Is our favourite torrent site blocked?

It’s been a while now since many the world’s biggest torrent library sites were forced to shut down. Not long ago, when names like The Pirate Bay, Mininova and Torrentfreak were all the rage, they all started dropping off the map, one after another. Of course, it didn’t take long for clones to start popping up all over the place with near identical content libraries, but the fact they all closed down in the first place was a worrisome development for pretty much everyone involved in the world of torrents.

Are torrent sites safe? Some yes, some no

A lot of people started to worry about the new ‘ownership’ of the clone sites and thought that there might be more surveillance taking place, as well as more malware embedded into the torrent files provided on those sites. While there was some truth to those worries – as we all saw for ourselves – many of the clone sites were actually just as good as their parent sites. Sites like the very popular French Torrent9 torrent search engine, for example, became even better once the clones started popping up.

Torrent9 is a strong contender

Today, there are several URLs that lead to Torrent9 and they are all accessible in a long list of countries around the globe. Each of the different site addresses takes users to one of two different site layouts, and it appears that they are all operated by the same people. The way that the team behind the Torrent9 name has been able to circumvent the various threats to their existence is certainly clever. Currently, Torrent9 is one of the best places to access torrent files due to their stability, ease of access, and large content selection.

Can you access Torrent9?

For some, accessing Torrent9 may prove to be a bit of a challenge. There are a few countries where Torrent9, and sites like it, are banned. Countries like China, France, and a few others try pretty hard to restrict torrent traffic, and they do a good job at it, too. If you are in one of those countries and have felt the ping of those restrictions, there is a solution to getting around those pesky geo-blocks.

VPNs hold the key

The best solution is a VPN service, of course. While there are a few other methods of getting around regional government blocks on internet use, VPN are, by far, the easiest and most robust solutions available today. Compared to some of the other solutions, such as Proxy servers and DNS changes, VPNs offer near complete anonymity which is exactly what you need when you are knowingly going against your governments’ stipulations.

Choose the right VPN

VPN services range widely in terms of what they can offer their users and in cost as well. The best VPNs offer a variety of different protocols that users can connect to, many adhere to strict no-logs policies, and still others are based in countries that have no laws stating that they have to collect identifying information. All good things when downloading content that could potentially get you a lawsuit.

Words of wisdom

If you want to unblock your favourite torrent site – or ours – find yourself a solid VPN that both keeps your identity secure and gets you into the site that you are trying to access. Having a quick read-through of the terms and conditions at your chosen VPN will tell you about the logging policies, and downloading a trial will allow you the time necessary to see if the VPN works with your torrent site and download client.