The world might be gravitating to online streaming, but peer-to-peer file sharing through torrents remains ever-popular. It's important to stay safe while torrenting by using a virtual private network (VPN), even when sharing something entirely legal, but which clients are the best for the job?
IPTorrents is the largest of the general private trackers, indexing an incredible amount of content of all kinds. For general media, this is the absolute best private torrent tracker out there. For those that don't want to wait and would rather skip an interview process, IPT allows donations. Best Private Torrent Trackers 1. PassThePopcorn - Movies. If you're looking for the end-all-be-all of movie trackers, PassThePopcorn is the holy grail of film. With a library of over half a million torrents to choose from, it comes at no surprise that this is the best private torrent tracker online right now. The best torrent clients for 2021 By Jon Martindale November 18, 2020 Torrent clients are not actual people, but rather a method of downloading files that uses a peer-to-peer system. In this list of Best Torrent Sites, we’ve categorized them into Public and Private Sites. Public torrent sites or otherwise known as open trackers allow any user to access the tracker address. Downloading files from these sites is a very simple process. Private torrent sites or private trackers, on the other hand, limit the access to its. Updated list of public BitTorrent trackers. Contribute to ngosang/trackerslist development by creating an account on GitHub.
ProPrivacy has compared several BitTorrent clients out there to find the cream of the crop, so you don't have to! Keep reading to discover which one is best for you.
What are the best BitTorrent clients?
There are many BitTorrent clients out there to choose from and not all of them were built equal. Take a look at what ProPrivacy considers the best of the best to torrent with:
qBitTorrent
qBitTorrent is the best torrenting client out there, being both open source and full of features
PROS
- Open source
- Lightweight
- Efficient
- Can bind to VPN
- Fully featured
CONS
- Can't think of any
As a long-term Vuze fan, it took quite something for this lightweight open source BitTorrent client to replace Vuze on my desktop. One reason I stuck with Vuze for so long is the ability to bind the torrent client to my VPN interface.
Although not strictly necessary if your VPN software features a kill switch, I have always appreciated this extra layer of security. It prevents the client downloading torrents when the VPN is not active.
qBitTorrent not only supports this feature, it makes it much easier to implement. This was a big factor in me making the change, as was qBitTorrent’s lean-and-mean 100 MB or less install size (exact size depending on platform). There is no bloat with qBitTorrent!
Despite this, qBitTorrent features just about everything most torrenters will need. This includes BitTorrent protocol encryption, torrent prioritization, torrent querying, selective content download, torrent creation, remote access, and RSS subscription. You can search for torrents from within the client, and the built-in media player is handy.
qBitTorrent is 100% free and ad-free. It is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. For a more detailed look at this excellent software, including instructions on how to bind qBittorrent to your VPN interface, please check out 5 Best VPNs for qBittorrent.
Transmission
Transmission has overcome older problems to build a reputation for itself as a great torrent client
PROS
- Open source
- Lightweight
- Tons of features
- Pretty
- Available natively on many obscure OSs
CONS
- Not much (vulnerability should be fixed by the time most of you read this)
Transmission started life as a Mac and Linux-only BitTorrent client, where it built up a formidable reputation. Windows users can now also get in on the act. Although a very capable BitTorrent client, the main draw of Transmission is its beautiful user interface, complete with Growl notifications for Mac users.
But it’s not all about looking pretty. Transmission features webseed support, BitTorrent protocol encryption, watch directories, tracker editing, global and per-torrent speed limits, and more. It also supports optional add-ons that can expand its feature-set. These include RSS subscription tools and a Kodi plugin.
Transmission has recently hit the headlines thanks to a vulnerability that can be exploited by hackers. I discuss this a little later in the article, but a patch is available, and the issue is very easy to fix yourself, anyway. I have therefore decided to not let this problem affect Transmission’s ranking in this 5 Best guide.
Transmission is 100% free and open source. It is available for Windows, Mac OSX/macOS, Linux (many distros), FreeBSD, Gentoo, and more.
The Transmission Vulnerability
A security researcher discovered a flaw in Transmission that could allow hackers to execute malicious code on targets’ computers. In theory, this could allow them to completely take over the infected system.
The flaw took advantage of lax security in Transmission’s remote web access feature. Note that this is a proof of concept attack, and there has been no evidence of it being exploited in the wild. The current version of Transmission has already implemented a fix.
Alternatively, if you wanted to be sure, the flaw is easy enough to fix for yourself. If you don’t use the remote web access feature, simply turn it off! Go to Preferences -> Remote and uncheck 'Enable remote access.” If you do use the remote web access feature, then change the default password to something secure. Easy!
Note that the security researcher who discovered the flaw has hinted that other BitTorrents clients may also be vulnerable. It is probably a good idea to check similar settings in whatever client you are using.
Vuze
Vuze might not be as lightweight as others in this list, but its feature-packed approach will appeal to some
PROS
- Ridiculously fully featured
- Can bind downloads to VPN
- Lots of plugins available to increase functionality
- Built-in video player
- Great Android apps
CONS
- Somewhat bulky and resource-heavy
- Ads
- Tries to install crapware
- Only partially open source
- Interface could be prettier and more intuitive
Vuze is a granddaddy of BitTorrent clients. It is no longer open source, and it creaks somewhat under the weight of its myriad features. It is, in other words, the polar opposite of lightweight clients such as qBitTorrent.
But who said a shed load of features is necessarily a bad thing? Most torrenters will never use all the tools available, but there is really almost nothing Torrent-related that Vuze can’t do. This includes being able to bind Vuze to your VPN adapter, but also loads more funky stuff such as content discovery through automated subscriptions, having an integrated media player, remote management, and much more.
You can convert files to multiple formats using Vuze’s drag-and-drop interface and analyse your downloads using a wealth of statistics and visualizations. Vuze is a power user’s dream.
On the downside, Vuze is resource-heavy and rather ugly (especially when compared to Transmission!) Its clunky interface is also showing its age. This situation is not helped by the inclusion of ads in the free version, or by the fact that you need to be careful during installation if you do not want to also install a load of crapware.
Although Vuze is primarily free, a premium version is also available for $29.90 USD per year. A Vuze Plus subscription removes the ads and provides built-in anti-virus scanning, a DVD burner, and 'play now' support. It is, admittedly, pretty funky!
This also brings me to the point that, despite its open source roots, Vuze is now closed source proprietary software. It is worth noting that reports of Vuze’s demise appear to be very premature. Vuze 5.7.6.0 was released in October 2017 and is fully functional.
Unlike the desktop client, the excellent Android app is lightweight and ad-free. A pro version is now available via in-app purchase (about $4), but I have been unable to determine what features this adds (and am too skinflint to shell out the money necessary to find out!).
Vuze Remote is a handy app for Android that allows you remote control your desktop torrent downloads.
Vuze is available for Windows, Mac OSX/macOS, Linux, and Android.
Popcorn Time
Popcorn Time has taken a leaf from Netflix's streaming book to present a video-only torrenting service
PROS
- Instant streaming of high quality BitTorrent content!
- Open source
- Very smart interface
- Chromecast, Airplay and DLNA support
- Available on just about every platform
CONS
- Only for video content
All the other programs on this list are BitTorrent clients. You download a .torrent file or click on a magnet link, and the content downloads to your computer where it is stored locally.
Popcorn Time is different; It is an open source app that uses BitTorrent technology to stream high quality video content to all major platforms. This means that unlike with traditional BitTorrent clients, you can watch a film or show without waiting for the download to complete. You might be thinking 'is Popcorn time safe?' While it can be dangerous for your computer, using a VPN can keep your machine secure.
It is notable for having a very slick and intuitive interface, and for providing access to a huge library of up-to-date content.
Although primarily a streaming platform, content can also be downloaded locally (and some content is always cached). Various versions (forks) of Popcorn Time are available, but I strongly advise only using one of the forks recommended in Best VPN for Popcorn Time guide.
Specific features vary a little depending on which fork you use, but steaming to your big-screen TV via Chromecast, Airplay and DLNA is pretty standard.
Popcorn Time is free, and respectable versions are free from ads and other crapware. It available for Windows, Mac OSX/macOS, Linux, and Android. PopcornTime.to even has an iOS VPN App that can be installed without jailbreaking your device.
Deluge
Deluge has no ads, compared to some of the more popular torrent clients out there
PROS
- Open source
- Lightweight
- Lots of features
- Expandable via plugins (incl. RSS)
CONS
- Less fully featured than some other clients
Like qBitTorrent, Deluge is a fairly conventional but lightweight and open source BitTorrent client. Its feature list is not huge, but should be more than enough to satisfy most users. Features include remote web management and support for magnet links.
Functionality can be further extended with a range of both in-house and third-party plugins. Highlights include plugins for RSS support, Growl notifications, streaming while downloading, and more.
Deluge is completely FOSS, with no ads or crapware. It is available for Windows, OSX, Linux (various distros), and FreeBSD.
Best Private Torrent
Check out our 5 best Deluge VPNs page for a list of the best services to use with this BitTorrent client.
Why not uTorrent or BitTorrent?
uTorrent and its almost-identical sibling, the official BitTorrent client, remain the most popular BitTorrent clients in the world. It is, therefore, reasonable to ask why I have not included it in this best 5 BitTorrent list. Please note the different between BitTorrent as a protocol and the BitTorrent client to avoid confusion.
Both uTorrent and BitTorrent are closed source and supported by ads. These ads can be turned off if you delve deep enough into the software’s settings, but this is still very irritating. It is my personal view that this means uTorrent has all the disadvantages of Vuze, but not as many useful features.
So if you want a slightly clunky closed-source ad-supported BitTorrent client, but one that compensates for this by offering a wealth of features, then use Vuze. Other opinions are available.
What is BitTorrent?
BitTorrent is a popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing protocol. Instead of being stored on a centralized server from which you download, torrented files are shared among many other BitTorrent users. Popular files can easily be shared among hundreds of users in this way.
When you 'download” (which is something of a misnomer when it comes to torrenting) a file using the BitTorrent protocol, what you are actually doing is sharing small pieces of it with everyone else who is downloading that same file.
A file is 'downloaded” once you have all the pieces needed to reassemble that file. It is considered good form to 'seed” (continue sharing) the file for a while after it has been downloaded, in order to help others reach 100% completion.
Why use a Client?
Although still very popular, BitTorrent use has declined somewhat in recent years. This is in part thanks to the wealth of legal streaming options available from providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, hulu, and many more. The popularity of illegal options, such as Kodi and streaming websites, is also a factor. For top tips and the best VPN for Streaming, take a look at the guides below:
The more traditional method of downloading using a BitTorrent client, however, continues to offer some major advantages:
- BitTorrent content is downloaded locally, so it is available forever and can be easily physically transferred between devices.
- Literally, any kind of digital content can be download – not just video content. This includes software, images, eBook, games, and… you name it!
- But when it does come to video content, the quality is often considerably higher than streamed content. This is because there is no need to keep file sizes down to avoid buffering issues, since content is played locally.
- BitTorrent is a very efficient and resource-light way to share and promote your own content with others.
Many Linux distros find torrent links are the best way to distribute their software without having to host it on costly servers.
Use a VPN when torrenting
BitTorrent content is shared among multiple home computers. This is not good for privacy because sharing files with a bunch of other random 'downloaders” on the internet is hardly private.
Using the right software (which includes many popular BitTorrent clients), it is very easy to see the unique Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of every other person also sharing ('downloading”) the same file.
As demonstrated in Vuze above, I can see the IP addresses of every other person who is downloading the same files as me.
Is torrenting legal?
Yes, torrenting is entirely legal, while the content you share might not be. Torrenting is just a protocol that allows you to share things peer-to-peer. Since laws differ around the world, it's difficult to say what is legal and what isn't, although sharing copyrighted material without the express permission of the owner almost always errs on the side of illegal.
It's pretty easy to catch those that torrent illegally shared content, because the nature of torrenting means your IP address is on show to anyone else sharing the file. All the copyright holder, or a third party representing them, would need to do is notify your internet service provider (ISP) to take legal action against you.
This is why it is important to use a VPN to protect yourself online.
Why should I use a VPN when torrenting?
A VPN will protect you while downloading because:
- A VPN will hide your IP address from other downloaders. As mentioned in the previous section, torrenting puts your IP address on display for others that are sharing the file. Connecting to a VPN server masks your IP address to protect your privacy.
- A VPN encrypts all internet traffic between your computer and the VPN server. This means that your ISP cannot see what you've been getting up to online. Of course, deep packet inspection will reveal that you have been downloading, but they will be none the wiser as to what.
VPNs with robust logging policies will have nothing to hand over to the authorities, no matter what pressure they may come under. A VPN will also unblock websites if they are censored for any reason.
So as long as P2P is permitted, a VPN is very effective at protecting your privacy while downloading.
For a more in-depth look at how VPNs work, please check out VPNs for Beginners – What You Need to Know. For a more in-depth guide to using a VPN while torrenting, check out Best VPN for Torrenting guide.
BitTorrent protocol encryption
Some BitTorrent clients support BitTorrent protocol encryption. These include Transmission, qBitTorrent, and Vuze. It is a feature designed to hide the fact that you are torrenting from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
VPNs also do this, as well as hiding your real IP address from other torrent users and anyone else watching on the internet. Furthermore:
Analysis of the BitTorrent protocol encryption has shown that statistical measurements of packet sizes and packet directions of the first 100 packets in a TCP session can be used to identify the obfuscated protocol with over 96% accuracy.
This means that even the most basic Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) techniques can determine that you are using BitTorrent. Now, it is true that DPI can also easily detect VPN use (unless obfuscated), but while there are many legitimate reasons to use a VPN, there is only one reason to use BitTorrent protocol encryption…
Using BitTorrent protocol encryption is therefore probably better than using nothing at all, but using a VPN provides much better protection while downloading.
How do I use a BitTorrent client?
One reason for the popularity of online streaming services (including via the use of Kodi boxes) is the perception that torrenting is a geeky pastime that requires technical know-how. In reality, however, torrenting is very easy:
- Download and install a BitTorrent client from the list above.
- (Optional but strongly recommended) Ensure you have a VPN running. This will bypass censorship of torrent sites, hide your IP from others you fileshare with, and hide your downloads from your ISP. Check out our VPN for Torrents guide for a list of recommended services.
- Visit a BitTorrent website. These websites host links to torrent files. You can browse for content that interests you, or search for something specific. Many websites include user-reviews of torrents, which can help you pick good torrents.
- When you have found the content you want, simply click on the torrent link or magnet link. The torrent will open in your BitTorrent client and begin downloading.
- When the download is 100% completed, enjoy! Some BitTorrent clients have media-players built-in, but VLC will play pretty much any media file you can throw at it.
Seeding
BitTorrent is a decentralized file-sharing platform. In order for it to work, users share files with other users. This happens while you download a file, but it is considered good form to leave your BitTorrent client open after you have finished downloading a file in order to benefit other users.
This is called seeding, and it is considered good netiquette to seed to a ratio of at least 1:1 (i.e. upload the same amount of data you downloaded). Most BitTorrent clients will display the seed ratio of downloaded files.
Other Stuff
You don’t need to know much more about torrenting than the information provided above. If you ever wish to explore the subject further, however, this glossary is a good introduction to the jargon used.
Movie torrents, in particular, have a great deal of jargon associated with them. To make informed decisions about the content you plan to download, it is useful to familiarize yourself with it.
One thing to watch out for on public torrent sites is sponsored links. These are often prominently displayed and are deliberately designed to confuse. They typically point to either commercial direct download sites or Usenet services. Look for a link that specifically says 'Torrent” or 'Magnet Link.”
Find the best torrent sites
Findinf the best torrent sites can be quite difficult these days due to the blocks ISPs imposes on these websites. However, check out our best torrent sites article for a list of our favorite in 2021.
Conclusion
If anything, the torrenting crowd is over-served by great BitTorrent clients! Indeed, this top five list hardly even scrapes the surface of the many that are available. The fact that most of them are free and open source software (FOSS) warms the cockles of my heart!
With such a wealth of options available, I’m sure many of you will have a favorite that is not listed here. If so, do please write in to tell me and other readers why you think it is so great!
- Fastest VPN we test
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The fastest VPN we test, unblocks everything, with amazing service all round
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Strong presence, no-logs policy
Most of you know, and many of you have used Bittorrent to download files from the internet. Whether it’s for legal content or not, there’s no doubt that even today, it’s still a hugely popular way to get your movies, music or disc images. Although there are thousands of torrent sites around that you can freely browse and download the .torrent files from, some of the tracker sites that have the the best or most stable torrents are private sites that require registration or an invite for you to become a member.
Not only are private tracker sites very sought after, it can sometimes be incredibly hard to come by an opening where you can sign up, because most of the time they only allow a certain number of users and registrations to new users are closed. Keeping an eye on all of these sites will quickly consume a lot of your time trying to catch the right time when you can sign up.Luckily there are a couple of way to do this, either by using a Windows tool to check from your desktop or through an online website database. Here we have a selection of 2 utilities and 3 websites for you to check for private tracker openings.
1. Tracker Checker
This tool will sit in your tray and automatically scans for private site openings periodically, by default every 60 seconds. When there’s an opening, a popup will appear informing you that it should be possible for you to sign up.
Unfortunately, the program is a bit old dating back to 2007 and as a consequence the list of trackers is a bit out of date with many long since closed down. There is however, a simple way around this which is the ability for you to add in your own sites to monitor or edit any of those in the current list. After installing the program, it will sit in your tray monitoring nothing until you double click on the icon to bring up the main window.
Tick the boxes next to the sites you want to monitor and then either press the Check button or wait for the next auto check shown on the button in brackets. This can be changed from the default by using the wrench icon to the right. Any sites that appear to have an opening for signing up will show in green with a tick, still closed ones will be a triangle, neither probably means there is a problem accessing the page or site.
Sites can be added, removed or edited and the way in which the the tracker site is checked simply comes down to the text content on the signup webpage. For example, the site above “UKNova” usually has on its signup page “No room for new signups right now…” when signups are closed, but when open, will ask for a username and password etc. If Tracker Checker sees the string “desired username”, it will assume you can create an account and give the site a green tick. Then you can click on the go to website button to have a look for yourself.
Although Tracker Checker comes as a setup installer, it can be used as a portable tool by extracting it with an archiver such as 7-Zip. Tested and works fine on Windows 7.
Download Tracker Checker
2. Torrents Open Registrations Checker
This tool requires the .NET Framework version 2 so XP users will need to have it installed. It works in a similar way to Tracker Checker and also suffers slightly with the outdated trackers problem being from 2009, although there is a sizable list of 182 entries available. Torrents Open Registrations Checker is a more advanced program all round though ranging from the auto check timer which can be in seconds, minutes or even hours, to the editing of the webpage text to search for with AND / OR conditional statements.
The main interface definitely makes it easier for you to work out what is happening with each tracker site thanks to the icons displayed; green is registration possibly open, blue triangle is closed, orange triangle is a timeout and red is a not found dead link. The good thing here is you can easily select just the ones you want or all trackers in the list by using the Edit menu -> Select All option to get a general look at what may be open to new users. A quick check at the time of writing shows a possible 78 from the whole 182 timed out or were probably dead.
Open Registrations Checker has options to add, remove or edit the list, and for basic usage is easy to configure with the signup page URL and a string to match / not match against required. You can go further though and supply a category, icon and description as well as clicking the Advanced Conditions box to allow a conditional statement with a second URL and text string to compare against the first one. If you’re lucky enough to find an updated list it can be imported, or you can export your own to friends via the File menu. Works on Windows XP and above.
Download Torrents Open Registrations Checker
3. Bittorrent TRackers Automatic Checking System
Private Torrent Trackers List
Also known as BTRACS, this is a website which periodically checks private torrent tracker sites for openings, allowing you to sign up during the small time window it may remain open. The website’s page auto refreshes every 10 minutes to try and keep the list as updated as possible, and if a new signup has been found, a small green thumbs up icon will show beside the tracker site. If you want to be active and know of a private tracker site that’s currently open, you can also submit it for validation.
The main BTRACS window is split into 2 sections, 1 for tracker sites where registration is open most of the time, and another for those where it’s usually difficult to get new registrations and they’re closed most of the time. Currently, there are around 600 bittorrent trackers in the BTRACS database and obviously the numbers of open or closed tracker sites will vary day by day, today there are 4 hard to sign up for trackers open to new registrations.
Visit BTRACS
4. OpenTrackers
OpenTrackers.net is another website that actively monitors several private tracker sites for openings, currently around 190 are in the database. Although OpenTrackers doesn’t automatically refresh its page like BTRACS, you can click the Refresh link on any site you’re interested in to get a live status update. Recent changes can also be viewed by looking at the News feed on the right of the window.
With OpenTrackers it’s very easy to spot which trackers are open or not by the big icons next to each site, the green is open for registration, red is closed and the yellow exclamation or red cross means unable to access the site for information. Click on the small brown leaf icon to get a review of the tracker from OpenTrackers parent website torrent-invites.com, and the More… link will give statistics about how many times it’s been checked and what the results were in terms of percentages.
Visit OpenTrackers
5. Tscan
Tscan.mg is a slightly more generic tracker website which lists all different kinds of trackers in several different categories. It can be filtered though to show only private tracker sites so you can see who is accepting new registrations.
Simply set your filter criteria such as whether the tracker is online, whether it’s private and if signups are open, and you should get a good idea about who is worth checking out further. Clicking on any tracker link will open a new page where you can get more information about the site, the link to any registration page and if anybody has left any comments or ratings.
Visit Tscan
You might also like:
3 Tools to Search for Torrents on Multiple Tracker Websites2 Tools to Decrease Download and Increase Upload Ratio in BitTorrent Trackers5 Ways to Automatically Check File Sharing Link StatusHow to Identify Fake Torrents Uploaded by Anti-Piracy Organizations9 Ways to Download Torrents if You Can’t Install and Run a Torrent ClientJoin the-madhouse. Info open to register 200 torrents added daily
ReplyRaymond…Rocks! (Y)
Replyvery useful! thanks raymond!!
ReplyWow, this is useful. Thanks for the sites!
Replythanks thanks thanks ……. super
ReplyThanks for TrackerChecker – I’ve never heard of it. Another useful site in my bookmarks. Thank You.
ReplyVery nice Raymond ,
useful tools and programs every day.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH RAY
You rock ray…
great info mate..!!!
Thank you so much ray!
it is a good post and good share with us.
Thanks again and wish to have a nice day!
Thank you for this useful info
Reply