Torrenting in Germany may be legal, but it is extremely risky. Due to the country’s strict stance towards torrenting, users caught in this act suffer from hefty fines and potential jail time.
However, the strict rules apply only to users who are caught downloading copyrighted content. So, if you want to continue torrenting anything you like but desire to be safe as well, then this guide is just what you need.
This situation can be curbed if you connect to a virtual private network in Germany. A VPN is known to create an encrypted tunnel and mask your entire traffic so no one can snoop into your connection. This will keep you completely safe while downloading torrents.
While not many people are aware of the proper and right use of the VPN, they don’t even realize the importance or benefits of using it while travelling or streaming geo-blocked content.
However, you can’t just opt for any VPN you like. It’s preferable you get the best VPN for Germany for this case, for a safe torrenting experience.
In this article, we’ll tell you how you can be caught while torrenting in Germany and the best solutions to avoid this.
How can a user be caught downloading torrents in Germany?
Copyright agencies and lawyers in Germany monitor the entire list of torrent peers in a torrent client. From there, they can check the complete list of IP addresses of all the people who are uploading and downloading torrents.
Once your IP address is detected, the agencies and lawyers search for the user’s internet service provider (ISP). This isn’t a hectic process as it may seem to be. An IP search tool does the job quickly and immediately detects which IP address belongs to which internet service provider.
Then, your ISP is contacted to send over your personal information, and your ISP is bound to give it away due to German law. After this, you will be sent a letter with the cost of the fine that you’d have to pay.
Is VPN the best way to download torrents in Germany?
VPNs are super-effective for secure torrenting in Germany. These are online software that encrypt your traffic and conceal your IP address. This way, even when you torrent anything you like, your internet service provider wouldn’t know.
A VPN also hides the IP addresses you connect to. So, even if you connect to a torrent site’s IP address, your ISP wouldn’t be able to know.
This way, even if copyright agencies check the peers’ list, they won’t be able to see your original IP address. So, locating your internet service provider would be impossible, thanks to the VPN IP.
Few important tips to download torrents in Germany with a VPN
Even if you use a VPN in Germany, you still need to be careful about a few things. This is because a wrong VPN is worse than no VPN.
Let’s look at all a few significant tips to have a safe torrenting experience:
1. Connect to a torrent-friendly server:
Some VPNs offer torrent-friendly servers to users. These VPNs like weneedprivacy offer P2P-optimized servers that you can use to have a completely secure and hassle-free torrenting experience. These servers are usually found in a separate tab named torrenting or P2P.
Many VPN providers block your traffic if you don’t connect to a torrent-friendly server. Others might stall your torrent files until you disconnect from that server or VPN.
2. Activate leak protection:
Reliable VPNs offer advanced security features to users. One of them is leak protection.
VPNs can easily leak your data and information if they experience IPv6, WebRTC, and DNS leaks. This is why you need to enable leak protection from your VPN app before beginning all your torrenting activities.
If you’re unable to find the leak protection toggle, but the VPN claims that it offers one, then this means that it’s enabled in the VPN by default.
However, even if the VPN offers leak protection, it’s always a good choice to test this feature. How can you do that? You can use ipleak.net for this. Here are the steps for this:
- Visit the website without connecting to a VPN like allertaprivacy
- Look at the result and take a screenshot.
- Then, connect to a VPN server and visit the site again.
- Compare the results.
- If you see your actual IP even after connecting to a VPN, then the VPN is leaking your IP address.
3. Enable the VPN kill switch:
A kill switch is quite an essential feature for torrenting. This feature disconnects you from the internet in case your VPN connection drops. This way, your online activities are not leaked and are protected at all costs.
Without the protection of a kill switch, your IP might leak just for a few minutes but can put you at many risks. While VPNs have kill switches enabled by default, you can check once before torrenting.
Conclusion
This ends our guide to download torrents safely in Germany with a VPN. All you need to do is select the right VPN service and torrent anonymously.
With a VPN, you will be able to access any torrenting website safely without the fear of being monitored by the government or your internet service provider. This way, you’ll be protected by all legal notices.
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