The top court in the United Kingdom has mandated leading ISPs in the country to block popular torrent sites including The Pirate Bay, Torrentz and Kickass Torrents. ISPs are also to identify users that are suspected of using torrents to download copyright materials. The five major ISPs in UK BT, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Sky and EE are ordered to send a “Cease and Desist” notification to any user identified for illegal torrenting behaviors.

The UK government has banned a number of torrent sites already as part of an effort to fight online piracy that is usually done via torrent file sharing platforms. The government is even proposing a law that would punish online pirates with a 10-year jail term.

As you can see, P2P file sharing in the UK is on the verge of becoming impossible soon.

Aside from torrenting, overall web blocking is also a big concern in the UK. From anti-monarchy content to gambling sites, cyber censorship in the UK is becoming worse than ever.

If you are worried that the UK government might be spying on your internet activities, you should get a VPN. Continue reading to learn how to hide from big brother and other spying parties out there.

Things To Consider When Picking A VPN For Torrenting In The UK

Not all VPN services support torrenting. If you are fond of downloading torrents, it is important to check if the VPN service you’re considering supports file sharing before purchasing a VPN plan.

Keep in mind that the laws of the country where they are based also bind VPN services. Make sure you choose a VPN service that doesn’t operate under the jurisdiction of a country that has strict internet laws. Here are other things to consider in order to get the perfect VPN.

Speed

You don’t want to totally compromise your internet speed for the sake of downloading torrents anonymously. Otherwise, it might take ages for a torrent file to completely download. Make sure that your VPN provider has fast VPN connections.

P2P Support

Some VPN providers block the ports required for peer-to-peer to work. That is certainly the case with VyprVPN, for instance.

Logging Policy

There are VPN providers that keep logs of the websites you visit, files you download, and apps you use while you are connected to their servers. Thus, you are not truly anonymous while using their service. Stay away from these VPNs, especially for torrenting.

Shared IPs

Sharing an IP address with hundreds of other people might seem like a bad thing, but when it comes to torrenting, there is safety in numbers. The more people using the same address, the more difficult it becomes to identify individual users.

Bandwidth Limit

Some VPN providers, especially free ones, put limits on how much data you can download when you connect to their servers. You don’t want to sign up with a VPN that tells you how much bandwidth you can use.

Security

Strong features like a Kill Switch, rock-solid encryption and DNS leak protection are essential if you want to torrent safely. It’s also important for security that your provider keeps no logs.

How To Torrent Safely:

1. Download and install a VPN matching the criteria mentioned above

2. Enable your VPN’s Kill Switch, if it has one (ExpressVPN calls this a “network lock”)

3. Connect to a VPN server, preferably in a P2P-friendly country

4. Once the connection is established, open your torrent client and start downloading as usual

Do You Need A VPN For Torrenting In The UK?

Although, there are some torrent-friendly countries like Spain, Netherlands, Canada and Mexico who allow P2P file-sharing, learning how to download torrents securely is a must for everyone else.

So if you’re are torrenting in the UK you will need a VPN.

By using top rated VPN services, you will achieve fast and safe access to unlimited torrents in the UK, US, India and other torrent-restricted countries.