drops, hide.me will automatically disconnect you from the internet so you’re always protected.
You can use hide.me with Windows, ChromeOS, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and Blackberry.
BEST VALUE
With PrivateVPN’s 7-day free trial, you’ll receive unlimited data and bandwidth. To create a free trial account, you just need to provide your email address and create a password!
PrivateVPN supports port forwarding that reroutes incoming connections to bypass the NAT firewall. NAT firewalls are a nuisance when torrenting, as they block you from uploading seed files. Not only will you be able to bypass this firewall with PrivateVPN, but it makes torrenting quicker.
You also have access to 100 servers in 63 countries with PrivateVPN, so if another server gets blocked by a torrenting site you will have plenty more to choose from.
Secure connections are established while torrenting with PrivateVPN via OpenVPN, L2TP, IKEv2/IPSec, and PPTP protocols that also protect your anonymity. Its 256-bit AES encryption also protects sensitive data as it travels through the internet. PrivateVPN also has a no-logs policy.
PrivateVPN also comes with a customizable kill switch called Connection Guard. This kill switch lets you choose which programs shut down when the VPN connection drops. This lets you disconnect your torrenting or streaming service while still giving you access to your local IP.
However, some popular streaming services like Netflix and BBC iPlayer may be inaccessible.
You can also use one account on up to 6 devices at the same time, so one plan can cover all your devices.
PrivateVPN supports all P2P activity, and does so at great speeds. Downloading files may take longer at peak times though, and it is unable to bypass Chinese firewalls.
Customer support is provided by PrivateVPN’s developers, who provide a useful ‘Getting Started’ section, which comes in handy if this is your first VPN.
PrivateVPN is compatible with Windows, macOS, Chrome, Firefox, macOS, Android, and Windows 10 Phones. It also works with uTorrent, BitTorrent, Vuze, Youtube, and Hulu.
RUNNER UP
Speedify VPN has 53 servers in 35 countries and you have access to them all with Speedify’s free plan. However, you only get 2GB of free data per month, which limits you to what you can share or download.
Speedify provides DNS leak protection, a no-logs policy, and AES-128 encryption so nobody can trace your digital footsteps. While AES-128 protection isn’t as strong as 256-bit encryption, it’s still secure enough to keep sensitive information safe from third parties.
With Speedify, you can also have access to the most popular streaming services such as Netflix, and Speedify also has dedicated P2P servers. To use uTorrent or Vuze, you will need to choose a torrent-friendly server option on Speedify’s Speed Selection screen.
Speedify does offer channel bonding that combines WiFi, mobile, and Ethernet to give you the best connection, but this takes up twice as much data as normal torrenting.
Considering that you only get 2GB of free data per month with Speedify on their free plan, channel bonding isn’t recommended, especially if you are on a mobile plan with a lower data limit anyway.
Speedify has a well-organized and intuitive support section that provides FAQs for mobile and desktop versions of the VPN. Speedify works with uTorrent, Netflix US, Hulu, YouTube, BBC iPlayer, and Vuze, and is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
RUNNER UP
Now we move onto the premium VPNs, and ExpressVPN is the fastest premium VPN on the market. It operates 3,000 servers across 94 countries, giving you secure and unrestricted internet access all around the world. Their state-of-the-art security features make sure you’re always anonymous online.
Express VPN can unblock Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Showtime, Sling TV, and DAZN and all of their servers support P2P activity.
ExpressVPN is compatible with Windows, macOS, Chrome, Firefox, Linux, Android, and Android TV. It also offers an app for use with certain routers.
Their impressive amount of servers, state-of-the-art security features, and user-friendly apps have helped to make ExpressVPN one of the most highly rated VPNs out there. Plus, their 30-day money-back guarantee means using Express VPN is entirely risk-free.
RUNNER UP